Complimentary Travel Insurance on Gold/Plat Cards

[Oneworldplus2]

Hi All,
Just wanted to ask a quick question.

I have noticed that alot of Gold and Plat cc's come with complimentary travel insurance. Has anyone ever used this insurance and is it worthwhile upgrading from a normal card to a gold/plat card? Or, should l just buy a seperate travel insurance from a broker?
Any feed back, thanks in advance.

[straitman]

Hi All,
Just wanted to ask a quick question.

I have noticed that alot of Gold and Plat cc's come with complimentary travel insurance. Has anyone ever used this insurance and is it worthwhile upgrading from a normal card to a gold/plat card? Or, should l just buy a seperate travel insurance from a broker?
Any feed back, thanks in advance.

Oneworldplus2,

The insurance offered by each card is different so it is important to look at what is offered and what you need.

Many cards require you to have the complete purchase on the card whilst others do not.
ie If you book a trip using FF points then paying the taxes on the card is often insufficient for the TI top kick in completely. From my experience the AMEX Charge Card is the pick of the bunch for the best TI. I'm quite happy for someone to offer a better option though.

There are a few other threads about with this info including one that is still current.

[Johno]

The AMEX PLt charge card has good coverage. Still you pay $900 a year for it!

it does not require you to spend on the card for coverage and covers your family too. Essentially an independent insurance policy for the named card holders and family. Cost equiv. was about $600 per year (or more if you are older).

But it can be a lot cheaper just to buy a policy for a short trip rather than get annual coverage.

You need to carefully check all the terms, some cc require full payment of airfare on the card (points not sufficient).

With the AMEX you get other handy things such as coverage of 'excess' for hire vehicles when on a trip (which is I think anything over 250km from home) and also roadside assistance.

Johno