Best Credit card Travel insurance

[sven365]

Best Credit card Travel insurance

Looking to take out a credit card and want to be covered from a travel insurance point of view especially if paying an annual fee. What is the most comprehensive cover?

Im not that fussed about earn rewards, insurance is the main reason for taking out this card.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

You need to read what each policy covers as it is different and match to your trip needs. A policy may be really good, but may not cover something you need.

ie
Car hire?

• Are you going on a cruise?
• On a yachting trip more than 10km off the coast?
• Duration? The max duration varies varies
• Can you pay for your flights on the card (Some require this)? Or is it an Award Redemption (Not all CC TI coveres this)?
• Adventurous activities? Skiing etc
• Amount of $$$ covered for each item of coverage. Does it meet your needs?
• etc

Depending what you need CC TI may or may not cover it, and some CC TI will suit your needs better than others.

 

[Dr Ralph]

Best Credit card Travel insurance

Looking to take out a credit card and want to be covered from a travel insurance point of view especially if paying an annual fee. What is the most comprehensive cover?

Im not that fussed about earn rewards, insurance is the main reason for taking out this card.

In my view there isn't one. I'd caution very strongly to examine all of the exclusions that come with policies offered in conjunction with credit cards.

 

[sven365]

You need to read what each policy covers as it is different and match to your trip needs. A policy may be really good, but may not cover something you need.

ie
Car hire?

• Are you going on a cruise?
• On a yachting trip more than 10km off the coast?
• Duration? The max duration varies varies
• Can you pay for your flights on the card (Some require this)? Or is it an Award Redemption (Not all CC TI coveres this)?
• Adventurous activities? Skiing etc
• Amount of $$$ covered for each item of coverage. Does it meet your needs?
• etc

Depending what you need CC TI may or may not cover it, and some CC TI will suit your needs better than others.

Yes I get that. thanks for your reply. Id say just the standard cover. Ie flight delays, baggage loss, medical insurance etc etc. or is it better to just get travel insurance. All help appreciated thanks.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Yes I get that. thanks for your reply. Id say just the standard cover. Ie flight delays, baggage loss, medical insurance etc etc. or is it better to just get travel insurance. All help appreciated thanks.

Check out NAB then as is easy to activate by a small spend and it covers for Award flights.

 

[theblank]

What is the most comprehensive cover?.

The one that suits you best.

I have 5 credit cards with insurance. they each have the tiniest differences, not one is better than all the others across the board. Qualifying requirements will be an issue for most people, as sometimes we pay for trips on points.

You could download all the schedules, put all the important details iinto a matrix and compare yourself.

But IMO, its not worth the exercise. Whats better one trip, is not for the next one. Get the credt card that suits you the best, the insurance is ancillary.

 

[DontGetMeStarted]

Was just re visiting this issue as have always used ANZ with my black card and a min of $250 to be spent on land content - mind you have never really had to claim, some CC's ask for the full flight payment to made for this to activate.
Also Anyone know that if you use award points for the trip but pay the taxes with a CC does this trigger the insurance and which CC would that be. Just checked Cover More for a comparison and they wanted $1500 plus for the insurance to the UK and USA for a month.

 

[carls888]

I have read and reread the terms on our cc's and we purchase travel insurance. It gives me peace of mind. Also when we fly on points, none of them seem to cover as the flights etc have to be purchased with the cc in question.
I find TID excellent. We have claimed through them as well when we had 3 hospital stays on one trip...don't ask...it was not fun!
They paid it all upfront and I only was out of pocket for the excess. My MIL, OTOH, was with AAMI and had to pay $1000's upfront and then be reimbursed once she returned to Australia. It was a large hassle for her.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Also when we fly on points, none of them seem to cover as the flights etc have to be purchased with the cc in question.
.

This is incorrect.

Many (ie ANZ NAB, Westpac etc) cover flights redeemed by points, or flights purchased on other cards /cash or EFT.

Many CC TI will have an activation of simply:

• spending a minimal amount on the card for the trip of $150-500 per trip and/or per person (some it is still just possessing the card. CBA I think?)
• possessing a return flight (which can be bought or redeemed)
• meeting age requirements (easy for most as is say upto 70) and not having serious/certain health issues (again not a problem for most)

With CC TI it is more making sure that the coverage is adequate for your needs and what you are doing on the trip. This will be adequate for many, but not all travellers.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Also Anyone know that if you use award points for the trip but pay the taxes with a CC does this trigger the insurance and which CC would that be. .

From memory when I have read the the conditions, any CC TI that covers redeemed flights will for the activating spend allow you to use for that spend flight taxes and charges, flight total cost, hotels, tours etc.


Mind you now that Krisflyer have dropped their Fuel Fines, that the taxes and charges spend is now often not large enough to reach the qualifying spend to activate the TI by itself!

 

[Peter D]

One of the myths about credit card insurance is that they are some sort of claytons policy.

All that the banks do is buy a standard policy in bulk from an insurance company with no brokers, travel agents or online aggregators in between. When they buy a say half a million policies and only a minority travel in any one year, the discounts are huge.

Claims and pre-existing conditions are handled direct with the insurance company as with any other policy.

I churn 3 or 4 credit cards a year and have a couple of overseas trips each year. So am always covered by one and often two credit card policies.

Look for policies that just need a small amount per person spent in advance on the trip i.e. on airfares, cruises, airline taxes, accommodation etc. For example ANZ require $250, Westpac $500, Bank West $500 (BW also has no foreign currency conversion fees on purchases) etc.

Those that require the whole airfare to be on the card are bit of a pain. Don’t bother with them.

Also check the requirements to actually possess a return ticket (regardless of how it is purchased/acquired) the definitions vary.

On the cards web page look in the small print for a link to the policy disclosure statement. If you can satisfy the requirements to activate the cover and importantly the cover suits your needs go for it.

 

[Renato1]

If one has lots of pre-existing conditions, the best I think is CBA, which uses Allianz. After activating the cover for the trip (no actual spend is required on the card) the policy is the same as the policy which I used to buy from my Health Insurance company. And I pay the extra money for pre-existing conditions, which other companies like that at American Express, will not cover me for at all.
Regards,
Renato

 

[amaroo]

CBA Dia for me..... because it's fee free and I don't need to spend a cent to get cover. I also take out a QBE annual world wide family policy for piece of mind ... insurance if I forget to activate the CBA cover.

 

[TheRealTMA]

We use Westpac Earth Black CC insurance. Have been very happy with it. They have payed out my claims in full on the two times I have had to claim, and one was in excess of $30K.

There’s no difference between purchased TI and ones from CCs.

But, as noted above, very important to check the T&C with your card’s TI. Westpac one (now through QBE I think) only requires some $500 to be spent on card for travel to activate. Others vary. Amex (direct) cards require full cost of flights be charged and travel must start and end in Australia.

Pre-existing conditions are covered but check T&Cs and one may need to contact them to include or exclude some specific conditions.

Also, if you don’t have the funds or credit limits to cover your expenses before claiming, then it’s viral to take copies of all bookings showing payment on card, plus CC statement showing charges which you’ll have to send to the TIC to prove the insurance for them to guarantee to cover hospital bills etc.

(Advantage of paying your expenses on the card then claiming back is that you can acquire more FF points on the charges. )

 

[DontGetMeStarted]

If one has lots of pre-existing conditions, the best I think is CBA, which uses Allianz. After activating the cover for the trip (no actual spend is required on the card) the policy is the same as the policy which I used to buy from my Health Insurance company. And I pay the extra money for pre-existing conditions, which other companies like that at American Express, will not cover me for at all.
Regards,
Renato

I think ANZ are moving to Allianz in April too

 

[Bronnie]

Having made a claim with CBA Diamond we now find they do not cover technical issues with aircraft. I was ANZ Platinum and they are the same. Maybe all policies are the same in this regard. I thought one of the main reasons to take travel insurance was to cover delays and lost charges due to an airline maintenance issue.

 

[Renato1]

Having made a claim with CBA Diamond we now find they do not cover technical issues with aircraft. I was ANZ Platinum and they are the same. Maybe all policies are the same in this regard. I thought one of the main reasons to take travel insurance was to cover delays and lost charges due to an airline maintenance issue.

I've been going through Allianz policies (since it may wind up applying to me), and I can't find the exclusion you mention.

Typically the exclusions are as follows.
"We will not pay if a delay to your journey arises from any of the following reasons:
a] the financial collapse or insolvency of any travel agent, tour wholesaler, tour operator or booking agent; or
b] an act or threat of terrorism.
Nor will we pay if:
c] you can claim your additional meals and accommodation expenses from anyone else."

Are they saying that provision (c) applies, and that the airline maintenance issue means you should be claiming from the airline?
Regards,
Renato

 

[Bronnie]

I've been going through Allianz policies (since it may wind up applying to me), and I can't find the exclusion you mention.

Typically the exclusions are as follows.
"We will not pay if a delay to your journey arises from any of the following reasons:
a] the financial collapse or insolvency of any travel agent, tour wholesaler, tour operator or booking agent; or
b] an act or threat of terrorism.
Nor will we pay if:
c] you can claim your additional meals and accommodation expenses from anyone else."

Are they saying that provision (c) applies, and that the airline maintenance issue means you should be claiming from the airline?
Regards,
Renato

Renato see P47 of the Allianz Disclosure Document i.e.
i] caused by the mechanical breakdown of any means of transport;
We fought with them and finally our claim was met. QF paid for the overnight accom delay & meal allowance in SYD but we were out of pocket for hotels and a flight each in South Africa to the tune of $900 which was the basis of our claim. Our argument was that the broken outer layer of the windscreen did not constitute a mechanical breakdown.

 

[TheRealTMA]

I've been going through Allianz policies (since it may wind up applying to me), and I can't find the exclusion you mention.

Typically the exclusions are as follows.
"We will not pay if a delay to your journey arises from any of the following reasons:
a] the financial collapse or insolvency of any travel agent, tour wholesaler, tour operator or booking agent; or
b] an act or threat of terrorism.
Nor will we pay if:
c] you can claim your additional meals and accommodation expenses from anyone else."

Are they saying that provision (c) applies, and that the airline maintenance issue means you should be claiming from the airline?
Regards,
Renato

They are just saying that if you can claim from the airline or other travel provider, they will not pay for this but that you must claim from the supplier. If the supplier does not or is not able to provide them (and gives you a letter to that effect) then you can claim from insurance.

For example, we cancelled airfares in NZ because of the earthquake in Kaikoura couple of years ago. The airline would not refund the airfares so we had AirNZ provide a letter to that effect then we were able to successfully claim these costs from the CC TI.

 

[Renato1]

Renato see P47 of the Allianz Disclosure Document i.e.
i] caused by the mechanical breakdown of any means of transport;
We fought with them and finally our claim was met. QF paid for the overnight accom delay & meal allowance in SYD but we were out of pocket for hotels and a flight each in South Africa to the tune of $900 which was the basis of our claim. Our argument was that the broken outer layer of the windscreen did not constitute a mechanical breakdown.

Thanks. Found it.
But that's under the section "Cancellation fees and Lost deposits"
"We will not pay your claim if,
caused by the mechanical breakdown of any means of transport"

But that relates to Cancellation fees and Lost deposits, not to Travel Delay.
I don't understand how you got nothing.
Regards,
Renato


P.S. - I think your experience deserves a totally separate thread, as it won't be widely seen at the tail end of this thread,