To the point
See how a credit card can provide you with multiple travel insurance policies for free!
Table of contents
The components included in the travel insurance of credit cards
Travel insurance generally provides coverage for the following:
- Trip Cancellation or Trip Interruption
- Emergency medical care outside the province of residence
- Delayed flights
- Loss, damage, theft or delay of luggage
To compare, I did a travel insurance quote with Blue Cross for a trip to Southeast Asia for our family.
The details given on the application were:
| Insurance | Coverage |
| Number of people to be insured | 2 adults and 1 child |
| Trip Cancellation Insurance | $2,500 (per person) |
| Trip Interruption Insurance | unlimited |
| Emergency medical care | $5,000,000 (per person) |
| Luggage (theft, loss, damage) | $1,500 (per person) |
| Duration of the trip | 15 days |
The cost of insurance for this 15-day vacation in Asia is $360.01.
For our family (3 people) who go on adventures several times a year, travel insurance costs can go up to $501.52 to have good coverage on multiple trips of 17 days or less.
Save on travel insurance costs
However, there is a way to get the same protection for free with credit card travel insurance!
For example, with the National Bank’s World Elite Mastercard®, our family is insured, free of charge, under certain conditions, for several trips of up to 60 days!
The people who can be covered by the travel insurance of this card are:
- the primary cardholder
- spouse and dependent children travelling with the primary cardholder
Our trip to Asia would be completely covered under the same Blue Cross conditions, except for a few details.
National Bank's World Elite Mastercard®
The National Bank’s World Elite Mastercard® stands out in terms of the protections it offers. When you look at the travel insurance certificates, you will notice disparities, and not all contracts are equivalent.
In addition to the excellent insurance, this card currently has a great welcome bonus on top of these usual benefits.
- 35,000 NBC Rewards points after $3,000 in Card purchases within the first 3 months
- $150 annual fee refund for the first year
- $250 in travel credits
- unlimited access to the NBC World Elite Mastercard Lounge
- access to the Loungekey lounges
- free wifi via Boingo
How can I be covered by credit card travel insurance?
Some cards require us to charge the entire expense to the card, while for others, we are covered by travel insurance when you pay part of the trip with the credit card.
For most of the insurance included, the National Bank’s World Elite Mastercard® is one of the only credit cards in Canada to cover you even if you only charge a portion of the cost of the trip.
The following expenses will be reimbursed (…) provided that a portion or the entire cost of the trip was charged to the account
National Bank of Canada
In terms of travel, only luggage delay and car rental insurance will require the full cost to be charged to the card.
Secondly, regarding emergency medical insurance, the simple fact of being a National Bank’s World Elite Mastercardholder makes us eligible for coverage. This is especially useful during our road trips in the United States, where we stay with friends. Therefore, no travel-related expenses are charged to the credit card!
Finally, it is imperative to have a valid and active account for all the various types of insurance included with credit cards.
Conclusion
A common question is whether it pays to keep a credit card with an annual fee after getting the welcome bonus.
When you put numbers to the benefits offered, you quickly realize that paying the annual fee for a card can be considered a bargain!
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