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Trip Cancellation Insurance and Trip Interruption Insurance are two types of coverage that credit cards sometimes offer.
With these coverages, you could be reimbursed for all expenses that are normally non-refundable, should your trip be:
Trip cancellation insurance can be triggered under certain conditions:
Trip Interruption Insurance may be triggered under certain conditions:
The trip cancellation/interruption insurance offered by credit cards protects:
As a general rule, insurance may apply to the principal holder, their spouse and their dependent child or children.
To be covered by your credit card ‘s Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance, you must have paid in full for the trip with your credit card ((except for certain cards such as the National Bank’s World Elite Mastercard®, which requires partial payment, or the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card, which requires 75% of the cost of the trip to be charged to the card).
The trip cancellation/interruption insurance offered by credit cards WILL COVER:
Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance offered by credit cards WILL NOT COVER:
Finally, some credit cards do not cover specific countries or even certain regions of a country.
In order to know if the country in which the rented vehicle will travel is covered, it is up to you to:
The coverage provided by your credit card will depend on the date of cancellation/interruption of your trip and the expenses incurred as a result of this trip.
For trip cancellation insurance, you could:
For trip interruption insurance, you may:
Compensation will vary depending on credit cards
Need to cancel your trip? Or do you have to interrupt your trip en route?
You will need to contact your credit card insurance company as soon as possible to make a claim. Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance covers you for all non-refundable parts of your trip up to a certain limit.
If you cancel your trip well in advance, there is a good chance that many parts can be reimbursed directly without using the insurance (e.g. hotel or car rental that can be cancelled without charge). And you’d have a better chance of getting your airfare refunded without going over the maximum limit.
Make sure you have all supporting documents on hand:
Not all credit cards are equal when it comes to trip cancellation/interruption insurance.
As a general rule, credit cards offering trip cancellation/interruption insurance will differ in 3 aspects:
Here are 5 credit cards that we recommend for trip cancellation/interruption insurance, based on different income levels:
National Bank’s World Elite Mastercard® offers a number of attractive travel and purchase insurances, which we have detailed here.
Its special feature is to be valid, even if only part of the trip has been taken to account. What’s more, its reimbursements are particularly generous: up to $5,000 per insured person.
The BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard is one of those rare credit cards that allows partial payment to be covered. It’s practical for those who pay for a trip partly in cash and partly in points!
In addition, it offers excellent coverage for trip cancellation/interruption insurance:
The Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite +* Card charges no conversion fees for foreign currency transactions. So you can charge your travel purchases such as car rental, airfare abroad without paying the 2.5% fees charged by most credit cards!
Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite +* Card requires an individual income of $60,000 or a family income of $100,000.
The BMO Ascend™ World Elite®* AIR MILES Mastercard is one of the only credit cards to offer partial payment coverage.
The Scotiabank American Express Gold card also does not charge conversion fees for foreign currency transactions. So you can charge your travel purchases such as car rentals and airline tickets abroad without paying the 2.5% fee charged by most credit cards!
The Scotiabank American Express Gold card only requires an annual income of $12,000.
Remember, it’s your responsibility to read your credit card’s certificate of insurance carefully. Some details may change over time.
By simply choosing the right credit card to book, you could avoid losing money on your travel budget in the event of cancellation or interruption.
If the above credit cards don’t suit you, there is another option. soNomad offers affordable cancellation and interruption insurance.
Savings this way:
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