To the point
Are you going on a trip for more than 25 days? Instead of buying insurance, extend your Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card emergency travel medical insurance and save.
Milesopedia recommends this card from Scotiabank
Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card
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Up to 40,000 Points Ends Jul 1, 2024
The Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card comes with a host of benefits for frequent travelers: six free airport VIP lounges, no conversion fees on foreign currency transactions, and plenty of travel insurance.
Here are all the assurances offered by this card:
- Purchase Security and Extended Warranty
- Rental Car Collision/Loss Damage Insurance
- Lost luggage, delayed luggage and hotel/motel burglary insurance
- Trip cancellation or interruption insurance
- Flight Delay Insurance
- Common Carrier Travel Accident Insurance
- Travel Emergency Medical Insurance
To learn all about your card’s insurance, visit this page and find the certificate of insurance and product summary under the Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card name.
Scotiabank Visa Infinite Passport - Travel Emergency Medical Insurance Extension
Cardholders under the age of 65 receive Travel Emergency Medical Insurance coverage for the first 25 consecutive days of a trip. For those aged 65 and over, the period is reduced to the first 3 consecutive days.
Will your trip be longer than 25 days? you can extend your medical insurance with Manulife, the insurance provider. If you meet the conditions, you can take advantage of the insurance for the entire duration of your trip, and only have to pay for the number of days in excess of the 25-day period.
I always use this extension option for my trips over 25 days. Rather than purchasing insurance for the entire trip, I just pay for the days beyond the coverage period.
In early 2023, I took a two-month trip to Colombia; I spent 63 days outside of Canada. Since my Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card offered coverage for the first 25 days, I extended it with Manulife.
The same scenario occurred during my trip to Ecuador, which lasted 36 days; I was able to extend my insurance and only pay for the 11 days in excess.
Extend your travel insurance - Tutorial
Here are the steps to follow to extend the medical coverage of your Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card:
The first step is to visit the Coverme.com website. Then select “Travel insurance” and click on “Get a quote”.
Secondly, it is essential to select “Canadians looking to top up an existing plan”, so that you only pay for days beyond the period already covered.
Then add “25”, which represents the duration of coverage under the current plan (i.e. Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card).
Then fill in the rest of the form with your personal information, including where you’ll be traveling (Canada, U.S. or International) and your departure and arrival dates. Once you have added this information, click on “Continue” to obtain the plan price for the days not included in the 25-day period.
Once you’ve selected the plan, you’ll be given the option of an Add-on. You will then be introduced to the eligibility criteria for the selected plan.
You will then be presented with a quote summary, where you will be asked to verify the accuracy of the information you have provided. Once verified, proceed to the payment page.
You can use the credit card of your choice to pay, it doesn’t have to be the Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card. Once the payment has been made, you will be taken to the confirmation page, and an e-mail will be sent to you allowing you to access your insurance contract.
Extending your travel insurance - Savings and alternatives
Is extended medical coverage worth it for Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Cardholders? The short answer is: yes and no, depending on your personal situation and your trip.
For each trip of more than 25 days, I take the time to check the price offered by Manulife and then compare it with the prices of other insurers. For my last trip to Ecuador, I only needed to pay for 11 extra days, which made it much more economical to extend with Manulife.
However, for my 69-day trip to Brazil, I had to buy 44 extra days’ worth of travel insurance. After getting quotes from other insurers, I realized that the only company that offered me a better price for the entire duration of the trip was soNomad! A full 69 days of coverage cost me about $20 less than a 44-day extension with Manulife!
Bottom Line
The Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card offers excellent insurance for frequent travelers and digital nomads, with an option to extend emergency medical coverage that’s ideal for long-stay enthusiasts. Combined with the absence of conversion fees for my long stays abroad, and the six free airport lounge accesses, the Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card brings enough benefits for me to keep it in my wallet year after year.
However, it’s worth checking whether soNomad offers a better price.
As with any insurance, it is important to check your eligibility for each category when planning and booking your trip (accommodation, flights, car rental, transportation, etc.). Charging these purchases to the correct credit card will ensure that you are covered. If something goes wrong, it will make all the difference.
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