Insurance: Credit card travel insurance
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Credit card travel insurance
It all starts when you prepare for your trip: the right card for the right expense. You might be tempted to pay for everything with the same card, just to make sure you’re covered… Think again.
Indeed, you need to be used to reading the fine print in credit card insurance contracts to know which card to use to pay which expense. Especially when you use miles or points to pay for your trip.
Insuring your airline ticket booked with Aeroplan points
The best way to insure a trip paid with Aeroplan points is to book it with an Aeroplan credit card that offers travel insurance.
Indeed, other “non-Aeroplan” credit cards generally require that the entire airline ticket be paid with the credit card. This assumes that points have not been used.
In my case, when I booked my airline tickets, I had three credit cards affiliated with the Aeroplan program in my wallet:
- The American ExpressMD* AeroplanMD Prestige Card
- The TDMD AeroplanMD Visa Infinite* Card
- as well as the American ExpressMD* AeroplanMD Card
Usually, I pay my Aeroplan expenses with the American ExpressMD* AeroplanMD Prestige Card. It provides $1,000 coverage for flight and baggage delays.
However, this time, I opted for the TDMD AeroplanMD Visa Infinite* Card. It offers $500 for flight delays and $1,000 per person for baggage delays.
Why did I choose this card? Perhaps tempted by the extra rewards: by paying for my trip with this card (specifically, the Aeroplan taxes), I earned 1.5 Aeroplan points per dollar spent, whereas it would have been “only” 1.25 points with the Amex.
But above all, it’s an opportunity for me to put the insurance provided by TD Bank to the test. In fact, it recently became my main bank!
Insured transportation
Cards that offer travel insurance and are affiliated with the Aeroplan program provide coverage when travel expenses were paid with Aeroplan points.
Here is the rule for the TDMD AeroplanMD Visa Infinite* Card:
Expenses covered
TD Visa Infinite Aeroplan card insurance covers both baggage delay and flight delay.
In my case, my luggage was delivered late, but within 6 hours. So only flight delay insurance will apply, up to a limit of $500.
Insurance coverage conditions
In the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite card brochure, the conditions under which expenses are covered by the card’s insurance, provided by Allianz, are detailed.
My delay was a mixture of conditions 1 and 2. There was an equipment failure (frozen toilets) on the common carrier (Air Canada). This was caused by the aircraft being parked on the tarmac all night. Indeed, the weather conditions were violent, with temperatures below -20 degrees Celsius.
The claims procedure
In order to be compensated, you must record all covered expenses on the card and keep all receipts.
So, in my case, I used my TDMD AeroplanMD Visa Infinite* Card to pay for:
- Cabs from the airport to the hotel and back
- The hotel in San Francisco
- Living expenses.
It is then necessary to submit a claim online on the Allianz website.
Insuring your car rental
For the car rental, I chose another card: the BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard. It offers one of the best rental car insurance coverages.
What’s more, with all travel expenses such as car rentals, you earn 5 points per dollar spent. Enough to cover foreign exchange fees of 2.5%!
A discount is also granted thanks to contract number 3717122 (National Car Rental) or 7014883 (Alamo Rent A Car). Sometimes, this discount can be up to 25%.
