Credit Card Travel Insurance

[baggas]

I'm planning on taking my family on a RTW trip via Africa, UK and USA in July, probably on OneWorld airlines.

Was wondering if anyone had any thoughts/experience with the free credit card travel insurance? I have a Diners Card, AMEX platinum, and Citibank Gold Mastercard which all offer free insurance of some sort. Any ideas which would be the best of these and if it is safe just to use this free insurance rather than purchasing cover from an insurance company.

I will be hopefully buying the tickets in the next week or so so any answers would be appreciated so I know which card to purchase them with.

Regards,

Paul

[Evan]

A few thoughts....

- Amex you need to purchase tickets on your card (from memory of T&C's)
- ANZ you only have to PRE-PAY $250 of your accomodation or flights
- Seems at;east some cards T&C's stipulate that you must have set return dates for your trip and must be ticketed and not changed.

But otherwise sometimes they are really a cheap way of getting decent insurance.

E

[StevePER]

I just had a quick look through a few different policies. Here are some advantages and disadvantages of each that I could see. Double check this stuff for yourself though.

ANZ Gold

• Only have to spend $250 on prepaid travel arrangements.
• Covers frequent flyer points etc.
• Cover for rental vehicle excess.

Amex Platinum Credit Card

• Lower excess ($100 vs $200).
• Lower limits for valuable items.
• No rental vehicle excess cover.
• Lower threshold for travel inconvenience cover (4 hrs vs 6 hrs) and lost luggage cover (6 hrs vs 12 hrs).
• Must purchase entire fare or use Membership Rewards.
• "Relatives" only count if they are under 80 years of age.

Earth+ Card

• Must purchase entire fare or use Qantas points.
• Higher limits for valuables and rental vehicle excess.

Citibank Gold

• Must purchase entire fare, use Qantas points, or use Citibank Take Flight.
• No cover for travel inconvenience.
• No cover for rental vehicle excess.

I have chosen ANZ Gold for our next trip because it covers frequent flyer points and only requires a $250 spend. I would be very careful in choosing if you have children over 18 (some cover them, some don't). I think Amex is better than Citibank Gold, but I don't know about Diners.

Steve

[baggas]

Thanks for your help guys. Very useful. It looks like Amex is the best choice by far. Looking at Diners it doesn't look like they offer a true travel insurance but just inconvenience, and the amounts are better on Amex anyway.

Regarding the "relative" I will be travelling with my mother-in-law, who is under 80, as well as my wife and children. I can't see clearly on any of the Amex info if she will be covered under the policy.

Paul

[clifford]

Thanks for your help guys. Very useful. It looks like Amex is the best choice by far. Looking at Diners it doesn't look like they offer a true travel insurance but just inconvenience, and the amounts are better on Amex anyway.

Regarding the "relative" I will be travelling with my mother-in-law, who is under 80, as well as my wife and children. I can't see clearly on any of the Amex info if she will be covered under the policy.

Paul

Not sure how you reached that conclusion (unless you were going to put the whole cost on you Amex card anyway).

I can say thay I have made a couple of claims on my ANZ gold card insurance, and they paid up quite happily on both occasions. I have no experience with Amex insurance, even though I am a member.

But good luck anyway...

[baggas]

I reached that conclusion because of the 3 cards I have the Amex seems clearly the best, based on the replies here and my own reading of the various website. I don't have an ANZ Gold so that was never an option for me anyway and I do plan to pay the whole lot on one card or another so as to earn points on the ticket purchase. I think the conclusion is fairly straightforward.

Thanks,

Paul

[StevePER]

Regarding the "relative" I will be travelling with my mother-in-law, who is under 80, as well as my wife and children. I can't see clearly on any of the Amex info if she will be covered under the policy.

Their use of "relative" is talking about if a relative gets sick and you need to return home mid-holiday. The cover under the policy applies to "You" - You/Your means any person provided they are an American Express Platinum Credit Card member or their Spouse or Dependent Child. So your mother in law is not covered.

Steve

[Lonely Flyer]

I was updated to ANZ Platnium so what kind of cover can I expect.

I like the car hire excess cover and would never hire a car overseas without the the first 2 tiers of cover they charge. Last trip to USA had the windscreen damaged on a 13 day trip ($15 per day) so insurance charge was basically fully recovered. And this was only a minor thing and the convenience to fill in a report form and head straight to the plane. Priceless