Katie Genter is a digital nomad who has traveled full time since June 2017. She writes and edits stories about points and miles, and loyalty programs, often letting her personal experiences color these stories.
May 31, 2024 11 min read
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Some credit cards offer built-in travel insurance as a cardholder benefit. And it may be tempting to rely on credit card travel protections instead of buying travel insurance. But, the entire point of travel insurance is to be covered if something goes wrong. So, you may be wondering whether you should buy travel insurance even if your credit card offers travel protection.
There isn't one answer that fits every traveler or situation. So in this guide, we'll explore some aspects you should consider, and I'll discuss my take on this topic. Let's dive in so you can make an informed decision for yourself.
At a high level, you can pay a relatively small premium (compared to the total cost of your trip) to buy a travel insurance policy that may provide reimbursement or coverage for unexpected issues that affect your trip.
Many different types of protections fall under the term "travel insurance." Standard, comprehensive insurance policies typically include broad coverage across various potential issues.
But there are also policies that offer specific coverage. For example, it's possible to purchase travel insurance that only provides medical protection for international travel (such as GeoBlue). Likewise, you can also purchase policies that allow you to select the protections you need (such as the build-your-own option with American Express Travel Insurance).
We've previously compared the best travel insurance policies and providers. So, check out that guide to find the provider and policy that fits your needs best. You can also check a travel insurance aggregator to compare different policies quickly.
Most travel insurance policies exclude any loss incurred due to a preexisting medical condition. However, many policies include a process to obtain a waiver of the preexisting condition exclusion if you meet specific requirements. These requirements typically include purchasing the policy shortly after the first nonrefundable trip payment or deposit and being medically able to travel when you buy the policy. Some companies also require you to insure your trip's full, prepaid, nonrefundable cost to be eligible.
Likewise, all travel insurance policies have several exclusions. For example, most plans exclude medical benefits for injuries during adventure activities such as skydiving or skiing outside maintained trails.
Daily Newsletter Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG’s expertsSome cards don't provide any special travel protections. But, many of the best travel rewards cards offer travel protections. Here's a look at our guides about some of the most common credit card travel protections:
Check out our guide to the best cards that offer travel protections for more details on what card might be best for you. I also recommend reading the guide to benefits for your specific cards, as these documents will detail exactly what protections you can expect when you purchase travel with your card.
Note that some benefits require you to enroll — and virtually all require a formal claim process, with no reimbursement guarantee.
Even if you have a credit card that offers travel protection, you may still want to purchase travel insurance for some trips. Here are some scenarios and trips for which it may make sense to purchase travel insurance.
As discussed above, not all travel credit cards provide extensive travel protections when you book travel using the card. So, if you're using a card without travel protections or a card that only offers limited travel protections, you may want to purchase travel insurance.
Just because a card offers travel protections doesn't mean everyone traveling with you will be covered. In particular, travel protections usually only extend to select relatives of the cardholder. Your credit card's travel insurance may not cover friends, employees and all relatives.
If you plan to partake in an activity that most insurance policies exclude, you may want to purchase a travel insurance policy that explicitly includes your activity of choice.
For example, many policies exclude adventure sports like base jumping, sky diving, free soloing, diving, mountaineering and paragliding. You may want to consider purchasing insurance from an association involved in your adventure activity, such as Divers Alert Network (DAN) if you're a diver or German Alpine Group (DAV) if you partake in alpine sports.
Most credit card trip interruption and cancellation insurance benefits exclude cancellations or interruptions caused by a sudden recurrence of a preexisting condition. So, you'll want to purchase travel insurance — and ensure you satisfy the provider's preexisting condition exclusion waiver conditions — if you want trip cancellation and interruption insurance that covers preexisting conditions.
If you want evacuation insurance for nonmedical reasons, you should purchase travel insurance that offers this coverage even if you have a credit card with evacuation insurance.
Read the benefits guide closely, as evacuation benefits may not cover every evacuation you might need. For example, some policies don't cover evacuation from an area with a travel warning when you booked your trip or evacuation from a place suddenly inaccessible due to a landslide or other environmental incident.
Suppose you are uncertain whether you'll be able to take your trip, and you're worried that applicable credit card trip protections won't reimburse you if you decide to cancel or interrupt for a reason that isn't covered. In that case, you may want to purchase cancel for any reason trip insurance.
Some travelers prefer to buy travel insurance — for each trip or via an annual travel insurance plan — for the peace of mind that having a travel insurance policy brings. Especially given the issues travelers have faced with a specific credit card insurance provider, it may be worth buying a travel insurance plan if you don't feel confident your credit card travel insurance and individual health insurance will combine to provide enough coverage during your trip.
Suppose you don't fall into any of the categories above and use one of the best credit cards with travel insurance when making travel purchases. In that case, you may determine that credit card protections are enough for some (or all) of your trips. However, I only recommend relying on credit card protections if you also have health insurance that will provide adequate coverage at your destination.
Below is a collection of reasons you can rely on credit card protections instead of purchasing independent travel insurance. If some (or most) of these reasons apply to your trip, it may be reasonable for you to rely on credit card protections instead of buying travel insurance:
The decision of whether to buy travel insurance is complex and personal. If you don't feel confident that your credit card protections and individual health insurance will provide adequate coverage, it's likely worth buying travel insurance.
After researching the best travel insurance policies and providers, I purchased travel insurance for one specific trip because I wanted political evacuation coverage.
But for most of my trips, credit card protections and individual health insurance provide enough coverage for me. After all, my travel usually looks like the following:
As you can see, the benefits of purchasing travel insurance would be minimal for most of my trips. The travel protections I use most are trip delay protection and baggage delay protection, both of which the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card provides when I use it to pay for my flights.
As you book trips, you may wonder whether you should purchase travel insurance. One way to decide is to consider whether you'd be adequately covered without purchasing travel insurance if the worst happens.
If you're willing and able to cover the costs in this situation — or you feel confident you'd be adequately covered by your credit card's travel protections and health insurance — then you may want to proceed without buying travel insurance. Otherwise, I recommend purchasing a travel insurance policy shortly after you make the initial payment for your trip.
Featured image by MASKOT/GETTY IMAGESEditorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
