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Whether you’re headed on vacation or traveling for business, the unexpected can happen, and this is where travel insurance comes into play. Travel insurance can provide the reassurance of reimbursement if you experience an unforeseen event, such as losing your luggage or your trip being delayed.
While you can purchase travel insurance, it is also often included as a perk of travel credit cards. The Platinum Card® from American Express is considered one of the leading travel credit cards and it offers some excellent benefits, which we’ll explore in more detail.
Amex Platinum Travel Insurance: What’s Covered?
To determine if The Platinum Card® from American Express is the right fit for your travel needs, it's essential to take a closer look at its travel insurance policy and understand the benefits.
Let’s dive into the details of the Amex Platinum travel insurance policy to see exactly what it covers.
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Baggage
The Amex Platinum card offers a baggage insurance plan that provides reimbursement for lost bags. To activate your coverage, you just need to pay for common carrier fares using your card or your Membership Rewards points.
Unfortunately, this plan does not provide coverage for delayed baggage, as you can get with some other travel credit cards.
The coverage limits for this policy include:
- Up to $2,000 per person, per trip for checked bags
- Up to $3,000 per person, per trip for carry on bags
- Up to $1,000 per person, per trip for specialty, high risk items such as sporting equipment, jewelry, wearable technology, computers, electronics or photographic equipment.
- Up to $3,000 per person, per single trip as a combined limit for all baggage including high risk items.
Your checked bags are only covered while you’re traveling on a common carry, but your carry on bags have additional coverage while you’re traveling to and from, and while waiting at the carrier terminal.
As with all insurances, there are some exclusions you need to be aware of. This includes that the Platinum card coverage is secondary to any other airline reimbursement or insurance.
Additionally, coverage is only available for the cardholder, cardholder’s spouse or domestic partner and dependent children under the age of 23. The only exception to this is dependent children aged over 23 who have a disability and rely on their parents for lifetime care and supervision.
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Trip Delay
If your trip is delayed due to a covered event, this insurance will provide reimbursement for any necessary purchases. When you’ve paid for your common carrier trip with your Amex platinum card in full, this coverage is automatically available.
The trip delay insurance provides up to $500 per covered trip,with a cap of two claims permitted within any 12 month period. The coverage only kicks in if your trip is delayed for more than six hours.
It provides financial reassurance of reimbursement for necessary incidentals including food, medications, toiletries, personal use items and even lodging.
The circumstances where you would be covered include:
- Inclement weather, which prevents reasonable, prudent people from traveling or continuing a trip.
- Lost or stolen passports or other travel documents.
- Common carrier equipment failure, but this would need to be documented by the common carrier.
- Terrorist activity or hijacking.
There is no coverage for covered losses made public or known to the traveler before departure, loss due to intentional acts made by the traveler, expenses paid prior to the trip or expenses that are not authorized by the traveler’s employer if the purchases were made with a commercial card.
Additionally, claims must be filed within 60 days of the trip delay with written proof of loss provided within 180 days to support your claim.
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Trip Cancellation/Interruption
The Amex Platinum also offers trip cancellation and interruption insurance. If you pay for your round trip fares entirely using your Platinum card, the coverage will kick in if a covered reason causes your trip to be cancelled or interrupted.
This provides up to $10,000 per trip in coverage with a limit of $20,000 per eligible card in any 12 month period.
The list of covered reasons include:
- Physician imposed quarantine
- Inclement weather
- Jury duty
- Terrorist activity
However, there are some exceptions to the coverage. The following circumstances are not covered by this insurance:
- Pre existing conditions
- Self inflicted injuries
- Intoxication
- Dangerous activities
- Incarceration
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Rental Car Coverage
You can also enjoy secondary rental car coverage. This will kick in after any other claims such as those made using your personal insurance have already been paid. The coverage is available if you pay for the entire car rental cost with your Platinum card and you decline the rental car company counter insurance.
This insurance provides:
- Up to $75,000 of coverage for damage to or theft of a rental vehicle, but liability is not included.
- Up to $1,000 per person for personal property lost during the incident with a cap of $2,000 per claim.
- Up to $5,000 for accidental injury.
- Up to $300,000 for accidental dismemberment or death, with the rates determined by the severity of the injuries.
The main exceptions to this coverage is that while it is valid worldwide, there are some exceptions. In a number of countries and territories, you will not be able to access this insurance. This includes New Zealand, Australia and Italy.
Additionally, the coverage is not available for all vehicles. Exceptions include motorcycles, cargo vans, custom vans, off road vehicles and vehicles with a weight of 10,000 or more.
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Premium Global Assist
While this is not strictly an insurance coverage, it does offer some emergency benefits. If you’re more than 100 miles away from home, you can access this 24/7 hotline for help in a variety of situations. This can include something as simple as finding translation services to helping you to get a new passport or arranging for an emergency medical evacuation.
The phone service itself is free, but the services you use may not necessarily be covered by American Express, so you may not be able to get free of charge services or reimbursement for your expenses.
However, there are some exceptions, which can be very helpful in a travel emergency. For example, repatriation of mortal remains, emergency medical evacuations or aid for a child under the age of 16, who is left without care. In these circumstances, American Express will provide services at no additional cost.
These services are available for cardholders, their spouse or domestic partner and dependent children under the age of 23, or 26 in the case of dependent children in full time education, who are traveling on the same trip.
What’s Not Included?
It is important to note that while the Amex Platinum has a comprehensive variety of card benefits, there are some gaps in the insurance coverage offered. These include:
- Baggage Delay: While you do have coverage for lost or stolen bags, there is none for situations where your bags are delayed. If your checked bags are delayed by your carrier, you’re likely to have to purchase some essential items while you’re waiting to be reunited, but you’ll get no reimbursement for this.
- Short Term Medical: Although the Global Assist team can help you with an emergency evacuation, if you have a minor medical issue, you may end up footing your hospital or doctor’s bills. So, something minor such as cutting your foot on debris on the beach, could lead to a costly bill.
- Accidental Death: The Amex Platinum card also does not provide coverage for accidental death. Again, the Global Assist team can help you to repatriate remains, but there is no financial protection in place should you, your spouse or child be fatally injured while you’re away from home.
How To File A Claim With Amex Platinum Travel Insurance
As with any type of insurance, you’ll need to contact your provider using the appropriate helpline if you need to make a claim.
- Trip Delay Insurance: 844-933-0648
- Baggage Insurance: 800-228-6855
- Rental Car Insurance: 800-338-1670
You will also need to take note of the timeframe to make a claim. Obviously, you should file your claim as soon as possible, but claims for baggage or rental car insurance need to be filed within 30 days, or within 60 days for trip delay insurance.
The Amex representative can guide you through the claims form and take all the pertinent details for your claim.
You will also need to provide supporting documentation. This includes:
- Proof of your loss
- Copies of your common carrier ticket
- Copies of your credit card statement which shows the expenses
- Copy of the travel supplies cancellation policy
- Other supporting documents that are requested by your claims administrator.
As with standard car insurance, if you need to file a claim for damage to your rental car, it is a good idea to take photographs to support your claim.
Amex Platinum vs Capital One Venture X Travel Travel Insurance: What’s the Difference?
There are some differences between the Capital One Venture X card travel insurance features compared to the Amex Platinum card policy:
- Trip Cancellation/Interruption: The Capital One Venture X card also provides trip cancellation/interruption insurance for up to $2,000 per person (cardholder, spouse and dependent children) to cover the cost of non refundable common carrier tickets.
- Lost Luggage: If your luggage is lost as you’re traveling, you’ll have up to $3,000 per trip to cover reimbursement for your luggage if you paid for your ticket with your card.
- Travel Accident Insurance: The Venture X card includes automatic travel accident insurance for worldwide common carriers. It offers up to $1 million in coverage for accidental loss of life or injuries, such as the loss of a limb, hearing, speech, or sight, while you're a passenger on, entering, or exiting any licensed common carrier—provided the fare was paid with your card.
Chase Sapphire Reserve vs Amex Platinum Travel Insurance: What’s the Difference?
If you're in the market for a credit card with travel insurance benefits, the Platinum Card from American Express and Chase Sapphire Reserve are two popular options worth considering.
While both cards offer trip cancellation/interruption coverage with a cap of $10,000 per person and $20,000 per claim, Amex offers trip delay coverage with up to $500 per trip. Both coverages kicks in after six hours.
Amex also provides coverage for lost, damaged or stolen bags, but there is no baggage delay coverage. Both cards offer similar rental car coverage, but the Amex coverage is secondary, while the Reserve card offers primary insurance.
One notable difference is that while the Amex has a global assist helpline, it does not have a formal travel accident insurance policy like the Sapphire Reserve.
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FAQs
Which Amex cards offer travel insurance?
All Amex cards offer some form of travel insurance, but the products and coverage levels vary according to your specific card. For example, Blue Cash cards have rental car coverage, but more premium cards such as the The Platinum card offer a greater selection of insurance protections.
Does Amex platinum include trip cancellation?
Yes, you’ll have trip cancellation coverage of up to $10,000 per trip if your travel plans are cancelled for a covered reason.
Does Amex platinum include travel health insurance?
There is no official travel health insurance, but you can access emergency medical assistance via the Global Assist helpline. However, with some exceptions, you’ll be responsible for covering the cost of any services provided.
- Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.
