(Translation for Beste Kredittkort Med Reiseforsikring: Best Credit Card with Travel Insurance)

Travel insurance is coverage for when something goes wrong while on holiday or a business trip.

As an avid traveler, there’s always the potential for extensive and expensive issues while on the trip, whether lost baggage, an injury or incident, issues with the rental car, or delayed or possibly canceled flights, all inconveniences that can be common when on an excursion.

Travel coverage offers financial compensation for these instances beyond an individual’s control. Some credit cards offer travel insurance with their benefits. Whether you rely solely on the card’s benefits depends on your situation and travel circumstances.

Separate coverage apart from the credit card is available with the premiums often being relatively small when considering the overall cost of the holiday.

When supplementing the credit card travel insurance with a third-party plan, the coverage can provide added reimbursement for unexpected occurrences that can disrupt a trip.

The Fundamentals of Credit Card Travel Protection 

Some credit cards offer little in the way of travel protection. Many of the premium rewards cards specifically for travel will offer added protections. Please click here to learn about the different options. Some coverage that you might see with these high-value cards include the following:

• Travel accident/emergency evacuation coverage
• Trip delay compensation
• Cancellation/interruption coverage
• Baggage delay compensation

The best credit card with travel protection for you will depend on your particular needs and preferences. Each person varies in their idea of what would constitute the most valuable perks and benefits.

If you have a travel card, you must review the benefits guide to find details on what your protections are and what you should expect when you invest in a holiday with that card. With some cards, you need to enroll, most require a claim process with no guarantee regarding compensation.

When Should You Purchase Travel Insurance

Despite having a credit card that may offer travel protection, you might still prefer to buy travel insurance depending on the trip. Here are situations where a supplement to your credit card coverage could be beneficial. Go here for details on the differences between credit card travel protection and travel insurance.

Travel protection is limited

With some travel credit cards, the protections offered are limited despite booking the excursion with the card.

For those with a card that offers little to no coverage, buying a separate policy or searching for a premium travel rewards card that offers more extensive protection would be wise. That’s particularly true if you travel a lot.

Another consideration is your travel companions. A card could offer coverage for you or those in your family but that doesn’t mean everyone travelling with you will benefit. This coverage will likely not extend to close friends, distant relatives, or business associates.

Specific activities could be excluded

Many people take a holiday to enjoy activities they don’t get to do in the typical day-at-the-beach landscape. While away on an excursion, you might feel invigorated to try parasailing, skydiving, or another adventure that takes you outside your comfort zone.

If you plan to take part in activities that many insurance plans will exclude, you may consider a separate travel insurance option to include risky activities. Some adventure associations for certain activities offer insurance coverage if you know you’ll be participating in these sports.

Preexisting conditions could be an issue

If a preexisting condition suddenly flares when you’re to leave for a trip, causing you to either delay or cancel the travel arrangements, many credit card protections exclude preexisting conditions as a cause for compensation under cancel/interruption benefits.

In this case, buying a supplement to your credit card protection is wise. Because you’ll need to consider preexisting conditions, it’s vital to follow the “exclusion waiver conditions” for the provider carefully so you can take advantage of the cancellation and interruption coverage.

Evacuation coverage (nonmedical)

You should buy travel insurance that provides (nonmedical) evacuation coverage regardless of whether your credit card offers evacuation insurance. Evacuation benefits may not cover every scenario depending on the specific circumstances.

If you booked for an area with a travel warning and find yourself stranded without access to the location, this will likely be a non-covered claim.

When Credit Card Travel Protections Are Sufficient

Many of the above-noted situations are few and far between. If you travel a lot and have a premium rewards card, the protections are usually sufficient for many of your trips.

It’s important to have other insurances, like personal health insurance, to take care of serious situations that might arise. In the following circumstances you can readily depend on credit card coverage rather than buying an independent travel policy, particularly if any or most of these apply to your next holiday.

• You avoid high-octane sports activities or risky adventures.
• If you need to leave the area, you have transferrable points or flight miles available to return home.
• If you run into unexpected expenses, you can access emergency funds.
• When planning or booking for a holiday, you tend to wait until the last minute and often change the arrangements.
• With credit card protection you can plan a refundable travel getaway and cancel with minimal or no charge.
• You have a “medical” evacuation benefit on your credit card.
• Your credit card offers travel insurance allowing you to make travel arrangements with coverage provided if you run into a problem.
• Health insurance is part of your personal benefits allowing coverage of any serious health concerns while away even if the facility or procedure is not within your network benefits.

Unless there are extenuating circumstances, credit card travel protections are usually enough combined with personal health insurance to ensure you’re covered for most situations.

The primary scenarios people tend to deal with when traveling that might warrant a claim from the credit card protection would be baggage delay, trip delay, interruption or cancelation, travel accidents, or medical evacuations.

Baggage delay/lost baggage compensation

Regardless of your mode of transportation, whether bus, plane, train, you could receive reimbursement through your credit card carrier if your baggage is delayed or lost through the card’s travel protection. The lost baggage compensation covers you or your immediate relatives for the loss or damage of your baggage by the carrier.

With baggage delay compensation, select items, including toiletries or clothing items, are compensated when the baggage is late on arrival by a significant time.

Trip Delay/Cancellation/interruption

When a flight is delayed, it could result in you needing to hurriedly change plans already set up or rearrange scheduled arrangements, including booking lodging. The unexpected costs can be considerable,

With travel coverage, the carrier will usually provide compensation for accommodations and meals to a specific amount based on the “common carrier ticket” and the duration of the delay.

Many reasons can account for interrupting or canceling a trip. Some cards will supply reimbursement based on covered circumstances like severe weather or illness.

Emergency evacuation (medical)

A few cards will offer emergency evacuation insurance. In these circumstances, you or an immediate family member would require an emergency evacuation due to being injured or becoming ill while on holiday. The carrier may cover eligible transport and medical services.

Credit card coverage would be considered secondary to another valid carrier including personal health insurance.

Travel Accident Insurance

It’s always better to be prepared if the worst were to occur while on holiday. If you or an immediate relative were to have an accident or get hurt, you can incur unexpected costs.

When buying the holiday with the travel rewards card that has travel accident coverage, you could be reimbursed for certain situations, including “loss of sight, speech, or hearing, accidental death or dismemberment” while on a covered holiday or the transport, whether a cruise, bus, plane, or train.

Final Thought

When booking a holiday with a travel rewards card, you might be concerned if you should buy more travel insurance to supplement the card coverage.

When reading the benefits guide with your card, you can decide if the level of coverage fits the sort of traveling you do or the activities you enjoy while on holiday. Another way to look at it is if the card doesn’t cover something serious, are you prepared to pay out of pocket along with your personal health benefits.

Whether you stick with your credit card coverage or feel a layer of extra protection in additionally buying an independent plan will be a matter of personal preference and meeting specific needs.