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Chase Sapphire travel insurance is offered to Chase Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred cardholders on a complimentary basis. These trip insurance protections can offer coverage for unfortunate instances like if your trip is delayed, you accidentally crash your rental car, an airline loses your luggage, or you get seriously injured during your travels.
To get travel protection from your Chase Sapphire credit card, you must pay for part of your trip with either your Chase credit card or with Chase Ultimate Rewards® points that you earned from the card. Just having the card in your wallet isn’t enough to be eligible for this coverage.
▶︎ See our detailed comparison: Chase Sapphire Reserve vs Sapphire Preferred
Various Chase credit cards offer a handful of travel insurance perks, but the best protection comes from the Chase Sapphire Preferred® and the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. These cards offer high-limit coverage for trip cancellation/interruption, trip delays, baggage delays, car rentals, and more.
Here’s how their coverage stacks up:
| Type of coverage | Chase Sapphire Reserve® | Chase Sapphire Preferred® |
|---|---|---|
| Trip cancellation/interruption | Up to $20,000 per eligible trip | Up to $20,000 per eligible trip |
| Trip delay reimbursement | Up to $500 after at least 6 hours | Up to $500 after at least 12 hours |
| Baggage delay reimbursement | Up to $100 per day | Up to $100 per day |
| Lost luggage reimbursement | Up to $3,000 per person | Up to $3,000 per person |
| Primary car rental coverage | Applies to collision damage or theft, worth up to $75,000 | Applies to collision damage or theft, worth up to the cash value of most cars |
| Emergency medical/dental | Up to $2,500 in coverage, $50 deductible. | N/A |
| Emergency evacuation | Up to $100,000 | N/A |
| Travel accident insurance | Up to $1 million when traveling on a common carrier, up to $100,000 for 24-hour coverage | Up to $500,000 when traveling on a common carrier, up to $100,000 for 24-hour coverage |
We’ll explain these benefits more as you keep reading.
Trip cancellation coverage comes into play when your trip must be canceled for reasons beyond your control, such as being called to jury duty or your hotel or resort becoming uninhabitable due to a natural disaster before you arrive. This coverage can help you get reimbursed for pre-paid travel expenses you booked ahead of time, such as airfare, your hotel stay, and tours you already paid for.
Trip interruption coverage kicks in when your trip must be cut short due to a covered reason, such as a travel warning due to terrorism being issued in your destination or a terrorist incident happening within 25 miles of one of the destinations or airports on your itinerary.
Note that you’ll get reimbursed for pre-paid travel expenses you covered ahead of time whether you paid for your trip with your credit card or Chase Ultimate Rewards® points. In fact, Chase says in its fine print that rewards points redeemed for travel “will be reimbursed in an amount equal to their monetary value.”
Both the Chase Sapphire Preferred® and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® come with trip cancellation and interruption benefits worth up to $10,000 per covered person and up to $20,000 per eligible trip.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® also come with trip delay reimbursement worth up to $500 per ticket. This kind of coverage can be useful when your trip is delayed by a common carrier for a specific length of time, and you’re forced to pay for lodging or additional means.
That said, Sapphire Reserve coverage kicks in sooner than travel delay insurance from the Sapphire Preferred (as seen below).
Baggage delay reimbursement can help pay for travel-related incidental expenses that occur when your bags don’t show up at your destination when you do.
For example, this coverage can pay for:
Both Chase Sapphire cards offer up to $100 per day in baggage delay reimbursement for a maximum of five days. Baggage must also be delayed for at least six hours on a covered trip before coverage applies.
If your luggage is lost or significantly damaged by the common carrier, you can recoup some of those losses with your Chase Sapphire card. Both cards have a coverage maximum of $3,000 per covered person per trip. Within that, there’s a limit of $500 for jewelry and watches and another $500 limit for electronics, including cameras.
The amount of coverage you qualify for is determined by the actual cash value of your lost belongings.
Both Chase Sapphire cards also offer primary car insurance coverage that lets you skip paying for protection at the rental car counter and use this coverage instead. However, not all cars qualify, and not all destinations let you use this insurance. Chase says you’ll want to contact your program administrator to see if the type of car you plan to rent qualifies.
Also note that rental periods of up to 31 days can be covered, whereas car rental periods lasting longer than 31 days are not.
Coverage typically excludes antique cars (cars over 20 years old or that have not been manufactured for ten 10 years or more), cargo vans, vehicles with open cargo beds, motorcycles, mopeds and motorbikes, limousines, recreational vehicles for off-road exploration, and passenger vans with seating for more than nine people (including the driver).
Coverage from each card varies in this category as well:
When it comes to emergency medical and dental benefits, only the Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers this coverage and it’s still very limited.
This medical insurance also applies to very specific situations, including the following:
Chase medical coverage is only worth up to $2,500 for emergency medical expenses, subject to a $50 deductible. However, Chase says you can be eligible for up to $75 per day (maximum of five days) in coverage for hotel charges if your physician determines you should recover in a hotel immediately after treatment.
Note that this benefit applies to cardholders who pay for all or part of their round-trip travel expenses with their card or Chase Ultimate Rewards® points. Immediate family members can also qualify for coverage if they are a spouse or domestic partner or a legally dependent child under the age of 19 (or under the age of 26 if they’re enrolled in a college or university).
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is also the only Chase credit card that comes with emergency evacuation and transportation coverage.
This protection is worth up to $100,000, and it pays for eligible transportation expenses, medical services, and medical supplies that are necessary during evacuation.
Note that emergency evacuation is only covered when it is recommended by an attending physician, required by standard regulations of the company transporting you, and approved in advance by the benefit administrator. If you are hospitalized for more than eight days, this coverage can also pay to have a friend or relative transported to your bedside in some cases.
Both Chase Sapphire cards also offer travel accident insurance that pays a beneficiary for loss of life. Coverage can also apply to accidental dismemberment or to loss of hearing, sight, or speech.
As seen below, coverage varies between the two cards.
Also note that certain accidental dismemberments and some losses of hearing, sight, or speech qualify for lower amounts of coverage depending on the loss in question. For example, the loss of a thumb and index finger of the same hand only qualifies for 25% of the maximum benefit amount, whereas the loss of one hand, loss of one foot, loss of sight in one eye, loss of speech and loss of hearing only qualify for 50% of the maximum benefit amount.
While Chase travel insurance benefits work well in a broad range of scenarios, there are situations where a standalone policy can leave you better off.
For example, having just $2,500 in emergency medical and dental coverage from the Sapphire Reserve is going to be insufficient for anyone traveling to a country where their health insurance doesn’t apply. Additionally, trip cancellation and trip interruption benefits may not be enough for expensive trips that cost more than limits can reimburse for.
If you feel like credit card travel insurance could leave you vulnerable to losses, you can purchase affordable travel insurance from a broad range of issuers. Doing so can ensure you have the medical coverage you need when you need it, and that you’ll get protection for all your nonrefundable travel expenses after sign-up. If you have a pre-existing condition, you’ll also want to make sure your plan offers a pre-existing conditions waiver and that you meet the conditions to qualify. Additionally, contemplating travel insurance tailored to the specifics of your trip, such as cruise insurance, is a prudent consideration.
The exact steps you’ll take to file a credit card travel insurance claim with Chase vary based on whether you have the Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, or another Chase credit card.
You may also need to take different steps based on the type of coverage you are filing a claim for.
Either way, here’s a rundown of the basic steps you’ll need to take to file a Chase travel coverage claim.
Chase Sapphire Preferred travel insurance and Chase Sapphire Reserve travel insurance can come in handy if you end up needing coverage while you’re out exploring the world.
Although the benefits they provide may not be as comprehensive as some standalone travel insurance plans, they’re included with your Chase Sapphire card membership (so it won’t cost you anything extra) and can help to give you added peace of mind when traveling.
The protections provided by Chase Sapphire travel insurance are just some of the perks that come with the Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve cards.
COMPARE CARDS
Credit card travel insurance can be worth it, but you’ll want to read over your specific policy details to see which coverage applies. You may also want to compare Chase travel insurance with a standalone policy side-by-side before relying on coverage from a credit card.
Many Chase credit cards products offer trip cancellation and interruption insurance, including the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, Chase Freedom Flex, Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, Chase Sapphire Preferred® and Chase Sapphire Reserve®. However, limits on this coverage vary by card.
To activate Chase travel insurance, you’ll apply for a new credit card that offers it. From there, coverage is complimentary after account opening when you use your card or Chase Ultimate Rewards® points (or a combination of the two) to pay for travel with a common carrier.
Some Chase travel insurance coverages can apply to a family member traveling with the primary card member. Make sure to read over your specific card benefit details so you know for sure.
If you cancel a trip that was paid for with Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, you may get your points back depending on the reason for the cancellation and the policies of your airline, hotel or other travel vendor. With Chase trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance specifically, Chase says you may be reimbursed for the cash value of your Ultimate Rewards points instead.
Holly D. Johnson is an award-winning personal finance writer who covers topics like insurance, investing, credit and family finance. As a leading voice in the travel and loyalty space, Johnson has traveled with her family to more than 50 countries over the last decade.
The author has also written extensively on the power of household budgeting, and she even co-authored a book on the topic. Zero Down Your Debt: Reclaim Your Income and Build a Life You’ll Love was originally published in 2017, and it teaches families how to use zero-sum budgeting to reach their financial goals. She is also the co-owner and founder of the family finance and travel website, ClubThrifty.com.
Johnson’s 10+ years of writing have focused on helping families make important financial decisions at each stage of their lives. The author also applies the financial principles she teaches to her own life, and she is currently on track to retire in her late 40’s with her partner. She currently lives in Central Indiana with her husband and children, and she is a regular contributor for Bankrate, CNN, Forbes, U.S. News and World Report Travel and many other notable publications.
* Opinions expressed here are those of the LA Times Compare Cards Team and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser or entities included within this content. See our editorial policy for more details.
All products or services are presented in this content without warranty. The information, including card details such as rates and fees, is accurate at the time of publish. Please visit each bank's website directly for the most current information.
