I'm creating this thread to discuss some of the "free insurance" benefits offered when you charge items on (certain) credit cards...We Have existing threads on Dispute/Chargeback protection, and Best Value Guarantee (BVG) protection, so those should not be discussed here....
Some of the "free insurance" benefits provided by credit cards can include:
Lost Luggage Coverage Travel Accident Insurance Rental Car Collision Coverage Extended Warranty Lost Item Guarantee Return Protection
(This post will be updated with more info soon)
To get started, lets discuss: 1. Who has filed claims, for which type of coverage, and what successes/failures have you encountered? (specify which bank and card if possible) 2. Discussion of which cards offer the best benefits (be sure to mention the ISSUING BANK as well as the type of CC, and provide link if available)
To enter a coupon code in your post please enter the following info:
Coupon Code:
Coupon Offer:
Merchant:
Expires (optional):
Restrictions (optional):
saving...
RENTAL CAR INSURANCE: A very tricky coverage, as all CCs differ. Most provide SECONDARY coverage (you must first file a claim with your auto insurer). The coverage is only for damage to the rental car, NOT LIABILITY if you injure someone or damage someone elses car. The exception to "secondary CC coverage" is with the TRADITIONAL Diners Club card, and most BUSINESS Platinum Visa and Mastercards, where rental damage coverage is PRIMARY (no need to file claim with auto insurance). CARGO and MOVING VANS are never covered by CCs. Some SUVs are covered by Visa Mastercard and AMEX. Trucks are covered by AMEX Open Business cards ONLY on a secondary basis beginning Oct 1 2006. Check with your CC to confirm current coverages and do not rely on postings here which may be out of date or inapplicable to your card. some info about international car rental and CC coverage here
EXTENDED WARRANTY: Again, all CCs differ, but most tend to follow this basic formula dependent on card type: MASTERCARD will double manufacturers warranty on products with mfgr warranty of 1 year or less. NO extra coverage for items with mfgr warranty over 1 year. VISA will double warranty (up to 1 extra year) on items with mfgr warranty of 3 YEARS or less. VISA is the only major issuer to include factory reconditioned items as part of their double warranty. Visa also has a program to purchase an extended warranty plan, at a cost which is usually less than a store-bought extended warranty.
AMEX will double warranty (up to 1 extra year) on items with mfgr warranty of 5 YEARS or less. AMEX seems to have easiest claim process.
1. LOST LUGGAGE CLAIM - filed with MBNA ("Platinum Plus Visa". Payout: $1400
Many CC issuers provide (supplemental) lost luggage coverage up to $3000. As with most CC insurance protection, this coverage is SECONDARY, meaning you typically MUST file a claim with the airline, and the CC insurance will take over above and beyond what the airline pays. (I think the airlines' limitation of liability is $2500).
If you've ever filed a lost luggage claim with an airline, you may have encountered a situation where they try to exclude and depreciate/devalue many of your items. I had a large loss (over $3000) with one airline, but they calculated my reimbursement as $1600. I them filed a claim with MBNA and promptly received a $1400 insurance payout for the difference. They do require you send them a copy of your airline claim AND a copy of the payment received from the airline.
EDIT: MBNA is DROPPING luggage insurance on my CC as of 2/04, they just sent a change in terms. This was for their "Elite Rewards" card. Luckily my AT&T Universal Citi card now has it!
Keyboard stopped responding 11 months after purchase; mfr warranty = 90 days labor, 1 year parts. Called AMEX Assurance, received form by mail, returned form + warranty sheet + copy of statement (with charge circled) by mail; got my check in about a month. I gotta keep my broken keyboard.
I got one of those KOSS DVD players from Target, stupidly not realizing that it had only a 90 day warranty. Five months after I bought it, the DVD player started to malfunction frequently, freezing and stuttering on a lot of DVDs.
Luckily I was still within 180 days, so I called AMEX. It was very easy: I explained what was wrong over the phone, and then FAXed them a copy of the original warranty and the receipt. A week later I got a check for the full amount I paid, and I also got to keep the DVD player (which still works some of the time, though I usually have to turn it off and on a couple times).
Thanks for starting this thread, SIS.
Does anyone know if filing the claim with Visa's extended warranty program is as easy as AmEx's?
<< 1. Who has filed claims, for which type of coverage, and what successes/failures have you encountered? (specify which bank and card if possible) >>
I purchased wedding rings on my Sony Citibank Visa card. While we were honeymooning in Italy, my spouse's ring was stolen from our hotel room in Naples. I filed the claim with Citibank when we got home and included my original purchase receipt and the refund was sent in about a month's time. I didn't even have to have a police report which was good because I didn't know what to do about it in a foreign country.
It was great because I didn't have to go to the trouble of claiming it on my renter's insurance which would have probably raised my rates and stayed on my record. Plus, a friend has filed a claim for a lost necklace on his renter's and had a really hard time collecting. With the card, it was much easier to get protection for the jewelry which is often hit or miss with regular insurance.
J Breaux - If you are referring to Extended Warranty coverage, YES it kicks in after the mfrs warranty expires....most CC insurance products are "secondary", meaning that if there' s some other insurance/warranty available, they want you to file a claim with those first before gettong coverage through the CC program
Hot and Humid - Very interesting! Nice to see they handled your claim largely based on "your word" - In this situation, looks like their coverage was PRIMARY, since you didnt need to file a homeowners' / renters' insurance claim...good thing they didnt require a police report... If you dont mind sharing, What was the amount the CC insurance paid out, and when did this occur..was it recent or a few years ago?
For those who do experience a loss like this, I would strongly recommend immediately calling the CC company to find out what is required (in terms of police reports, etc)
<< Hot and Humid - Very interesting! Nice to see they handled your claim largely based on "your word" - In this situation, looks like their coverage was PRIMARY, since you didnt need to file a homeowners' / renters' insurance claim...good thing they didnt require a police report... If you dont mind sharing, What was the amount the CC insurance paid out, and when did this occur..was it recent or a few years ago? >>
I did have to get my statement notarized and then send it into them, but they didn't require a police report. I took it as a gamble. The card offered insurance on all items purchased with it, so when I returned, I thought I would give it a try rather than just eat the loss (I didn't want to affect my renter's rates and would not have qualified since they did require a police report which I didn't have). Amazingly, with the statement, Citibank processed it. It was for $1100 and occured in spring of 2001. I don't know if it was an anomaly because of the whole "lost wedding ring" and somebody felt sorry for us, or if they would have processed it anyway because I've never filed a claim since.
After I got the check, I went back to the store and purchased an identical ring and the whole problem was solved.
Amex's extended warranty covers up to 1 year beyond the manufacturer's warranty and up to $10,000 in value (I think). So your Kia example wouldn't work. At most you'd get 1 extra year of coverage if you could keep the purchase price under $10k.
Wow there are actually protections against "lost" items? Heh, I lost a pair of fairly expensive sunglasses while hiking, and called CitiBank to claim it as "stolen" - and they basically told me that without any visible signs of wrong-doing (theft) they could not reimburse me. I couldn't really pursue it at that point. But if a CC insures against LOSS too - woah! Let me know - please! I lose a lot heh.
Master Rental Coverage from Citibank platinum Master card really works!
1. I rent a car in Spain last December, paid in full with this credit card, and declined CDW offered by rental company.
2. The body of the rent car was scratched by someone during overnight parking.
3. The car rental company charged the full repair cost (~$570) on my credit card after 2 weeks.
4. Filed a claim on master card. Got the check for the full amount in 2 weeks.
I was pretty impressed and happy. Should work for any premium master card.
Now I'm really interested in the Lost Luggage Coverage from this thread! Luckily I've never lost my lugguages during travel so far, but it can happen anytime and there's nothing much I can do to avoid. I need a solid protection!!
- A calim for "purchase protection insurance". They paid for a universal remote control that fell on the floor and was cracked 2 months after buying it. Amount was $35.
- I also have with AMEX Blue a "Premium" auto rental coverage. They charge $19.99 per rental for that and they provide a "primary" coverage without having to deal with your auto insurance. They paid $500 for damage to a rented car that had a slight fender bender. Easy process. Police report was not needed. They dealt directly with the rental company. Funny though is that the rental company tried to charge $120 for their "loss of use" or downtime. 2 days later, they cancelled these charges as they found out that California passed a new regulation last year that makes it illegal for car rental companies to charge for loss of use. AMEX doesn't pay for these charges.
AMEX CSR just tried to sell me on a Lost Luggage benefit. Basically, if you signup and then charge an airline ticket on the covered credit card, you are automatically charged a one time fee of 9.95 for each ticket purchased
<< I also have with AMEX Blue a "Premium" auto rental coverage ... a "primary" coverage >>
I think liability and collision(or very similar) is included by default if you pay with Diners Club, of course they have a high annual fee. Your AMEX deal is decent especially for foreign country rentals and insane drivers in Italy for example, when who knows(or has the time to figure out) how rental car insurance/coverage works over there.
Yeah.. Diner's club provide a primary car rental coverage.. However their annual fee is high. I don't rent cars that often so getting a Diner's club for that reason is not worth it for me.. Also, with having the premium coverage with Amex, I get to choose before renting to either use AMEX and pay $19.99 and get a primary coverage or to use my Visa or MC and get a free secondary coverage.
slaman...yes SOME cards do provide coverage for lost items! As this thread progresses, I hope to develop a list of which cards offer the best benefits...
RE: AMEX and "optional coverages"...be careful as they do often solicit you to PAY for these otherwise "free insurance" benefits...they usually send me a letter asking to charge $14 everytime I put a plane ticket on my card to get the $1million common carrier insurance, which other CCs offer for FREE...and their primary car rental coverage is NOT the best...its still collission-only (NOT LIABILITY) and excludes "loss of use" charges...
Get a business visa/MC or the traditional Diners Club card, which provides free primary rental car coverage (Diners Club has an annual fee)
SIS, AMEX plan allows you to pay a one time fee per rental of $19.99 for rentals up to 45 days IIRC. Max coverage was $75k and it included some medical coverage as well..
Disclaimer: By providing links to other sites, FatWallet.com does not guarantee, approve or endorse the information or products available at these sites, nor does a link indicate any association with or endorsement by the linked site to FatWallet.com.
. Payout: $1400
Should work for any premium master card.
