Sometimes trip interruptions or cancellation benefits can recover the cost of your non-refundable expense. When things don’t go as planned, the credit card trip cancellation/interruption benefits can protect your travel money.
This is the case Los Angeles resident who had booked who cottages in San Diego beach for vacations, but a friend who was to use one of the cottages bailed out after testing positive for COVID-19. In this case, the individual says that the trip cancellation benefit saved them $1,388. Therefore, if you are making travel plans during these unprecedented times, it is good to know how the insurance can protect your travel funds.
Most credit cards have trip interruption/cancellation insurance and looking at the credit card’s benefits, and you can establish if you have the benefits. Sometimes payment networks such as Visa, American Express, and MasterCard have these benefits underwritten by insurance companies.
Most importantly, trip cancellation benefits can reimburse prepaid non-refundable expenses such as hotels, tours, airfare, passenger fares, and cruises, depending on the card’s terms. On the other hand, trip interruption reimburses an unused portion of the trip for particular covered reasons, and the terms vary.
You can only qualify for the benefit if you pay travel expenses using the cards. Interestingly, using credit card rewards to make purchases or pay for the trip could be covered depending on the card’s terms. For instance, the JPMorgan Chase card has trip cancellation insurance covering qualifying purchases with rewards earned on a qualifying credit card. Sometimes the benefits may change on the card, so it is vital to review the card’s terms and conditions to be certain before you book a trip.
Insurance offered extends to various circumstances. For instance, an accident or unexpected illnesses are the primary cause for trip interruption/cancellation claims on qualifying MasterCard credit cards. Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the insurance doesn’t cover the fear of traveling to a given destination to fear quarantine or illness.