What’s the best credit card for travel? People generally pick whichever travel-focused card provides the most frequent-flier miles on the airline they fly or points for their preferred hotel chain’s rewards program. There’s nothing wrong with earning miles or points, but the very best travel credit cards offer more than that—and travel-insurance programs are among the most valuable yet often overlooked benefits, explains credit card expert Ted Rossman. One issuer—Chase—currently dominates the list of the best travel-insurance cards.
Travel insurance provided by credit cards is generally available only on trips paid for with that credit card. Credit cards’ rental-car coverage typically requires the renter to pay using the card and decline the rental company’s insurance…and it usually covers only damage to the rental car, not liability for damage or injuries to others. Additional limitations and restrictions can apply to credit card travel insurance as well—it’s worth wading through the program’s small print.
Chase Sapphire Reserve is among the few credit cards that provide “primary” rental-car coverage. Many cards offer “secondary” coverage, which fills in gaps in cardholders’ own auto insurance policies—but with primary coverage, a cardholder who damages a rental car doesn’t have to file a claim with his/her own insurance, potentially avoiding rate increases and policy-coordination hassles. Sapphire Reserve’s trip-delay insurance is top tier, too—up to $500 in expenses are covered per traveler when flights are delayed six hours. The card’s trip-cancellation/interruption insurance provides up to $10,000 per traveler and up to $20,000 per trip when travel must be skipped or cut short due to covered events such as health problems or severe weather. The card’s long list of travel protections also includes…
Meanwhile, Sapphire Reserve’s rewards program provides 60,000 bonus points when new cardholders spend at least $4,000 in their first three months—that’s worth $900 toward travel purchases redeemed through Chase. Cardholders also earn 10 points per dollar spent on hotels and car rentals booked through the Chase Travel portal…and three points per dollar on other travel spending and dining. Additional travel perks include a $300 annual credit for travel purchases made with the card and complimentary access to more than 1,300 airport lounges. Points can be redeemed for cash back, but they’re worth only one cent apiece if you do that. For travel redemptions, they’re worth at least 1.5 cents apiece—maybe even more if you utilize their travel partners effectively.
Downside: Reserve’s steep annual fee of $550* plus $75 per authorized user (not including the cardholder).
Chase Sapphire Preferred provides travel insurance almost as impressive as that of its sibling, Sapphire Reserve, but for a much lower annual fee of $95. It features the same trip-cancellation/interruption, lost-luggage and delayed-luggage coverage as Reserve, and it offers primary rental-car insurance. But Preferred does not provide emergency evacuation or medical/dental, and its trip-delay coverage kicks in only when flights are delayed 12 hours, not six. Preferred’s rewards program is similar to Reserve’s, though the points that new cardholders receive for spending $4,000 in the first three months are worth only $750 when redeemed for travel through Chase, and cardholders earn only five points per dollar spent on hotels and car rentals through the Chase portal…two points per dollar on other travel purchases. Preferred doesn’t provide complimentary airport lounge access, and its annual travel credit is a modest $50, which must be used on a Chase Travel hotel booking. But while Preferred’s travel benefits fall short of Reserve’s, it is a wonderful option for cardholders who don’t travel enough to justify Reserve’s annual fee.
United Explorer from Chase features a strong travel-insurance program plus a host of other benefits likely to appeal to United frequent fliers. It provides…
Cardholders also get one free checked bag each per United flight for themselves and a travel companion…priority boarding on United flights for themselves and their travel companions…and two United Club one-time passes per year. New cardholders receive 50,000 bonus miles for spending $3,000 in their first three months with the card, then earn two miles per dollar spent on dining and hotels…and up to seven miles per dollar spent on United flights…one mile per dollar on everything else. There’s also four miles per dollar on hotels booked through United Hotels. The annual fee of $95 is waived in the first year.
Chase Freedom Flex and Freedom Unlimited offer secondary rental-car coverage, plus trip-cancellation/interruption coverage up to $1,500 per traveler and $6,000 per trip. That’s no match for the wide range of travel protections provided by the cards listed above, but it’s very good by no-annual-fee-card standards. These cards have competitive cash-back programs, too—Flex cardholders get 5% back up to $1,500 per quarter in spending categories that change each quarter…3% back on dining and drugstore purchases…1% on everything else. Unlimited cardholders get 3% on dining and drugstores…1.5% on everything else. Both cards offer a $200 cash-back bonus for new cardholders who spend $500 in the first three months. Both cards also give 5% back on travel booked via Chase Travel.
*The credit card programs and offers cited in this article were in effect as of early March. Issuers can alter them with little notice.
