It’s no secret that the Chase Sapphire Reserve is one of the best travel credit cards on the market. Aside from travel benefits like a $300 travel credit, there’s a reason this card is better than the rest. Chase Sapphire Reserve offers travel protection benefits that go above and beyond the benefits of most other travel cards. Here’s a breakdown of the travel benefits included with Chase Sapphire Reserve card membership.
Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance
Trip cancellation provides reimbursement if you have to cancel travel arrangements. Trip interruption reimburses for events that disrupt your trip or fees incurred by having to set a new departure date. You can receive up to $10,000 per covered trip. The maximum limit is $20,000 per occurrence and $40,000 per year. This is all pretty vague so here are some examples of what might be covered:
- Sickness or death
- Weather
- Jury duty
This benefit is great because it covers the cardmember and the cardmember’s immediate family, even if they aren’t traveling together. You can receive reimbursement for prepaid, non-refundable expenses including airfare, tours, and hotels. That’s a pretty good reason to book travel with your Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Baggage Delay Insurance
If your checked bag is delayed for more than six hours, you can receive reimbursement of up to $100 per day for five days. This covers purchases of essential items like toiletries and clothing. Baggage delay insurance applies to airlines, buses, cruise ships, and trains! This benefit covers the cardholder and their immediate family members.
Lost Luggage Reimbursement
This benefit provides reimbursement for costs incurred for repairing or replacing checked or carry-on luggage that was damaged, lost, or stolen. Coverage includes trips on an airline, bus, cruise ship, or train. The cardholder and immediate family members (even if traveling without the cardholder) can receive up to $3,000 per insured person per trip. This includes coverage for jewelry, watches, and electronics up to $500 per person.
Trip Delay Reimbursement
If your trip (airline, bus, cruise ship, or train) is delayed more than 6 hours or requires an overnight stay, you can receive up to $500 per purchased ticket for expenses including meals, lodging, toiletries, and medication. This benefit covers the cardholder, cardholder’s spouse, and dependent children under age 22.
Travel and Emergency Assistance Services
This benefit isn’t as financially useful as some of the others. However, it could come in handy if you’re in a situation where you have no clue what to do. By calling the assistance services line, you can receive free assistance or referrals for various situations. Some of the services include:
- Emergency message service for relaying information to travelers, family members, or business associates
- Medical referral including English-speaking doctors, dentists, and hospitals
- Legal referrals for English-speaking attorneys and U.S. embassies and consulates
- Help with emergency transportation home or to a medical facility
- Valuable document delivery arrangements
You still have to pay for the service yourself. The phone line can help connect you to services that you otherwise might not know how to access.
Travel Accident Insurance
This benefit is a little morbid. I hope nobody actually has to use it. This benefit offers two types of accident insurance: Common Carrier Travel Accident Insurance and 24-Hour Travel Accident Insurance. Both provide coverage for accidental death or dismemberment, or a combined loss of speech, sight, or hearing experienced on a trip for the cardholder and immediate family members (even if the cardholder is not traveling with them). Common Carrier Insurance kicks in if the accident occurs when entering, exiting, or riding on an airline, bus, train, or cruise ship. 24 Hour Insurance provides coverage beginning on the departure date printed on an airline ticket and ends on the return date. With Common Carrier Insurance, you can receive up to $1,000,000 for loss of life and a percentage of the loss of life benefit for all other covered accidents. For the 24 Hour Insurance, the maximum payout is $100,000.
Emergency Evacuation & Transportation
If your trip includes travel on a common carrier (i.e., airline, bus, cruise ship, or train), you can receive up to $100,000 for emergency evacuation and transportation if you are injured or become ill. This benefit is included for the cardholder, their spouse, and legally dependent children under age 18 (or 25 if a full-time student at an accredited institution). In order to use this benefit, the situation has to be an emergency (think, helicopter ambulance).
Emergency Medical and Dental Benefit
If your trip includes travel on an airline, bus, cruise ship, or train, you can receive reimbursement for eligible medical expenses for emergency treatments that are not covered by your medical insurance. This benefit is included for the cardholder, their spouse, and legally dependent children under age 18 (or 25 if a full-time student at an accredited institution). Coverage of up to $2,500 (with a $50 deductible) includes services by a physician, surgeon, nurse, or dentist, hospital charges, and charges for medications, exams or treatments, labs, and ambulance services. You can also receive $75 per day for a hotel room if your physician determines you cannot travel immediately. Again, this benefit is only for emergency services. You can’t decide to get your wisdom teeth out while you’re traveling just to have insurance cover it.
Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
With this benefit, you can save money by waiving the auto rental collision damage coverage offered by your car rental agency. You can receive reimbursement of up to $75,000 for damage due to collision or theft for the cardholder (listed as the primary renter) and any additional drivers on the rental agreement.
Roadside Assistance
No AAA, no problem! Chase Sapphire Reserve provides drivers with 24/7 roadside assistance when driving in the U.S. and Canada. This benefit only covers $50 per service event (up to 4 times per year), but it can be useful if you’re in a pinch. Services include battery boost, flat tire, fuel delivery, towing, and lockout assistance
Final Thoughts
It’s nice to know that my Chase Sapphire Reserve travel protection will kick in if something on my well-planned vacation goes wrong. By using the Chase Sapphire Reserve to book your vacation, you can rest assured that you won’t be out tons of money if something were to delay or cancel your trip. You also can feel safer knowing you have options in the event of a medical emergency.
Have you used any of the Chase Sapphire Reserve travel protection benefits?
When you’re traveling on points is there a credit card you should put the purchases on? (taxes, airport fees, etc.) to get these benefits or are they only for paid travel?
Thanks for the question! If you book an award flight and pay for the fees with your CSR, you should receive these benefits.