Travel creates unforgettable experiences and offers a chance to relax and have fun, but getting there can sometimes be stressful, with unexpected issues like flight delays or lost luggage. And while you hope to enjoy your trip worry-free, unforeseen medical emergencies can occur, too. When these things happen, you might wonder if you’re properly protected. If you’re a Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholder, you can check that worry at the door thanks to its excellent travel insurance coverage.
| Benefit | Coverage amount |
|---|---|
| Rental car insurance | Up to $75,000 |
| Trip cancellation/interruption | Up to $10,000 per person or $20,000 per trip |
| Trip delay reimbursement | Up to $500 per ticket |
| Lost luggage reimbursement | Up to $3,000 per person (except for New York residents who are limited to $2,000) |
| Baggage delay insurance | Up to $100 per day for five days |
| Roadside assistance | Up to $50 per incident, four times per year |
| Emergency evacuation and transportation | Up to $100,000 |
| Emergency medical and dental | Up to $2,500 |
| Travel accident insurance | Up to $1,000,000 for Common Carrier Travel Accident Insurance |
| Travel and emergency assistance | Legal and medical referrals and other third-party assistance |
| Quick takeaway | |
|---|---|
| Coverage amounts | Up to $75,000 in primary coverage (except for New York residents who may only be eligible for secondary coverage) |
| What it covers | Theft, damage, valid loss-of-use charges imposed and substantiated by the rental agency, administrative fees and reasonable and customary towing charges to the nearest qualified repair facility. |
| Important exclusions | Antique cars, vehicles over 20 years old or that have not been manufactured for 10 years or more, cargo vans, trucks (other than pick-ups), motorcycles, mopeds, motorbikes, limousines, vehicles that are rented with a driver, recreational vehicles and passenger vans with more than 12 people including the driver. |
How does this benefit stack up? Unlike many travel credit cards that only offer secondary rental car coverage, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers primary coverage, making it our top credit card for rental car insurance. Simply decline the rental agency’s collision coverage and charge the full rental cost to your card. With coverage up to $75,000, it covers most potential damages.
Learn more about credit card rental car insurance and how it works.
Trip cancellation/interruption insurance
| Quick takeaway | |
|---|---|
| Coverage amounts | Up to $10,000 per covered traveler or $20,000 per trip for all covered travelers (up to $40,000 per 12-month period per account) |
| What it covers | Nonrefundable, prepaid travel expenses for a trip that is canceled or interrupted due to sickness, accidental injury, loss of life, quarantine, a transportation strike, severe weather, terrorist actions, jury duty or court subpoena that can't be postponed or waived, a change in military orders, burglary or severe damage to a traveler's home and uninhabitable accommodations. |
| When you’re covered | For trip cancellation, coverage begins on the date you make the initial trip deposit or booking and ends at the time of departure on the scheduled departure date. For trip interruption, coverage starts on the trip departure date and ends on the return date, with adjustments made automatically if either is delayed or changed due to circumstances beyond the traveler's or provider's control. |
| Important exclusions | Change in plans or financial circumstances, preexisting conditions, voluntary surrender of unused vouchers, tickets, credits, coupons or travel privileges, travel scheduled after the 26th week of pregnancy, trip booked while on the waiting list for a medical treatment, travel for a medical procedure, civil unrest, failure to obtain necessary documentation, commission or attempted commission of illegal acts, self harm, under the influence of illegal substances, border closures, a declared or undeclared war and any event or incident that occurred prior to the trip being booked. |
Economic uncertainty has caused 35% of Americans to cancel or postpone a trip in the past year. However, you may not always be able to recover your costs. And if you booked your trip with your Chase Sapphire Reserve® card, trip cancellation/interruption insurance won’t cover you, since a change in financial circumstances is specifically excluded from coverage.
Instead, you may be better off adjusting your trip by shortening it by a day or two, switching hotels or flights, or changing your travel dates to reduce costs.
| Quick takeaway | |
|---|---|
| Coverage amounts | Up to $500 per covered traveler per trip |
| What it covers | Reasonable expenses, such as meals, lodging, toiletries and medication incurred due to a trip delay that is either overnight or more than six hours. To qualify for coverage, a delay must have occurred because of inclement weather, strike, equipment failure or hijacking. |
| Important exclusions | This benefit is secondary and payable on an excess basis over and above any amount due from any other valid or collectible insurance or any other form of reimbursement payable by those responsible for the loss. |
How does this benefit stack up? Chase Sapphire Reserve® travel delay insurance provides up to $500 per ticket in trip delay reimbursement if your travel is delayed by more than six hours. This coverage is fairly standard among travel credit cards, though some, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, require a longer delay of 12 hours to qualify.
| Quick takeaway | |
|---|---|
| Coverage amounts | Up to $3,000 per covered traveler per trip (except for New York residents, who are limited to $2,000 per bag and $10,000 for all covered travelers per trip) |
| What it covers | Checked or carry-on luggage and/or personal property contained within that's damaged, lost or stolen. |
| Important exclusions | Items that have been removed from carry-on baggage and left behind, documents, valuable papers, money, securities, tickets, checks and furs, and losses resulting from war. There’s a sub-limit of up to $500 for jewelry, watches, cameras and other electronic devices. |
How does this benefit stack up? The coverage amount is in line with competing cards that offer this benefit, although many credit cards don’t offer luggage reimbursement at all.
Note that you must first use up any other coverage, like the airline’s reimbursement policy and outside travel insurance.
| Quick takeaway | |
|---|---|
| Coverage amounts | Up to $100 per day for up to five days for delays over six hours |
| What it covers | Essential items such as toiletries, change of clothes and chargers for electronic devices (limit one per device). Coverage is secondary to other insurance and forms of reimbursement. |
| Important exclusions | Hearing aids, artificial teeth, dentures or prosthetic devices, jewelry, watches, cameras, video recorders, recreational equipment, tickets, valuable documents, money, securities, checks and losses resulting from war. |
How does this benefit stack up? Many of the top travel cards, like the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, don’t include delayed baggage reimbursement as a benefit. Even among cards that do offer it, coverage often doesn’t extend to five days. For example, The New United Club℠ Card only provides up to three days of coverage.
| Quick takeaway | |
|---|---|
| Coverage amounts | Up to $50 per incident, four times per year |
| What it covers | Towing, tire changing, battery assistance, lockout service, fuel delivery and standard winching. Only one service event of the same type is allowed per seven-day period. |
| Important exclusions | “Medium Duty” and “Heavy Duty” vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds are excluded from roadside assistance. |
How does this benefit stack up? While most Chase credit cards include roadside assistance as a pay-per-use service, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers it at no additional cost. However, there are other credit cards with lower annual fees that offer this benefit as well, like the Wells Fargo Autograph® Card and Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card.
This benefit is available 24 hours per day, seven days per week in the U.S. and Canada by calling 1-800-350-1697.
Emergency evacuation and transportation
| Quick takeaway | |
|---|---|
| Coverage amounts | Up to $100,000 |
| What it covers | Transportation from the place where the covered traveler becomes sick or injured to the nearest hospital, transportation to the covered traveler's primary residence, related medical services and supplies, transportation to the covered traveler’s bedside (if hospitalized more than eight days), transportation of accompanying minors, transportation of remains up to $1,000. |
| Important exclusions | If the service provider didn’t authorize the emergency evacuation or transportation, trips lasting longer than 60 days or less than five days, trips in excess of 100 miles from the primary residence, trips booked for medical treatment, trips that aren’t medically necessary, medical care rendered outside of a hospital or by non-physicians, non-commercial air travel, intentional injuries and injuries sustained due to war, military duties, civic unrest or illegal activities. |
How does this benefit stack up? This benefit isn’t offered by many credit cards. If you’re severely injured or fall ill while traveling, you might require emergency evacuation services to a medical facility. This can easily cost $25,000 or more, depending on the location and circumstances, so emergency evacuation coverage can be a financial lifesaver.
| Quick takeaway | |
|---|---|
| Coverage amounts | Up to $2,500 (subject to a $50 deductible) |
| What it covers | Services of a legally qualified physician, surgeon, graduate nurse, dentist or osteopath, hospital/operating room charges, anesthetics, X-ray examinations or treatments, laboratory tests, ambulance services, medication and therapeutic services and related supplies. Coverage is secondary to other insurance and forms of reimbursement. |
| Important exclusions | Travel for the purpose of obtaining medical treatment, non-emergency services, supplies or charges, services, supplies or charges rendered by a covered traveler or their family member, care not performed by a qualified medical professional, Care not deemed medically necessary, experimental care, care covered by workers compensation or government agency, care you don’t have legal obligation to pay for, care received in countries that are deemed unsafe for travel by the U.S. government, care for intentional injuries and care for injuries related to war, military duties, civic unrest, illegal activities, routine care, non-commercial air travel and certain recreational activities, such as scuba diving, rock climbing, hang gliding and parachuting. |
How does this benefit stack up? While the Chase Sapphire Reserve® medical and dental coverage of up to $2,500 (with a $50 deductible) isn’t enough to cover many potential medical emergencies, it’s still generous considering most cards, including premium cards, don’t offer this benefit at all.
You’ll also get $75 per day for a hotel for up to five days if a physician deems it necessary for you to stay and recover. To qualify, you need to be traveling at least 100 miles from home.
| Quick takeaway | |
|---|---|
| Coverage amounts | Up to $1,000,000 for Common Carrier Travel Accident Insurance Up to $100,000 for 24-hour travel accident insurance |
| What it covers | Covered loss, including accidental loss of life, limb, sight, speech or hearing. |
| Important exclusions | Training as a pilot or crew member, emotional trauma, illness, disease, infection, pregnancy, self-harm, illegal activity, occurrence while incarcerated, certain high-risk sports or recreational activities, war, motorized vehicle race, commuting for employment, professional sporting activity where a salary or prize money is received, rocket propelled or rocket-launched aircraft. |
How does this benefit stack up? Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers the highest coverage amount among credit cards that offer travel accident insurance. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, and The Platinum Card® from American Express offer travel accident insurance, but have a lower payout on the common carrier policy at up to $500,000.
Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers two types of travel accident insurance: Common Carrier Travel Accident Insurance and 24-hour travel accident Insurance. However, you can’t receive a payment from both for the same event.
Travel and emergency assistance
| Quick takeaway | |
|---|---|
| Coverage amounts | Not applicable |
| What it covers | Emergency message service, medical and legal referral assistance, emergency transportation assistance, emergency ticket replacement, lost luggage locator, emergency translation service, prescription assistance, valuable document delivery and pre-trip assistance. |
| Important exclusions | You’re responsible for the cost of emergency services obtained. |
Visit chasecardbenefits.com, call 1-800-350-1697 or call collect internationally at 001-214-503-2954 to get started. You can call to file a claim 24/7, 365 days a year. To file a new claim online, you’ll need to verify your card and register by providing basic information like your card details, address, email, phone number and a password. Once registered, you can select “file a claim,” select which benefit you want to file a claim with and choose the date associated with the loss and type of loss.
Note: Emergency evacuation and transportation insurance is authorized and arranged by the service provider in advance for the covered traveler.
The exact documents you’ll need for your claim vary depending on the benefit you’re filing for. Here’s what you’ll need for different types of insurance claims:
At the time of theft or damage, or when you return the rental car, request the following from your rental car company:
Tip: If you file your claim through chasecardbenefits.com, there’s a document upload guide that can provide you with all of the requirements based on your selected benefit, including a sample that you can preview of each document type.
Additionally, Chase will provide the details of which documents you should be prepared to send.
Once you’ve submitted your Chase Sapphire Reserve® travel insurance claim, you’ll want to get confirmation that your claim has been received, since there is often a limited time window to file a claim. If you submit the claim online and don’t hear back within a few business days, it may be a good idea to follow up and confirm that no additional information is needed.
There’s no other card on the market that beats the Chase Sapphire Reserve® travel insurance in terms of what’s covered and coverage amounts. The list of travel insurance benefits offered by this card is long and includes some forms of insurance you’re unlikely to get from other cards, and coverage maximums are either in line with or above what competing cards cover.
However, for medical incidents that may arise during your trip, coverage offered with Chase Sapphire Reserve® or any travel credit card is likely insufficient. For certain types of travelers and certain types of trips, you might want to consider getting more extensive medical coverage. Consider the following:
Yes, Chase Sapphire Reserve® extends most travel insurance benefits to immediate family members.
Chase Sapphire Reserve® travel insurance is among the best offered by any credit card, with comprehensive coverage for trip cancellations, delays, lost baggage, medical emergencies and rental cars. It includes high coverage limits, primary rental car insurance and extends protection to immediate family members at no additional cost when you use the card for travel purchases.
No, you’re automatically covered when you pay for travel with your Chase Sapphire Reserve® or Chase Ultimate Rewards® points.
The claim process timeline is dependent on receipt of required documents. Once the required documents are sent in, you can expect to get a response within seven business days.
If your claim is approved, you’ll get an email to enter your banking information to receive payment, which will appear in your account within one to two business days. If you prefer to get a check in the mail, you’ll get it within three business days of the date your claim is approved.
Yes, exclusions include things like pre-existing medical conditions, foreseeable events or illicit activities. Carefully review the cardholder benefits guide for full details.
To see rates & fees for American Express cards mentioned on this page, visit the links provided below:
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply
The information related to the Wells Fargo Autograph® Card and Chase Freedom Flex℠ has been independently collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply.
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