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American Express Purchase Protection Guide

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If you’re planning to make a large purchase, you should consider doing so on a credit card that offers purchase protection. Purchase protection can provide reimbursement in the event the item is stolen, damaged and sometimes even lost. American Express offers this benefit on a broad range of its personal and business cards — up to $10,000 per covered purchase (up to $50,000 per calendar year)¹.

There are a few caveats, though. For example, coverage only applies to the first 90 days of purchase, there’s a maximum coverage of $50,000 per calendar year and not all purchases are eligible. Still — this can be an extremely valuable benefit if you ever need to file a claim.

What is American Express purchase protection?¹

When you use your eligible American Express card to make a covered purchase, you can receive protection for up to 90 days against theft, accidental damage and sometimes loss. The amount of coverage you can receive depends on the American Express card, but will either be up to $1,000 per covered purchase (up to $50,000 per calendar year) or up to $10,000 per covered purchase (up to $50,000 per calendar year). You can also receive coverage for natural disasters of up to $500 per covered event.

American Express purchase protection is secondary to any other coverage you have, including homeowner’s insurance, renter’s insurance and retailer’s, wholesaler’s or manufacturer’s warranty. For example, if your covered laptop is stolen from your apartment, American Express purchase protection would only kick in if your renter’s insurance doesn’t cover the entire purchase.

What purchases are eligible for American Express purchase protection?¹

Items that are purchased using your eligible card are protected up to the maximum amount. To receive coverage, you must purchase the eligible item using a covered American Express card. Coverage only applies for 90 days after purchase, and you must file the claim within 30 days of the incident.

It’s important to know that not all purchases are covered, including the following:

Those covered by an unconditional satisfaction guarantee
Items damaged by alteration or modification
Animals and living plants
Antiques, artwork, furs and other one-of-a-kind items, as well as previously owned and used items (note, this does not include items refurbished by the original manufacturer)
Consumable and limited life span items, such as food, perfume, light bulbs and batteries
Credit cards, securities, documents, tickets, gift cards, cash and more
Rented, leased or borrowed items
Motorized devices and parts
Items purchased for resale
Medical or dental devices and equipment
Issues related to war or acts of war
Confiscation of the item by a government, public or customs authority
Issues that arise while the item is under the temporary care or control of a third party (other than the eligible beneficiary), such as a common carrier
An item that isn’t reasonably being looked after, such as an item that’s stolen from an unlocked car
Damage related to normal wear and tear or a defect

What you need to get started

You can file an American Express purchase protection claim online or over the phone. When getting started, you should be prepared to provide the following:

Personal information about yourself, including your email address.
Your receipt and other purchase information, including the date, amount and place of your purchase.
Details about the item, such as the manufacturer name and model number if applicable.
Other supporting documents to help explain your claim. For example, if your item was stolen, you should be prepared to provide the police report.

How to file an American Express purchase protection claim

Once you gather the necessary information, follow these steps to initiate your claim:

Log in to your American Express account, or call 800-228-6855.
Once you’re logged in, go to the claims center page and click the “File a Claim” button.
From the online claim form, select the credit card you want to file a claim with, enter the date of your purchase and hit the continue button. (Note, you can add more items to your claim later.)
On the next page, select “Purchase Protection” as the type of claim you want to file and hit “Continue.”
Next, you’ll have to review some basic details about filing a purchase protection claim, including what information you’ll need to provide.
Finally, supply the requested information related to your purchase, such as the amount of the purchase and the receipt.

To help ensure your claim is approved, be sure to submit your purchase protection claim within 30 days of the loss (but the sooner the better).

You should also submit proof of loss within 60 days, which could include the original store receipt, a photo of a repair estimate form or other documentation.

Which credit cards offer American Express purchase protection?¹

American Express offers purchase protection on most of its consumer and business cards. The amount of coverage varies depending on the card. For example, premium cards with higher annual fees typically provide the most coverage, while cards with low or $0 annual fees and fewer benefits usually offer less coverage.

The following American Express cards provide coverage of up to $10,000 per item, up to $50,000 per calendar year (and up to $500 per natural disaster)¹:

American Express^® Gold Card ¹
Centurion® Card from American Express ¹
Delta SkyMiles^® Reserve American Express Card¹
Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express ¹
Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card¹
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card ¹
The Platinum Card^® from American Express ¹

The annual fees for the above cards range anywhere from $325 for the American Express^® Gold Card (see rates & fees) to $5,000 for the Centurion® Card from American Express.

The information related to the Centurion® Card from American Express has been independently collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication.

The following cards offer coverage of up to $1,000 per item, up to $50,000 per calendar year (and up to $500 per natural disaster)¹:

The annual fees for these cards range from $0 with Delta SkyMiles^® Blue American Express Card (see rates & fees) to $350 for the Delta SkyMiles^® Platinum American Express Card (see rates & fees).

The information related to the American Express® Green Card, Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express, Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express, Centurion® Card from American Express and Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express has been independently collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication.

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How does American Express purchase protection stack up against other issuers?

Compared to other credit card issuers, American Express offers some of the best purchase protection coverage available. Along with providing the benefit to virtually all of its cards, it offers high payouts of $1,000 per item, up to $50,000 per year on some cards, and up to $10,000 per item, up to $50,000 per year on other cards¹.

Chase, on the other hand, only offers up to $500 per claim, up to $50,000 per account, for most of its cards. The exception is the Chase Sapphire Reserve^®, which offers up to $10,000 per claim, up to $50,000 per year. (Note, the same coverage is also available for several of its business cards.) Where Chase stands out is that eligible items are covered for 120 days from the date of purchase, rather than 90 days.

For more information on what coverage is offered by other issuers, check out our credit card purchase protection guide.

How to make the most of American Express purchase protection¹

The American Express purchase protection benefit adds a lot of value to American Express cards. To ensure you’re able to take advantage of this coverage, keep these tips in mind:

Review your card’s terms and conditions to see how much purchase protection coverage it offers (if any).
Know what items are covered prior to making the purchase.
Make all eligible purchases using your covered American Express credit card.
If you experience a covered loss, theft or damage, keep track of all relevant documentation. This may include the receipt, a police report, photos of damage and more.
File a claim as soon as possible (within 30 days of the loss).
Be aware that eligible items are only covered for up to 90 days from the date of purchase.

1. Purchase Protection is an embedded benefit of your Card Membership and requires no enrollment. It can help protect Covered Purchases made on your Eligible Card when they’re accidentally damaged, stolen, or lost, for up to 90 days from the Covered Purchase date. The coverage is limited up to $10,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per Card Member account per calendar year. Coverage Limits Apply. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

The information related to the American Express^® Gold Card, Centurion® Card from American Express, Delta SkyMiles^® Reserve American Express Card, Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express, Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card, Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card, The Platinum Card^® from American Express, American Express® Green Card, Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express, Blue Cash Everyday^® Card from American Express, Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express, Delta SkyMiles^® Blue American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles^® Gold American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles^® Platinum American Express Card, Hilton Honors American Express Card, Hilton Honors American Express Surpass^® Card and Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express has been collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply.

The content above is not provided by any issuer. Any opinions expressed are those of LendingTree alone and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any issuer. The offers and/or promotions mentioned above may have changed, expired, or are no longer available. Check the issuer's website for more details.

Tracy Brackman

Tracy Brackman is a senior editor and credit card expert at LendingTree, where she writes and edits educational articles on credit cards and personal finance using her 14+ years of experience in the industry.

Before joining LendingTree in 2019, Tracy worked as a products editor for CreditCards.com, where she developed the credit card products section and wrote breaking news content focused on credit cards.

Prior to that, she worked as a product information manager for Bankrate, where she managed the credit card product details and maintained compliance for two affiliate networks, as well as Bankrate-owned and operated sites.

She began working in the credit card space in 2009 as the editorial department manager for FlexOffers, an affiliate marketing company.

Specialties

Credit card product reviews
Personal finance education
Credit card compliance

Achievements

14+ years of credit card reporting experience
Helped establish a process to maintain credit card compliance for editorial content

Education

Ohio State University
Florida International University

Tracy’s favorite credit cards

“Currently, I like to use my American Express^® Gold Card to earn a high rewards rate on dining and grocery purchases — the two categories I spend the most in each month. I also love the protections that the card provides on my purchases and travel. My husband and I are able to easily combine our Membership Rewards points to use toward flights and hotel stays.”

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