How to use gift cards?

[Bocker3]

On 5/22/2023 at 8:37 PM, Native Floridian 26 said:

From the Benefit Summary on page 30:  Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance The Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption benefit provides reimbursement for Eligible Travel Expenses charged to the Cardholder’s Account up to ten thousand ($10,000.00) dollars per Covered Person and up to twenty thousand ($20,000.00) dollars per Trip, if a loss results in cancellation or interruption of the travel arrangements

 

Would you really expect them to reimburse more than was was charged on the card?

Of course I would.  It is INSURANCE, not a refund. 

Would you expect an insurance company to not pay out a claim in excess of the premium paid??

 

The terms seem clear -- pay a portion of the fare with the card and you are insured for, covered expenses, UP TO $10,000.

[Native Floridian 26]

2 hours ago, Bocker3 said:

Of course I would.  It is INSURANCE, not a refund. 

Would you expect an insurance company to not pay out a claim in excess of the premium paid??

 

The terms seem clear -- pay a portion of the fare with the card and you are insured for, covered expenses, UP TO $10,000.

Interesting you could charge $1 on the card and get the entire non-refundable portion of trip back.  Noone has indicated how this works in real life.

[Mary229]

27 minutes ago, Native Floridian 26 said:

Interesting you could charge $1 on the card and get the entire non-refundable portion of trip back.  Noone has indicated how this works in real life.

Therein lies the problem.   No one has come forth with full cancellation claim with details.   If I were to place a bet they mean to say they will cover the portion of the trip charged on the card without forcing someone to cover the entire trip on the card.  Such as I buy the fare 100% on the card but pay for air and other arrangements by other means, they will pay the the fare for a successful claim but not  pay for the entire trip.  That is not pay for the portion of the trip not charged to the card.   
 

to be clear the premium is the yearly fee, the coverages are what is misunderstood 

[Bocker3]

28 minutes ago, Native Floridian 26 said:

Interesting you could charge $1 on the card and get the entire non-refundable portion of trip back.  Noone has indicated how this works in real life.

Well I think, based on the terms language, yes, $1 would do it.  However, I can't imagine that many, if any, would actually do that, so I suspect this sorting of gaming the system isn't much of a worry.  You also "pay" for this insurance with the Annual Fee that Chase charges -- and the Sapphire Reserve card had a $500+ AMF, last I checked.

Folks who get this sort of card, tend to spend alot on them and Chase is making money off each swipe -- so, the cost of the insurance is likely more than covered, even with a max payout.  Again - it's insurance - Chase isn't paying the claim, the 3rd party insurance company is paying it.  Chase pays them a premium (I'm assuming here) for each cardholder.

As for how it works in real life -- well, it works like any travel insurance, you put in a claim.  Sometimes it goes smoothly, other times they'll make you jump through hoops and still, maybe decline all or part of it.

 

[Mary229]

4 minutes ago, Bocker3 said:

Well I think, based on the terms language, yes, $1 would do it.  However, I can't imagine that many, if any, would actually do that, so I suspect this sorting of gaming the system isn't much of a worry.  You also "pay" for this insurance with the Annual Fee that Chase charges -- and the Sapphire Reserve card had a $500+ AMF, last I checked.

Folks who get this sort of card, tend to spend alot on them and Chase is making money off each swipe -- so, the cost of the insurance is likely more than covered, even with a max payout.  Again - it's insurance - Chase isn't paying the claim, the 3rd party insurance company is paying it.  Chase pays them a premium (I'm assuming here) for each cardholder.

As for how it works in real life -- well, it works like any travel insurance, you put in a claim.  Sometimes it goes smoothly, other times they'll make you jump through hoops and still, maybe decline all or part of it.

 

You get the insurance with the Chase Sapphire which only costs $95 per year and you get a $50 hotel allowance bringing the cost down to $45.  I doubt very seriously if you put $1 down you would be covered for $10000.  To each his own but I am much more conservative with my financial life. 
 

and any credit card has transaction fees to the merchant, nothing gained or lost there.  I don’t know many people who bring $10000 in greenbacks to their travel agent though I do know a few

Edited May 26, 2023 by Mary229

[Bocker3]

3 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Therein lies the problem.   No one has come forth with full cancellation claim with details.   If I were to place a bet they mean to say they will cover the portion of the trip charged on the card without forcing someone to cover the entire trip on the card.  Such as I buy the fare 100% on the card but pay for air and other arrangements by other means, they will pay the the fare for a successful claim but not  pay for the entire trip.  That is not pay for the portion of the trip not charged to the card.   
 

to be clear the premium is the yearly fee, the coverages are what is misunderstood 

In your scenario, the terms clearly state that there would be no coverage for the air or other arrangements, as you didn't pay for any of it with the Card.

It will pay for whatever you used the card to pay, in full or in part.  So "trip" is irrelevant, if you have bought the "components" piecemeal, your coverage of each "piece"  depends on whether you used the Chase card or not in the purchase of each.

I think people are overcomplicating this - it is insurance, it is NOT Chase refunding a disputed charge.  Chase keeps what you charged and their 3rd party insurer is paying the claim.

 

[Bocker3]

2 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

You get the insurance with the Chase Sapphire which only costs $95 per year and you get a $50 hotel allowance bringing the cost down to $45.  I doubt very seriously if you put $1 down you would be covered for $10000.  To each his own but I am much more conservative with my financial life. 

We'll agree to disagree here - but my 16+ years working for a major credit card company leaves me secure in my assessment.

[Mary229]

Just now, Bocker3 said:

In your scenario, the terms clearly state that there would be no coverage for the air or other arrangements, as you didn't pay for any of it with the Card.

It will pay for whatever you used the card to pay, in full or in part.  So "trip" is irrelevant, if you have bought the "components" piecemeal, your coverage of each "piece"  depends on whether you used the Chase card or not in the purchase of each.

I think people are overcomplicating this - it is insurance, it is NOT Chase refunding a disputed charge.  Chase keeps what you charged and their 3rd party insurer is paying the claim.

 

It says trip not fare.  Third party insurance pays for the trip you declare by value.   This insurance only pays for the things you charge for that trip

[Native Floridian 26]

I have the Chase Freedom Flex card which has No annual fee and has Trip Cancellation and Interruption.  It will cover $1500 pp up to $6K.  My benefits summary says:

• In no event shall the Benefit Amount payable exceed the actual amount charged to the Cardholder’s Account for eligible travel expenses.

Edited May 26, 2023 by Native Floridian 26

[Native Floridian 26]

48 minutes ago, Bocker3 said:

In your scenario, the terms clearly state that there would be no coverage for the air or other arrangements, as you didn't pay for any of it with the Card.

It will pay for whatever you used the card to pay, in full or in part.  So "trip" is irrelevant, if you have bought the "components" piecemeal, your coverage of each "piece"  depends on whether you used the Chase card or not in the purchase of each.

I think people are overcomplicating this - it is insurance, it is NOT Chase refunding a disputed charge.  Chase keeps what you charged and their 3rd party insurer is paying the claim.

 

See post 76.  That is for the Chase Freedom Flex, not the Sapphire.  I'll have to pull up the Sapphire benefits to see what it says.

 

[EddiesToys]

How to use gift cards?

Could we keep to the subject of this thread, please?

Discussing Credit Card Holder Benefits is interesting, but a separate subject.

[Mary229]

3 minutes ago, EddiesToys said:

How to use gift cards?

Could we keep to the subject of this thread, please?

Discussing Credit Card Holder Benefits is interesting, but a separate subject.

1. Use report thread if you want to monitor

2. this is important for people who rely on credit card insurance and want to use gift cards to pay their cruise. 

[Red Haired Lady]

57 minutes ago, Native Floridian 26 said:

See post 76.  That is for the Chase Freedom Flex, not the Sapphire.  I'll have to pull up the Sapphire benefits to see what it says.

 

See post 67 for Chase Sapphire Preferred benefits 

[Red Haired Lady]

18 minutes ago, EddiesToys said:

How to use gift cards?

Could we keep to the subject of this thread, please?

Discussing Credit Card Holder Benefits is interesting, but a separate subject.

Actually it is very related. People are hesitant to buy and use the gift cards because of the fear of losing the trip cancellation insurance if they do.

[EddiesToys]

On 5/21/2023 at 6:34 PM, EddiesToys said:

Just tried to buy AARP gift cards for HAL.  No go.  Phone number on east coast, CLOSED!

Not too impressed with AARP!

AARP Gift Card Purchase completed today.

Thanks for the helpful suggestions.

[BSR]

If I purchase an AARP HAL card for $450, can I use this towards the down payment.  I booked thru a TA, would I need to call them to apply it.  How exactly does this work?

[BermudaBound2014]

30 minutes ago, BSR said:

If I purchase an AARP HAL card for $450, can I use this towards the down payment.  I booked thru a TA, would I need to call them to apply it.  How exactly does this work?

 

Yes, call TA to apply.

 

I am less likely to use a gift card on a down payment. If anything happens where you can't take the cruise you are refunded to the gift card which leaves you with $500 you MUST spend on Hal in the future. Cruise lines are in flex right now with tremendous debt. Gift cards aren't protected. Personally, I love a good deal, but I am hesitant to purchase gift cards far in advance of sailing.