AMEX Insurance through the Platinum Card

[Cruzin Terri]

Let me start by saying that I am not blaming AMEX.  i did not do due diligence by reading and understanding all the terms and conditions of the insurance so I blame no one but myself.

This post is only so that anyone else who may be thinking of using the insurance provided by the AMEX Platinum Card understand when and how they may be able to get reimbursed.

Here is my story:

We were planning a trip to Italy and then a cruise from Rome back to Miami.  We booked our airfare with Chase Points and paid for our cruise with the AMEX Platinum Card.  The cruise was under $10,000 so I figured that in the event we had to cancel for a covered reason, we were insured.  

Well, two days before we were to leave for Italy, my husband became ill and we were unable to go.  My airline tickets to Italy (purchased using Chase Points) were fully refundable.  So that was refunded and the points re deposited in my Chase Ultimate Rewards account.  I had opted to pay for the hotel stays at the time we stayed rather than the early, non-refundable rate.  So I canceled in time.  The only money we stood to lose was the cruise fare. So I felt we had a shot at getting that back with AMEX.  So I called them to file a clam.

 

Not so easy.

What I failed to notice was that AMEX says that a Covered Trip is a period of round trip travel 1) to one or more destinations other than an Eligible Traveler’s city of residence at the time of departure where 2) the period of round-trip trave ends when the Eligible Traveler returns by Common Carrier to the city of departure: 3) the trip does not exceed 365 days away from the the Eligible Travelers city of residence and 4) The Eligible Traveler charges the full amount of the cost of the the transportation by Common Carrier(s) to your Eligible Card.  The period of round trip may consist of round trip, one-way, or combinations of round trip, one-way tickets with Common Carriers.

 

So the very first question, after verifying my identity, was how did I pay for the tickets to get to Italy.  As soon as I told her I used the Chase Ultimate Rewards, she let me know the terms and conditions of the insurance and immediately went on to inform me that my claim was most likely to be declined due to the fact that I did not pay for all my transportation by common carrier with the Platinum Card.

 

It was a lesson for me and I share it with you so that you do not make the same mistake I did.

Please don’t flame me for not reading the T&C’s.  i already know I made a mistake.  I write this as a helpful hint for others who may be thinking of doing likewise.

Terri

[canadianbear]

That just seems like a loophole for Amex.  You used rewards/points not a credit card to pay for that.  
 

Insurance is so very confusing and we all try our best to do the right thing but we don’t have lawyers to help us.  I’m so sorry this happened to you.  
 

I hope your husband is doing ok.  

[Cruzin Terri]

36 minutes ago, canadianbear said:

That just seems like a loophole for Amex.  You used rewards/points not a credit card to pay for that.  
 

Insurance is so very confusing and we all try our best to do the right thing but we don’t have lawyers to help us.  I’m so sorry this happened to you.  
 

I hope your husband is doing ok.  

He is doing better, but it was the right decision not to go.

My parting words to the lady from AMEX was that I know to use my Chase Insurance the next time.

Thanks.

Terri.

[canadianbear]

3 minutes ago, Cruzin Terri said:

He is doing better, but it was the right decision not to go.

My parting words to the lady from AMEX was that I know to use my Chase Insurance the next time.

Thanks.

Terri.

I’m glad to hear he’s doing better & of course our health comes first.   
 

I just find insurance very frustrating.  We try to always buy the right coverage but have never had to file a large claim and that’s when you need it the most. 
 

[CruisingAlong4Now]

On 10/27/2023 at 1:07 PM, canadianbear said:

I’m glad to hear he’s doing better & of course our health comes first.   
 

I just find insurance very frustrating.  We try to always buy the right coverage but have never had to file a large claim and that’s when you need it the most. 
 

I find that insurance is like a suitcase.  Whatever I used for my last trip, just doesn't seem to work for my next trip!

[Philob]

Hope your husband is doing okay. 

 

Unfortunately you had to learn the expensive way. That's usually the general requirement for credit card coverage for the trip or car rental "insurance" that it must be paid with the same card. The mucky part is if you paid your trip with points. How the "insurance" will reimburse you for those points?

Edited November 6, 2023 by Philob

[teddie2]

This is confusing to me as I don't understand.. you were not asking for them to reimburse you for your transport just the cruise..

[teddie2]

So I plan to book my upcoming trip with airline miles for American and United.. then we are spending a few days in Paris before and a few days in Rome afterwards.. would that mean that none of my trip would be covered if I used airline miles for transport?? I was thinking about using my CC insurance so thanks for this post

[Cruzin Terri]

11 minutes ago, teddie2 said:

So I plan to book my upcoming trip with airline miles for American and United.. then we are spending a few days in Paris before and a few days in Rome afterwards.. would that mean that none of my trip would be covered if I used airline miles for transport?? I was thinking about using my CC insurance so thanks for this post

If you pay the tax on the miles with your AMEX card, you would be covered.  

Terri

[GeezerCouple]

This may be another advantage of third-party travel insurance, not through any vendor, including the cruise line or a charge card that was used to pay for the trip (some/all/?).

 

We've had a claim for a complete cancellation of a cruise (plus some land, but those were mostly refundable), and we booked airfare with points, as we always do.

 

Included in the payments were the fees we paid to "re-bank" the awards points.

 

And in several other claims, the air (with points) wasn't a factor in the claim, but there were claims during the trip.  There was never any mention of the fact that we used points to "get there and back" rather than paying cash that was used to figure the total cost of the trip - which was then used to determine the cost of the coverage.

 

GC

[Coral]

Thanks for posting your experience. We learn so much from these boards.

[CruisinShips]

It makes little sense to me that the cruise portion should be nullified based on the airfare...what if you live 35 minutes from the Port (like we do in South Florida) and take an uber to the port?  I assume that "loophole" wouldn't apply to us?

[Cruzin Terri]

3 hours ago, CruisinShips said:

It makes little sense to me that the cruise portion should be nullified based on the airfare...what if you live 35 minutes from the Port (like we do in South Florida) and take an uber to the port?  I assume that "loophole" wouldn't apply to us?

i do not think that UBER is considered a “common carrier”.  In my case I used Chase Points to book my passage to Italy.  That was a different situation. You can always use your AMEX card to pay UBER as I do.

Terri

Edited February 29 by Cruzin Terri

[CruisinShips]

27 minutes ago, Cruzin Terri said:

i do not think that UBER is considered a “common carrier”.  In my case I used Chase Points to book my passage to Italy.  That was a different situation. You can always use your AMEX card to pay UBER as I do.

Terri

My point really wasn't about the Uber part...it was more about you are being "penalized" for the airfare, which seems unfair and irrelevant since some of us don't even need to book airfare to the cruise port.

[Cruzin Terri]

2 minutes ago, CruisinShips said:

My point really wasn't about the Uber part...it was more about you are being "penalized" for the airfare, which seems unfair and irrelevant since some of us don't even need to book airfare to the cruise port.

Then it is a moot point.  At least that is the way I took it.  You could always call AMEX and get a clarification.

Terri