Insurance Insurance: How does credit card flight delay insurance work?

To the point Would you like to have a flight delay insurance? Know how to compare the credit card offers in Canada!

Flight delay insurance Insured people Covered by flight delay insurance Not covered by flight delay insurance Refunds Make a claim

Bottom Line

Flight delay insurance

Credit cards can offer flight delay insurance.

With this coverage, you may get a refund for some of your expenses arising from a delayed flight.

Insured people

The flight delay insurance from credit cards protects:

credit card holder
Close family travelling with the credit card holder (will vary depending on each credit card)

As a general rule, insurance may apply to the principal holder, their spouse and their dependent child or children.

To be covered by your credit card’sflight delay insurance, you must have paid for your flight in full with your credit card(except for certain cards such as the National Bank World Elite Mastercard^®, which requires partial payment, or the Scotiabank Gold American Express^® Card, which requires 75% of the cost of the flight to be charged to the card).

If you pay for the airfare for someone close to you (a spouse or child), but you are not travelling with it, he / she will not be covered by flight delay insurance.

Covered by flight delay insurance

The flight delay insurance offered by credit cards usually COVER the following situations:

A strike by airline staff
Forty
Civil unrest
A hijacking
A natural disaster
Bad weather
A mechanical failure
Refusal to board due to overbooking

To enforce flight delay insurance, the cause of this must be serious and legitimate.

Not covered by flight delay insurance

Credit cards flight delay insurance WILL NOT:

A criminal or fraudulent act perpetrated by the insured person
War, declared or not, civil war, insurrection, rebellion or revolution
Any act of war by a government or military forces

These are therefore rather rare major causes.

Refunds

The coverage offered by your credit card will vary depending on each card.

Generally, credit cards flight delay insurance will reimburse the card for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred within 48 hours of the delay or denied boarding for:

Accommodation in a hotel
meals at the restaurant
drinks
essential items
various articles (magazines, paperbacks and various small articles)

Compensation will vary depending on credit cards

$500 to $2,500 per insured person
with a maximum amount for the whole family

Credit cards will differ in terms of coverage (types of purchases allowed) and amount covered (per person, per trip).

As a general rule, the higher your annual credit card fee, the better is the coverage! But some first-year free cards already have excellent coverage.

Make a claim

Is your flight delayed? Our first tip is to check your credit card brochure to find out what you are entitled to. If you can, call the issuer at the number on the back of your card.

When you return home, open a claim procedure. Make sure you have all supporting documents on hand:

Flight tickets
Hotel reservations
Taxi invoices / Uber
Restaurant notes
Purchase bills (prefer airport purchases)
credit card bank statement

Keep ALL your proofs. And most importantly, make sure you keep your credit card open until the end of your trip! If you cancel your credit card you won’t be ableto take out insurance, even if you paid for the entire trip with it!

Recommended credit cards by Milesopedia

Not all credit cards are equal to flight delayinsurance.

As a general rule, credit cards offering flight delay insurance will stand out in three areas:

Coverage (types of purchases allowed)
The amount covered (per person, per trip)
Booking conditions (total or partial amount on the card)

Here are 3 credit cards we recommend for flight delay insurance, based on different income levels:

Scotiabank Platinum American Express^® Card

The main advantage of the Scotiabank Platinum American Express^® Card is that it charges no conversion fees for foreign currency transactions. So you can charge your travel purchases like car rentals or airline tickets abroad without paying the 2.5% conversion fee charged by most credit cards!

The Scotiabank Platinum American Express^® Card requires an income of only $12,000. This card is part of the one offering the widest coverage by repaying “reasonable and necessary expenses incurred for hotel accommodation, restaurant meals, beverages, essential items and various items (such as magazines, paperbacks and various small items).”

Specificities	Details
Amount	up to $1,000 per insured person
Length of delay	More than 4 hours
Booking conditions	The coverage will reimburse the following costs if at least 75% of the total cost of the delayed flight has been paid to your account and/or get with Scene+ points

National Bank World Elite Mastercard

The National Bank World Elite Mastercard^® is one of the only credit cards to offer partial payment coverage. This is handy for those who use points!

Its special feature is to be valid, even if only part of the trip has been taken to account. Reimbursable expenses arereasonable additional expenses incurred for Your accommodation and travel. However, these costs must be incurred as a result of the delay.“.

Specificities	Details
Amount	up to $500 per insured person
Length of delay	More than 4 hours
Booking conditions	The coverage will reimburse the following costs if at least part of the cost has been charged to the account:

Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card

The Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card charges no conversion fees for foreign currency transactions. This means you can charge your travel purchases such as car rentals and flight tickets abroad without paying the 2.5% conversion fee charged by most credit cards!

In addition, you get six complimentary visits to VIP airport lounges. Enough to wait comfortably for your plane in the event of a flight delay.

Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card requires an income of $60,000. This card is part of the one offering the widest coverage by repaying “reasonable and necessary expenses incurred for hotel accommodation, restaurant meals, beverages, essential items and various items (such as magazines, paperbacks and various small items).“

Specificities	Details
Amount	up to $500 per insured person
Length of delay	More than 4 hours
Booking conditions	The coverage will reimburse the following costs if at least 75% of the total cost of the delayed flight has been paid to your account and/or get with Scene+ points

Bottom Line

By choosing the right credit card you could improve your comfort during a flight delay: hotel room, restaurant, miscellaneous items… Don’t let a flight delay ruin your trip!

In any case, remember to consult the insurance booklet supplied with your credit card BEFORE booking your trip.

Credit cards insurance