Traveling is always an adventure. Whether it’s business-related or personal, traveling is a way to escape from the stresses of everyday life. Usually, you buy airline tickets through credit cards. We all know it’s the easiest and fastest way to purchase products and services nowadays. Generally, the tickets are accompanied by travel insurance which need to be activated by paying extra cost while some provide it for free. Most of the time, you can get benefits if you take out complimentary insurance policies rather than buy a separate one. To give you a better idea, here are bad and good points of credit card with complimentary travel insurance.
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The Pros of Complimentary Travel Insurance
Credit cards that come with a complimentary travel insurance usually have various rewards and benefits. This will somehow make the annual fees worth the buck. Credit card owners with frequent points for flying even get additional rewards.
A complimentary insurance for traveling usually comes for free. But it generally applies to high-end credit cards where large annual fees are paid. However, these fees are still relatively lower than getting premiums for a travel insurance. If you are a constant traveler, you can actually even this out.
The coverage level for complimentary travel insurance is way better than the stand alone and unlike the stand alone counterpart, it is not area-specific. This means you can travel to different parts of the world without getting additional policies and without paying higher premiums, too. This applies to most countries around the globe with the exception of some under the United Nations prohibition.
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The Cons of Complimentary Travel Insurance
A credit card alone will not entitle you to a complimentary travel insurance. You will have to buy tickets with the credit card so you can get this benefit. There will be cases when you will need to book a return ticket before flying home and this could dampen the mood. There are some banks that will require you to inform them about getting full coverage for your trips. A base coverage will only guarantee emergency treatment and not damage to property or delays in luggage. You might need to activate certain features before you get the full benefits of a complimentary travel insurance.
Pre-existing conditions may not be covered by some credit card insurance companies. You might need to pay extra. Most standalone insurance charges about $100 for making claims while complimentary ones will charge you at least $250. Also, domestic travels are not covered by complimentary travel insurance. For passengers that are over 80 years old, you may not be covered with the complimentary insurance. And you won’t even be covered if you need to interrupt or cancel your flight to tend to a family member who’s over 80.
It always pays to read. Before you apply for a credit card with complimentary travel insurance, you have to read and understand the policy first. If you’re planning to take a trip abroad, you can get a number of advantages if you do get complimentary travel insurance. The key here is to get the best deals for your money.