Credit Card Travel Insurance Background

Credit cards with complimentary travel insurance

The table below displays credit cards with complimentary travel insurance offered by our online partners.

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  • Purchase rate - lowest first
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  • Reward points per $1 - lowest first
  • Reward points per $1 - highest first
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BONUS
Get 180000 Rewards Points and $150 back to your new card once you spend $3,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months of card approval... 
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Tooltip icon
Features Glossary
  • icon Travel insurance
  • icon Points never expire
  • icon Airline lounge access more
  • icon 0% currency conversion fee
  • icon Fraud protection
20.99%
2 Glossary
up to $5,000/month then 1 uncapped Glossary
$320 Glossary
55 Glossary
BONUS
Get 50000 Rewards Points once you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months... 
#
Tooltip icon
Features Glossary
  • icon Travel insurance
  • icon Points never expire
  • icon Airline lounge access more
  • icon 0% currency conversion fee
  • icon Fraud protection
23.99%
2 Glossary
uncapped Glossary
$395 Glossary
55 Glossary
BONUS
Get 100000 Rewards Points and $50 back to your new card once you spend $2,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months of card approval... 
#
Tooltip icon
Features Glossary
  • icon Travel insurance
  • icon Points never expire
  • icon Airline lounge access more
  • icon 0% currency conversion fee
  • icon Fraud protection
20.99%
1.50 Glossary
up to $2,000/month then 0.5 uncapped Glossary
$94 Glossary
55 Glossary
BONUS
Get 100000 Velocity Points once you spend $3,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months... 
#
Tooltip icon
Features Glossary
  • icon Travel insurance
  • icon Points never expire
  • icon Airline lounge access more
  • icon 0% currency conversion fee
  • icon Fraud protection
23.99%
1.25 Glossary
uncapped Glossary
$375 Glossary
55 Glossary
BONUS
Get 60000 Qantas Points once you spend $3,000 within the first 3 months of card approval... 
#
Tooltip icon
Features Glossary
  • icon Travel insurance
  • icon Points never expire
  • icon Airline lounge access more
  • icon 0% currency conversion fee
  • icon Fraud protection
23.99%
1.25 Glossary
up to 100,000 pts/yr then 1 uncapped Glossary
$450 Glossary
44 Glossary
DISCOUNT
Save $195 with a first year card fee of $0. Annual ongoing card fee is $195... 
#
Tooltip icon
Features Glossary
  • icon Travel insurance
  • icon Points never expire
  • icon Airline lounge access more
  • icon 0% currency conversion fee
  • icon Fraud protection
23.99%
1 Glossary
uncapped Glossary
$195 Glossary
$0 in first year Glossary
55 Glossary
BONUS
Get $300 Back once you spend $1,500 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months from approval... 
#
Tooltip icon
DISCOUNT
Save $87 with a first year card fee of $0. Annual ongoing card fee is $87... 
#
Tooltip icon
Features Glossary
  • icon Travel insurance
  • icon Points never expire
  • icon Airline lounge access more
  • icon 0% currency conversion fee
  • icon Fraud protection
20.99%
- Glossary
$87 Glossary
$0 if $20,000 is spent annually Glossary
55 Glossary

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The initial results in the table above are sorted by Reward points per $1 (High-Low) , then Annual fee (Low-High) . Additional filters may have been applied, see top of table for details.

What is credit card travel insurance?

Complimentary credit card travel insurance is a popular feature of some premium credit cards. It can provide the cardholder cover for a range of risks when they are travelling domestically and/or internationally.

Complimentary travel insurance is not necessarily ‘free’ because the credit card provider will usually charge an annual card fee to cover the cost. But it could be a cost-effective alternative if you are considering taking on a standalone travel insurance policy.

However, it’s important to check what your credit card travel insurance covers you for and what you have to do to activate your policy before you head off on your travels. For example, generally only trips that are paid for using the credit card that offers the insurance will be covered.

Frequently Asked Questions: Complimentary Travel Insurance from Credit Cards

Coverage will depend on the credit card travel insurance policy. But it could include cover for:

  • Overseas medical expenses
  • Lost, damaged or stolen property
  • Cancelled or delayed flights
  • Legal liability (e.g. if you cause an accident during your trip and are required to pay compensation to other people).

What you are covered for and what limits apply will depend on your policy (we’ve explained some of the common policy types below), so it’s important to read your policy documents. Exclusions can also apply and policies may only cover trips of a certain length. There may also be an excess amount payable if you need to make a claim.

Read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination (TMD) for the insurance policy to understand what’s included and whether it’s suitable for your situation.

Importantly, some cover may only be available to customers who have more premium credit cards. Other credit cards may still include complimentary travel insurance but a more basic level of cover.

Depending on the credit card you choose, you may get all or some of the following types of insurance included as a perk.

Overseas travel insurance

This may cover the policyholder for a range of risks related to travelling overseas, such as costs incurred due to cancellations or delays, medical expenses, lost baggage and replacement of travel documents. The cost of an overseas funeral or cremation, or body repatriation, may also be covered if a person covered by the policy passes away while travelling abroad.

The policyholder may have the option of adding additional cover to their policy to cover specific risks (e.g. skiing or cruise cover) but there could be a cost for this.

Interstate flight inconvenience

This may cover the policyholder for some risks associated with interstate travel within Australia. Covered risks may include costs incurred due to delays and cancellations, and loss or damage to personal belongings or business items. Funeral expenses as a result of accidental death may also be covered, depending on the policy.

Transit accident insurance

This kind of policy may cover accidental injury or death that occurs while the policyholder is boarding or travelling as a paying passenger on a licensed plane, tourist bus, train, ferry or eligible form of transport.

Car rental excess cover

Some policies may cover the policyholder for the cost of any excess they may need to pay to a rental car hire company if their rented vehicle is damaged or stolen. This cover is sometimes included as a benefit under a broader travel insurance policy or can be added separately.

Here are some of the potential pros and cons of complimentary credit card travel insurance:

Pros to complimentary credit card travel insurance

  • It may be cheaper than buying standalone travel insurance, particularly if you are a frequent traveller, as you would not need to purchase a new policy each time you travel.
  • The policy may also cover your spouse or family.
  • You can continue to receive complimentary cover as you get older (subject to the policy’s upper age limit), compared to standalone policies that tend to get more expensive as you age.

Cons to complimentary credit card travel insurance

  • The card may charge higher annual fees and interest than a card with no complimentary insurance.
  • The cover will vary depending on the card and it may be lower than what you can get with a standalone policy.
  • There may be exclusions, such as trip duration limits and age limits.
  • You need to activate the card and may need to spend a certain amount or pay for the trip using your credit card.

What’s on offer with credit card travel insurance and whether it’s a good option will depend on the travel insurance policy and your circumstances. Make sure you check the list of events that are and aren’t covered and what the policy limits are. If you don’t think you’ll have enough coverage or you won’t be covered for the events you want, you may want to consider buying a standalone travel insurance policy.

When looking at travel insurance, the Australian Government’s Smartraveller website recommends thinking about:

  • where you are travelling
  • how long you are travelling for
  • what you plan to do there
  • your age and health
  • how much your valuables are worth
  • shop around and choose what’s right for you.

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This advice is general and has not taken into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider whether this advice is right for you.

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The Credit Cards Star Ratings are updated daily based on product features at that date, except for the Overseas Travel profile which is updated annually. Current rates, product features and fees are displayed and may be different to what was rated. The results don’t include every provider in the market and we may not compare all features relevant to you. You can find a description of the initial sort order below the table. Depending on which card feature/use you are looking at, the results will be sorted as follows:

  • Low fee is sorted by Star Ratings, then lowest Annual Fee, then alphabetically by brand.
  • Rewards is sorted by Star Ratings, then lowest Annual Fee, then alphabetically by brand.
  • Frequent Flyer is sorted by Star Ratings, then highest airline points per dollar, then alphabetically by brand.
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  • All card types is sorted by highest Points per dollar spent, then lowest Annual fee, then alphabetically by brand.
  • Overseas Travel is sorted by Star Ratings, then lowest currency conversion on purchases, then lowest annual fee.

 

You can use the sort buttons at the top of each column to re-order the display. Learn more about our Credit Cards Star Rating Methodology and our Travel Credit Card and Travel Debit Card Star Ratings Methodology. The Occasional Overseas Traveller rating is shown in the table. The rating shown is only one factor to take into account when considering products. 

The products and Star Ratings in the table might not match your exact inputs in the selector. Sometimes the methodology uses profiles with categories or bands (e.g. income, loan amount or monthly spend), but sometimes a single methodology, without any categories or bands, is applied. The results will show the products that most closely match your selection, based on our profiles. If you are unsure about any terms used in the comparison table please refer to the glossary.

What is a Target Market Determination?

A Target Market Determination (‘TMD’) is a document that explains which people particular financial products may be suitable for (the target market) and sets out any conditions around how financial products can be distributed to consumers.

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From 5 October 2021, TMDs are compulsory for most financial products.

Issuers and distributors of financial products must take reasonable steps that are likely to result in financial products reaching consumers in the target market defined by the product issuer.

We recommend that you consider the TMD before making a purchase decision. Contact the product issuer directly for a copy of the TMD.

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