Can I Avoid Change and Cancellation Fees By Purchasing Airline Trip Protection?
"Reader Questions" are answered three days a week — Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays — by TPG Senior Writer Julian Mark Kheel.
TPG reader Peyton sent us an email wondering if trip protection insurance might be a way for travelers to avoid paying hefty change fees for rebooking...
[pullquote source="TPG Reader Peyton"]If I purchase ‘trip protection’ when buying an airline ticket, would that mostly cover me if I had to rebook? I don’t mind paying a small fee for switching but the typical $200 is ridiculous.[/pullquote]
When you book an airline ticket online, at some point during the checkout process you'll likely be offered the chance to "protect your purchase" by buying trip protection coverage. These plans advertise that they'll reimburse you for your costs if you experience a delay or need to cancel your trip. They're sold by airlines and online travel agencies such as Orbitz or Expedia, but the actual coverage is usually issued by a third-party travel insurance company.
The fees for these trip protection plans range depending on the company and cost of the trip involved. For instance, on a Delta flight from New York to Los Angeles, you'll pay less than $20 to protect a $300 round-trip airline ticket. Since change and cancellation fees can easily run into the hundreds of dollars, $20 to save hundreds seems like a pretty good deal, right?
Well, not necessarily. The key to remember with these plans is that they won't cover your fees just because you feel like changing or canceling your flight. Instead, they have a very strict set of covered events, one of which must occur for the policy to kick in with a reimbursement. Usually that means either you, a traveling companion or a member of your immediate family needs to experience some form of illness, death or other specific unseen circumstance.
Now, if you're suddenly feeling a cold coming on and think that'll be enough to escape the $200 cancellation fee, it's not quite that easy. Here's what the Allianz policy sold by United Airlines to residents of California says constitutes a covered "illness":
"The injury, illness or medical condition must be disabling enough to make a reasonable person delay, cancel or interrupt their trip. A doctor must examine you or a traveling companion and advise you or a traveling companion to cancel or interrupt your trip before you cancel or interrupt it. If that isn't possible, a doctor must examine you within 72 hours of your cancellation or interruption."
That's typical of these plans, so we're talking a fairly significant health event with medical documentation, not just being a little under the weather. But what about the "other specific unseen circumstances" these plans cover? Do they offer a little more leeway?
Yes, but it's still pretty specific and limited. Here's a list of covered events for which the Allianz plan will reimburse you for canceling your trip:
- Traffic accident on the way to the point of departure
- Jury duty or court-ordered appearance
- Primary residence uninhabitable due to natural disaster, fire, flood, burglary or vandalism
- Travel provider stops offering all services for at least 24 hours due to a natural disaster or severe weather
- Hijacking
- Terrorist event at your foreign destination within 30 days of arrival
- Termination or layoff at work
- Extended travel delay in which you miss more than half of the total length of your trip because your travel is delayed
If you do experience one of these events, then the trip protection plan could be useful, but they're not going to reimburse you if you cancel just because you want to change your flight.
What if you think this sort of policy might be useful to you for one of the actual covered events? Perhaps your company has been wobbly and you think a layoff could be in the offing, but you don't want to hold off booking a trip. Should you buy the trip protection?
The answer is probably not, because trip protection plans sold by airlines and OTAs aren't the same thing as complete travel insurance policies, which generally cover a lot more and give you many plan options to choose from in order to suit your needs. On top of that, if you use the right credit card to pay for your trip, you'll be covered through the card's trip cancellation and trip delay benefits. Just make sure you use the right card to pay for your trip — check out our posts on Trip Delay Reimbursement and the Credit Cards That Offer It and Does Your Credit Card Give You Adequate Travel Insurance Coverage?
Sorry that trip protection won't be an easy workaround to get out of paying change fees, Peyton, but you might find more luck with our post on How to Avoid Airline Change and Cancellation Fees. Thanks for the question, and if you're a TPG reader who'd like us to answer a question of your own, tweet us at @thepointsguy, message us on Facebook or email us at info@thepointsguy.com.
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- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
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- Annual Fee is $325.
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Rewards Rate
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 3X | Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com. |
| 2X | Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com. |
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You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.As High As 100,000 points. Find Out Your Offer.Annual Fee
$325Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.Excellent to Good
Why We Chose It
There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.