The Points Guy believes that credit cards can transform lives, helping you leverage everyday spending for cash back or travel experiences that might otherwise be out of reach. That's why we publish a variety of editorial content and card comparisons: to help you find a great card to turn your goals into reality.
Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
Advertiser disclosure
The Points Guy believes that credit cards can transform lives, helping you leverage everyday spending for cash back or travel experiences that might otherwise be out of reach. That's why we publish a variety of editorial content and card comparisons: to help you find a great card to turn your goals into reality.
Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
Guides
Everything you need to know about American Express purchase protection
Jason Steele is a Senior Points and Miles Contributor who has been writing for The Points Guy since 2012. An expert in credit cards and award travel, Jason travels frequently across the United States and around the world with his wife and three children. Jason lives in Denver, Colorado, where he enjoys cycling, snowboarding, and piloting airplanes.
Credit card writer Danyal Ahmed is an avid traveler, averaging about 100,000 aeronautical miles per year. He regularly applies that knowledge and his expertise in credit cards to his role as a credit card writer at TPG.
also contributed to this story
December 25, 2024 • 12 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
Related stories
Quick summary
Many travel rewards cards offer shopping protections such as purchase protection, return protection and extended warranty coverage.
Purchase protection can reimburse for theft, loss or accidental damage to eligible items within 90 days, with coverage limits varying by card type.
Return protection may refund the purchase price of eligible items when a store denies a return, subject to annual and per-item limits and specific exclusions.
Extended warranty coverage can add an extra year to a manufacturer’s warranty for eligible purchases, up to certain per-item and annual limits.
What to consider
Eligibility, benefit levels and exclusions vary by card, so it’s important to review your card’s guide to benefits for details.
Claims generally require timely filing, original receipts and sometimes additional documentation such as police reports or photos.
Certain items—such as perishable goods, one-of-a-kind items, and items for commercial use—are typically excluded from these protections.
What you'll miss from the article
Step-by-step claim filing tips, real-life claim examples and practical advice for maximizing shopping protections on your travel rewards card.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
When deciding which travel rewards card to use for large purchases, it’s important to look beyond the points and miles you earn. Card issuers strive to set their products apart by offering incentives like welcome bonuses, but sometimes, the less-flashy benefits can be even more valuable.
In this post, I’ll look at the three shopping protection policies offered by many American Express cards and explain how you can leverage these benefits to save money.
Purchase protection will reimburse you for theft, loss or accidental damage to eligible items that occurred within 90 days of purchase. To be eligible, all you have to do is charge a portion of your qualifying purchase to your American Express card — but you’ll only be reimbursed up to the amount charged to your card.
EDWIN TAN/GETTY IMAGES
With most Amex cards, you’re covered for up to $1,000 per covered incident and up to $50,000 per year, but the reimbursement doesn’t include any shipping or handling expenses. However, certain premium cards cover your purchases for up to $10,000 per incident, with the same limit of up to $50,000 in total claims per calendar year.*
Cards with this higher level of coverage include:
The Platinum Card® from American Express, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express and all other consumer versions in the Platinum family
The Centurion® Card from American Express and The Business Centurion® Card from American Express
American Express® Gold Card
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card and the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
As with any insurance policy, the devil is always in the details. In this case, you must purchase an item eligible for coverage, and the loss can’t be due to an excluded reason.
The information for the Centurion and Business Centurion cards has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
*Eligibility and benefit levels vary by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
What’s excluded?
The following are ineligible for coverage:
Covered by an unconditional satisfaction guarantee
Damage through altercation or modifications
Animals or living plants
One-of-a-kind items, such as art and antiques
Consumable or perishable items such as perfume, light bulbs and batteries
Negotiable instruments, including travelers’ checks and gift cards
Items that are rented, leased or borrowed
Motorized vehicles, parts and accessories (with limited exceptions)
Anything purchased for resale or commercial use
Permanent household fixtures
Land or buildings
More than one article in a pair or set
Downloadable services
Items voluntarily or involuntarily discarded
Medical or dental equipment or devices
Indirect or direct damage to any other item or property resulting from a covered event
Items purchased for professional or commercial use, such as education, training or skills
Also excluded is loss or damage due to any of the following reasons:
Riots
Illegal activity
War, acts of war or service in the military
Normal wear and tear
Damage through alteration
Items not being safeguarded or left at an unlocked location
Items seized by a government authority
Items left in someone else’s control
Additionally, the maximum protection related to a natural disaster is $500. For a complete description of the policies of your American Express card, select your card on this page.
Additional terms may apply, and terms may change at any time, so make sure to review your card's guide to benefits.
You must file a claim within 30 days of loss through this link or by calling 800-228-6855. You must provide an original store receipt (or a printout of an online receipt). In the event of theft, you must include a copy of a police report.
MOMOPRODUCTIONS/GETTY IMAGES
You may be asked to send in a damaged item or a picture for proof of loss, so be sure to keep all of these until the claim is resolved.
Return protection
Purchase protection covers items you want to keep; return protection covers items you don’t want to keep when the store won’t accept a return.
Cards that offer this benefit include:
The Platinum Card from American Express and other consumer Platinum cards
The Business Platinum Card from American Express
Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card
Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business American Express Card
This benefit compensates cardmembers when a store will not accept an eligible item for return within 90 days of purchase. In these cases, Amex will refund the entire purchase price up to $300 per item, excluding shipping and handling charges.
This benefit is limited to $1,000 annually. To be eligible, you must pay for the entire cost of the item with your eligible American Express card, and purchases must be made in the U.S. or U.S. territories.^
^Eligibility and benefit levels vary by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details.
The information for the Amex Plum Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
What’s excluded?
The purchase must be made in the United States, the item must be in “like new” condition, and the merchant must have previously denied the return.
The following items are excluded from this policy:
Animals and living plants
Limited edition items
One-of-a-kind items, such as antiques and artwork
Going-out-of-business sale items
Consumable or perishable items like food and batteries
Jewelry and watches
Services and additional costs, such as installation charges, warranties, shipping, handling and memberships
Rare and precious coins
Purchased used and/or altered items
Custom-built items
Compact discs, digital video discs, mini discs, audiotapes and videotapes
Computer software
Firmware, such as console games
Maps
Books, magazines or periodicals of any kind
Health care items and/or medical equipment
Personal hygiene items or any devices (medical or nonmedical) that have been personally used and could be considered a health risk to others
Formalwear
Tickets of any kind
Motorized vehicles, their parts and accessories, as well as those parts and accessories intended for use with the motorized vehicles
Land, buildings and fixtures
Firearms and ammunition
Negotiable instruments, such as stamps and travelers’ checks
Cash and its equivalent (including, but not limited to, gift cards and gift certificates)
Items permanently affixed to a home, office, vehicle, etc.
Seasonal items
See the entire return protection policy for your card here.
How to file a claim
You must file a claim within 90 days of your original purchase through this link or by calling 800-228-6855. You’ll be asked for a copy of the receipt and your Amex purchase record. You may also be asked to return the item to Amex, so hang onto it until your claim is resolved.
Extended warranty coverage
When you purchase an item with a manufacturer’s warranty, this benefit can add an extra year to the warranty. Amex’s extended warranty perk applies to warranties of five years or less.
HINTERHAUS PRODUCTIONS/GETTY IMAGES
All American Express cards with extended warranty benefits provide the same coverage. The extended warranty period is an additional year and is limited to covering the actual purchase amount paid for with your card. There is a maximum coverage amount of $10,000 per item and $50,000 per calendar year.*
Dozens of cards offer this benefit. Some of the more popular Amex cards offering extended warranty coverage include The Platinum Card from American Express and other consumer versions of the Platinum card, The Business Platinum Card from American Express, American Express Gold Card, American Express® Green Card, American Express® Business Gold Card, Delta credit cards, Hilton credit cards, Marriott credit cards and The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express. You can view the full list of cards here.
*Eligibility and benefit levels vary by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
The information for the American Express Green Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
The extended warranty does not cover the following items:
Products covered by an unconditional satisfaction guarantee
Motorized vehicles and parts
Business fixtures, including air conditioners, refrigerators and heaters
Land or buildings
Consumable or perishable items
Animals or living plants
Items purchased for resale, professional or commercial use
Items that are rented, leased or borrowed
One-of-a-kind or used items
Also, coverage does not apply to damage from natural disasters, alterations or modifications, power surges, war or acts of war or any item under a product recall. You can view the full extended warranty policy for each card.
How to file a claim
You must file a claim within 30 days of your covered loss, and you can do so online or by calling 800-228-6855. You will be asked for a copy of the receipt, your Amex purchase record and the original warranty. You may also be asked to return the item to Amex if it can’t be repaired or to provide proof of loss via a repair estimate form or photographs showing the item’s current condition.
It’s easy to write off these policies as being too much of a hassle — or, conversely, too good to be true. However, I’ve filed two claims with Amex in the past; in both cases, I was pleasantly surprised at how quick and easy the process was.
The first claim was for a child’s bicycle seat that was supposed to be mounted on my bike’s handlebars. It sounded like a good idea at the time, but once I received it and had a chance to install it, I realized that it scared my daughter and seemed too dangerous to me as well.
Since I was outside of the store’s 30-day return policy but still within 90 days of purchase, I filed a return protection claim online with Amex. The claim was quickly accepted, and I was issued a statement credit for my purchase.
FILADENDRON/GETTY IMAGES
My next chance to use these benefits came when a computer part failed about a year and a half after purchase and had a warranty of just one year. The manufacturer was completely unwilling to repair or replace it, but once again, I remembered my Amex extended warranty policy and filled out an online claim form.
I was notified about a week later that my claim had been accepted, and I was issued a statement credit for the purchase price. I was not asked to return the items in question in either case.
TPG credit cards writer Olivia Mittak also had an easy time filing a claim with Amex after her air fryer was stolen from her apartment's package area. She hadn't paid the charge off yet on her statement, so Amex reversed it. Amex initially asked for a signed letter from her landlord verifying the theft but ended up refunding the charge without the letter.
How to get the most benefit from these policies
First, you have to have the right card. Beyond that, it’s prudent to factor these protections in deciding which card to use whenever you make a large purchase. I lean toward my Amex card when I buy a television, computer or a major appliance that can be costly to repair — even if it means sacrificing bonus points.
YULIYA TABA/GETTY IMAGES
I confess that I don’t save a copy of the register receipt from every purchase I make — I’m just not that organized. Thankfully, it’s easy to search my email inbox to find receipts for everything I’ve bought online. Failing that, I can also search my order history at Amazon, eBay and other online retailers I use.
An increasing number of brick-and-mortar retailers (from The Home Depot to the Apple Store) will now email you a receipt from the register. These online records helped me file my Amex claims quickly, rather than digging through a shoebox full of paper receipts.
Finally, it’s not hard to snap a photo of a receipt and retain it in your smartphone’s cloud storage archive for many years.
When we think of travel rewards card benefits, we tend to think of lounge access, free checked bags and companion tickets, but don’t stop there. By taking advantage of the valuable shopping protection policies offered by most American Express cards, you can save hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars when a purchase doesn’t work out as you’d hoped.
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
