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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.
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Flight delayed? 4 things to do to get trip delay reimbursement from your credit card
Featured image by MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO/GETTY IMAGES
Ryan is a former TPG credit cards writer who has been around points and miles for several years and has published content at Miles to Memories, AwardWallet and The Points Guy. His wife joins him on many of his trips, and they enjoy snowboarding, diving, and seeing animals in the wild. When not traveling, Ryan is probably answering questions from his family about how he travels so much and whether this points & miles stuff is illegal.
Stephanie Stevens is an associate writer with TPG's credit cards team. She focuses on creating timely credit cards content for TPG readers.
also contributed to this story
June 4, 2026 • 11 min read
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Quick summary
Trip delay reimbursement is a travel protection benefit that covers eligible expenses if your journey is delayed for a specified period or overnight.
To qualify, you must pay for all or part of your trip with a card that offers this benefit and meet the card's specific requirements.
Covered expenses can include hotels, meals, ground transportation and essential toiletries, but coverage limits and eligible delay reasons vary by card.
Proper documentation—such as written confirmation of the delay and receipts for expenses—is essential for a successful claim.
What to consider
Coverage terms, including required delay length and eligible expenses, differ between cards and may depend on whether you paid the full fare or just taxes and fees.
You must obtain written proof of the delay and keep all receipts for expenses to support your claim.
Some cards require the entire fare to be charged to the card, while others allow partial payment to trigger coverage.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed step-by-step checklist for filing a successful trip delay reimbursement claim and tips for organizing documentation.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
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.
Here at TPG, we talk a lot about using your credit card’s benefits for things like trip delays. The peace of mind these perks can add to your trip when something goes awry is fantastic.
However, before you get lulled into a false sense of security, remember that trip delay reimbursement is not automatic. You must take specific steps to get reimbursed for reasonable expenses after a lengthy (or overnight) delay.
If you want your credit card’s trip delay reimbursement coverage to work as intended, here are key things you need to know.
What is trip delay reimbursement?
Trip delay reimbursement is a credit card travel protection benefit that reimburses eligible expenses incurred during a covered travel delay. Depending on the card, coverage may apply when a flight, train, bus or cruise is delayed for a specified period of time or requires an overnight stay.
Cards reference "common carriers" for this coverage, which typically means forms of public transportation with published schedules on which you purchased a ticket — not a road trip in your friend's car, for instance.
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Covered expenses often include hotels, meals, ground transportation and essential toiletries. Coverage limits, eligible delay reasons and claim requirements vary by card issuer.
While airlines may provide hotel rooms and food vouchers for overnight delays that are under their control, such as maintenance issues, they typically won't provide compensation for things like weather delays. In addition, what an airline provides may not cover all of your expenses. This is where trip delay reimbursement can help.
To be eligible, however, you'll generally need to pay for all or part of the trip with a credit card that offers this coverage.
To successfully file and receive approval for a trip delay reimbursement claim, you typically need to:
Pay for your trip with a credit card that offers trip delay reimbursement.
Obtain written confirmation of the delay from the airline or other carrier.
Save receipts for all eligible expenses.
Keep documentation showing your travel itinerary and payment method.
Pay for the trip with a credit card that provides trip delay reimbursement
Not all travel credit cards offer trip delay reimbursement, and coverage requirements can vary significantly. Before booking a trip, review your card’s benefits guide to understand how long a delay must last before coverage begins and what expenses are eligible for reimbursement.
Coverage requirements vary by issuer, but many of the best travel credit cards offer up to $500 in trip delay reimbursement per traveler or ticket. Here are some cards that are among the best for trip delay reimbursement:
*Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
It’s important to note that the specific terms can vary from card to card (or issuer to issuer).
For example, here are the terms from the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, according to the card’s benefits page:
"If your common carrier travel is delayed more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay, you are covered for unreimbursed expenses, such as meals and lodging, up to $500 per covered traveler."
The card covers “reasonable expenses” incurred due to the delay. This means that items like a new toothbrush are likely covered, but three pairs of new shoes probably aren’t.
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Also, coverage is secondary, meaning that it kicks in after any other insurance or coverage you may have, including benefits from the transportation carrier and your own insurance protections.
For example, with the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can “charge all or a portion of a common carrier fare to your credit card account and/or rewards programs associated with your account.” Capital One cards have similar terminology. Thus, an award booking in which you paid the taxes and fees with your card would be sufficient.
However, Some American Express cards require that the full amount of the common carrier fare be charged to the card to qualify for trip delay coverage.
Get a statement from the carrier confirming the delay
Once your delay exceeds the required time mentioned above, it’s time to get it in writing. If it’s not in writing, it doesn’t exist.
The simplest way to do this is to ask a staff member at the customer service desk, at your flight gate or at some other airline facility. Most importantly, try to do this while you’re still at the airport.
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If you leave the airport without getting a delay confirmation, it is possible to request one after the fact. Delta, for example, has a landing page to request this form, while other airlines handle this through their respective customer service contacts. However you get this information, be sure it includes: your name(s), the confirmation or ticket numbers, the flight details (including date, flight number and route) and the specific reason for the delay.
Confirming a flight was delayed and proving that the delay was due to a covered reason are two different things. Be sure you get documentation that confirms both the delay and its cause, since many trip delay reimbursement claims require proof that the disruption resulted from a covered reason.
The same concept applies whether your travel was with an airline, bus company or cruise.
Save the receipts
Get printed receipts for all eligible expenses and save them, including things like hotel stays, meals, transportation and essential toiletries purchased because of the delay.
In fact, you should probably take a picture with your phone as soon as you receive them — that way, you have a record of the purchases, even if the physical copies get lost. If you don’t get a receipt, you can’t submit for reimbursement with your credit card issuer.
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This applies not only to receipts for your purchases during the delay, but also to the confirmation emails associated with the trip. You’ll need that documentation to prove that you paid for this trip with a credit card that offers trip delay reimbursement. You may even be asked for the monthly statement with the transaction, which is what TPG editor-in-chief Nick Ewen had to provide when he had an unexpected overnight layover in Lima, Peru, on his way back from Chile.
During the delay, you may want to start gathering those documents. Make sure you know which credit card you used to pay for the trip, and start organizing these things for the claim you will make later. Doing this will also help to avoid surprises later.
Why? You’ll verify what coverage you have based on the card you used — like how long the delay must be before coverage kicks in.
Save the paper trail (if it's part of a longer trip)
If your delayed flight is part of a longer trip, be prepared to provide documentation beyond just the affected flight. Depending on the circumstances, an insurance adjuster may ask for records showing your itinerary leading up to the delay, including confirmation numbers, tickets and transportation receipts.
Requirements vary by issuer and claims administrator, but keeping a complete paper trail can make the reimbursement process much smoother. Save copies of your flight confirmations, boarding passes, hotel reservations and any other transportation bookings associated with your trip.
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While every claim is different, reimbursement providers may request documentation showing how you traveled from your departure point to the location where the delay occurred. Having those records readily available can help support your claim and prevent unnecessary delays during the review process.
In addition to saving receipts for expenses incurred during the delay, consider keeping documentation for the transportation and accommodations associated with the broader trip. This can be especially helpful when the delayed flight is part of a multicity or international itinerary that doesn't begin or end at your home airport.
Knowing that you are covered by trip delay reimbursement on your credit card can reduce headaches during travel. This benefit can provide reimbursement for eligible expenses when a covered delay leaves you stranded for several hours or overnight.
However, you'll only receive reimbursement if you follow the proper claims process. Make sure you understand your card’s coverage requirements, save your receipts and travel documents, and obtain written confirmation of the delay from the carrier. Having the right documentation can make the difference between an approved trip delay reimbursement claim and a denied one.
