|
| A must-have for any trip |
| by Brian Kelly |
|
 |
Hi everyone,
Travel doesn’t always go smoothly, which I experienced firsthand when my son was hospitalized right before an expensive prepaid trip to St. Barths.
Luckily, I had invested in the right travel insurance, which softened the blow of missing the trip and handling my nonrefundable villa reservation. In my mind, travel insurance is a must-have for any trip.
Getting my son the treatment he needed was what mattered most, and thankfully, he’s now fine. But it was still disappointing to lose money and miss the trip, which is why having the right travel insurance made such a difference — it allowed me to focus on my son rather than stress about the financial loss.
My trip to St. Barths
I had booked a splurge of a trip — flights mostly with points, a car rental with cash and a gorgeous (nonrefundable) villa in St. Barths that cost $27,000 or 1.7 million Chase points. I was excited to relax with my family and enjoy some fun in the sun, but then my youngest son got sick and had to be hospitalized so that we couldn’t go.
I was able to get my points back for most flights, but that didn’t resolve the cost issues with the villa or the car rental. Luckily, I had purchased a travel insurance plan with Allianz that saved the day.
My travel insurance policy and how it gave me thousands back
I paid a total of $1,153 for travel insurance: Allianz’s AllTrip Premier Plan. While that may seem like a lot, it ended up paying for itself because I had to actually use the policy.
The plan included a variety of coverage, including things like trip delay and trip interruption protection, as well as emergency medical and dental insurance.
However, the part I’m focusing on today was the trip cancellation coverage, which stated that if I canceled my trip before departure for a covered reason (including emergency hospitalization), I would be covered for up to $15,000.
I submitted receipts for the rental car and the villa to Allianz and waited for their response. Because of how Chase Travel℠ works, my receipt showed the villa stay cost $27,000, even though I actually paid for it with points. Therefore, I was able to obtain the maximum refund of $15,000.
It’s true I lost a large number of points, but after subtracting the car rental cost and insurance plan costs, I still ended up with thousands of dollars in compensation for my canceled trip.
Don’t forget about credit card insurance
For the costs the insurance plan didn’t cover (I had maxed it out at $15,000), I’m working on a claim with Chase, as its Chase Sapphire Reserve® travel insurance policies are generous. I’m hoping to have some additional expenses reimbursed, including my nanny’s travel expenses.
Many credit cards beyond the Chase Sapphire Reserve offer legitimate and generous travel insurance benefits — even cards with low annual fees like the $95-per-year Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card — so make sure to read the coverage and use that card to book travel.
Get travel insurance and always file the claim
The moral of the story?
Always get travel insurance (or at least book the trip with a credit card that offers it).
Most of the time, travel insurance is something you hope you never need to use. But when plans fall apart, getting reimbursed for canceled, delayed or interrupted travel definitely helps take some of the sting out of missing a trip — especially for your wallet.
Even if you don’t get a separate travel insurance plan, always pay for travel with a card that has solid travel insurance benefits and submit your claims right away. It might take a while, but it could be well worth it.
|
|
| Posts in this newsletter contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products, and this may impact how or where they appear. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page. |
| Photo Credit: JONNO RATTMAN. |
|
|
|
