Katie Genter is a digital nomad who has traveled full time since June 2017. She writes and edits stories about points and miles, and loyalty programs, often letting her personal experiences color these stories.
Ryan Wilcox Credit card writerRyan joined TPG in 2022 and works as a credit cards writer, overseeing refreshes of card reviews and updating card offers. He enjoys racking up cash back and helping readers maximize their points and miles for their next big trip.
June 12, 2024 24 min read
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Planning and taking a trip can be exciting, but unexpected events can disrupt even the most meticulously organized vacations. Sudden illness, severe weather and unforeseen circumstances can throw a spanner in the works, forcing you to change your plans and seek compensation.
In this guide, we will explore the best credit cards that offer trip cancellation and interruption insurance. We will explain what these policies cover and provide you with peace of mind for your next adventure.
The cards listed above are our top picks for trip cancellation and interruption insurance. But many other cards — including some Bank of America and Barclays cards — also offer trip cancellation and interruption protection.
Trip cancellation and interruption insurance may reimburse nonrefundable, prepaid trip expenses when you cancel or alter your trip due to a covered situation. In some cases, you may even be covered for select additional costs. But maximum coverage amounts, the types of covered situations and eligible expenses vary from card to card.
Generally, trip cancellation insurance provides reimbursement when you must cancel a trip before its departure date. Meanwhile, trip interruption insurance may refund you if an ongoing trip is interrupted or canceled.
Although you can buy separate travel insurance that will provide a partial refund if you cancel your trip for any reason, trip cancellation and interruption insurance doesn't typically work the same way. Instead, trip cancellation and interruption insurance typically has specific covered losses and exclusions that define the situations in which you can claim reimbursement (and these vary from card to card).
Many different types of cards — including some credit cards with no annual fee — offer trip cancellation and interruption insurance when you purchase travel with your card. The remainder of this guide details some of our favorite cards that offer trip cancellation and interruption benefits. Of course, benefits frequently change. So, it's best to look at your card's guide to benefits before booking to understand your card's protections.
Daily Newsletter Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG’s expertsThe main difference between trip cancellation and trip interruption coverage is timing. Trip cancellation insurance protects your trip from when you make the initial payment to the time of your scheduled departure. In contrast, trip interruption insurance covers your trip from the day of your scheduled departure to your scheduled return date.
Generally, trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance will cover nonrefundable expenses if you need to cancel your trip (or the remainder of your trip) due to a natural disaster. However, credit card insurance policies vary, so check your benefits guide for specific exclusions.
Note that you must book your trip before the natural disaster starts to be covered. If a storm or hurricane is named and you book your trip afterward, you likely won't be covered.
Chase credit cards offer some of the best credit card travel protections. The Chase cards in the table below provide trip cancellation and interruption insurance with relatively high maximum coverage amounts.
| Credit card | Coverage amount | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|
| Chase Sapphire Reserve | Up to $10,000 per covered person, with a maximum of $20,000 per trip | $550 |
| Chase Sapphire Preferred Card | Up to $10,000 per covered person, with a maximum of $20,000 per trip | $95 |
| United Club Infinite Card | Up to $10,000 per covered person, with a maximum of $20,000 per trip | $525 |
| IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card | Up to $5,000 per covered person, with a maximum of $10,000 per trip | $99 |
| World of Hyatt Credit Card | Up to $5,000 per covered person, with a maximum of $10,000 per trip | $95 |
| Ink Business Preferred Credit Card | Up to $5,000 per covered person, with a maximum of $10,000 per trip | $95 |
To help you understand this benefit, let's consider the specific protection provided by the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card as described in its guide to benefits. The other Chase cards listed in the above table provide similar benefits, but check your card's guide to benefits to ensure your coverage is the same.
When you use an eligible Chase card (like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card) to pay for select travel expenses, you and your immediate family may be eligible for trip cancellation and interruption protection. You must charge all or a portion of the cost to your Chase credit card (including bookings made with points through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal associated with your account).
You'll only be eligible for reimbursement if certain events cause the cancellation or interruption of your travel arrangements. For example, Chase may provide trip cancellation and interruption coverage for the following circumstances:
Additionally, Chase may provide trip cancellation coverage for the following events:
Finally, Chase may provide trip interruption coverage for the following events:
However, you won't be eligible for reimbursement if any of the following directly or indirectly cause (or result from) the trip cancellation or interruption:
Additionally, Chase won't provide trip cancellation coverage for trips booked to any area associated with terrorist activity. Plus, trip interruption coverage won't be provided for loss caused by or resulting from:
In general, Chase will only reimburse you for eligible, nonrefundable, prepaid travel expenses charged by a travel supplier or redeposit fees imposed by a rewards program administrator. However, for trip interruption, Chase may also reimburse you for the following:
However, if your trip cancellation or interruption results in a credit from a travel supplier, you will not receive payment for that portion of the eligible travel expenses until the credit expires. Additionally, transportation expenses, including the difference in cost between the original fare and any new fare to return home or rejoin the trip, will not be reimbursed.
Several other Chase cards, including the United℠ Explorer Card, Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited®, also provide trip cancellation and interruption insurance.
However, these cards cover far fewer expenses than the Chase cards discussed in the previous section. In particular, they only cover nonrefundable prepaid passenger fares.
The Chase Freedom Flex guide to benefits, for instance, covers you in similar cases as the more premium Chase cards above:
Chase may reimburse you up to $1,500 per person per trip. However, the reimbursement cap is $6,000 for all covered persons on the same trip.
You can get up to $2,000 per insured person in trip cancellation and interruption protection when you use the Capital One Venture X to pay for nonrefundable common carrier tickets.
Your spouse or domestic partner and your dependent children are eligible for coverage when you pay for the entire cost of common carrier transportation (less redeemable certificates, vouchers or coupons) with your Venture X account.
The list of eligible trip cancellation or interruption events for coverage is short and simple with the Venture X. You may be covered if one of the following applies:
Even if one of the above losses applies, you won't be covered if any of the following caused or led to the loss:
The Venture X's trip cancellation and interruption protection won't cover as much as the premium Chase cards discussed above. According to the Venture X guide to benefits, Capital One will only reimburse up to $2,000 per insured person for the following:
Some Amex cards offer trip cancellation and interruption insurance of up to $10,000 per trip (up to $20,000 per card per 12 consecutive months). Here's a list of some of these cards:
The information for the Hilton Aspire Amex 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.
*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.
You can find benefit guides for these cards on Amex's website.
You, your family members and your traveling companions may be covered when you charge the full cost of round-trip common carrier transportation to an eligible Amex card. You'll also get coverage when you use an eligible Amex card in combination with Membership Rewards points or redeemable certificates, vouchers, coupons or discounts awarded from a loyalty program.
For coverage purposes, round-trip travel may consist of one-way tickets or a combination of round-trip and one-way tickets.
Based on the benefits guide for the above-mentioned Amex cards, covered losses include trip cancellations or trip interruptions that result from the following:
For Amex's trip cancellation and interruption insurance, coverage does not apply to any accident, accidental bodily injury or loss caused by or resulting directly or indirectly from the following:
If a covered loss causes you to cancel your trip, Amex may reimburse you for the nonrefundable amount you paid to a travel supplier with your eligible card.
However, suppose a covered loss causes you to interrupt your trip. In that case, Amex may reimburse you for the nonrefundable amount paid to a travel supplier with your eligible card for the following:
Now, suppose a covered loss causes you to temporarily postpone transportation by a common carrier for a covered trip and set a new departure date. In that case, Amex will reimburse you for the following:
Although some Visa Infinite cards offer their own trip cancellation and interruption insurance, all Visa Infinite credit cards issued by U.S. banks provide a basic level of protection.
Visa Infinite cards offer trip cancellation and interruption protection covering the cardholder (you) and your immediate family when you purchase common carrier travel with your card. This benefit can reimburse up to $2,000 per trip for nonrefundable common carrier fares if you must cancel or interrupt your trip for a covered reason.
Visa provides a quick overview of the Visa Infinite protections. However, your card's guide to benefits will have the full details.
Who is covered by credit card trip cancellation and interruption insurance varies greatly. For example, eligible premium Chase cards cover the cardholder and immediate family members when the cardholder pays for all or a portion of a trip with their card account or rewards associated with their account. For these cards, an immediate family member is someone with any of the following relationships to the cardholder:
Spouse, and parents thereof; sons and daughters, including adopted children and stepchildren; parents, including stepparents; brothers and sisters; grandparents and grandchildren; aunts or uncles; nieces or nephews; and Domestic Partner and parents thereof, including Domestic Partners or Spouses of any individual of this definition.
Immediate family members also include legal guardians or wards for premium Chase cards. The guide to benefits for the Chase Sapphire Preferred notes that immediate family members do not need to travel with the cardholder for benefits to apply.
On the other hand, eligible American Express cards cover the cardholder, their family members and traveling companions. The guide to benefits for eligible Amex cards defines a traveling companion as "an individual who has made advanced arrangements with you or your Family Members to travel together for all or part of a Covered Trip" and family members as:
A spouse, Domestic Partner, or unmarried dependent child up to age 19 (or under age twenty-six (26) if a full time student at an accredited college or university).
So, although Amex will cover traveling companions, you'll need to charge their common carrier fares to your eligible Amex card. On the other hand, Chase doesn't cover traveling companions but does provide a broad interpretation of family and doesn't require round-trip common carrier travel.
A benefits administrator can usually walk you through specific steps to make your claim. Luckily, many card issuers also allow you to make claims online, so you may not even need to hop on the phone to send any physical documents.
The trip cancellation and interruption insurance provided by select cards can come in handy when something unexpected forces you to cancel or interrupt a trip.
However, there are many exclusions. So, it pays to read the guide to benefits on your favorite cards. By doing so, you can determine the best card for booking flights and consider whether it's better to rely on the travel insurance provided by your card or purchase travel insurance.
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
Featured image by SIMON2579/GETTY IMAGESEditorial 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.
