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Credit card with best trip cancellation/interruption insurance?

Posted: Aug 13th, 2011 9:49 pm
by sillysimms
I'm looking at replacing my RBC Infinite Avion credit card as it has trip interruption but no cancellation insurance.

I've looked at the Capital One Aspire, but the cancellation insurance is only $1,000/person - we normally cruise and want more than that.

I'm not concerned with travel medical insurance as we have that through work (although most cards with the other insurances have that). Rewards aren't a major issue as I have another main CC and just want this for the insurance when booking trips.

I've looked at many cards and just wanted to check whether anyone knows one that is better for what I'm looking for:

Seems like the best choice for me:

National Bank Platinum Mastercard:

http://www.nbc.ca/bnc/cda/productfamily ... 48,00.html

Annual fee $125

Cancellation insurance: $2,500/person
Interruption insurance: $5,000/person
Checked baggage: $500/person (if delayed 6 hours or more)
Flight delay insurance: $250/day to a max of $500 if delay is 4 hours or more

There are other coverages as well and for anyone interested, the rewards program is $1 purchase = 1.5 points. 11,000 points = $100 travel discount. 50,000 points = $500 discount

Is anyone aware of a better card specifically for travel cancellation/interruption insurance? Thanks.

Re: Credit card with best trip cancellation/interruption insurance?

Posted: Aug 14th, 2011 12:24 pm
by Paulfistinyourface
sillysimms wrote:
Is anyone aware of a better card specifically for travel cancellation/interruption insurance? Thanks.
Nope. Look no further. You have already found the best travel credit card as far as insurance is concerned: The National Bank Platinum Mastercard.

Also of note: 60 days of travel medical is unheard of for a credit card.

The 1.5% rebate is better than average, but the triple extended warranty and 6 months of purchase protection (both twice the normal amount) seals the deal.

Re: Credit card with best trip cancellation/interruption insurance?

Posted: Aug 14th, 2011 2:17 pm
by sillysimms
Paulfistinyourface wrote: Nope. Look no further. You have already found the best travel credit card as far as insurance is concerned: The National Bank Platinum Mastercard.

Also of note: 60 days of travel medical is unheard of for a credit card.

The 1.5% rebate is better than average, but the triple extended warranty and 6 months of purchase protection (both twice the normal amount) seals the deal.

Great, thanks. I looked through the details of a large number of cards and this one did seem the best for insurance. There are a lot of cards with similar annual fees and very different coverages. I was a bit surprised to find that a large number of them only offer $1,000/person for cancellation insurance...if it wasn't for that, I'm sure I would have gotten the Aspire without looking further!

Re: Credit card with best trip cancellation/interruption insurance?

Posted: Aug 14th, 2011 2:20 pm
by CorSter
In all honesty, I think i'm going to start recommending the National Bank card over the Aspire now. The insurance coverage on that card is amazing. Love the triple extended warranty too.

Re: Credit card with best trip cancellation/interruption insurance?

Posted: Aug 14th, 2011 2:31 pm
by S5
1.5% on travel over $500, you just purchase travel wherever you prefer and then call them to redeem it within (60?) days.

1.36% on travel under $500, same % for gift cards, investments(RRSP, TFSA) and even your mortgage. Lots of redemption versatility.

Re: Credit card with best trip cancellation/interruption insurance?

Posted: Aug 14th, 2011 2:47 pm
by Deal Grabber
S5 wrote: 1.5% on travel over $500, you just purchase travel wherever you prefer and then call them to redeem it within (60?) days.

1.36% on travel under $500, same % for gift cards, investments(RRSP, TFSA) and even your mortgage. Lots of redemption versatility.

Yes. Supplemental cards are free and redemption is easy. There is only one tier, but no multipliers etc. Also note that National Bank CS is far superior to Cap1 or most other big banks. Given the freedom, versatility and insurance package of this card, I think its a better deal than Aspire with its tiers and poor customer service, and TDFC with its poor insurance coverage. Avion isn't even in the league and I dont know why people keep bringing it up. If you take out 1.5BA miles promo its pretty much the same card as CIBC Aventura which isn't very well liked.

Re: Credit card with best trip cancellation/interruption insurance?

Posted: Aug 14th, 2011 4:02 pm
by rivet
I think the main advantage of the Aspire card is the huge bonus which makes the annual fee very cheap.

PS: Just a question about those insurance coverage: does it cover only the primary card holder or the secondary card holder as well, does it cover the primary card holder's spouse, child?

Re: Credit card with best trip cancellation/interruption insurance?

Posted: Aug 14th, 2011 4:06 pm
by sillysimms
rivet wrote: I think the main advantage of the Aspire card is the huge bonus which makes the annual fee very cheap.

I long ago would have applied for that card if it had adequate insurance for my trips, but even if the fee is almost nothing the $1,000/trip cancellation insurance doesn't work for me so the card isn't worthwhile to me (since that is the reason why I have a card with a fee).

For others that don't need more, Aspire will be a good choice. However, for me I had to look for a different card since Aspire didn't work and for my needs, this one works well.

Overall, this looks like a good card.
rivet wrote: PS: Just a question about those insurance coverage: does it cover only the primary card holder or the secondary card holder as well, does it cover the primary card holder's spouse, child?
Yes - covers cardholder, spouse and dependent children. You'd need to read through their insurance document for full details, but for trip insurance coverage (medical, cancellation, interruption) it covers spouse and dependent children as well.

Edit to add: From reading the insurance certificate, it also says - at least for the cancellation/interruption/flight delay insurance - that it covers travel companions - to a maximum of 6 - a member of the immediate family is considered a travelling companion but is not included in that 6 person maximum.

There aren't a lot of cards that extend any insurance to people other than spouse/children.

Re: Credit card with best trip cancellation/interruption insurance?

Posted: Aug 14th, 2011 4:35 pm
by JustBob
S5 wrote: 1.5% on travel over $500, you just purchase travel wherever you prefer and then call them to redeem it within (60?) days.

1.36% on travel under $500, same % for gift cards, investments(RRSP, TFSA) and even your mortgage. Lots of redemption versatility.

Is this cashback? I own this card and never knew this existed. It's not on the card's details/description in the brochure nor on the NBC website.

Re: Credit card with best trip cancellation/interruption insurance?

Posted: Aug 14th, 2011 5:32 pm
by philosofaux
Deal Grabber wrote: Yes. Supplemental cards are free and redemption is easy. There is only one tier, but no multipliers etc. Also note that National Bank CS is far superior to Cap1 or most other big banks. Given the freedom, versatility and insurance package of this card, I think its a better deal than Aspire with its tiers and poor customer service, and TDFC with its poor insurance coverage. Avion isn't even in the league and I dont know why people keep bringing it up. If you take out 1.5BA miles promo its pretty much the same card as CIBC Aventura which isn't very well liked.

The 1.5 BA/AA transfers are the only reason Avion matters. It gets an extra leg up over Aventura though in that oneworld is a better transfer partner than Aeroplan for many people since Air Canada has such insane fees and charges. I've been on cross-country (the country being the US) flights with American where the fees were only $2.
rivet wrote: I think the main advantage of the Aspire card is the huge bonus which makes the annual fee very cheap.

That's why I have it. It takes very little to make the card pay for itself with the bonus. I would not pay for a card otherwise.

Re: Credit card with best trip cancellation/interruption insurance?

Posted: Aug 14th, 2011 7:00 pm
by yyzvoyageur
S5 wrote: 1.5% on travel over $500, you just purchase travel wherever you prefer and then call them to redeem it within (60?) days.

Are you sure about that? A cursory view of their website seems to indicate that it has to be booked through their travel agency, but it's hard for me to do a thorough inspection right now from my iPhone.

Re: Credit card with best trip cancellation/interruption insurance?

Posted: Aug 14th, 2011 8:35 pm
by sillysimms
yyzvoyageur wrote: Are you sure about that? A cursory view of their website seems to indicate that it has to be booked through their travel agency, but it's hard for me to do a thorough inspection right now from my iPhone.

See here - Section 7:

http://www.nbc.ca/bnc/files/bncpdf/en/2 ... _rules.pdf

Section 7 is specifically for Platinum cardholders (which is this card). You don't have to use their travel agency to get the rebate if you have the Platinum card, but have to apply for the rebate within 60 days of purchase.

Section 8 seems to indicate if you have this card AND use THEIR travel agency, you'll get a bonus of 5,000 points if travel is at least $1,200/person

Pricing would have to be checked out to see whether or not it was worth it to use their agency since there is also this:

4.10 Air travel reservations made with the Travel Agency are subject to a reservation fee of $30
per person, before taxes. A fee of $25 per person, before taxes, applies to all other travel
reservations (packages, hotels, etc.). Reservation fees apply to all cardholders who use the
services of the Travel Agency.

Re: Credit card with best trip cancellation/interruption insurance?

Posted: Aug 14th, 2011 9:04 pm
by loseyourmindtoo
I also chose the National Bank Platinum card because of the great insurance with it. Specifically, the trip cancellation insurance was fantastic. A lot of the other cards (TD Infinite, Aspire etc...) have similar or even better rewards, but not enough trip cancellation. That was the clincher for me. The rewards of 1.5%/1.36% are great too! And you can apply it to any travel you want. You just charge it to your card, then call them and they will give you a credit! Plus, when I applied, there was a bonus of 20000 points (=$200).

I don't know why this card is not talked about more on RFD! It's one of the best travel cards out there!

Re: Credit card with best trip cancellation/interruption insurance?

Posted: Aug 14th, 2011 9:07 pm
by sillysimms
loseyourmindtoo wrote: I also chose the National Bank Platinum card because of the great insurance with it. Specifically, the trip cancellation insurance was fantastic. A lot of the other cards (TD Infinite, Aspire etc...) have similar or even better rewards, but not enough trip cancellation. That was the clincher for me. The rewards of 1.5%/1.36% are great too! And you can apply it to any travel you want. You just charge it to your card, then call them and they will give you a credit! Plus, when I applied, there was a bonus of 20000 points (=$200).

I don't know why this card is not talked about more on RFD! It's one of the best travel cards out there!

Yes, I saw there was that bonus valid until June 30! That would have been great.

Re: Credit card with best trip cancellation/interruption insurance?

Posted: Aug 14th, 2011 9:25 pm
by CRAZYBUBBA
The AMEX gold doesn't meet your needs? They've got every coverage under the sun, minus price protection.

Re: Credit card with best trip cancellation/interruption insurance?

Posted: Aug 14th, 2011 9:31 pm
by sillysimms
CRAZYBUBBA wrote: The AMEX gold doesn't meet your needs? They've got every coverage under the sun, minus price protection.

I don't know where to find their full travel insurance certificate but based on this it looks like they only have trip interruption and not trip cancellation insurance (same as the problem I have with my RBC Infinite Avion, although that card has $5,000/person whereas the AMEX only has $1,500/person). You have to click on 'Travel Perks' as I can't seem to link to it directly:

http://www.americanexpress.com/canada/g ... oduct#sub4

As well, their interruption insurance is only $1,500/person - lower than most other cards (and the card in this thread has $5,000/person).

Re: Credit card with best trip cancellation/interruption insurance?

Posted: Aug 14th, 2011 9:40 pm
by adeel
how come you guys need/want so much trip cancellation insurance? Do you make alot of last minute changes?

Re: Credit card with best trip cancellation/interruption insurance?

Posted: Aug 14th, 2011 9:46 pm
by sillysimms
adeel wrote: how come you guys need/want so much trip cancellation insurance? Do you make alot of last minute changes?

No, I've never had to use it, but want it in case we need it.

We go on cruises and with transportation there plus the cruise, $1,000/person doesn't do it.

Both my husband and I have elderly parents and although we hope nothing will ever happen, if we book our travel a few months in advance, you never know if something could happen to someone around the time of travel (or one of us could get extremely sick, etc.)

The only reason I pay for a credit card is for the travel insurance - booking even just 1 trip a year for us pays off as purchasing insurance for the 2 of us for 1 trip costs more than the annual fee for the credit card.

If I'm going to have one credit card with a fee, I'll make sure the coverage it provides would be inadequate to cover our costs in case we ever have to use it. If it won't be adequate, I might as well not bother with a card that has an annual fee. There are many cards with similar fees but vastly different coverages so might as well pick the one that offers the most!

Edit: It's important to read the insurance certificate as only specific situations are covered by any insurance. Just wanting to make a last minute change wouldn't get you your money back - it would have to be for one of the very specific covered situations.

Also - for the interruption insurance, if we had to return home mid-way through our vacation, a last minute economy flight could be expensive (more or less depending on where we were at the time). I hope we NEVER need this insurance, but would be glad to have it if something ever happened.

Re: Credit card with best trip cancellation/interruption insurance?

Posted: Aug 14th, 2011 9:47 pm
by JustBob
I still don't get what the 1.50/1.36% reward is about.

For example, I currently have 54,000 points on my card. If I apply 50,000 points towards travel, I get a $500 travel discount. Where does that 1.50/1.36% reward fit in this scenario?

Re: Credit card with best trip cancellation/interruption insurance?

Posted: Aug 14th, 2011 10:15 pm
by Paulfistinyourface
sillysimms wrote: Yes, I saw there was that bonus valid until June 30! That would have been great.
I'm pretty sure it's still available. I got something in my recent statement mentioning a bonus for switching to this card.

(I have the Nat. Bank Edition MC, not the Platinum. I hardly use it.)

Two things I like about Nat. Bank: 1) They seem to be very liberal with their credit limits. Every 6 months for the last few years they've offered me an increase. I don't know why, I hardly ever use the card. And I think I've called them twice in the last 5 years and both times I was asked if I was interested in an increase. 2) They have pretty good balance transfer promos from time to time. About a year ago I figured I better give them some business so I transferred $1500 from another credit card, let it run for a few months at 0.99% (no fee), and then paid it out. (Heh. Once I paid it out they offered me another credit limit increase.)

Two things I don't like about Nat. Bank: 1) Their website. It's adequate. Barely. It's so plain. And it uses rounded figures for some things too. Keep in mind it might be different if I had an actual bank account, but I don't...I just have their MC. 2) They don't offer a paperless option.