The Amex Platinum provides travel insurance in four key areas—trip cancellation and interruption, trip delay, baggage insurance and rental car coverage. We will discuss each in detail below.
Trip Cancellation and Interruption
Amex’s Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption coverage¹ will provide compensation for nonrefundable expenses in the event you are unable to travel or have to change your plans unexpectedly during the trip. This could be useful if you fall ill just before your trip and are unable to travel.
The list of reasons for cancellation or interruption is relatively specific and includes:
- Illness or death of you, a traveling companion, or a spouse or dependent child
- Inclement weather that makes imprudent to continue your journey
- Changes in military orders
- Terrorist action or hijacking
- Jury duty that cannot be postponed or waived
- Your or a traveling companion’s home becoming uninhabitable
- Quarantine imposed by a physician
In the case of a trip cancellation due to one of the reasons listed above, Amex will reimburse all eligible nonrefundable expenses. In the case of trip interruption, Amex will cover any nonrefundable transportation expenses, plus the cost of making new arrangements to either rejoin your scheduled itinerary or return home. This cost is limited to an economy ticket on the most direct route.
Amex limits your ability to claim under this coverage to $10,000 per trip and $20,000 per eligible card per 12 month period. Coverage is secondary to any other travel insurance you may have.
Trip Delay
Trip delay coverage² provides reimbursem*nt for additional expenses you incur when your trip is delayed by weather, equipment failure or a lost passport. Eligible expenses include accommodation, meals, medication and even extra toiletries.
Airlines are usually only responsible for compensating you when the reason for the delay is within their control—typically failures of personnel and equipment. Weather delays are often ineligible for any sort of compensation, but would be covered by trip delay insurance if you needed to wait for a flight the next day. The Platinum Card offers coverage for a broader range of reasons, but is secondary to any reimbursem*nt provided to you by the airline.
It’s worth noting that Amex will only cover $500 in expenses per trip and only two claims in any 12-month period. This limit is likely adequate for most overnight stays in an airport hotel. But if you might encounter a longer delay, you should consider purchasing additional insurance.
Baggage Insurance
Many travelers have experience with airlines losing or damaging their luggage. The Amex Platinum Card provides insurance benefits to compensate you in the event you find yourself in this unfortunate situation.
The baggage insurance plan³ will cover the replacement cost of your lost items, up to $2,000 for checked baggage and $3,000 for carry-on bags. High-risk items, which includes jewelry, laptops and camera equipment are covered only up to $1,000. These limits are per person, and coverage extends to the cardholder’s spouse or domestic partner and dependent children under the age of 23.
Residents of New York State have slightly different limits—$2,000 per bag (rather than per person) with a maximum limit of $10,000 per trip.
This insurance does not extend to cash or valuable documents or prescription items like eyeglasses, hearing aids and medication.
It is common to underestimate the replacement cost of personal property, and many travelers would be surprised at the replacement cost of their items. Especially with a laptop or camera, it is very easy to exceed the limits of this coverage. You may want to consider additional travel insurance for peace of mind.
Rental Car Coverage
The Amex Platinum Card provides a number of rewards and benefits for rental cars, including premium status with Avis, Hertz and National, as well as loss and damage insurance⁴. This insurance coverage protects you in the event your rental car is stolen or damaged, whether or not you are at fault.
The coverage included with your Platinum Card is secondary, meaning that you will need to exhaust all other types of insurance available to you before making a claim. It provides four main types of coverage:
- Up to $75,000 for damage to or loss of the car
- Up to $200,000 in accidental death and dismemberment benefits for the primary cardmember, and a further $20,000 per passenger.
- Up to $5,000 per passenger in medical expenses for any type of injury
- Up to $1,000 per passenger for damaged personal property, with a maximum of $2,000 per accident
There are several important limitations and restrictions on coverage, including:
- Rentals in Australia, New Zealand and Italy are not covered. Neither is a rental in any country under US sanctions.
- Any sort of illegal activity by the driver, including intoxication with drugs or alcohol
- Off-road driving
- Cargo vans or trucks with a GVWR over 10,000 pounds, or any other vehicle used for commercial purposes
- Moving van companies (such as U-Haul) or peer-to-peer rental services (such as Turo)
- Rentals longer than 30 days
These restrictions are relatively minor and the typical cardholder’s rental will be covered. But for even more peace of mind, American Express offers Premium Car Rental Protection with higher limits and fewer restrictions. Perhaps most importantly, this product serves as primary coverage, meaning you can file a claim immediately.
