Flight delays happen. Whether due to tech meltdowns, poor crew scheduling, mechanical issues, or just bad weather — delays and cancelations can be pretty common, even on the simplest itineraries (I was delayed nearly four hours last week for a Los Angeles > San Diego flight, which is just annoying).
I’ve written before about how to react to travel disruptions, and all that advice is still valid for getting through the day and getting where you need to go. Ultimately, you want to control your own destiny as much as possible, versus waiting to receive help from the airline.
One useful tool in the travel self-help arsenal is the credit card you used to purchase your tickets. Several of the best travel rewards cards will reimburse you if your flight is delayed (not even canceled, just delayed!). With all the travel disruptions we’ve been discussing on OMAAT lately, I figured it would be helpful to go through how these programs work.
Why is delay coverage useful?
On a big trip you might consider travel insurance, which can be valuable even with award tickets. If you’re traveling to/from/within Europe, or on an European carrier, you may be eligible for compensation under EU261.
For the most part, however, short and domestic trips are where we as frequent travelers can be most vulnerable. One good storm at a hub can mess up flight plans for days, and even stupid things can cause cascading problems.
My four-hour delay last week, for example, came down to:
- A broken iPad (the pilots use these for navigation/charts)
- No functioning printer in the terminal (so replacement charts couldn’t be printed)
- Backup iPads being in the crew lounge across the airport
- The time taken to fetch said iPad requiring us to de-board, as other aircraft needed our gate, and there was nowhere for us to linger
- The plane needing to wait for (and be towed to) a new gate
- Flow control into San Diego then delaying our departure further
You just can’t anticipate stuff like that.
But you can react. I didn’t have anywhere I needed to be, and was happy working from my hotspot or the SkyClub while the mess was sorted, but I could have:
- Asked to be rebooked on another carrier
- Asked for a later flight so I could keep my phone meetings
- Bailed and driven or taken the train
- Canceled the trip entirely
Having credit card delay coverage is helpful because it gives you options.
Rather than waiting to be rebooked, you could buy a new ticket. Or pay for a one-way rental car. Or you might be able to afford a stay at the adjacent airport hotel, versus taking a 25-minute taxi ride to the hotel the airline gives you a voucher for (this has happened to Andrew B). Lots of options.
And when travel starts going poorly, options become incredibly valuable.
Which cards offer delay coverage?
Of the major travel rewards credit cards, there are a few with particularly good delay coverage. The following will all reimburse up to $500 in necessary expenses after a 6 hour delay (or in the case of the Chase cards, if an overnight stay is required):
- 3x points on Travel after the $300 Annual Travel Credit
- 3x points on Dining
- $300 Travel Credit
- $550
- Earn 1.5x on purchases of $5,000 or more in a single transaction on up to $2MM per calendar year
- Redeem Points For Over 1.5 Cents Each Towards Airfare
- Amex Centurion Lounge Access
- $695
- Earn 5x points on flights purchased directly from airlines or through Amex Travel (up to $500k/year)
- $200 Annual Uber Credit
- Amex Centurion Lounge Access
- $695
- Annual Companion Certificate
- First Checked Bag Free
- Priority Boarding
- $650
- Annual Companion Certificate
- Upgrade Priority
- First Checked Bag Free
- $650
- Earn 6x points at Marriott hotels globally
- Complimentary Platinum Elite Status
- Annual Free Night Award
- $650
Meanwhile these cards will reimburse up to the same $500 in necessary expenses, but only after a 12 hour delay (or in the case of the Chase cards, if an overnight stay is required):
- Earn 4x Points at Hyatt Properties
- Free Night Every Year
- Complimentary Discoverist Status
- $95
- Earn 3x points on travel
- Earn 3x points on shipping purchases
- Cell Phone Protection
- $95
- Earn 2x miles on United purchases
- Annual Travel Credit
- Anniversary Bonus Miles
- $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99
And then a handful of cards will reimburse up to $300 in necessary expenses, again after a 12 hour delay. I would generally consider this coverage to be an “extra perk” of these cards, versus a primary reason to carry the card:
- Access to Amex Offers
- Redeem Amex Points Towards Airfare
- $375
- Earn 3x SkyMiles for purchases directly with Delta
- Annual Companion Certificate
- First Checked Bag Free
- $350
- Earn 3x SkyMiles for purchases directly with Delta
- First Checked Bag Free
- Annual Companion Certificate
- $350
As you can see, not all card coverage is created equal.
Some offer coverage after a six-hour delay, some twelve, some longer. Some cards will cover you even on award tickets (when you’ve technically only purchased a portion of your trip with their credit card), others require you to put the full ticket on their card.
For international travel, I’m okay with the 12-hour mark on the various cards, and the $500 per ticket coverage is great for families as well.
On my trip to Thailand with my extended family last year, we were eligible for $3500 in travel reimbursements after flight delays caused missed connections and we had to overnight. That certainly made the $250 per-room airport hotel less painful!
I’m probably not going to bail on a big trip because of a delay. So knowing that my hotel will be covered if a mechanical issue triggers an overnight delay meets my needs just fine.
I think this comes down to personal thresholds, really, and the kinds of travel you’re booking.
How does delay coverage work?
You’ll want to read the specific policy terms for your credit card, but in general all these cards provide reimbursement for covered expenses incurred because of your delay.
That means you’re free to make purchases as needed during your delay, without needing approval from the credit card company. Keep all the receipts, and submit them for reimbursement after the trip.
For the most part these insurance companies have been easy to work with, but it pays to have your documentation squared away. In addition to keeping track of your flight status, you can also ask the gate or lounge agent for a military excuse. This is basically just official documentation of the delay, nicely printed on airline ticket stock. Civilians can ask for these as well, and insurance companies love them.
Depending on your policy, you’ll either receive a statement credit or a check. This process can take some time, so if you can’t float $500 for a month or so I’d still be cautious about your delay spending.
Bottom line
Delay coverage is one of those things we don’t really think about, but can make those inevitable delays more manageable.
There are other cards with similar programs, I’m sure, but these are already some of the best travel rewards cards, and I always think it’s helpful to know about the extra benefits.
Have you used credit card delay or cancellation insurance? What was the process?
I have many of the cards on this list. HOWEVER, the "insurance" you mention, is quite misleading. I have found out the hard way that most likely, the trip cancelation, trip delay, etc that one experiences is most likely not a "covered event." Imagine being told your car comes with a full bumper to bumper warranty and every part is covered, however, if you drive it off the dealer lot, you won't be covered. This...
I have many of the cards on this list. HOWEVER, the "insurance" you mention, is quite misleading. I have found out the hard way that most likely, the trip cancelation, trip delay, etc that one experiences is most likely not a "covered event." Imagine being told your car comes with a full bumper to bumper warranty and every part is covered, however, if you drive it off the dealer lot, you won't be covered. This is about how pathetic the coverage is on the "benefits" these cards give you. For example, on my Altitude Reserve card from U.S. Bank (very similar to Chase Sapphire Reserve) notice the terms and conditions for Trip cancelation and delay coverage:
"The Trip Cancellation or Interruption must be
caused by or result from:
1. The death, Accidental Bodily Injury, disease or
physical illness of You or an Immediate Family
Member of the Insured person; or
2. Default of the Common Carrier resulting from
financial insolvency."
"Trip Delay Reimbursement - What is not covered?
• Any delay due to a Covered Hazard which was
made public or made known to You prior to
Your departure.
• Covered Hazards means equipment failure,
inclement weather, strike and hijacking/skyjacking."
For any realistic scenario, your delayed or canceled trip will not be covered and compensated by these "benefits." It doesn't specify what "advance notice" means, and the "covered hazards" are the least of the reasons for a delay. For a recent experience in Dec '21 my BA airline return flight from Europe to the US was canceled. BA only gave days notice and they stopped their route to the city I'm in. So with a delayed itinerary, my return flight went from 12 hours long to now 30 hours, requiring an overnight stay in another city, food, transportation, etc expenses. I can't get the airline to email me the reason for the cancelation (credit card requires this) but I'm sure they will related it to COVID, not skyjacking...lol! This is a realistic situation that one would think a realistic delay would be covered with a trip delay benefit on their credit card. However, it isn't. Basically, these benefits (I've read the T&C of many of these cards) are a joke. Its not really a benefit at all, just something to mislead people into thinking a $4-600 card should be in their wallet.
I wish people would actually report on the realistic experience they should expect from these instead of just generalizing. At the end of the day, 99% of trip delays, cancelations, interruptions are not covered.
The ones that might be covered are not handled by the credit card company (U.S. Bank) nor Visa (even though its an "Infinite Card" from them). You will for sure get a "run around" by multiple 3rd party administrators, with each one pointing the finger at a different entities to handle the claim. It is a scam and a racket! Finally, their requirements to file an eligible claim are so high that chances are you won't have the full amount of paperwork to substantiate any claim.
SO in conclusion, it doesn't matter what your CC claims you have for coverage. You are 99.9 % NOT covered. Read the fine print in their terms and conditions (they have a long PDF for this) and in the unlikely event that you might think you are eligible, the classic finger pointing, call transfers, disconnects, not accepting responsibility, 3rd party incompetent entities, you will pull your hair out trying to make a claim and it will probably be denied on a technicality. SO DON'T GET THE CARDS YOU SEE THINKING YOU ARE COVERED> YOU'RE NOT!
Quick question on this benefit. Does it work only if I book directly with the airline? Or will it work even if I bought tickets with third party sites like Expedia?
Recently used the Trip Delay benefit as our flight home (from Europe) was cancelled due to air traffic controller strike. I had booked United Award flights but paid the taxes/fees on my United Visa card.
We called Chase before making arrangements to get home to see what was covered. I saved the webpage showing the airline cancelled our flight for that day, which was sufficient for my claim. In addition, my statement showing 2 round...
Recently used the Trip Delay benefit as our flight home (from Europe) was cancelled due to air traffic controller strike. I had booked United Award flights but paid the taxes/fees on my United Visa card.
We called Chase before making arrangements to get home to see what was covered. I saved the webpage showing the airline cancelled our flight for that day, which was sufficient for my claim. In addition, my statement showing 2 round trip award flights were paid on the card, and all receipts were submitted online.
Chase covered our expenses: lodging (apartment i booked since I figured same cost as a hotel), subway tickets, taxi to airport, meals, and toiletries. It took a few months but they also had to translate receipts. Happy with the experience overall. Great benefit to having the card! They paid my entire claim minus $50 for alcohol and tips paid to restaurants.
The list is very helpful but would like to see CSR included, also include other travel benefits like hotel & cars. Is there is a list like that somewhere? for ex. Citi Prestige is only 2nd (instead of primary) insurance domestically but is primary for international rental.
After reading your article I tried to claim hotel and dining expenses after my UA BOS>DEN flight was cancelled in July due to "air traffic control conditions", meaning a large part of the east coast was shut down due to a storm. It was a one way flight since my wife and I had travelled separately to the east, and were flying home together. The claim was denied because they said it had to be...
After reading your article I tried to claim hotel and dining expenses after my UA BOS>DEN flight was cancelled in July due to "air traffic control conditions", meaning a large part of the east coast was shut down due to a storm. It was a one way flight since my wife and I had travelled separately to the east, and were flying home together. The claim was denied because they said it had to be a round trip ticket. When I get home I'm going to see if that's actually what my printed terms and conditions say. Watch out for that fine print.
Thanks for a a great article. We just missed our connection in CLT last night due to weather and looks like our hotel stay should get reimbursed by Citi AA Plat card!
Is there a limit to what is covered? Could I theoretically go sit at an airport bar drinking nice Scotch and get reimbursed?
I would guess hotel, meals, cabs, travel fees... Anything else I'm missing or do the T&Cs say something specific?
@Mipaho - Can't find it myself now. I may have conflated the baggage delay rule with trip delay. Good catch.
I wonder if the newly announced chase reserve card will also have trip protection?
@Tiffany: Nice chart, but could you update the Chase cards to show 12 hours OR overnight? They'll cover anything that drags you through an overnight, even if it's less than 12 hours.
Outside of a hotel, what expenses does it cover? Food? Drinks? Uber if needed? Thanks.
@juan search your email for the flight # on your boarding pass. Your email receipt should have the last 4 digits of the card you used (So long as you have them all in your wallet, or have access via mobile apps/mobile web to your CC portals)
@gobluetwo: Where have you seen information that the Chase IHG card comes with Trip Delay protection. I've seen a couple of people mention this now, but it doesn't show up anywhere in the benefits booklet of my Chase IHG mastercard, and none of the promotional materials for the card mention it. It comes with Trip Interruption insurance and Baggage Delay insurance, but I don't see anything about flight delay coverage.
Having so many cards makes it difficult to remember which card paid for each flight. Is there any hint on the boarding pass, or an easy way to check?
I have what may be an outlier of a question.
What if I purchase a ticket with my Citi Prestige. Either an Award ticket and pay taxes and fees – (In this case Southwest), or a paid ticket on Jetblue where I have Mosaic Status (and can cancel/change for free), and cancel/change my flight and deposit the $$ into my travel bank.
Can I use the $$ in the travel bank and still receive the...
I have what may be an outlier of a question.
What if I purchase a ticket with my Citi Prestige. Either an Award ticket and pay taxes and fees – (In this case Southwest), or a paid ticket on Jetblue where I have Mosaic Status (and can cancel/change for free), and cancel/change my flight and deposit the $$ into my travel bank.
Can I use the $$ in the travel bank and still receive the insurance benefits of my Citi Prestige?
I love the ancillary benefits of the Citi Prestige, and it’s already come in handy for me once while I got stuck in a 16 hour delay in Chile. So I try and use the card as much as possible when booking airfare.
Are those coverage amounts per pax or only for the card holder?
@Pat: That doesn't seem right, unless they're arguing that it was made known to you in advance or that somehow the mechanical issue was not an equipment failure. The T&C document states: "A Covered Hazard includes equipment failure, inclement weather, labor strikes, and hijacking or skyjacking."
Later on, it also states: "You are not covered for any Covered Hazard delay that was made public or known to you prior to the departure for the...
@Pat: That doesn't seem right, unless they're arguing that it was made known to you in advance or that somehow the mechanical issue was not an equipment failure. The T&C document states: "A Covered Hazard includes equipment failure, inclement weather, labor strikes, and hijacking or skyjacking."
Later on, it also states: "You are not covered for any Covered Hazard delay that was made public or known to you prior to the departure for the Covered Trip. Also, prepaid expenses are not covered."
I bought tickets with CSP for an evening flight that was cancelled due to mechanical reasons. Airline paid for hotel that night and we were rebooked for same flight next day, causing us to miss the first night of our prepaid accommodations at our destination. CSP (or rather their insurance agent Broadspire) refused to reimburse us for missed prepaid accommodations because the cause was mechanical (but apparently would have paid for a weather related delay).
So if you have a flight delay and then end up buying a new flight that is 12+ hours after your delay, does the purchase need to go through 12+ hours after (for the CSP for example) or just the replacement flight?
Tiffany, very helpful article, thank you.
Can you confirm that using my Citi Prestige card to pay for the $2.50 in taxes for my AA award ticket entitles me to $500 in expense reimbursement for any delayed over 3 hours?
I used the trip cancellation insurance on the Prestige card for one-way tickets we had booked for a domestic flight in Turkey. Due to the coup attempt, we could not get to Turkey, and hence couldn't use our one-way, intra-Turkey, tickets. Got reimbursed the full amount of the ticket cost (which wasn't all that much given that Turkish domestic flights are pretty cheap).
Note, for the Prestige card, there seems to be language in the...
I used the trip cancellation insurance on the Prestige card for one-way tickets we had booked for a domestic flight in Turkey. Due to the coup attempt, we could not get to Turkey, and hence couldn't use our one-way, intra-Turkey, tickets. Got reimbursed the full amount of the ticket cost (which wasn't all that much given that Turkish domestic flights are pretty cheap).
Note, for the Prestige card, there seems to be language in the T&Cs that will limit you to the amount spent, so if you only pay taxes & fees on an award ticket, that's the most you can claim. Maybe Tiffany can verify this. We had booked our international flights out of Turkey using an AA award (1-way) and paid the taxes & fees with the Prestige. We had to pay AA $225 in redeposit fees in order to change the award origin from Turkey to another European destination. I don't think I can claim the redeposit fees.
The Citi Premier also has trip delay coverage
My Chase Marriott card also has the trip delay coverage (after 12 hours). Regarding weather delay, what I did last time was to take screenshots of the weather map showing the storms right above EWR and ATL [yes, both cities had bad weather]. I was stuck in EWR waiting to fly to ATL on DL. When I applied for the reimbursement, I sent that screenshot, and my request for reimbursement was accepted immediately.
Wow - this couldn't have been timed any better.
Last night I was stranded in YYZ, and I thought I charged my taxes &fees (award ticket) to my prestige (3 hr for reimbursement)- low and behold I charged to my premier ( 12 hr for reimbursement)....icing on the cake was my delay was 11 hour and 35 minutes.
Thanks again to OMMAT and Tiffany.
P
@Tiffany :)
Can you explain some of these coverage when you buy tickets with UR/MR/TYP.
I know these are "bad" redemption. I'm mostly thinking of a TYP redemption on American for 1.6CPP. Is it the same 3 hour coverage?
Just called AmEx and they definitely said the Platinum does not include coverage.
@ Kevin -- Hmmm, it's part of the "delay/cancellation" coverage that you can opt in to, but it looks like they might be discontinuing enrollment. I've had it on my card for years, so didn't think anything of it.
Good catch, and let me make that more clear while I research.
Does this coverage extend to missed connections too? For instance, last year my flight was delayed in Baltimore for 2 hours for de-icing, which meant I missed my connection in Houston (the last flight for the night), and had to get a hotel until the next day (over 12 hours). So one way to look at this is that it was a 2 hour delay of the original flight, but another is that my entire trip was delayed by over 14 hours.
@ Ricky -- In most cases this coverage is based on "trip delay" not "flight delay," so I think you'd be covered in that case.
@Tiffany -- thanks for the reminder. That's huge. I've been booking award tickets with a different card because I missed that change. Back to the Prestige for all types of tickets now....except when I'm traveling with a posse....
I forwarded you the text of the Ritz email. Thanks again for the article today -- if I knew about the Prestige covering award tickets, I had forgotten and I definitely didn't know about the Platinum card...
@Tiffany -- thanks for the reminder. That's huge. I've been booking award tickets with a different card because I missed that change. Back to the Prestige for all types of tickets now....except when I'm traveling with a posse....
I forwarded you the text of the Ritz email. Thanks again for the article today -- if I knew about the Prestige covering award tickets, I had forgotten and I definitely didn't know about the Platinum card covering $250 per person -- nor that it kicked in after 4 hours. I recently booked some trips on my Biz Plat and that knowledge will help if something happens. Awesome!
According to the benefits document, the $500 for the Citi Prestige trip delay protection is also per "covered traveler," or per person. According to their definition in the benefits document:
Covered Travelers which means, you, your Family Members, and
Traveling Companion(s) traveling on the Trip.
Family Members means your children, spouse, fiancée, Domestic
Partner and their children, including adopted children or
step-children; legal guardians or wards; siblings or siblings-in-law;
son-in-law...
According to the benefits document, the $500 for the Citi Prestige trip delay protection is also per "covered traveler," or per person. According to their definition in the benefits document:
Covered Travelers which means, you, your Family Members, and
Traveling Companion(s) traveling on the Trip.
Family Members means your children, spouse, fiancée, Domestic
Partner and their children, including adopted children or
step-children; legal guardians or wards; siblings or siblings-in-law;
son-in-law or daughter-in-law; parents or parents-in-law;
grandparents or grandchildren; aunts or uncles; nieces or nephews.
Traveling Companion means any individual(s) for whom you have
paid to travel on your or your Family Member’s Trip.
Domestic Partner means a committed relationship between two
unmarried adults, in which the partners, (1) are each other’s sole
Domestic Partner, (2) maintain a common residence, (3) share
financial obligations if both are employed, (4) are not married or
joined in a civil union to anyone else or are not the Domestic
Partner of anyone else, and (5) are not blood related.
Thank you for the helpful article. I pulled up the Guide to Benefits for the Citi Executive card and on page 11 they have an exclusion for award travel booked with Aadvantage miles.
https://image.info9.citibank.com/lib/fe9415707260037971/m/4/09_Citi_Guide_to_Protection_Benefits.pdf
@ Mike F -- Those are the terms as of 2014. They were updated earlier this year to remove the "paid in full" language.
Wow, great tip on the Amex Platinum $250 coverage per traveler, did not know that!
Whoops...that was @Tiffany
@Nico -- will forward as soon as my video conference ends. Also, I thought the Prestige did not cover award tickets. Did that change or am I just crazy?
@ Nico -- Yep, changed in April! https://onemileatatime.com/citi-prestige-changes-2019/
Wow, I never knew the Citi Prestige covered award tickets. I've been charging all my taxes and fees for award tickets on my Chase Sapphire Preferred. Although, I never had to file a claim (knock on wood).
The Ritz Carlton card just improved this benefit to reimbursement kicking in after 6 hours and 500 dollars per ticket. Got something via email this morning.
@John Thank you very much
@Sam
Yes, I would say an hour, I wouldn't say a hour. "An" typically goes before a silent h. "A" before a pronounced "h".
@Sam - No the "British dialects" (otherwise known as English) do not use 'an' before all words beginning with 'h', only those with a vowel sound such as 'hour'.
Using 'an' before 'huge' is simply wrong.
As a sidenote, IHG card by Chase has a 6 hour delay threshold. While CSP has the 12 hour rule, they also allow for reimbursement of expenses for any length delay which results in an overnight stay. So it could be a mechanical issue on the last flight out of the night which results in being rebooked onto the first flight the next morning. Provided the airline doesn't cover your lodging/incidentals, CSP will.
@Tiffany -- just got an email this morning that the Chase Ritz coverage has improved from 12hrs to 6hrs with the new benefits on that card. Might want to update the chart :-)
@ Nico -- Really? That's awesome! Can you forward it to me maybe? :)
@Jason
helpful commentary: Avoid prescriptive commentary about others' grammar because it usually neither useful nor correct. In this case, I would suggest learning something about English usage variants, because many English dialects (notably most British dialects) put "an" before any word beginning with H.
tl;dr: Don't be snotty, especially if you're wrong.
@Tiffany - Any idea how this benefit works if you buy a ticket for someone else, but are not traveling with them, and their flight is delayed? Thanks!
@ LindaK -- You'll want to check the rules on each card. In most cases they cover you, when you're traveling, and your companions.
Hi Tiffany, does the Citi Thank You Premier also over the same coverage as the Prestige? I was under the impression that it was, but wondered if you have any insight. Thanks!
@ Nancy -- I think it does, actually. The Costco cards may as well -- Citi has been expanding that coverage to lots of products.
I've only had to use it once. It was with Chase. They required a news article clipping or something like that to show it was caused by weather. Since it was just a typical thunderstorm that stalled over NYC area there was not much to find as far as news. I had to prove it to them. If I'd known about the "Military Excuse" I could of used that. Excellent advice.
Hey @Tiffany, with the coverage discussed above, does it require the purchase of a return ticket, or are you covered on one-ways as well?
@ Jerry -- One-ways should be covered as well, as long as they're part of a round-trip itinerary, great question.
The big 3 domestic airlines also have (seemingly) easy ways to get delay/cancellation verification after the fact. I'm sure an airport employee in the midst of IRROPS would appreciate the time saved by not having to fulfill this request at the airport.
AA: Google "Email Request for Delay/Cancellation Verification for Trip Insurance AA"
DL: Google "DELAY/CANCELLATION VERIFICATION FOR TRIP INSURANCE Delta"
UA: Google "Flight delays and cancellations United"
helpful commentary: the word "huge" doesn't require the "an" modifier in front of it. just "a". I've noticed it in this and the post on the airport hotel.