Amex adding valuable travel protections to certain cards

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There’s good news for anyone who holds an Amex card like The Platinum Card® from American Express or the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card and has a trip cancelled, delayed or interrupted. Beginning Jan. 1, 2020, Amex is adding protection for these travel setbacks to their premium cards, some of which are on our list of the best Amex cards. The information for the Hilton Aspire card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

This is a positive change for those of us (myself included) who like to earn valuable Amex Membership Rewards points on purchases and spend them on travel. However, Amex is also reducing the extended warranty and purchase protection benefits on their cards and outright removing travel accident insurance and the roadside assistance perk.

Here’s what you need to know.

Amex adds benefits to certain cards

As of Jan. 1, 2020, Amex will reimburse cardholders for trip cancellation and interruption for up to $10,000 in nonrefundable travel expenses per trip, up to $20,000 per year. They’ll also offer reimbursement for trip delays of 6+ hours for up to $500 per trip for necessary expenses like hotels and meals.

Coverage is valid for round-trip tickets paid for entirely with your eligible Amex card, including paying taxes on an award ticket with your eligible card or Amex Pay With points tickets.

These new benefits apply to the following cards:

• The Platinum Card® from American Express
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
• Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express
• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card
• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card

Plus, they’re adding coverage for delays of 12+ hours to the following cards:

• American Express® Gold Card
• American Express® Business Gold Card
• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card

However, also on Jan. 1, 2020, Amex cards will no longer offer travel accident insurance and roadside assistance. And there will be significant changes to the purchase protections provided by their cards. On most cards, the extended warranty will be reduced from two years to one year. And some no-annual-fee Amex cards will lose extended warranty coverage altogether. Plus, the purchase protection period currently offered by many Amex cards will go from 120 days to 90 days.

Even with the reduction in some perks, the additional benefits help Amex cards better compete with premium cards from other banks, like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, that have offered excellent travel protections for a while now.

Featured photo by  David Prado Perucha/Shutterstock.