Best credit cards for extended warranty

  • Meghan Hunter

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    We’ve all been there — your smartwatch (or other expensive item) dies just a week after its manufacturer’s warranty expires. Of course, paying extra for an extended warranty didn’t seem worth it at the time you bought it and now you’re out a few hundred dollars.

    Situations like this stink, but by using the right credit card, you can get extended-warranty protection for free.

    This guide lists the best cards that offer extended-warranty protection and looks at how extended warranties work and how to use a card’s extended-warranty benefit.

    Summary of the best credit cards for extended warranties

    The information for the Amex Green 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.

    Use the right credit card to protect your purchase and get extended-warranty protection. (Photo by Africa Studio/Shutterstock)

    The best cards for extended-warranty protection for 2020

    Chase Sapphire Preferred

    Best Chase card for overall value

    When you’re approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you’ll earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months from account opening.

    The Chase Sapphire Preferred’s benefits and perks include:

    In addition, using your Sapphire Preferred card to purchase certain items will extend eligible U.S. manufacturers’ warranties of three years or less by one year. And you’ll be covered up to $10,000 per claim and up to $50,000 per account.

    The Sapphire Preferred is one of the top cards for beginners in the miles-and-points hobby. When you subtract the Chase Sapphire Preferred’s $95 annual fee from the value of the welcome bonus and the card’s benefits and perks, its value is pretty clear.

     

    Chase Sapphire Reserve®

    Best Chase card for travel and dining

    When you sign up for Chase Sapphire Reserve, you’ll earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months from account opening.

    Benefits 

    The Chase Sapphire Reserve benefits include 3x Chase Ultimate Rewards points on travel (excluding $300 travel credit) and dining worldwide; 10x points on Lyft rides (through March 2022), and 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.

    The best perk for this card is the annual $300 in travel credits, which are automatically earned whenever you make a qualify purchase, including airfare, hotels, rental cars and more. You also get an application fee credit (worth up to $100) for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every four years. The card also includes a Priority Pass Select membership, which gets you and up to two guests access to 1,200+ airport lounges.

    As for extended warranties, using the Chase Sapphire Reserve will extend eligible U.S. manufacturers’ warranties of three years or less by one year. And you’ll be covered up to $10,000 per claim and up to $50,000 per account.

    Here’s an in-depth look at the benefits of the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

    The Chase Sapphire Reserve is the best premium travel rewards credit card. The Sapphire Reserve sign-up bonus is worth at least $750 in travel when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards. And with the $300 annual credit for travel purchases every cardmember anniversary, that’s $1,050 in value in the first year, not counting other money-saving perks you enjoy as a cardholder.

    Be sure to run the numbers when deciding between the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve. For example, you’re effectively paying a $250 annual fee with the Chase Sapphire Reserve ($550 annual fee – $300 travel credit). You’ll pay a $95 annual fee for the Chase Sapphire Preferred. So you’ll effectively pay $155 more each year ($250 – $95) for the Sapphire Reserve to get many extra perks, like lounge access, more bonus points on travel and dining purchases, rental car discounts and much more.

    Chase has these restrictions for their Sapphire-branded credit cards. You cannot have more than one Sapphire credit card open at the same time.

    Citi Premier Card

    Best Citi card

    The Citi Premier card comes with a bonus of 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.

    Benefits

    With this card you’ll earn 3x ThankYou points on air travel, gas station, hotels, restaurants, supermarkets; and 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.

    This card has no foreign transaction fees. In addition to these perks, the Citi Premier card extends the manufacturer’s warranty by two years, with total coverage not exceeding seven years from the purchase date.

    Citi doesn’t have a minimum manufacturer’s warranty required for coverage, so a one-month manufacturer’s warranty still would be extended by two years on covered items. If you purchase an extended warranty, Citi’s coverage begins at the expiration of that warranty.

    You can transfer Citi ThankYou points to 15 airline partners, like Cathay Pacific, Avianca, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic or Turkish Airlines, at a 1:1 ratio. This gives you the potential to unlock incredible deals. For example, you could transfer points to Singapore Airlines to book its expensive business-class and first-class seats. Or you can transfer points to Virgin Atlantic and book Delta business-class awards to Europe for only 50,000 miles one-way (plus taxes and fees). These are just some of the best ways to use Citi ThankYou points.

    These deals can be even better when you take advantage of limited-time Citi ThankYou transfer bonuses.

    American Express® Green Card

    Best Amex card for general travel purchases

    The Amex Green card has a welcome bonus of 45,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $2,000 on purchases on your new card in your first six months. The information for the Amex Green 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.          

    The Amex Green Card has some unique benefits that can save you time and money with a solid 3x Amex Membership Rewards points on both travel and worldwide restaurant purchases — two popular spending categories. Cardholders will get yearly statement credits of up to $100 when using the Amex Green Card to pay for a Clear membership, plus up to $100 in LoungeBuddy statement credits per year.

    Because of COVID-19’s impact on travel, Amex has added up to $80 in statement credits for wireless phone services purchased directly from U.S. providers. You can earn $10 back each month from May through December 2020.

    When you use your card for eligible purchases, Amex will match a manufacturer’s warranty of one year or less and extend a manufacturer’s warranty of two to five years by one year.

    This card has a $150 annual fee (see rates and fees) and no foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees).

    The card has an annual fee of $150, but if you’re able to take advantage of the card’s benefits throughout the year, you can easily come out ahead.

    You can see our full guide of who should (or shouldn’t) get the Amex Green Card.

    The intro bonus is worth $900 (based on our Amex points valuation) and with the Clear and LoungeBuddy credits you could end up with a first year value of $950 after paying the $150 annual fee.

    The Platinum Card® from American Express

    Best Amex card for premium travel benefits

    With The Platinum Card® from American Express, you can earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of opening your account.

    The Amex Platinum card’s benefits include an annual incidental-fee credit of up to $200 on your selected airline; up to $200 in Uber credits per year (can be used for Uber Eats), and up to $100 in credit for Saks Fifth Avenue per year.

    And when you use your Amex Platinum card for eligible purchases, Amex will match the manufacturer’s warranty of one year or less and extend the manufacturer’s warranty of two to five years by one year.

    With the Amex Platinum card, you’ll also get access to more airport lounges than with comparable cards. And for a limited time you’ll get up to $320 in credits for select streaming services and wireless phone services purchased from U.S. providers. You can receive up to $20 per month in each category from May to December 2020.

    The Amex Platinum card has a $550 annual fee, which is not waived the first year (see rates and fees) and has no foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees).

    The American Express Platinum card is worth the annual fee if you use the perks and credits. Each year you can get up to $500 total in credits for Uber, Saks Fifth Ave. and airline incidental fees. That means you’ll easily come out ahead if you can get just $50 in value from the other benefits like airport lounge access. And the limited-time offer for streaming and wireless phone services can offset the travel perks you won’t be able to take advantage of during the coronavirus pandemic.

    If you max out the card’s statement credits (up to $500) and only get value from the intro bonus ($1,200 based on our Amex points value), you should still get $1,150 in value the first year.

    (Photo by Wyatt Smith)

    American Express® Gold Card

    Best Amex card for dining purchases at restaurants

    The American Express® Gold Card has a welcome bonus of 60,000 Amex Membership Rewards points when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first six months of account opening.

    The Amex Gold card’s benefits and perks can really add up. There is dining credit of up to $120 ($10 monthly) each year at participating restaurants (enrollment required). The best feature of this card is that it earns 4 Amex Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at restaurants and at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases; then 1x). That’s an incredible earning rate for such popular spending categories.

    In addition, the card offers extended-warranty coverage on eligible purchases. Amex will match a manufacturer’s warranty of one year or less and extend a manufacturer’s warranty of two to five years by one year. Again, a valuable benefit that can really come in handy when you’re making an expensive purchase.

    There’s a $250 annual fee (see rates and fees) and it has no foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees).

    Although the annual fee is a bit high, it’s easy to see that if you can make the most of the credits, then the Amex Gold’s annual fee can be worth it because you’ll offset most of that cost.

    We value Amex points at 2 cents each, making this card offer worth $1,070 the first year once you add the dining credits ($120) and subtract the $250 annual fee.

     

    Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

    Best card for flat-rate earning

    After approval, you can earn 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases within three months from account opening.

    In addition to the card’s valuable welcome bonus, the Capital One Venture’s benefits and perks include 2x Venture miles on all purchases; a statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck (up to $100), and no foreign transaction fees. The card also comes with Visa Signature benefits, like secondary rental car insurance, travel accident insurance, lost luggage insurance and extended-warranty coverage.

    The card will match warranties of less than one year and extend warranties of one to three years by one year. And will cover up to $10,000 per claim and up to $50,000 per cardholder. Benefits only available to accounts approved for the Visa Signature card. Terms apply.

    Being able to earn 2 Venture miles on every purchase is pretty great, especially because you don’t have to worry about tracking bonus categories — everything is simple and straightforward.

    The card has a $95 annual fee — a smaller annual fee than other cards that reimburse Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fees, which usually have fees that between $450 and $550. Plus, the welcome offer alone is worth $500 or more if you transfer your Capital One miles to the right travel partners.

    What is an extended warranty?

    When you use the right card to buy eligible products that offer a U.S. manufacturer’s warranty, your card will extend the warranty for a certain period of time.

    For example, if you purchase an eligible product with your Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you’ll get an additional year of warranty (only eligible for warranties of three years or less).

    How to use credit card extended warranty

    Using a credit card’s extended-warranty protection is easier than you might think and can end up saving you quite a bit of cash.

    To start, make sure you have the right documentation to file a claim, including:

    If something you’ve purchased breaks, you’ll want to first check the manufacturer’s warranty. If it’s still covered, file a claim directly with the manufacturer.

    If it’s no longer covered by the manufacturer’s warranty, check the details of the extended-warranty coverage offered by the credit card you used for the purchase. Then call your card’s benefits administrator to start the claims process.

    You’ll likely have to collect appropriate documentation for your claim, like a repair quote, photos of the damaged item, the original receipt and the credit card statement showing the charge. In some cases, the benefits administrator may even ask you to send back the item for inspection or repair.

    If the claim is approved, you’ll usually receive a statement credit or check as reimbursement for your repair costs, replacement costs or the original purchase cost.

    For rates and fees of the Amex Green card, click here.

    For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum Card, please click here.

    For rates and fees of the Amex Gold card, click here.

    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)
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