Million Mile Secrets reader, Antonio, commented:
“Does the Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card card offer the same travel insurance as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card? Specifically when paying taxes and fees on award tickets like the Chase Sapphire Preferred?”
Great question, Antonio!
In most cases, the travel benefits you get using the Ritz-Carlton card are equal to or better than what you get with the Chase Sapphire Preferred. This includes protection for things like trip cancellation, car rental coverage, and lost luggage.
The best part is you’ll get these travel benefits even when you book award flights and hotels as well! But there are some restrictions!
I’ll explain what’s covered with your Chase Ritz-Carlton card!
What’s Covered?
Link: Chase Ritz-Carlton Benefits Guide
Link: Chase Sapphire Preferred Benefits Guide
When you pay for your trip using your Ritz-Carlton Rewards or Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you may have travel coverage if things go wrong.
Here’s a quick comparison of the coverage you get with these cards.
| Coverage | The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card | Chase Sapphire Preferred |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Rental Car Insurance | • Cardholders covered up to $75,000 for cost of rental car when you rent a car with your card and decline the car rental agency's collision damage waiver | • Cardholders covered when you rent a car with your card and decline the car rental agency's collision damage waiver |
| Delayed Baggage | • If your baggage is delayed for more than 6 hours, you could be reimbursed for emergency purchases of essential items (i.e. clothing, toiletries, cell phone charging cables, and more) • Up to $100 per day for a maximum of 5 days | Same coverage |
| Emergency Evacuation & Transportation | • Up to $100,000 for medical services transportation if you or a member of your immediate family are injured or become sick during a trip far from home that results in an emergency evacuation | No coverage |
| Emergency Medical and Dental Coverage | • Up to $2,500 for medical expenses if you or your immediate family member becomes sick or injured 100 miles or more from home on a trip | No coverage |
| Lost Luggage | • Covers the cost to repair or replace lost luggage and personal items inside • Up to $3,000 per person each trip with a limit of $500 for items such as jewelry and electronics | Same coverage |
| Trip Delay Protection | • If your trip is delayed for more than 6 hours, you could be reimbursed for up to $500 per ticket for reasonable expenses (meals, lodging, toiletries, medication, and other personal use items) | • If your trip is delayed for more than 12 hours, you could be reimbursed for up to $500 per ticket for reasonable expenses (meals, lodging, toiletries, medication, and other personal use items) • See my post on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card's Trip Delay Insurance for more details |
| Trip Cancellation & Interruption Insurance | • Up to $10,000 per occurrence, with a maximum of $20,000 per incident, if you pay for your trip with points you'll get a value of 1 cent per point • No more than $40,000 per 12 month period | Same coverage |
As you’ll see, the benefits with the Ritz-Carlton card are better when it comes to trip delay, emergency evacuation coverage, and medical and dental coverage.
At the moment, the current Chase Ritz-Carlton benefits guide does NOT appear to be updated. For example, the guide shows you’re required to be delayed 12 hours for Trip Delay coverage. But new marketing info for card indicates 6 hours. Because the card has new benefits, the guide is likely in the process of being updated.
Note: Emergency evacuation, medical, and dental coverage are secondary. This means they’ll cover you after any primary insurance you have.Are You Covered When You Pay With Points?
The terms and conditions for both cards indicate you’re covered when you use points and pay for a portion of your trip with the card like taxes and fees. But there are important things to know.
Most importantly, you’ll only be covered when you use points associated with Chase sponsored rewards programs.
Example – United Airlines Award Flight
Let’s say you transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to United Airlines to book a round-trip award flight. Then, you pay the ~$12 in taxes and fees with your Ritz-Carlton card. You’ll get all of the perks and travel coverage associated with the card because United Airlines is a Chase transfer partner.
If you had a medical emergency before your flight and needed to cancel, you could submit a claim for trip cancellation.
How much will you get back? It depends.
Some folks report paying the ~$150 or ~$200 fee to cancel the flight and redeposit their award miles before the trip. Then, submit a claim to get the redeposit fee back.
Or, you could submit a claim for the award flight cost. If the award flight cost 12,500 United Airlines miles, you’ll be eligible to receive 1 cent per point. Meaning you’ll get $125.
The exception is if you have documentation supporting the actual cost of the flight. If the 12,500 United Airlines miles got you a flight worth $500, you can submit this for consideration to see if you’ll get more money.
Benefits When You Shop
Besides the travel benefits, you’re also covered when you shop. The Ritz-Carlton card has similar protections to the Chase Sapphire Preferred card like:
- Damage & Theft Protection – Coverage up to $10,000 per item if it is damaged or stolen within 120 days (or 90 days for New York residents) of purchase. This is higher than the $500 per item covered on the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
- Extended Warranty – Extends eligible US manufacturer’s warranty by 1 year
- Price Protection – Get reimbursed up to $500 per item or $2,500 per year if a US purchase is advertised for less in print or online within 90 days of purchase
- Return Protection – You can be reimbursed up to $500 per item or $1,000 per year for eligible items that the store won’t take back within 90 days of purchase
Bottom Line
The Ritz-Carlton card has exceptional travel protection benefits like medical evacuation coverage, trip cancellation insurance, and car rental coverage. The benefits are equal to or better than what you get with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.
You’re even covered when you use points. But you’ll need to pay a portion of your trip with the Ritz-Carlton card. And the points will have to be used with an eligible Chase rewards program.You’ll want to check the terms and conditions of the card for complete details of your coverage. And keep as much documentation as possible in case you ever have to submit a claim.
Do you have experience filing a claim? I’d like to hear your experience!