A Complete Guide to American Express Purchase Protection

American Express cards offer a valuable, complimentary perk that can keep your new purchases safe. With Amex purchase protection, eligible purchases are covered for up to 90 days against damage and theft. Some cards have policies that cover losing the item, too.

If disaster strikes your new laptop, smartphone, jacket, or any other recent purchase, you could get reimbursed courtesy of this American Express card benefit. Whether you need to use your purchase protection now or you're just curious about how it works, you'll learn all about it in this guide.

What is Amex purchase protection?

American Express purchase protection is short-term insurance for products you buy. For this purchase protection coverage to apply, you must pay for at least a portion of the purchase with your Amex card or American Express rewards points. The maximum you can be reimbursed is the amount of the original charge on your card. There are also coverage limits, which depend on the card that you have.

What is covered

Most products bought with your American Express card are covered by Amex purchase protection. It provides coverage if an eligible purchase is damaged or stolen within 90 days of the purchase date. With select American Express cards, coverage is also provided if an eligible purchase is lost.

What's not covered

There are some types of purchases that aren't covered by Amex purchase protection. These include but are not limited to:

• Medical or dental devices or equipment
• One-of-a-kind items including antiques, artwork, and furs
• Purchases that are consumable or have a limited life span
• Downloadable products
• Previously owned and used items (except when refurbished by the original manufacturer)
• Items purchased for resale

Purchase protection doesn't cover certain types of events. For example, it doesn't protect against normal wear and tear or damage to an item that was purchased for play, such as sports equipment. It also doesn't cover events that occurred because the item wasn't reasonably safeguarded. If the American Express card member left an item in an unlocked car and it was stolen, purchase protection wouldn't help with that.

Travel is also generally excluded from this purchase protection benefit. However, there are plenty of American Express cards that offer travel insurance and protections, as well as cards from other card issuers. If that's what you're looking for, then travel credit cards are a good place to start.

For a full list of what's not covered by American Express purchase protection, review your Amex card's guide to benefits.

Amex cards that offer purchase protection

Every consumer American Express card offers purchase protection. The terms vary by card, though. Most cards offer coverage maximums of up to $1,000 per eligible purchase, but some premium cards with higher annual fees offer up to $10,000. And while all Amex purchase protection covers damage and theft, more high-end cards also cover lost items.

If you're comparing cards based on their purchase protection, you'll find the current American Express consumer cards with this benefit in the table below. It also includes their coverage maximums per purchase and per calendar year, and the types of covered events. Terms apply for all cards in the below table.

How to file a purchase protection claim

You can file an Amex purchase protection claim:

• Online at americanexpress.com/onlineclaim
• By phone at 1-800-228-6855

For online claims, you'll need to log in to your American Express account. Once you do, select "File a Claim" and proceed through the online claim form.

The claim process begins when you file your claim. You should do this within 30 days (or as soon as reasonably possible) of your eligible item being damaged, stolen, or lost. If necessary, American Express will send you claim forms to complete. If you don't receive claim forms within 15 days, you can provide a letter describing the circumstances of your claim.

In addition to filing your claim, you must provide proof of loss within 60 days of the incident or as soon as reasonably possible. American Express will let you know what proof of loss is required for your claims. This depends on the circumstances of the loss. For example, accidental damage would require different proof of loss than theft. Here are a few examples of proof of loss that American Express may ask for:

• The original receipt
• A copy of any insurance declaration pages for other policies that cover the purchase
• A photograph and/or a completed repair estimate form
• For theft and vandalism claims -- a written incident report filed with the appropriate authority before you filed your purchase protection claim

American Express pays purchase protection claims within 30 days of receiving satisfactory proof of loss and determining the claim is payable.

Purchase protection can save you a lot of money when something happens to a recent purchase. Even when you don't need it, just knowing your card offers it can give you peace of mind. Many of the best credit cards have purchase protection. Fortunately, American Express offers it as one of its standard perks, including with its cards that don't have an annual fee. When you pay with your American Express card, you can count on this useful feature.

Still have questions?

Here are some other questions we've answered:

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