A Guide to Chase Sapphire Preferred Travel Insurance

We all know the best credit cards can be worth their weight in rewards, but that's not the only way your cards can save you money. For example, Chase Sapphire Preferred travel insurance benefits can be extremely valuable when things don't go as planned. Here's a look at everything the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card's travel insurance covers.

Chase Sapphire Preferred travel insurance: What's covered?

When it comes to Chase credit card benefits, Chase Sapphire Preferred travel insurance is hard to beat. This travel card's insurance covers everything from trip cancellation to lost luggage.

Chase stands out among the best travel credit cards, and not just because of its high rewards rates. Chase credit cards also offer some of the best travel insurance benefits around -- and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is no exception.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has many of the same credit card travel insurance benefits as the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. And, its $95 annual fee is a fraction of the premium travel card's $550 price tag.

See below for the side-by-side comparison of these two travel cards:

Trip cancellation/trip interruption insurance

You and your immediate family are covered if something catastrophic disrupts your travel arrangements. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card travel insurance provides up to $10,000 per person (max $20,000 per trip). Your trip could be canceled or cut short for any number of reasons, including a major illness or severe weather.

Only prepaid, nonrefundable purchases made with your Chase card (or booked with Chase Ultimate Rewards points) are eligible.

Not every emergency will count. Coverage excludes the following:

• Cancellations because of your financial circumstances
• Pre-existing medical conditions
• Trips longer than 60 days
• War, declared or undeclared

But your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card travel insurance does cover terrorist activity and/or hijackings, as well as jury duty or a court subpoena you can't postpone.

Travel and emergency assistance services

If something goes wrong abroad, you can call the Chase benefit administrator to get medical or legal referrals and other emergency assistance. Note, the costs of those services aren't covered. You'll need to handle those on your own.

RELATED: The Ascent's Travel Credit Cards Hub

Trip delay reimbursement

Carrier delays happen all too frequently. Some can lead to unexpected overnight stays. If you get delayed by more than 12 hours, you can claim back your expenses. Covered expenses include meals, hotels, toiletries, and medications.

Trip delay insurance tops out at $500 per covered ticket. Your spouse and dependent children under the age of 22 are eligible. Only one hazard per trip is covered. You can't claim expenses if a delay was public or known before you set out.

Auto rental collision damage waiver

Rental car insurance can be expensive, but you can waive it when you pay with your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. This primary collision coverage will reimburse you for collision damage or theft. And you're covered up to the cash value of the vehicle. It also includes reasonable towing charges.

Coverage applies to most consumer vehicles, but not all. You can't claim for the following:

• Exotic (read: expensive) vehicles, transport vans, trucks, and motorcycles
• Rental periods of longer than 31 days
• Injuries and/or objects damaged by the accident
• Charges covered by your auto insurance

Baggage delay insurance

Each year, thousands of bags get delayed between takeoff and arrival. Baggage delay can cost a lot if you need to replace necessities. If your luggage is delayed by the carrier for six hours or more, baggage delay insurance kicks in.

You'll get up to $100 a day for a maximum of five days. You'll be able to buy things like clothing, toiletries, and a charger for your cell phone. Both the primary cardholder and immediate family members can claim so long as travel was paid for with the eligible Chase card.

Lost luggage reimbursement

It's not only inconvenient but also costly when your luggage goes missing. Lost luggage reimbursement coverage provides up to $3,000 per covered passenger. It covers any luggage lost or damaged on a covered trip. The coverage limit extends to jewelry, watches, and electronics. It does not cover documents, cash, tickets, or traveler's checks.

You can claim for both checked and carry-on bags. Covered passengers include both the cardholder and immediate family members. In fact, even if you're not traveling with your family, their lost luggage would be covered if the trip was paid for with your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

Roadside dispatch

This is one area where the premium Chase Sapphire Reserve® outstrips the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card holders can call roadside dispatch for help. But you'll have to pay any fees. In contrast, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® covers up to $50 per incident four times per year.

Compare the Chase Sapphire Reserve® vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card for more on how these cards stack up.

Travel accident insurance

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card's travel accident insurance benefits are split into two types: Common Carrier Accident Insurance and 24-Hour Travel Accident Insurance. Both types cover accidental death or dismemberment. They also cover loss of speech, sight, or hearing, if it occurs on a covered trip.

The Common Carrier Accident Insurance has a maximum benefit of up to $500,000. It insures you during the journey itself -- boarding, disembarking, and riding. Common carriers include commercial airplanes, buses, trains, and cruise ships.

The 24-Hour Travel Accident Insurance extends from the beginning through to the end of your trip. That's based on your scheduled departure and return dates as printed on your boarding pass. If you're away for longer than 30 days, check your complete benefits guide for additional conditions. The maximum payout for 24-Hour Travel Accident Insurance is $100,000.

Only one of these can be applied to a single accident. So, you'll be eligible for Common Carrier Accident coverage or 24-Hour Travel Accident Insurance, but not both.

As you can see, it's worth taking travel insurance into account when you compare credit cards. You can save money on insurance and get help in an emergency with the right travel credit card.

How to file a claim

You can file your claim online or by phone. A Chase Sapphire Preferred travel insurance claim must be made by the primary cardholder. In most cases, the written claim must be filed within 20 days after the incident, or "as soon as reasonably possible" if you are physically unable to file within the 20-day period.

The specifics to filing a Chase Sapphire Preferred travel insurance claim will depend on the type of insurance coverage. In most cases, you'll need to report the issue to your travel provider as soon as possible. For example, you need to report lost luggage to the carrier immediately, and you'll need proof of that report when you file your claim with Chase.

Once you report your loss, the benefit administrator will send you additional paperwork. You'll need to complete and return it within 90 days of the original incident. You'll also need to submit supporting documentation. This may include reports made with your carrier, medical documents, or receipts for expenses incurred as a result of lost or delayed baggage.

You only need to put a portion of your trip on your card to be eligible for cancellation/interruption and/or travel accident coverage. But most of Chase's travel insurance benefits only apply to purchases you pay for with your card or through the Chase Ultimate Rewards program. So, if you pay for your flight with your card but not your hotel, only the flight can be reimbursed.

What if you use third-party rewards, like airline miles, to cover the ticket, and your Chase card for fees? You'll only be reimbursed for those miles if the program is one of Chase's travel partners.

Of course, with 2x points per dollar on travel, it's no hardship to use your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card for your travel purchases. Don't have a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card? You can prequalify for a Chase credit card with a few easy steps.

To learn more about what this card offers, check out our review:

Still have questions?

Here are some other questions we've answered:

• Chase Freedom Flex℠ Travel Insurance: What You Need to Know
• Chase Sapphire Reserve Travel Insurance Guide
• A Complete Guide to American Express Travel Insurance Benefits