Buying an airline ticket doesn’t have to be a massive issue, but we agree that it can be a stressful experience. There is a lot to consider when choosing the ticket you’re going to buy, and one of the things that probably makes you stop and think is the idea of ticket insurance. This is something that we don’t tend to pay too much thought to, and we very often don’t actually read the small print.
Often, the option to buy ticket insurance will come up at the end of the booking as something that you can elect to add on to the price of the ticket. Most of us will click ‘no,’ because we don’t feel we should have to shell out more cash, while those who are more cautious might select the ‘yes’ option. However, it is not necessary to select yes because you are already covered when you book using a credit card. We’ll talk more about this below, but, for now, let’s look at what travel insurance gets you.
What is airline trip insurance?
Generally speaking, these companies strike deals with airlines in order to sell their plans through the airline website. In basic terms, the policy works like standard insurance policies, offering refunds if people are unable to fly due to illness or poor weather. This covers up to the cost of the trip, as well as offering daily costs toward food and lodging if there is a delayed flight (often up to $100), and $500 to cover lost baggage items. For an extra $20 or so, you can basically get this added to your ticket price.
What the airline already offers
Now, the above might seem like a good deal, but it’s not necessarily better than what you are already getting from the airline. Every airline has a cost of carriage, and simply by being a passenger you can benefit from this. This includes covering passengers in the event of delays, illness, lost bags, etc. Most airlines will waive the charge fee if you are ill and have to change flights, and you can get luggage reimbursement of over $3,000 by federal law. So, actually, what the airlines already offer is better than what you would be getting from the top up insurance anyway! It seems the only reason to go with that is to cover the issue of cancellations.
Credit card
But, as you might have guessed by now, this is where the credit card comes into play. More often than not, if you purchase your ticket using credit cards, you will benefit from their cancellation policy. Some will offer up to $5,000 if you have to cancel as a result of sickness, or if the weather prevents the trip. Some also offer $100 per day for 5 days covering delayed baggage, as well as $500 for food and accommodation if your flight is delayed by over 12 hours.
Basically, as you can see, there is really no need to spend money on the extra insurance to ups you can get. Between what the airline already covers, and the policy your credit card offer, you are belt and braces, and you can look forward to enjoying your trip without having to worry about whether you are covered for X, Y, and Z.
