On top of being a worldwide accepted and convenient form of payment, credit cards now offer added services such as travel and medical insurance, extended warrantees on our purchases, and protection on our minimum payments as well as our total balance owing in case we lose our jobs or become injured.
Credit Care Insurance or Balance Protection Insurance is an optional feature that allows us to protect our balance and minimum monthly payments in the case of death, dismemberment, and/or hospitalization. It is an additional insurance that can be added to our monthly credit card bill for a small additional fee such as $0.99 per $100 of our average daily balance throughout the month. This type of insurance can be costly if we carry a balance, but it can also cost absolutely nothing if we don’t. This type of insurance maintains our credit score rating during difficult times when money may not be flowing in due to unemployment, or injury.
Travel insurance such as trip and flight delay are also included with some types of credit cards; as long as we pay for our travel tickets with that particular credit card. If you are unsure about the type of travel insurance that is offered with your credit card, it is best to verify with credit card provider before you book the trip. Other types of travel insurance include car rental collision and theft. I recently had a client who was travelling throughout South America. Her bus trip, which cost $65, was cancelled due to flooding and she was forced to book a private chartered plane which cost $650. Since she paid for her entire trip including the bus and plane tickets with her MasterCard she was reimbursed for all of her additional costs.
Medical insurance is another added optional benefit that is offered by our credit cards. This is great because we may not otherwise be covered for out of country emergency medical expenses such as hospitalization and ambulance usage or an emergency doctor visit. Last year when I was travelling in Spain I was bitten by an awful huge bug and I needed emergency medical attention. I was treated by the Fire Department since it was closer than the hospital. Before they admitted me they did ask me to fill out some paperwork which included my medical insurance coverage information. I was thankful that I had a certificate of insurance from my credit card provider; I was treated right away with no cost.
Our credit cards may also offer a basic extended purchase warranty on items such as electronics and appliances. This is usually a one year warranty that begins as soon as the manufacturer’s warranty runs out. Therefore, if we purchase a television that has a 2 year warranty from the manufacturer we are actually covered for 3 years.
You can obtain a full list of all included and optional benefits on your credit card from your financial institution.
Photo By Sister72
credit care insurance and balance protection are waste of money. unless you are cosigned, then you don’t have to worry about your balance if someone dies. second, if you have disability insurance, life insurance, etc, why would you pay extra for something you already have? read the fine print, because these programs basically just defer you from having to pay the minimum balance for x amounts of months, normally not longer than 90 days. if you are in the military, you have other protections, which make the military portion of these things not necessary also.
depending on the level of card, like a platinum or world or elite card, things like travel insurance, extended warranties are included for things. My card reimbursed me for accidental damage, too. travel insurance part you have to be careful, b/c not all programs are the same and you have had to purchase say a flight ticket all on that one card, and some restrict if you went through places like expedia etc.
i think you get better “travel insurance” by simply paying for a separate policy when you travel, since it normally covers more and you aren’t limited to having use the same card, tec.