Do you buy travel insurance?

As I posted earlier, I have the United Club Infinity card. I picked that one over the Saphire as I am a lifetime Gold member having over a Million miles. I always fly united. My mother-in-law went into Hospice and we cancled a big family cruise to Alaska. They fully refunded me $2250 for 9 non-refundable Cruise deposits. It took 8 days from the time I filed a claim to be approved.

It also has $150K evac coverage.

This makes me feel I made the right choice getting this card. If I go outside the US, I will look at Medical coverage which is less than $100 a year or less for a trip. I would compare this with where my Anthem medical insurance has international coverage, which is most everywhere in Europe I want to go or in the future when I have Medicare with extra evac insurance along with medical
Wow! Sorry about your MIL and cancelled plans, but that's great to hear about the coverage, especially since I have the same. One reason I buy supplemental coverage is my perception that getting reimbursed through coverage provided by a credit card can be more difficult.

For things like medical care, weather delays, or rental car coverage, the supplemental policy is always primary, so there isn't a need to submit claims to other insurers, airlines, etc. first.
 
We have only had on cancellation issue. A cancelled China trip.

As an afterthought I decided to check my MC World Elite card benefits. Sure enough it had cancel insurance. Called the 1800. The MC CSR gave me the number for their insurer.

Got the details, the on line forms and submitted the requisite info. Claim paid within about 21 days in full, no questions asked. Much to my surprise!

First time ever.
 
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We have only had on cancellation issue. A cancelled China trip.

As an afterthought I decided to check my MC World Elite card benefits. Sure enough it had cancel insurance. Called the 1800. The MC CSR gave me the number for their insurer.

Got the details, the on line forms and submitted the requisite info. Claim paid within about 21 days in full, no questions asked. Much to my surprise!

First time ever.
Frankly, and in contradiction to my own perception, I've also had good luck with credit card coverage. Over a decade ago, I took the driver's side mirror off a rental car (dead tree branch while backing down a long driveway in the dark), I reported the accident to the rental company, my auto insurance company, and to the number on the credit card used to rent the vehicle. The rental company was thankful that I reported the damage before returning the vehicle. They charged my card for the damages, loss-of-use, etc., which was credited back on the same statement. My auto insurance remained unchanged since they paid nothing.

Similarly, back in the 90s, my hotel room was burglarized while on a golf vacation. I remember that I had arrived late, dropped my bags and went straight to the hotel restaurant for dinner. When I returned from dinner I discovered my bags pulled apart and realized that the lock on the door was broken. The resort manager/security tried to discourage me from immediately contacting the police, but I filed a police report right away because the only items taken were electronics and the whole thing seemed suspicious. The resort did end up reimbursing me for the cost of repurchasing some of the items taken (along with the cost of my stay). My renters policy at the time had too high a deductible, but I submitted a claim with my credit card company. Much to my surprise, my card was credited for the cost of a digital camera and a "Palm Pilot" I had recently purchased on the card that were listed in the police report.

So maybe I am wasting money insuring things that are already covered by my credit card.
 
Absolutely the one thing I would never depend on a credit card benefit for to provide is comprehensive and adaquate out of country medical and evac insurance.

We view it as too much of significant risk, even though we are both in excellent health, to depend on credit card benefits.
 
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