By John Egan
Edited by Michelle TipswordHow Your Credit Card Can Protect You When Traveling
By John EganEdited by Michelle Tipsword
Quick Answer
A credit card can provide travel insurance benefits such as auto rental collision damage waiver, baggage delay insurance, trip delay reimbursement and trip cancellation insurance to protect you when traveling.
Credit cards aren't just for purchases or earning rewards. Some credit cards offer travel insurance benefits that can protect you while you're away from home—benefits that may mean you can skip buying separate travel insurance. Be sure to read a card's terms and conditions so you understand what's covered and how to file a claim.
Here are six travel insurance benefits that your credit card might provide.
Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
A credit card's rental insurance can cover a damaged or stolen car, or can reimburse you for towing services and loss-of-use costs. This coverage can offer cost savings, as a rental car company's collision damage waiver might run anywhere from $25 to $41 a day or more.
If a credit card comes with insurance, it's typically secondary to your auto insurance policy. As a result, you'd need to file an initial claim with your auto insurance company and file a claim with your credit card issuer to cover expenses not paid by your insurer. This benefit might serve as primary coverage if you don't carry auto insurance.
Keep in mind that this travel credit card benefit might not include liability coverage. This coverage kicks in if someone sues you over injuries or property damage sustained in a crash.
Tip: Caps or restrictions on a card's rental insurance benefits might be in place depending on the card, type of car rented, length of the rental and travel destination. Check your card details to see what's covered.
Best travel cards of 2026
Compare cards from our partners that earn valuable points or miles and unlock travel perks on flights and hotel stays.
Offers from our partners
Citi Double Cash® Card
Intro APR:0% for 18 months on Balance Transfers
Ongoing APR:17.49% - 27.49% (Variable)
Rewards:2% (cash back)
Annual Fee:$0
Discover it® Chrome
Intro bonus:INTRO OFFER: Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards.
Intro APR:0% intro APR for 6 Months on Purchases and 0% intro APR for 18 Months on Balance Transfers
Ongoing APR:17.49% - 26.49% Variable APR
Rewards:1% - 2% (cash back)
Annual Fee:$0
American Express Platinum Card®
Intro bonus:You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $12,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
Ongoing APR:See Pay Over Time APR
Rewards:1x - 5x (Points per dollar)
Annual Fee:$895
Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card
Intro bonus:Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months
Intro APR:0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers
Ongoing APR:18.49%, 24.49%, or 28.49% Variable APR
Rewards:2% (Cash Rewards)
Annual Fee:$0
American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Card
Intro APR:0% for 15 months on Balance Transfers
Ongoing APR:19.49% - 29.49% (Variable)
Rewards:2x (Miles per dollar)
Annual Fee:$0
Citi Strata Premier® Card
Intro bonus:Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.
Ongoing APR:19.49% - 27.49% (Variable)
Rewards:1x - 10x (Points per dollar)
Annual Fee:$95
Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi
Ongoing APR:18.74% - 26.74% (Variable)
Rewards:1% - 5% (cash back)
Annual Fee:$0
American Express® Gold Card
Intro bonus:You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
Ongoing APR:See Pay Over Time APR
Rewards:1x - 4x (Points per dollar)
Annual Fee:$325
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®
Ongoing APR:19.49% - 29.49% (Variable)
Rewards:2x (Miles per dollar)
Annual Fee:$99, waived for first 12 months
Citi® / AAdvantage® Globe™ Mastercard®
Ongoing APR:19.49% - 29.49% (Variable)
Rewards:1x - 6x (Miles per dollar)
Annual Fee:$350
Credit One Bank® Wander® American Express® with Dining, Gas & Travel Rewards
Ongoing APR:29.74% Variable
Rewards:1% - 10% (cash back)
Annual Fee:$95
Hilton Honors American Express Card
Intro bonus:Earn 70,000 Bonus Points plus a Free Night Reward after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 4/15/2026.
Ongoing APR:19.49%-28.49% Variable
Rewards:3x - 7x (Points per dollar)
Annual Fee:$0
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card
Intro bonus:Earn 200,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 5/13/2026.
Ongoing APR:19.49%-28.49% Variable
Rewards:2x - 6x (Points per dollar)
Annual Fee:$650
Discover it® Miles
Intro bonus:UNLIMITED BONUS: Unlimited Mile-for-Mile match for all new cardmembers. Discover gives you an unlimited match of all the Miles you’ve earned at the end of your first year. There’s no signing up, no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a Miles-for-Miles match. You could turn 35,000 Miles into 70,000 Miles.
Intro APR:0% intro APR for 15 months on Purchases and Balance Transfers
Ongoing APR:17.49% - 26.49% Variable APR
Rewards:1.5x (Miles per dollar)
Annual Fee:$0
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
Intro bonus:Earn 100,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $6,000 in purchases with your new Card, and an additional 25,000 bonus miles after you make an additional $3,000 in purchases on the Card, both within your first 6 months. Ends 04/01/2026.
Ongoing APR:19.49%-28.49% Variable
Rewards:1x - 3x (Miles per dollar)
Annual Fee:$650
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
Intro bonus:Earn 70,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases with your new Card, and an additional 20,000 bonus miles after you make an additional $2,000 in purchases on the Card, both within your first 6 months. Ends 04/01/2026.
Ongoing APR:19.49%-28.49% Variable
Rewards:1x - 2x (Miles per dollar)
Annual Fee:$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150.
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
Intro bonus:Earn 80,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases with your new Card, and an additional 20,000 bonus miles after you make an additional $2,000 in purchases on the Card, both within your first 6 months. Ends 04/01/2026.
Ongoing APR:19.49%-28.49% Variable
Rewards:1x - 3x (Miles per dollar)
Annual Fee:$350
Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card
Intro bonus:Earn 130,000 Bonus Points plus a Free Night Reward after you spend $3,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 4/15/2026.
Ongoing APR:19.49%-28.49% Variable
Rewards:3x - 12x (Points per dollar)
Annual Fee:$150
Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card
Intro bonus:Earn 10,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
Ongoing APR:19.49%-28.49% Variable
Rewards:1x - 2x (Miles per dollar)
Annual Fee:$0
Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card
Intro bonus:Earn 175,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 5/13/2026.
Ongoing APR:19.49%-28.49% Variable
Rewards:2x - 6x (Points per dollar)
Annual Fee:$250
One Key™ Card
Intro bonus:Limited Time Offer: Earn $300 in OneKeyCash™ after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. OneKeyCash is not redeemable for cash and can only be used on Expedia®, Hotels.com® and Vrbo®. To learn more, please refer to the One Key Terms and Conditions at www.expedia.com/one-key-terms.
Ongoing APR:18.49%, 23.49%, or 28.49% Variable APR
Rewards:1.5x - 3x (Points per dollar)
Annual Fee:$0
One Key+™ Card
Intro bonus:Earn $350 in OneKeyCash™ after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. OneKeyCash is not redeemable for cash and can only be used on Expedia®, Hotels.com® and Vrbo®. To learn more, please refer to the One Key Terms and Conditions at www.expedia.com/one-key-terms.
Ongoing APR:18.49%, 23.49%, or 28.49% Variable APR
Rewards:2x - 3x (Points per dollar)
Annual Fee:$99
See all our best travel credit cards for 2026.
Baggage Delay Insurance
You've traveled for hundreds or thousands of miles and reached your destination, only to discover your baggage has been delayed or is missing.
Baggage delay insurance can help cover the cost of buying replacement items if your baggage is delayed or lost. To get this benefit, your baggage might need to be delayed for at least a certain period of time, such as four hours.
Coverage limits vary from card to card and generally take effect when you're traveling by plane, train, bus or ship.
Trip Delay Reimbursement
Trip delay reimbursement benefits can cover expenses if a scheduled trip is delayed by a certain period of time (such as six hours or more) or if a delay causes you to unexpectedly spend the night somewhere. Covered costs may include meals, toiletries, medication and lodging.
A cautionary note: A card's trip delay benefits might impose per-trip or per-ticket limits, so they may not cover all your losses.
Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance
If a covered incident like illness, jury duty or bad weather causes cancellation or interruption of a trip, your credit card might reimburse nonrefundable costs like a nonrefundable ticket. It also can cover costs like transportation to get home.
Covered incidents differ among cards. The trip cancellation and interruption insurance benefit normally applies to trips booked with your credit card taken by you and eligible relatives.
Learn more: Travel Protection vs. Travel Insurance: What's the Difference?
Travel Accident Insurance
Travel accident insurance covers accident-related injuries and deaths. Death and dismemberment coverage kicks in if you or a covered relative dies or loses a limb or eye during a covered trip.
Roadside Dispatch
It's a motorist's nightmare: You're driving along a roadway when your battery dies. In this case, you may be able to turn to your credit card for help.
Depending on your card, roadside dispatch service can connect you to local providers to supply basic services—such as a jump-start, tire change or brief tow—for a certain price. Some cards even cover some or all of the costs of these services.
Learn more: Average Cost of Travel Insurance
How to Choose the Best Travel Credit Card
If you're shopping for a travel credit card, go over each card's benefits to review which kinds of travel insurance are offered, along with the coverage's features and limits.
In addition:
- Check out a card's annual percentage rate (APR).
- See whether a card offers an introductory 0% APR.
- Find out whether a card charges an annual fee.
- Look for perks such as status in loyalty programs, cash back, points, miles or airport lounge access.
Tips for Using Your Credit Card Safely While Traveling
Here are eight tips for protecting your credit card while traveling.
- Notify your card issuer. Before you head out, alert the card's issuer about your travel plans. This can help stop legitimate charges from being flagged or declined. You usually can inform a card issuer about your travels by logging in to your card's online account or mobile app, or by calling the issuer.
- Set up transaction alerts. A real-time alert can help you detect unrecognized charges. When you do spot a suspicious transaction, contact your card issuer right away.
- Shield your card. You can help prevent your card data from being electronically stolen if you keep your cards in an RFID-blocking wallet or sleeve.
- Stash your card. If you're traveling with extra credit cards, store them in a hotel safe.
- Be careful with public Wi-Fi. Connecting to a public Wi-Fi network is usually safe thanks to sophisticated encryption. But to exercise caution, safeguard passwords for your credit card accounts and be on the lookout for online scams.
- Use a mobile wallet. Instead of carrying a plastic credit card with you, keep your card data in a mobile wallet. Be aware that this may limit the merchants where you're able to pay with your card, however.
- Don't show off your card. When you're in public, be discreet with your credit cards. Otherwise you might send a signal to a nearby thief that you're a pickpocketing target.
- Always take your credit card receipts with you. If you leave a credit card receipt at a restaurant or store, for example, a thief might be able to grab it and figure out how to withdraw cash or make purchases.
Learn more: When Are Travel Credit Cards Worth It?
Compare Travel Credit Cards
Just as you should always shop around for home or auto insurance, you should consider several options if you're in the market for a credit card, particularly if travel insurance benefits are a must-have. You can compare credit cards with Experian to get offers based on your unique credit profile.
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About the author
John Egan
John Egan is a freelance writer, editor and content marketing strategist in Austin, Texas. His work has been published by outlets such as CreditCards.com, Bankrate, Credit Karma, LendingTree, PolicyGenius, HuffPost, National Real Estate Investor and Urban Land.
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