How Chase Sapphire travel insurance saved my family more than $1,500

Planning a dream vacation is always fun. But no matter how carefully you sketch out the details, sometimes life throws a spanner in the works.

Unfortunately, that’s what happened on a recent trip I took with my family earlier this year. Luckily, me Reserve Chase Sapphire® and its travel protections came into play when we needed them, saving us a total of over $1,500.

Here’s what happened and how we can take advantage of my card benefits to avoid losing a lot of money.

Planning our dream vacation… then canceling it

In February, my husband, our son, and I all prepared for an incredible hunting adventure. We’ll be staying at the Retreats at Sayari in Tanzania, where lions, cheetahs, and elephants are often spotted roaming freely around the area. After that, we planned to end the trip with a few days of relaxation at Mango House Seychelles, LXR Hotels and Resorts – One Luxury hotel on Seychelles’ largest islandMahe.

We planned our trip for months, figuring out the logistics and how to save the most money on such a big journey. We booked flights using Reserve Chase Sapphire® card and redeem some of our cards Final bonus point to reduce trip costs.

Exchange points directly through Chase Travel℠ at 1.5 cents each it covered our three tickets on the Kenya Airways hopper flight from Nairobi to Seychelles.

We also carried over some of our leftover points Qatar Airways Avios and used them to book part of our trip in The airline’s luxury business class QSuites; We paid off the balance on the Chase Sapphire Reserve. Even though points are used for part of the journey, out-of-pocket costs still amount to several thousand USD.

Once everything was in order, we eagerly counted down the months and days until the trip. However, just one day before our departure, our son came down with the flu. Traveling with our sick child was impossible, especially on a complicated itinerary like this where we might not be able to easily seek medical attention if needed.

So, with a heavy heart, we canceled the entire trip. While we tried to get our money back and points for our flights, the airlines charged us cancellation fees. We paid $327 for Kenya Airways and $1,080 for two Qatar Airways tickets, for a total cost of just over $1,500. The third Qatar Airways ticket was booked on another card and it was fully refunded so we didn’t have to worry. However, oh.

Chase Sapphire Reserve travel insurance benefits

Feeling the sting of those fees, I decided to explore travel insurance Benefits provided by me Chase Sapphire Sanctuary. This card offers a lot of protections that many cardholders, myself included, often overlook. But they can be useful in situations like mine, and that’s exactly their purpose.

Here are some of travel’s protections Chase Sapphire Sanctuaryspecial.

Trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance

This benefit covers up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip in non-refundable travel expenses if you trip is canceled or interrupted due to illness, inclement weather and other covered events. As with any type of insurance, be sure to read the terms and conditions carefully to ensure that your trip and circumstances will qualify.

Trip delay refund

This covers costs such as meals and accommodation if your trip is delayed by more than six hours or requires an overnight stay for a covered reason.

Baggage delay insurance

This type of insurance reimburses you for essential purchases like clothing or toiletries if your luggage is delayed more than six hours.

Return lost luggage

This protection will reimburse you up to $3,000 per person for each covered trip if you lost luggage or damaged. Note that some items such as electronics and jewelry are not covered.

Travel and emergency assistance services

This service provides legal and medical referrals or other travel assistance when you encounter problems while away from home. This service does not cover the cost of these services, but you will get help finding them.

Emergency medical and dental benefits

This benefit will reimburse travelers up to $2,500 for medical expenses if you or an immediate family member becomes ill or injured 100 miles or more from home.

My experience filing a Chase Sapphire travel insurance claim

After reviewing these benefits, I realized that my situation would qualify for the card’s trip cancellation and trip interruption benefits. I decided to file a claim for compensation of $1,500 in airline ticket cancellation fees.

In my case, filing a trip cancellation and interruption request with Chase was simple, but it required patience, persistence, and diligence (and we had Report issues related to Eclaims from previous readers).

I used the online form available through Eclaims Line website. The form requested detailed information about our trip, including:

• Reason for cancellation
• Our flight itinerary
• medical record
• Collect costs
• Airlines’ cancellation terms for our tickets

After submitting my initial request, I had many calls and emails back and forth with Chase; the company asked for additional documents and clarifications, such as written proof of the airlines’ cancellation policies, documentation of the cancellation fees I paid, etc. Although this section of a time-consuming process, but I knew it was important to be thorough and responsive to expedite the approval process.

And just remember that there is a time limit on when you can submit a claim. With Chase Sapphire Reserve trip cancellation and interruption insurance, you must contact Eclaims within 20 days of trip cancellation to have a chance at coverage.

Finally, after several months of providing the necessary documents and answering follow-up questions, we received approval for our request. In the meantime, we covered cancellation fees by putting them into our Chase Sapphire Reserve.

I started the claim process around February 15. In the first week of May, about 78 days later, $1,507 was deposited directly into our bank account. The relief was immense. Knowing we have this safety net gives us peace of mind and eases the pain of a canceled trip.

Important things for travelers

Here’s what I learned from my experience using the Chase Sapphire Reserve’s cancellation and trip interruption policy, and what other travelers should remember in case they need to use it.

Know your interests

Get familiar with your credit cards tourism protection. Much Premium credit cardlike Chase Sapphire Sanctuarycomes with strong insurance benefits that can save you a significant amount of money if something goes wrong.

Keep documents handy

When planning a trip, save all receipts, itineraries, and correspondence. This will make filing your claim smoother and ensure you have all the documents you may need on hand.

Be patient and persistent

The claims process can be lengthy and require submission of numerous documents. Always be organized and promptly respond to all requests from insurance providers.

Start your claim as soon as possible

If you encounter an issue that your card’s travel insurance covers, file a claim quickly. The potential savings can be significant, and you don’t want to lose any money by missing the claim filing window.

Bottom line

While we were disappointed to miss out on the safari and the Seychelles, the silver lining was that we discovered how valuable Chase Sapphire Reserve travel insurance could be. It saved us over $1,500 and provided a safety net that helped turn a potentially large financial loss into a manageable situation.

So next time you book a trip, consider the peace of mind that comes with knowing a reliable travel insurance policy has you covered.