Best Credit Cards With Complimentary Travel Insurance Coverage (2025)

Several credit cards offer complimentary travel insurance. That is, on the condition that you charge your full flight fares to them. Which of them have the best travel insurance coverage and complement your everyday lifestyle? We analyse it in further detail below.
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What You Need To Know About Complimentary Travel Insurance

Before embarking on your next adventure, it is always vital to consider your safety and be prepared for any unexpected emergencies like a global cyber outage, epidemic outbreak or natural disasters. 

Your credit card can be a lifesaver during such situations as you can turn to it to pay for necessities or even emergency medical expenses overseas. While many credit cards offer complimentary travel coverage, is it really enough? Let's delve into the key benefits of such coverage and weigh the pros and cons, before making a decision.

How Credit Card Complimentary Travel Insurance Works?

Credit card complimentary travel insurance is quite a common perk offered by many credit card issuers in Singapore nowadays. Essentially, you get travel insurance coverage at no additional cost when you use your credit card to purchase specific travel components.
Here’s a general overview of how it works:

Eligibility and Activation

  • Card usage: Typically, you need to charge a specific percentage (often 100%) of your travel expenses (flights, accommodation) to your credit card to activate the insurance.
  • Card type: Some cards offer better coverage or higher limits.
  • Additional requirements: Some issuers may have additional conditions like being the primary cardholder or having a certain spending limit.

    • Coverage

  • Basic protection: Most credit cards offer standard coverage like medical expenses, personal accident, baggage loss, and trip cancellation or interruption.
  • Limitations: Coverage limits and exclusions vary significantly between cards. For instance, some cards may have age limits, exclude specific activities, or have lower coverage amounts for certain incidents.
  • Supplementary coverage: Some cards offer additional benefits like travel inconvenience, rental car coverage, or emergency cash assistance.
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    Pros & Cons Of Complimentary Travel Coverage By Credit Cards

    ProsCons
    Pros
  • Cost savings
    • Significant cost savings as no separate purchase of a travel insurance plan is necessary, making it ideal for more wallet-friendly for travellers with basic needs.    		Cons
  • Lower or limiter extent of coverage
    • Coverage may have limitations or exclusions as per the terms and conditions provided by the credit card; might not suffice for all needs. This may result in extra out-of-pocket expenses if coverage is insufficient during emergency situations.
    Pros
  • Convenience
    • Automatically activated when travel expenses are charged to the credit card and there's usually no need for separate purchase or application.    		Cons
  • Limited customisation
    • Coverage is predetermined by the credit card issuer, thus there is usually lesser flexibility for customisation, as insurance coverage is often not cater to individual preferences or specific needs.
    Pros
  • Reliable
    • Provided by reputable credit card companies with global networks.     		Cons
  • Dependency on provider
    • The quality and extent of coverage is highly dependent on the credit card provider, and the claims process can be more cumbersome.

    *All data is accurate at the time of writing, last updated on 15 November 2024 as per the information published on the respective providers websites.

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    Frequent Asked Questions

    Do you get travel insurance with your credit card?

    Many credit cards provide some level of travel insurance coverage if you charge your full fares to them. Usually the best cards that provide travel insurance are air mile cards, such as Citi PremierMiles Visa, DBS Altitude, UOB PRVI Miles and AMEX KrisFlyer. There are two cashback cards in Singapore that provide travel insurance too: OCBC 365 and CIMB Visa Signature Credit Card.

    Does travel insurance cover me if I cancel my flight?

    It depends on your policy. Look under the section "trip cancellation" to see if your travel insurance compensates when you cancel your flight. You will need to show proof of a valid cancellation reason: sickness, injury, death of either you, your family member, or travelling companion.

    Does my credit card's complimentary travel insurance cover discounted flights?

    Usually yes, on the condition that you charge your full fares to the card.
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