If you’re an American Express credit card user, not only are you a relatively rare breed, but you might also already have used the famous free Amex travel insurance. (Technically, Amex travel insurance is actually Chubb travel insurance.)
So, why is Amex providing travel insurance? Well, these days, you don’t even have to approach an insurance company to buy a plan. You can get it instead from the nearest bank or credit card company. It’s like getting toys from HMV or a bicycle from Carrefour.
Back to AMEX’s travel insurance. It was previously known as American Express My VoyageGuard. That’s quite a mouthful, so it’s a good thing they’ve since decided to adopt a much simpler name—AMEX My Travel Insurance.
Buying travel insurance through your credit card company sounds extremely convenient, but what’s really in that plan, and is it adequate for your needs? Let’s have a look.
Contents
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- AMEX Travel Insurance: Summary
- AMEX Chubb Travel Insurance Coverage
- AMEX Travel Insurance Covid-19
- AMEX Platinum Travel Insurance
- AMEX KrisFlyer Travel Insurance
- AMEX Travel Insurance: Extreme Sports
- AMEX Travel Insurance Promotion
- AMEX Travel Insurance Claim Review
- Should I buy AMEX Travel Insurance?
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1. AMEX Travel Insurance Summary
AMEX My Travel Insurance comes in two iterations:
- AMEX My Travel Insurance Annual Multi-Trip – Gives you coverage for an entire year regardless of the number of trips you make, for up to 90 days per trip.
- AMEX My Travel Insurance Single Trip – Gives you coverage for one single trip of up to 90 days.
Furthermore, each plans has three tiers:
- Essential
- Standard
- Superior
Note that these travel insurance plans are paid. If you are getting the travel insurance for free through your credit card, your insurance plan will come with less benefits than the paid version. We’ll talk about that later.
2. AMEX Chubb Travel Insurance Coverage
Here’s a quick summary of the three tiers of My Travel Insurance that can be purchased through AMEX.
| AMEX Travel Insurance | Essential | Standard | Superior |
| Price (ASEAN) | $40/week | $49/week | $63/week |
| Price (Asia) | $54/week | $66/week | $85/week |
| Price (Worldwide) | $91/week | $111/week | $143/week |
| Overseas Medical Expenses | $500,000 | $1,000,000 | $2,000,000 |
| Emergency Medical Evacuation | $500,000 | $1,000,000 | Unlimited |
| Personal Accident (Death, TPD) | $125,000 | $250,000 | $500,000 |
| Travel Delay ($200/6 hours) | Max $800 | Max $1,200 | Max $2,400 |
| Trip Cancellation | $5,000 | $10,000 | $20,000 |
| Baggage Delay ($200/6 hours) | Max $800 | Max $1,200 | Max $2,400 |
| Baggage Loss/Damage | $3,500 max
$500/trip $1,000 for laptop |
$5,000 max
$500/item $1,000 for laptop |
$8,000 max
$500/item $1,000 for laptop |
| Outdoor Adventure | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Covid-19 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Compared to DBS’s travel insurance (also by Chubb), AMEX’s is relatively generous thanks to its high coverage amounts for medical expenses.
It’s not as generous as Citibank’s in terms of coverage amounts, though. What’s more, while DBS offers coverage for outdoor adventure activities, Citibank does not.
3. AMEX Travel Insurance Covid-19 Coverage
AMEX’s travel insurance automatically includes Covid-19 cover. Here’s a summary of Covid-19 benefits and coverage:
| AMEX Travel Insurance Covid Coverage | Essential | Standard | Superior |
| Overseas Medical Expenses | $150,000
$150,000 (children on family plan) $75,000 (above 70 years old) |
$150,000
$150,000 (children on family plan) $75,000 (above 70 years old) |
$200,000
$200,000 (children on family plan) $150,000 (above 70 years old) |
| Emergency Medical Evacuation & Repatriation | $50,000 | $100,000 | $200,000 |
| Hospitalisation Cash Benefit | $100/day
max 7 days |
$100/day
max 14 days |
$100/day
max 14 days |
| Quarantine Cash Benefit | $50/day
max 7 days |
$50/day
max 14 days |
$50/day
max 14 days |
| Trip Cancellation | $2,500 | $5,000 | $10,000 |
In comparison, DBS’s travel insurance offers Covid-19 coverage but Citibank’s travel insurance does not.
4. AMEX Platinum Travel Insurance
If you book your originating and return trip using the AMEX Platinum Card, you will automatically be covered by free travel insurance, as well as your spouse and dependant children travelling with you.
Here’s what the free plan gets you:
| AMEX Platinum Tavel Insurance | Coverage |
| Overseas Medical Expenses | $1,000,000 limit for all medical assistance and expenses claims |
| Emergency Medical Evacuation | – |
| Personal Accident (Death, TPD) | $1,000,000 |
| Trip Cancellation | $10,000 |
| Travel Delay | Up to $400 per person / $800 per family |
| Outdoor Adventure | As above |
| Covid-19 | As above |
The Platinum Card’s free travel insurance coverage is not too bad compared to DBS’s complimentary travel insurance, which only gives you up to $150 for travel delays and $500 for trip cancellation.
Meanwhile, Citibank’s only gives you $500 for trip cancellation and $40,000 for medical expenses.
5. AMEX KrisFlyer Travel Insurance
The blue AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card also entitles you to free travel insurance when you charge you return trip to the card.
Here’s what you get:
| AMEX Platinum Tavel Insurance | Coverage |
| Overseas Medical Expenses | – |
| Emergency Medical Evacuation | – |
| Personal Accident (Death, TPD) | $350,000 |
| Trip Cancellation | – |
| Travel Delay | Up to $200 per person / $400 per family |
| Outdoor Adventure | As above |
| Covid-19 | As above |
As you can see, the Platinum Card’s complimentary travel insurance is shockingly bare bones, with coverage extending only to travel inconveniences and personal accident.
There’s no mention of overseas medical expense coverage.
This plan underperforms woefully compared to DBS and Citibank’s complimentary travel insurance.
6. AMEX Travel Insurance: Extreme Sports & Outdoor Adventure
When it comes to AMEX’s paid My Travel Insurance plans, extreme sports are not expressly excluded so long as you are not taking part in training in any speed contest or racing (other than on foot), or any professional competition or sports.
So, don’t try to be clever and enter drag races or something. Other than that, other sporting activities are not excluded, so you should be covered for expenses arising from them.
AMEX’s free travel insurance plans are completely silent on the subject of recreational or leisure activities.
In the absence of any exclusions, that means that you should be receiving coverage for expenses incurred while doing any sporting or leisure activities like scuba diving,
| Extreme Sports & Outdoor Adventure | Covered by American Express? |
| Hot air balloon | Not stated |
| Scuba diving | Not stated |
| Skiing and other ice/snow sports | Not stated |
| Hiking or trekking | Not stated |
| Mountaineering or outdoor rock climbing | Not stated |
| Marathons or other competitions | Not stated |
| Jet skiing | Not stated |
| White water rafting | Not stated |
| Skydiving | Not stated |
| Paragliding, hang gliding or parachuting | Not stated |
| Bungee jumping | Not stated |
7. AMEX Travel Insurance Promotion
Use the promo code TRAVELNOW and get a discount on your AMEX travel insurance policies purchased online.
- on eligible Singapore Airlines, Scoot flight bookings & KrisShop purchases
- S$1 = 2 KrisFlyer miles
- on eligible Grab Singapore transactions
- S$1 = Up to 2 KrisFlyer miles
- on all other eligible purchases
- S$1 = 1.2 KrisFlyer miles
8. AMEX Travel Insurance Claim Review
This is all hearsay on the internet, but there have been some complaints of people getting their travel insurance claims denied because the insurer was very stringent about technicalities. Not saying that will happen to you, but tread with caution
Chubb Travel Insurance Emergency hotline: Call the Chubb Assistance emergency hotline at +65 6836 2922
AMEX Travel Insurance hotline: 6299 0922 (9am to 5pm, Mondays to Fridays)
Online claims: Submit claims and supporting documents online through Chubb’s online portal. Alternatively, download the claims form PDF and email with documents to [email protected].
AMEX Travel Insurance Claim Settlement Time: You’ll get an acknowledgement within 3 days.
Even though you buy this travel insurance from American Express channels, every aspect of the after-sales support is taken care of by Chubb Insurance.
Chubb has a very good international reputation for its emergency assistance, which is reassuring if your idea of a good time is trying to cheat death.
9. Should I buy AMEX Travel Insurance?
If you have the Amex Platinum Card, you can get okay complimentary travel insurance coverage by booking your trip on the card. However, the blue Amex KrisFlyer Credit Card’s free travel insurance coverage leaves much to be desired, so we would suggest not relying on this plan unless you like living life on the edge.
The paid AMEX My Travel Insurance plans, however, are actually decent and quite reasonably priced compared to competitors like DBS or Citibank.
Still shopping for travel insurance? Compare the best travel insurance in Singapore here.
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