Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.
I generally divide my credit card perks into two categories: annual statement credits or lounge access that I actively try and use to enhance my travel experience, and travel insurance and purchase protection, which I hope to never need but appreciate being able to count on when I do.
But if you have a credit card as an authorized user, are you covered by an issuer’s travel insurance policy?
Benefits to authorized users
There are plenty of good reasons to add someone as an authorized user to your card, including sharing benefits with them, such as travel credits or other monthly statement credits like the $7 Dunkin’ credit (up to $84 per calendar year; enrollment is required and terms apply) on the American Express® Gold Card.
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Authorized users also earn points on their spending and even help your family members build credit, though remember that you’ll ultimately be responsible for any purchases they make on the card.
Many cards allow you to add authorized users for free, but premium cards often charge a fee. For example, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® charges $75 per year to add an authorized user.
Authorized users and travel insurance
Understanding the terms of your insurance coverage before you need to use it so you don’t make any hasty and expensive mistakes based on incomplete information. As a reminder, the Chase Sapphire Reserve offers the following travel insurance benefits:
- Trip cancellation/trip interruption insurance
- Trip delay reimbursement
- Baggage delay insurance
- Lost luggage reimbursement
Related: The best credit cards with travel insurance
The exact coverage requirements differ slightly for each policy, but taking trip cancellation and interruption insurance as an example, Chase lists those covered as ‘Covered Travelers’ to a domestic partner and family members, according to the terms and conditions.
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Furthermore, to be covered by the card’s insurance, you must charge all or a portion of the trip cost to your card or have used Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Covered Travelers do not need to be traveling with the cardholder for benefits to apply.
There’s no differentiation between primary cardholders and authorized users, so I called Chase and spoke to a benefits administrator to confirm. The good news is that not only are authorized users covered, but in this case, their immediate family members would be as well. “Cardholder” doesn’t just mean the primary account holder — it means any user whose name is embossed on the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card.
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For trip delay reimbursement, the coverage of family, which includes domestic partners, is similarly defined as above:
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To be eligible for this trip delay reimbursement coverage, all or a portion of your trip must’ve been booked using your Chase Sapphire Reserve card, including travel booked using Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
Related: The 7 credit cards with the greatest value for authorized users
Bottom line
Some people balk at paying the $75 a year fee to add authorized users to the Chase Sapphire Reserve, but when you consider that they earn full travel insurance coverage as if they were the primary cardholders, this becomes a much better value proposition. This benefit has saved me hundreds of dollars over the years, and Chase is known to offer some of the most comprehensive and generous coverage in the industry on its Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Sapphire Reserve card.