The Guide to Discover Card Travel Insurance

Discover card travel insurance used to be a common benefit of many of the bank's cash-back cards. But in early 2018, Discover cut the travel insurance benefits on all of its cards (alongside benefits like extended warranty and price protection).

That means that today, Discover cards don’t offer any type of travel insurance. Instead, the bank now focuses on the simplicity of cash-back awards on its rewards credit cards.

Which other cards offer travel insurance?

Since Discover card trip insurance is a thing of the past, you might consider spending on other cards that offer travel insurance protections.

Chase cards with travel insurance

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® offer some of the most robust travel insurance coverages available on a credit card, including trip delay protection, primary auto rental collision damage waiver insurance, baggage delay insurance, lost luggage protection and travel accident insurance.

Here is a full list of credit cards that offer Chase travel insurance:

» Learn more: Does my Chase card have travel insurance?

Premium cards with travel insurance

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is another premium travel card that offers an extensive suite of travel benefits.

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card includes primary auto rental collision damage waiver, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, trip delay reimbursement insurance, a $1 million worldwide common carrier travel insurance policy and lost luggage protection.

» Learn more: How rental car insurance works

No-annual-fee cards with travel insurance

While you’ll get the most travel insurance coverage from a premium travel card, some cards with no annual fee offer travel insurance as well.

For instance, the Wells Fargo Autograph ℠ Card offers basic auto rental collision damage waiver insurance, and the United Gateway℠ Card includes trip cancellation/interruption and rental car insurance.

» Learn more: The best travel credit cards right now

What types of travel insurance coverages do credit cards usually offer?

Here are some of the most common types of travel insurance offered on credit cards.

• Auto rental collision damage waiver insurance covers damage to or theft of cars that you rent using your credit card. For auto rental collision damage waiver insurance to apply, you must make your reservation and pay for your car rental with a card that has this benefit. You must also decline the car rental company’s collision damage waiver. Most auto rental collision damage waiver insurance is secondary, meaning that you must make a claim through your personal auto insurance before the credit card insurance will pay. Primary auto rental collision damage waiver insurance is a benefit on some premium credit cards.

• Baggage delay insurance can reimburse you for expenses you incur as a result of a temporary baggage delay. Incidentals like toiletries, clothing, chargers and medication are typically reimbursable through baggage delay insurance.

• Lost luggage reimbursement covers the cost to repair or replace your checked and carry-on baggage and its contents. Lost luggage coverage is usually provided as secondary insurance and will cover the difference between what an airline or other carrier reimburses you and the amount of your loss, up to the limit of coverage.

• Travel accident insurance can compensate you or your survivors for loss of life, limb or function when you book your common carrier ticket, such as an airline ticket, with your card. Travel accident insurance typically specifies a payout amount for each type of covered loss.

• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance may reimburse you for certain prepaid travel expenses when a trip is interrupted or canceled for a covered reason. Trip cancellation and interruption insurance policies vary widely but usually cover at least airfare booked with your card. Some policies may cover a wide range of prepaid travel expenses. 

• Trip delay reimbursement can cover meals and overnight accommodations when you are significantly delayed and you book your travel with your card. Trip delay benefits usually kick in after a certain number of hours of delays or when you are delayed overnight.

» Learn more: 10 credit cards with travel insurance

You can also buy travel insurance separately

If you aren't interested in adding a new credit card to your wallet but want travel protections, you have options.

Consider shopping for one-off plans from third-party travel insurance companies to find coverage that fits your risk tolerance and budget. A bonus of purchasing travel insurance out-of-pocket — rather than using a card's built-in benefits — is that you can customize the plan to meet your needs.

You can even add on Cancel For Any Reason coverage to more confidently protect your upfront and nonrefundable payments.

Expect to pay roughly 7% of your trip budget for travel insurance.

» Learn more: How much is travel insurance?

Should I use a Discover card for travel?

With no Discover travel protection, does it make sense to use a Discover card to book travel? The short answer is probably not.

Discover does not offer any credit cards featuring additional rewards on travel purchases. Discover does market the Discover it® Miles travel credit card, but the card earns 1.5 miles per dollar on every purchase and has no rewards or benefits specific to travel.

The information related to the Chase Freedom® Student credit card, Chase Slate Edge℠, Ink Business Plus® Credit Card, Starbucks® Rewards Visa® Card and the United Club℠ Business Card credit cards has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuers of these cards.