Does Chase travel insurance apply if I pay for my trip with Ultimate Rewards points?

Ethan's been a frequent flier for as long as he can remember, from studying abroad in Paris to moving to Shanghai after graduating college, where he served as TPG's eyes and ears for all things travel in the Asia-Pacific region. If you asked him where he wants to travel next he'd quote Anthony Bourdain and tell you "anytime I'm eating spicy noodles in a bowl, I'm happy."

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Travel is … unpredictable. It doesn't take the chaos of a global pandemic to ruin your travel plans. In fact, if you have yet to experience a flight cancellation, extensive trip delay or lost or delayed baggage, you're probably in the minority of travelers.

If you travel even once or twice per year, you should have a card that offers trip cancellation insurance benefits. But will a travel credit card — such as those issued by Chase — even cover your trip if you use rewards points to pay for your flight?

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That's a great question — and one we've been asked many times in light of nearly two years of trip cancellations due to the pandemic.

Will you still receive credit card travel protections when booking travel with Chase points?

Cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points (such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve) feature some of the most comprehensive travel insurance policies of any credit cards. Depending on your specific card, you may enjoy coverage for trip delays, flight cancellations, baggage loss and car rental damage or theft.

In addition, the broad range of circumstances under which these policies kick in makes them simple to invoke. If you find your trip canceled or interrupted for a covered reason, you'll be eligible for reimbursement through Chase if either of the following is true:

• Some portion of the cost has been charged to your Chase credit card.
• You used Ultimate Rewards to pay for all or part of your trip.

Chase is quite generous in this regard, as many other issuers require you to pay for the entire trip with your card in order to receive coverage, and/or they don't extend coverage to travel booked using points.

You'll be reimbursed for the monetary value of the redemption (or 1 cent per point if the value doesn't appear on your itinerary or confirmation). Coverage is capped at $10,000 per trip. Unfortunately, after a large number of airline bankruptcies over the last few years (even before the pandemic began), Chase changed the policy so that "financial insolvency of the . travel supplier" is no longer covered.

Chase does provide a few examples of what counts as a covered event. But if you're not sure, you can always call the number on the back of your card and ask to speak to a benefits administrator.

In addition, these protections are not guarantees for reimbursement. You still need to follow the full process to file a claim, which includes submitting documentation to prove your eligibility.

Bottom line

The best time to learn about your credit card's travel insurance policies is before you actually have to use them. The good news for Chase cardholders is that your trip will be covered even if you pay with points, although you still need to submit complete documentation in order for your claim to be approved and processed.

Additional reporting by Chris Dong and Benét J. Wilson.

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.