Are airline tickets bought with MasterCard automatically covered with travel insurance?

There are some credit cards, particularly MasterCard, that provide travel insurance for free or for a minimal cost when you buy your airline tickets using the credit card. The travel insurance provided may be adequate enough to cover your travel insurance needs.

The usual benefits provided in a travel insurance given along with your airline or cruise ticket are the following:

• Baggage Delay or Loss Allowance: Pays for a certain amount for personal and business possessions that are lost while in transit. It may also pay an amount for the purchase of necessary items when the baggage is delayed. The tickets should be charged to your Mastercard.
• Hotel or Motel Burglary Coverage: This pays if your personal property is lost due to theft that occurred in your hotel or motel room. The accommodations must be paid for using an applicable card.
• Car Rental Collision or Damage Insurance: If you pay for your car rental using an eligible MasterCard, you can have coverage that pays for damages that happens to a rental vehicle. This includes physical damage of the rental car, as well as theft of the car, its parts or contents.
• Trip Cancellation: When your trip is paid for using your MasterCard, you can avail of trip cancellation insurance that provides refunds on non-refundable but forfeited and unused airline tickets or hotel deposits. This is payable in the event that your trip is canceled because of a reason covered by the insurance.
• Travel Accident Insurance: This pays for a specified amount in case of accidental dismemberment or death. This cover is provided only when the common carrier (meaning, an accepted mode of transportation) tickets are bought with a MasterCard.
• Emergency Medical Insurance: This pays for eligible expenses incurred because of a medical emergency.

Other coverages that may be provided include travel emergency assistance, purchase protection plan and buyer's assurance protection plan. Of course, you should check the travel insurance policy to check what is included in its list of benefits. Also, specific terms and conditions will apply for the different policies.

However, not all MasterCards, they say, are created equal. Thus, the question of whether airline tickets bought with MasterCard automatically get travel insurance coverage will depend on the type of card you get. It is best to refer to the list of benefits offered by your MasterCard to see what benefits you can have with your purchase of an airline ticket or cruise ship ticket using the credit card.

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