If you’re planning to make a large purchase, you should consider doing so on a credit card that offers purchase protection. Purchase protection can provide reimbursement in the event the item is stolen, damaged and sometimes even lost. American Express offers this benefit on a broad range of its personal and business cards — up to $10,000 per covered purchase (up to $50,000 per calendar year)1.
There are a few caveats, though. For example, coverage only applies to the first 90 days of purchase, there’s a maximum coverage of $50,000 per calendar year and not all purchases are eligible. Still — this can be an extremely valuable benefit if you ever need to file a claim.
When you use your eligible American Express card to make a covered purchase, you can receive protection for up to 90 days against theft, accidental damage and sometimes loss. The amount of coverage you can receive depends on the American Express card, but will either be up to $1,000 per covered purchase (up to $50,000 per calendar year) or up to $10,000 per covered purchase (up to $50,000 per calendar year). You can also receive coverage for natural disasters of up to $500 per covered event.
Items that are purchased using your eligible card are protected up to the maximum amount. To receive coverage, you must purchase the eligible item using a covered American Express card. Coverage only applies for 90 days after purchase, and you must file the claim within 30 days of the incident.
It’s important to know that not all purchases are covered, including the following:
You can file an American Express purchase protection claim online or over the phone. When getting started, you should be prepared to provide the following:
Once you gather the necessary information, follow these steps to initiate your claim:
American Express offers purchase protection on most of its consumer and business cards. The amount of coverage varies depending on the card. For example, premium cards with higher annual fees typically provide the most coverage, while cards with low or $0 annual fees and fewer benefits usually offer less coverage.
The annual fees for the above cards range anywhere from $325 for the American Express® Gold Card (see rates & fees) to $5,000 for the Centurion® Card from American Express.
The annual fees for these cards range from $0 with Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card (see rates & fees) to $350 for the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card (see rates & fees).
Compared to other credit card issuers, American Express offers some of the best purchase protection coverage available. Along with providing the benefit to virtually all of its cards, it offers high payouts of $1,000 per item, up to $50,000 per year on some cards, and up to $10,000 per item, up to $50,000 per year on other cards1.
Chase, on the other hand, only offers up to $500 per claim, up to $50,000 per account, for most of its cards. The exception is the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, which offers up to $10,000 per claim, up to $50,000 per year. (Note, the same coverage is also available for several of its business cards.) Where Chase stands out is that eligible items are covered for 120 days from the date of purchase, rather than 90 days.
The American Express purchase protection benefit adds a lot of value to American Express cards. To ensure you’re able to take advantage of this coverage, keep these tips in mind:
To see rates & fees for American Express cards mentioned on this page, visit the links provided below:
The information related to the Centurion® Card from American Express, Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express, American Express® Green Card, Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express and Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express has been collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply.
The content above is not provided by any issuer. Any opinions expressed are those of LendingTree alone and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any issuer. The offers and/or promotions mentioned above may have changed, expired, or are no longer available. Check the issuer's website for more details.
