Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information.
I generally divide my credit card perks into two categories: those such as annual statement credits or lounge access that I actively try and use to enhance my travel experience and those, such as travel insurance and purchase protection, that 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?
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There are plenty of good reasons to add someone as an authorized user to your card, including sharing benefits with them, earning points on their spending, and even helping your family members build credit, though remember that you’ll ultimately be responsible for any purchases they make on the card.
Many cards will let you add authorized users for free, but premium cards often charge a fee. In the case of the Chase Sapphire Reserve, it’s $75 per year to add an authorized user.
It’s important to understand 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 the trip cancellation and interruption insurance as an example, here are the covered parties according to Chase’s website:
Now there’s no differentiation here 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 who’s name is embossed on the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card.
Here are the covered parties for the trip delay reimbursement:
If you add an authorized user outside of your own family, they would receive coverage for their spouse or domestic partner and dependent children under the age of 22, giving them access to some of the most valuable benefits on the Sapphire Reserve at a fraction of the cost.
Related: 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 on the Sapphire Reserve, but when you think about the fact 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 Reserve cards.
Featured photo by B Calkins/Shutterstock