How Chase Freedom Unlimited Travel Insurance Works

A major perk of some travel credit cards is that they provide travel insurance protections for cardholders. As long as you book the travel with the card, you're eligible to file a claim and get reimbursed for unexpected expenses, usually tied to incidents like lost or delayed baggage or trip cancellation or interruptions.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is unusual in that it's marketed as a cash back credit card — not a travel card — but it still provides some travel insurance coverage. It also has a $0 annual fee while many travel rewards cards that offer travel protections charge $95 or more.

Here’s what you can expect in terms of Chase Freedom Unlimited® travel insurance, what it covers and what the benefit limits are.

» Learn more: The best travel credit cards right now

Does Chase Freedom Unlimited provide travel insurance?

Yes, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® credit card comes with a few trip protection benefits:

• Trip cancellation.

• Trip interruption.

• Auto rental collision damage waiver.

To be eligible for coverage, you must have paid for the affected travel with the card, or redeemed rewards from the card toward the cost. For trip cancellation and interruption coverage, your immediate family members are covered, even if they’re traveling without you, as long as you paid with the card.

» Learn more: Trip cancellation insurance explained

Travel insurance benefits and limits on the Chase Freedom Unlimited® card

Chase Freedom Unlimited® travel insurance benefits, explained

Trip cancellation protection

If your trip is canceled for an eligible reason (listed below), you can recover some prepaid, nonrefundable expenses, including deposit and change fees charged by an airline, cruise line, railroad or other common carrier. To be eligible for trip cancellation coverage, you must pay all or part of the trip cost with the Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the rewards associated with the card.

Trip cancellation coverage maxes out at $1,500 per covered person and $6,000 per trip, so you don’t want to rely solely on the card’s benefits if you're paying more than that for an upcoming trip. (You might want to consider a standalone travel insurance policy if your trip is more expensive.) A trip must not exceed 60 days to be eligible for full coverage.

Cancellation reasons covered under the policy include:

• A named storm, such as a hurricane or tropical storm.

• Accidental injury or sickness of the traveler or an immediate family member.

• Change in military orders for you or your spouse.

• Organized strikes.

• Terrorism incidents within 25 miles of the airport.

• Travel warnings issued by the U.S. Department of State regarding terrorism.

• Severe weather.

Things like a change in plans, an onset of a preexisting condition or pregnancy are not covered. For such things, it's best to have a policy from a travel insurance provider that has an option to add a Cancel For Any Reason coverage.

» Learn more: What to know before buying travel insurance

Trip interruption coverage

Trip interruption coverage is similar to trip cancellation protection, except it kicks in once your trip has begun.

In addition to the $1,500-per-person and $6,000-per-trip coverage limits, trip interruption provides up to $250 to cover transportation for you or your family member for necessary medical treatment or to the airport. However, this doesn’t include the cost of medical vehicles. In other words, it will cover, say, a cab or Uber ride to the hospital, but not an ambulance ride.

Trip interruption also covers:

• Accidental injury or sickness for you or a member of your family.

• Change in military orders for you or your spouse.

• Organized strikes.

• Terrorism incidents within 25 miles of the airport.

• Terrorism warnings issued by the U.S. government.

• Severe weather.

As is the case with trip cancellation, some coverage exclusions apply. For example, if your trip’s purpose is to receive medical treatment, if you injure yourself while intoxicated, fail to obtain a visa or travel to an active war zone, the coverage no longer applies.

Auto rental collision damage waiver

Paying for a car rental with a credit card that offers an auto collision damage waiver allows you to decline the "insurance" offered by the rental agency. The Chase Freedom Unlimited® offers a version of the benefit for rentals not exceeding 31 consecutive days.

The auto collision damage waiver on the Chase Freedom Unlimited® provides "secondary" coverage for rentals in your country of residence and "primary" coverage for rentals abroad. Secondary coverage means you must first go through your personal auto insurance policy, and the credit card coverage kicks in after that (to pay your deductible, for example). Primary coverage means the credit card's coverage comes first, and you don't have to go through your personal policy.

To use the benefit, you must decline the rental car company’s collision insurance and cover the entire cost of the rental with your Chase Freedom Unlimited® card.

The auto collision damage waiver provides reimbursement up to the cash value of the vehicle against theft, damage, loss-of-use charges, administrative fees and towing charges to the nearest body shop. Additional drivers are covered only if they were added to the rental car contract.

Damage to another driver’s car, personal injuries or property damage aren’t covered. Additionally, certain vehicles aren’t eligible for coverage, including:

• Antique cars.

• Cargo vans.

• High-value vehicles.

• Limos.

• Motorcycles.

• Passenger vans.

• RVs.

• Trucks (other than pickups).

How do I file a claim?

For trip cancellation and interruption, you have 20 days to file a claim. For auto collision damage, you have 60 days from the date of the incident. In either case, contact the benefits administrator as soon as possible. You can do so online at eclaimsline.com or by calling 888-320-9656 if you’re in the U.S. or call collect at 804-764-1691 if you’re abroad.

For information on how to file a claim or the documents you need to provide, consult the guide to benefits for the Chase Freedom Unlimited®.

What if the card’s benefits aren’t enough?

The Chase Freedom Unlimited® has no annual fee, and its travel insurance benefits come at no extra cost. Those benefits are rather basic, with low coverage limits, so you might want more coverage for big-ticket trips. Do some comparison shopping to find the right mix of coverages, limits and cost.