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If you’ve ever been the last person standing at an empty luggage carousel waiting for your bags, you’ll understand the frustration of checked bags getting delayed or, even worse, disappearing. It can mean hours spent filing reports and on the phone tracking down the location of your bag — not to mention the out-of-pocket expenses of purchasing essentials like phone chargers, a change of clothes, and toiletries while waiting for your mishandled bag.
The good news is that paying for your flight with the right credit card can lead to reimbursement for immediate, incidental costs if your checked bags are late to the party. Each credit card provider offers a different baggage delay policy, excluding specific items from claims, and the amount of time you must wait for your bag before benefits kick in will vary.
In this post, we break down baggage delay insurance policies from some of our favorite rewards cards and point out the best policies overall.
What Is Baggage Delay Coverage?
A baggage delay policy will reimburse you for immediate, out-of-pocket expenses incurred if your bag is delayed or misdirected by a common carrier en route to your destination.
Covered expenses typically include items like toiletries, a change of clothes, and phone chargers, but non-essential items like jewelry, watches, and electronics are typically excluded. Moreover, “essential” can vary based on your destination. I've been reimbursed for a $300 winter coat in Canada when a bag went missing in December and been reimbursed a full set of summer clothes when a bag didn't make it to my warm weather destination from a snow-covered winter starting point. The coat was essential in the first; changing out of winter clothes into shorts was essential on the second trip.
Most cards will cover the primary cardholder and immediate family members, even if the cardholder isn’t traveling on the same itinerary (provided the ticket is paid for with the eligible card).
It’s important to differentiate between baggage delay coverage and lost/damaged luggage coverage, as these policies are often confused.
- Baggage delay coverage reimburses you for the purchase of essential items while waiting for a delayed suitcase that didn't arrive with you at your destination.
- Lost/damaged luggage coverage will reimburse you for the cost of repairing or replacing checked or carry-on baggage (and typically the contents of your bag) if the luggage is lost or damaged while in transit on a common carrier.
There are significant discrepancies in how each credit card issuer defines a common carrier, as well as how the trip must be paid for to qualify for baggage delay coverage. That means it’s crucial to read the guide to benefits for your credit card to understand the baggage delay policy.
Let's look at an example policy from one of the most popular travel rewards credit cards.
Chase Sapphire Reserve® baggage delay coverage
- Benefit kicks in after six hours.
- Up to $100 per day for a maximum of five days.
- Covers cardholder and immediate family.
- Includes any motorized land, water, or air conveyance licensed for the transportation of passengers for hire.
- Covers award tickets and revenue fares paid in full/part using the Sapphire Reserve, as well as award travel paid for with points earned via Chase cards even when the card isn’t used to pay fees and taxes.
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
- Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Get 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Travel℠. For example, 60,000 points are worth $900 toward travel.
- 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
- Access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass™ Select and up to $120 application fee credit every four years for Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck®
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Coverage, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Member FDIC
- Rates & Fees
- 10X points on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 10X points on Chase Dining (including prepaid reservations and prepaid takeout purchased through Chase)
- 5X points on airfare purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on all other travel
- 3X points on dining at restaurants
- 1X points on all other purchases
Related: Everything You Need to Know About Chase Sapphire Reserve® Insurance Benefits
Best Rewards Credit Cards for Baggage Delay Coverage
Similar to many other travel insurance perks we’ve covered — such as trip delay insurance and trip interruption/cancellation insurance — Chase features at the top of the list, although only with select cards. Baggage delay coverage doesn't apply evenly across credit cards. Sadly, Amex is absent from the list of providers, as none of its cards feature baggage delay, although select Amex cards do offer lost luggage insurance. Moreover, Citi removed baggage delay coverage across its entire range of rewards cards in 2019, so you also won't see Citi-issued cards on this list. And while you might expect to see a premium travel card like the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card on this list, it doesn't offer baggage delay coverage, only lost luggage coverage.
These are the best credit cards for baggage delay coverage and their respective policies:
| Credit Card | Minimum Delay | Maximum Coverage | Who is Covered | Annual Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Sapphire Reserve® | 6 hours | $100 per day up to max 5 days ($500) | Cardholder & immediate family members | $550 |
| Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | 6 hours | $100 per day up to max 5 days ($500) | Cardholder & immediate family members | $95 |
| The World of Hyatt Credit Card | 6 hours | $100 per day up to max 5 days ($500) | Cardholder & immediate family members | $95 |
| Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card | 6 hours | $100 per day up to max 5 days ($500) | Cardholder, immediate family members, and employees | $95 |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card | 6 hours | $100 per day up to max 3 days ($300) | Cardholder | $69 |
| The New United℠ Explorer Card | 6 hours | $100 per day up to max 3 days ($300) | Cardholder | $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $150 |
| Aeroplan® Credit Card | 6 hours | $100 per day up to max 3 days ($300) | Cardholder | $95 |
| Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card | 6 hours | $100 per day up to max 3 days ($300) | Cardholder | $95 |
| British Airways Visa Signature® Card | 6 hours | $100 per day up to max 3 days ($300) | Cardholder | $95 |
| Iberia Visa Signature® Card | 6 hours | $100 per day up to max 3 days ($300) | Cardholder | $95 |
| IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card | 6 hours | $100 per day up to max 3 days ($300) | Cardholder | $99 |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card | 6 hours | $100 per day up to max 3 days ($300) | Cardholder | $99 |
| Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card | 6 hours | $100 per day up to max 3 days ($300) | Cardholder | $99 |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card | 6 hours | $100 per day up to max 3 days ($300) | Cardholder | $149 |
| Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card | 6 hours | $100 per day up to max 3 days ($300) | Cardholder | $199 |
| The New United Quest℠ Card | 6 hours | $100 per day up to max 3 days ($300) | Cardholder | $350 |
| The New United Club℠ Card | 6 hours | $100 per day up to max 3 days ($300) | Cardholder | $695 |
| AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® | 12 hours | $100 per day up to max 3 days ($300) | Cardholder | $99 |
Both Visa and Mastercard provide basic baggage delay coverage on mid-tier & top-tier credit cards.
Visa Signature baggage delay reimbursement:
“If your checked baggage is delayed or misdirected for more than four hours, you can be reimbursed for necessities you purchase up to $300. Certain terms, conditions and exclusions apply. In order for coverage to apply, you must use your covered Visa Signature® card to secure transactions.”
Note: Be sure to review the terms for your specific card. Coverage can differ widely.
World Elite Mastercard baggage delay insurance
“Reimburses you for replacing essential personal or business items in your baggage, if the baggage you have checked on to a common carrier is delayed in transit and your tickets were purchased using an eligible Mastercard.”
Coverage on the Visa Signature and World Elite Mastercard rewards cards is capped as standard at $300 per trip. Like many other travel insurance perks we’ve covered, baggage delay insurance appears to be an optional card benefit that isn’t provided on all products. It’s essential to call your benefits administrator to check if your card offers baggage delay coverage and what items will be reimbursed.
What Purchases Does Baggage Delay Cover?
Baggage delay policies only cover essential costs incurred because your baggage is delayed or misdirected. Baggage delay policies typically apply to your destination only, and Barclays explicitly excludes claims when returning home.
Baggage delay from Chase and Barclays covers:
- Clothing
- Toiletries
- Charging cables for cellular telephones (one cord per device)
However, Chase and Barclays cards won’t cover:
- Personal health items, including hearing aids, artificial teeth, dental bridges, or prosthetic devices
- Tickets, documents, money, securities, checks, travelers' checks, and valuable papers
- Business samples
- Recreational equipment
- Jewelry and watches
- Electronics such as cameras, video recorders, cell phones, tablets, or computing equipment
All baggage delay policies from every provider we looked at offer secondary coverage, meaning they will only reimburse costs not covered by the carrier or another travel insurance policy.
How To File a Baggage Delay Claim
To file a baggage delay claim, you’ll need to supply documentation to support your claim, which may include:
- Completed claim form
- A copy of the itinerary with all passengers listed
- Confirmation of the baggage delay from the carrier plus a copy of the settlement/denial from the carrier (you must get this before you leave the airport)
- Credit card statement that shows the charge for your common carrier travel
- Receipts for purchased items
Chase and Barclays provide the same claim window, and also the same window in which to submit supporting documents.
- Chase: File a claim within 20 days of the delay, and all supporting documents supplied within 90 days.
- Barclays: Need to file a claim within 20 days of the delay, and all supporting documents supplied within 90 days.
To file a claim, either call your Benefits Administrator or visit the listed website.
- Chase: Head to eclaimsline.com or call the Benefit Administrator at 804-281-5772 for information.
- Barclays: Call the Claims Administrator at 1-855-830-3721. After receiving a claim number, visit MyClaimsAgent.com to submit supporting documents.
Final Thoughts
Turning up at your destination to find out your luggage went on a different vacation is frustrating. With the right credit card, however, you can have the cost of essential items reimbursed, reducing the out-of-pocket expense and taking the sting out of an unfortunate situation. Just be sure to call your benefits administrator to clarify exactly what's covered, as policies differ widely between cards — even credit cards from the same provider.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees)
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