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Lost and damaged luggage when traveling can be a major inconvenience. Whether your bag turns up at the carousel sporting fresh battle scars or — worse yet — doesn't turn up at all, it means time wasted reporting to the airline, filling out forms, and, in the case of lost luggage, the loss of your bag and its contents. Plus there's the time wasted on vacation shopping for items you need on the trip.
While aircraft safety is top notch, the same can’t be said for your bags, which tend to endure much harsher treatment than their owners. Alongside travel delays, lost and damaged luggage is far and away the most common issue passengers face during air travel. While the good news is that airlines mishandled just 0.58% of luggage in 2023, that's of little comfort when you're left empty-handed at baggage claim.
If you’re one of the unlucky millions finding yourself sans-bag when you arrive at your destination, the knowledge you paid for your flight with a credit card featuring lost luggage reimbursement can take the sting out of an unfortunate situation.
The list we've put together doesn't cover every card providing lost luggage protection, which is a lengthy list indeed. Instead, we’ve broken down the coverage by credit card network and recorded some of the specifics for each provider.
Page Contents
What Is Lost Luggage Reimbursement and How Does It Work?
Lost luggage reimbursement covers the cost to repair or replace your luggage, and the personal belongings contained within, if your bag is lost or damaged during a covered trip.
What constitutes a covered trip varies by credit card provider, but it typically covers airline, train, bus, and marine transport charged to your eligible credit card. Lost luggage insurance is secondary to any reimbursement from the airline or travel provider, and coverage from your credit card typically applies to both your checked and carry-on baggage. Coverage lasts from the moment you check in to the time you pick up your bags at the other end of your journey and then walk out of the terminal.
As an example of how the policies and exclusions differ between providers, we’ve collated lost luggage protection policy details provided on World Mastercard, Visa Infinite (the benefit is also included on select Visa Signature cards), and American Express cards below.
Credit Card Lost and Damaged Luggage Policies
Visa lost luggage policy
Lost Luggage insurance is one of the seemingly endless benefits provided on Visa Infinite cards — like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees), The New United Club℠ Card (Rates & Fees) and Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (though this can be issued as a Mastercard sometimes — and this coverage also features on select Visa Signature cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees) and The New United℠ Explorer Card (Rates & Fees). Visa covers up to $3,000 per person per trip ($2,000 for New York residents), which includes up to $500 for high-risk items like jewelry, watches, electronics, and cameras.
Related: From Travel Perks to Free Wine and Discounted Golf: All of the Benefits of Visa Infinite Cards
Mastercard lost luggage policy
Mastercard offers lost baggage protection on many of its World and World Elite Mastercard products, and you can find your policy details here. Similar to the Visa coverage above, the Mastercard policy covers up to $3,000 per person per trip (again, $2,000 for New York residents), up to a total of $10,000 for all covered travelers per trip.
American Express lost luggage policy
Baggage insurance is provided on many business and consumer Amex cards — over 40 cards, to be clear. To qualify for baggage insurance, the entire cost of the fare must be paid for using your Amex card, Membership Rewards points, or the Amex Pay with Points program, and the terms specifically exclude tickets paid with points from another program or using gift cards or vouchers.
Amex offers different tiers of baggage insurance depending on the card you hold, for example:
American Express® Gold Card coverage includes:
- Up to $1,250 per person for carry-on baggage
- Up to $500 per person for checked baggage
- Maximum benefit of $250 on high-risk items like jewelry, sporting equipment, electronics, etc.
- Claims cannot exceed $1,250 per person total per covered trip
The Platinum Card® from American Express coverage includes:
- Up to $3,000 per person for carry-on baggage
- Up to $2,000 per person for checked baggage
- Maximum benefit of $1,000 on high-risk items like jewelry, sporting equipment, electronics, etc.
- Claims cannot exceed $3,000 per person total per covered trip
If you want to know what level of coverage your Amex card offers, head to the Retail and Travel Benefits page on the Amex website, click on the “Eligible Cards” button under Baggage Insurance Plan, and you’ll find a full list of Amex cards and the coverage they provide.
What Items Are Not Covered by Lost Luggage Protection?
Lost Luggage policies typically cover both your checked bags and carry-on luggage and their contents, but each card also excludes items. The lists below aren’t exhaustive, so confirm the details of your particular card with your Benefits Administrator.
- Amex: Cash, cards, and cash equivalents, travel documents (including passports and visas), securities, tickets and documents, living plants and consumables, eyewear, medical aids, or similar items.
- Capital One: Medical items, cash and cash-like items, travel documents, freight shipments, and items for business use.
- Chase: Documents or valuable papers, money, securities, tickets, checks, traveler’s checks, or furs.
Something to be aware of before pulling out your card to pay for a fare is that some cards offering lost luggage protection require you to charge the entire fare to the card to qualify for coverage, whereas others cover you when you pay with points from that bank's own program (but might not be covered if you pay with miles from an airline program not owned by the card issuer).
Related: Which Credit Card Should You Use To Pay Award Taxes and Fees?
For example, Chase covers Sapphire Reserve cardholders if ” some portion of the fare for such transportation has been charged to the Cardholder’s Account issued by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and/or its affiliates or has been paid for with redeemable Rewards that were accumulated by the Cardholder from a Rewards program sponsored by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and/or its affiliates.” You could pay for an award ticket with United MileagePlus miles, pay the taxes and fees with your Sapphire Reserve, and you’d still qualify for lost luggage coverage.
Make sure you check the specific policy on your card.
Final Thoughts
Free travel and aspirational redemptions are the poster perks for most members of the points and miles community, but acquiring an intimate knowledge of your credit card perks and benefits can also provide a lot of value. That's especially true when travel doesn’t go as planned.
It’s common knowledge that top-tier rewards cards like the Sapphire Reserve and Capital One Venture X provide exceptional travel protections including lost/damaged baggage protection, but the benefit also features on mid-tier cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. In fact, the lost luggage protection here is on par with premium credit cards that have much higher annual fee.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees), The New United Club℠ Card (Rates & Fees), Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees), and The New United℠ Explorer Card (Rates & Fees)
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