Part 4: British Airways Visa Signature® Travel Benefits
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Editor's Rating:
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| Intro Purchase APR | Regular APR | Intro Balance Transfer | Annual Fee | Credit Needed |
| N.A. | $95 | Excellent |
Executive Summary -
Travel insurance and other related benefits are explored in greater detail as applicants of this card are likely to be most interested in them. The benefits are provided by Visa and include lost baggage insurance, travel accident insurance and emergency services. In this part of the review, we will explore them in greater detail.
If you go to Chase website and look up this card, there will be no mention of any of their "usual benefits". When I called Chase, they said that because this card is offered as a Visa Signature Card, the benefits can be found on Visa's website! One of the most asked questions about this card is it's travel and insurance benefit. So we'll explore this here.
- Travel Accident Insurance - The first perk that potential cardholders is the travel accident insurance that is provided when you use the card to purchase any travel tickets like airline tickets, cruises etc. The minimum coverage is $250,000. This has been a standard feature of most credit cards and network (whether it be Visa, MasterCard or American Express) for the longest time. In the good old days, your "personal travel agent" always tries to upsell travel insurance when you book your airline tickets. But with credit card networks offering this feature, that practice has now become a thing of the past! On Visa's website, they claim that $250,000 is the "minimum" though there is no other information as to what will trigger a higher insurance amount. Anyway, this is one feature that you hopefully will not have to claim.
- Travel and Emergency Assistance - You also get what Visa would call their "Travel and Emergency Assistance Services". That simply means that if you are abroad and need medical, legal help, Visa has a number for you to call. They will then look for referrals for you to call. And you obviously have to foot the bill of the service yourself. I sometimes question the merit of this service because if I were to get into any trouble at all, I would call the hotel concierge and chances are that they will help you out with most assistance. But when they are not available, I guess this will come in very handy.
- Lost luggage Insurance - This card also gives you lost luggage insurance and reimbursement in the event that the carrier misplaced your luggages. You can claim up to $3,000 in damages. (Note: if you are a New York resident, you can only claim up to $2,000). This is perhaps the one feature that frequent travelers will use at some stage. Visa, MasterCard and American Express all have these feature and the amounts insured from Visa are pretty competitive.
Table Of Contents
1. Introduction - Rewards Summary
2. Companion Ticket
3. Visa Benefits
4. Travel Benefits
5. Car Rental Insurance Benefits
6. Extended Warranty Benefit
7. Pros and Cons
8. Is it a good card?
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