Guide to Credit Card Purchase Protection: What It Is, How it Works and Best Cards

This is one of the most under-utilized credit card benefits! Most people don’t even know they have it or what it is. Even better — cards that offer this often also have another great benefit — extended warranty protection! Katie used this benefit when her new phone was stolen in Thailand and got a full reimbursement. When she went to replace it, the new phone was even on sale for Black Friday so she even came out ahead financially. Read on to make sure you have this benefit on at least one of your cards.

What is credit card purchase protection?

Purchase protection, or purchase security, is a credit card benefit that offers, at a minimum, theft and damage insurance for items purchased with an eligible credit card. It automatically covers all eligible purchases on your card, with no product registration or extra steps necessary.

The purchase protection benefit reimburses cardholders for eligible items that were charged to their card and/or purchased with rewards associated with that card’s account. Cardholders can be reimbursed for the replacement or repair of eligible purchases.

Not all credit cards offer purchase protection and not all items are eligible for coverage. That’s why it’s important to read your credit card’s guide to benefits to see what your credit card coverage includes.

How is credit card purchase protection different from other credit card protection benefits?

Credit cards offer a variety of types of protection for items purchased on an eligible card.

Some of these benefits include purchase protection, extended warranty protection, price protection, and return protection. These protections give consumers confidence in their purchases, enabling them to get reimbursed if things go wrong or they aren’t satisfied and are unable to be reimbursed through other methods within a given timeframe.

Purchase protection and extended warranty protection are more common credit card benefits. A lot of our favorite travel cards include these coverages. Purchase protection covers theft and accidental damage for a 90-120 days after purchase. On the other hand, extended warranty coverage extends the warranty of items beyond the manufacturer’s warranty.

Other, less common, protections include price protection and return protection. Price protection allows customers to retroactively apply a lower price to an item that was purchased and return protection allows customers to return items even if the store has a no-return policy.

What is covered by credit card purchase protection?

Purchases covered by purchase protection

Typically, credit card purchase protection covers retail purchases of personal property and gifts purchased with an eligible card. Most credit card issuers also stipulate that the item must have been purchased new.

For all of the cards below, purchases must be made with either an eligible card or rewards points associated with the covered account.

Purchase Protection Credit Cards

Purchase protection exclusions

It’s a lot easier to address what purchases are excluded from purchase protection than what items are covered. Your credit card’s guide to benefits will include a full list of exclusions.

The list of exclusions is lengthy and varies somewhat between credit cards and credit card issuers.

Common items that are excluded from coverage include, but are not limited to:

• • Animals and living plants

• • Antiques or collectibles

• • Motorized vehicles and their parts

• • Computer software

• • Items purchased for resale, professional, or commercial use

• • Medical equipment

• • Perishable or consumable items

• • Traveler’s checks, cash, tickets, credit or debit card

• • Used or pre-owned items

• • Real estate and items intended for real estate

• • Rented and leased items

Events covered by credit card purchase protection

Most commonly, purchase protection covers damage and theft to eligible items purchased with an eligible credit card. Additionally, some American Express cards cover losing property and some Chase cards cover “accidental and involuntary parting” of an item.

Theft

Credit card issuers offer purchase protection coverage in the event of the theft of eligible personal property within a certain number days from when the item was purchased. The number of days varies by credit card but it typically between 90 and 120 days.

When Katie traveled to Thailand in 2019, she had her cell phone stolen. Since she had purchased the cell phone within 90 days with an eligible card, she was able to file a purchase protection claim through her credit card and get reimbursed for the phone.

When you file a claim for a stolen item, you will typically need to file a police report for the theft promptly (within 48 hours) after the incident. You will be required to include a copy of the police report with your purchase protection claim.

Damage

Under a credit card’s purchase protection coverage, eligible personal property that has been damaged within a certain number of days from the date of purchase is covered. Not all types of damage are covered, so refer to your guide to benefits or call your credit card issuer to find out what types of damage or policy excludes.

Lost items

Most credit card issuers exclude lost items from their purchase protection policies. However, some American Express cards cover lost items.

Accidental and Involuntary Parting

Some Chase cards, including the Sapphire cards, include purchase protection coverage for “accidental and involuntary parting.” They define this to mean “the unintended separation from an item of personal property when its location is known, but recovery is impractical to complete.”

Exclusions

Just like there are a lot of types of types of purchases excluded from purchase protection, there are also a lot of exclusions as to the where and how the item is damaged or stolen. Common exclusions include, but are not limited to:

• • Broken items

• • Items damaged by weather

• • Items stolen from cars, other vehicles, or common carriers

• • Items that “mysteriously disappear”

• • Items with a common carrier, including an airplane or delivery service

• • Hostilities such as war or terrorism

• • Misused or abused items

• • Items confiscated by authorities

• • Normal wear and tear

• • Acts of God (including floods, hurricanes, lightning, earthquakes)

• • Checked baggage

How to file a purchase protection claim

Confirm coverage in your guide to benefits

Credit cards from all the major credit card companies offer purchase protection, but not all cards include this benefit.

To find out if your card offers purchase protection, read through your card’s guide to benefits, which will explain the exact policy in detail. This guide is mailed to you with your card, but can also usually be found online if you search for your card’s guide to benefits. I’ve linked the guide to benefits for some of the most popular cards in the table above.

Keep in mind that credit card purchase protection is secondary. This means that if you have a primary insurance policy covering the item, you must file a claim with your insurance company before submitting a claim through your credit card.

Once you know the details of your credit card’s purchase protection policy – including coverage limits and exclusions – you can start your claim in the event of an eligible incident.

Since there are time limits on how long you have to file your purchase protection claim, start the process as soon as possible. To do this, you’ll need to follow the steps outlined in your guide to benefits.

Check the time limits for making claims for credit card purchase protection

Your credit card policy will outline your maximum coverage and any time limits for filing a claim under the purchase protection benefit. These time limits vary by card, but time limits to keep in mind include:

• • Timeframe since item’s purchase date

• • Timeframe from incident to file a start a claim

• • Timeframe to file a police report, if the item was stolen

• • Timeframe to submit proof of loss documents

• • Timeframe to receive reimbursement

Purchase Protection Credit Cards Maximum Benefit

Submit required documents when filing a claim for credit card purchase protection

When filing a claim for credit card purchase protection, you will need to submit copies the following documents, as applicable:

• • completed and signed claim form,

• • an itemized store receipt showing the date of purchase and the account it was purchase with,

• • your credit card statement showing the posted transaction,

• • policy report or fire report (if applicable),

• • an repair estimate or receipt (if applicable)

• • a copy of the claim settlement from your primary insurance company (if applicable),

• • any other documentation needed to substantiate your claim.

What to expect after filing your purchase protection claim

Once you’ve submitted your purchase protection claim, your credit card provider will evaluate your claim and make a decision. Generally, the credit card company will contact you within a few weeks to let you know if your claim has been approved or denied.

If your claim is approved, you will receive a refund for the cost of the item or a replacement item or reimbursement for repairs.

If your claim is denied, you may be able to appeal the decision. Find out why the claim was denied and, if you don’t agree with the decision, talk to the benefits administrator about options for appealing the denial

Our favorite cards offering credit card purchase protection

Our favorite credit cards don’t just provide high sign up bonuses, but most of them also have other benefits, including purchase protection.

When you are purchasing an item of value, be sure to use a card that includes purchase protection and/or extended warranty protection.