Need advice-travel/medical ins. with Chase Sapphire Reserve

[kent4489]

Hello. I need advice and information regarding the travel and medical benefits included with Chase Sapphire Reserve. I've been researching on the Chase website as well as speaking with them on the phone. I'm still confused and not sure exactly what my benefits are. On our last year Galapagos cruise and this year, June Azamara cruise and our Sept. France land travel, I bought travel medical insurance, but if we have coverage with the Chase Sapphire Reserve I don't necessarily want to buy something we don't need.

 

Specifically, we booked the Feb. 28 trans-Atlantic and staying on for the next cruise. I booked direct with Azamara and paid with the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

We will drive to the Miami port on Feb. 28, take the B2B cruise and disembark on Mar. 18 at Gran Canaria. The same day, we are taking a flight to Madrid, staying overnight and flying back to FL on Mar. 19. I did not use the Chase card for the flights. 

 

My questions: (Hope I don't sound stupid, but I just don't understand our coverage. I have spent hours researching and only get more confused.)

 

Are we covered for medical from the day we leave home until the day we return?

 

Under "evacuation", the benefits state that the trip must be booked through a travel agency, however, I booked direct with Azamara. When I called Chase, they said we would be covered, but I'm not feeling confident. Any thoughts on this? Anyone know how or if a medical evacuation can happen on a trans-Atlantic?

 

For trip cancellation, are we covered for the entire trip even though I only used the Chase card for the cruise?

 

All this being said, we traveled for years without giving these things much thought, but now, kind of at the age where it could be a concern. Thank you so much for any helpful knowledge specific to coverage with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

[luv2travel90266]

I am not an insurance agent however I have read the coverages and use a chase sapphire reserve card for travel. The medical coverage is very small and if you had to have an operation while  overseas Your primary medical insurance may not cover it so you also need to read that policy. As many on this board are seniors Medicare does not pay for overseas care. Personally I buy an annual policy which is relatively inexpensive that gives me coverage in the event of a medical emergency overseas. Hope the above info is of help. 

[kent4489]

4 minutes ago, luv2travel90266 said:

I am not an insurance agent however I have read the coverages and use a chase sapphire reserve card for travel. The medical coverage is very small and if you had to have an operation while  overseas Your primary medical insurance may not cover it so you also need to read that policy. As many on this board are seniors Medicare does not pay for overseas care. Personally I buy an annual policy which is relatively inexpensive that gives me coverage in the event of a medical emergency overseas. Hope the above info is of help. 

Thank you. Yes, it is helpful. I was concerned about the amount of medical coverage. 

How about the trip cancellation/delay portion. What are your thoughts on that?

 

[luv2travel90266]

I thought the coverage on the Sapphire Reserve account for trip cancellation/delay was pretty good unless you want "cancel for any reason insurance" or you feel you need more coverage then that policy provides. I buy the international medical insurance online. I found a policy covering a 1 month trip with $500,000 medical coverage for $172 for my wife and I. 

Edited October 18, 2022 by luv2travel90266

[mchell810]

I am not an insurance agent;  I do have the Sapphire Reserve card.  Based on what you've posted I don't think your flights, or delays related to the flight, would be covered simply bc you didn't use the card for it.  If you end up paying for an upgrade on the flight you may want to use the Chase card for that extra bit of protection. Perhaps the card you used to pay for the flight offers some trip interruption/delay benefit.

[PirateWife]

While not a medical evacuation exactly, on an Azamara trans-Atlantic cruise there was a medical emergency. The captain put the ship on full speed to get to our next port. As soon as the ship docked, the passenger was removed from the ship to a waiting ambulance.

[kent4489]

2 hours ago, mchell810 said:

I am not an insurance agent;  I do have the Sapphire Reserve card.  Based on what you've posted I don't think your flights, or delays related to the flight, would be covered simply bc you didn't use the card for it.  If you end up paying for an upgrade on the flight you may want to use the Chase card for that extra bit of protection. Perhaps the card you used to pay for the flight offers some trip interruption/delay benefit.

Thank you. I’m not too concerned about the delay/interruption for the last day in Madrid, but more concerned about medical. We used miles for Flagship First, so won’t be upgrading. We’ll pay our hotel with the Chase Sapphire Reserve, so I think that will give a little protection.

 

We have decided to purchase an annual medical travel policy. I think that’s our best option. Especially since we have several trips planned in the next year.

[kent4489]

5 hours ago, luv2travel90266 said:

I thought the coverage on the Sapphire Reserve account for trip cancellation/delay was pretty good unless you want "cancel for any reason insurance" or you feel you need more coverage then that policy provides. I buy the international medical insurance online. I found a policy covering a 1 month trip with $500,000 medical coverage for $172 for my wife and I. 

Thank you. We decided to get an extra medical policy.

[kent4489]

1 hour ago, PirateWife said:

While not a medical evacuation exactly, on an Azamara trans-Atlantic cruise there was a medical emergency. The captain put the ship on full speed to get to our next port. As soon as the ship docked, the passenger was removed from the ship to a waiting ambulance.

Thank you. Good to know. We don’t have medical issues, but I sure tend to worry more now than only a few years ago! 

[takemewithyou]

43 minutes ago, kent4489 said:

Thank you. We decided to get an extra medical policy.

Keep us posted on which one you pick.  Interested in your research for that.

[luv2travel90266]

Cruise critic doesn’t like referrals to websites. I have used for years squaremouthdotcom. You can probably figure this out. 

[kent4489]

Right, I don’t thinkI can post which one. I’m looking at a few places. 

[takemewithyou]

32 minutes ago, kent4489 said:

Right, I don’t thinkI can post which one. I’m looking at a few places. 

I think we can discuss this because there is a sub forum for travel insurance on CruiseCritic .  You might find some info there.  Here is the link.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/

 

 

[kent4489]

2 minutes ago, takemewithyou said:

I think we can discuss this because there is a sub forum for travel insurance on CruiseCritic .  You might find some info there.  Here is the link.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/

 

 

Thank you!

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Insurance brokers are not Travel Agents. No problem naming them. 

[audobon_tx]

10 hours ago, kent4489 said:

Right, I don’t thinkI can post which one. I’m looking at a few places. 

 

We use Geo Blue annual family plan for medical.  We also have a NetJet membership for medical evacuation/repatriation just in case we don't like what Geo Blue considers suitable evacuation.

 

Chase Sapphire coverage for trip cancellation/interruptions is $20K per trip if purchased on Chase.  Pre-existing conditions exclusions apply. We usually, not always, self-insure for cancellation/interruption above that. 

 

We always book cruises with Sapphire to get the double points.

Edited October 19, 2022 by audobon_tx

[kent4489]

3 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Insurance brokers are not Travel Agents. No problem naming them. 

Oh, ok, thanks. I was looking at Travel Guard, but now after reading lots of posts on the Cruise Critic Insurance forum, I'm going to call the Travel Insurance Store as it was highly recommended. (But, how I wish that I could somehow get a travel agent recommendation! 😄-I'm serious!)

[kent4489]

1 hour ago, audobon_tx said:

 

We use Geo Blue annual family plan for medical.  We also have a NetJet membership for medical evacuation/repatriation just in case we don't like what Geo Blue considers suitable evacuation.

 

Chase Sapphire coverage for trip cancellation/interruptions is $20K per trip if purchased on Chase.  Pre-existing conditions exclusions apply. We usually, not always, self-insure for cancellation/interruption above that. 

 

We always book cruises with Sapphire to get the double points.

Thank you. I"m looking into the Geo Blue.  And will also look into the NetJet...good idea of having some control on evacuation options.

Yes, we have decided that we will self insure for the cancellation portion above what Chase might cover.

[Host Jazzbeau]

NetJet?  I think you mean MedJet. I recommend them as a supplement to any travel insurance plan. Very inexpensive— especially through AARP (the savings more than pays for the AARP membership). 

[kent4489]

14 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

NetJet?  I think you mean MedJet. I recommend them as a supplement to any travel insurance plan. Very inexpensive— especially through AARP (the savings more than pays for the AARP membership). 

Yes, I just copied what I read above, but knew it was MedJet. Also, I referred to Travel Insurance Store above, but it is Trip Insurance Store. 

[audobon_tx]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

NetJet?  I think you mean MedJet. I recommend them as a supplement to any travel insurance plan. Very inexpensive— especially through AARP (the savings more than pays for the AARP membership). 

Yes.  Typo.

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

NetJet?  I think you mean MedJet. I recommend them as a supplement to any travel insurance plan. Very inexpensive— especially through AARP (the savings more than pays for the AARP membership). 

 

1 hour ago, audobon_tx said:

Yes.  Typo.

I was hoping that was it – NetJets is w-a-y out of my price range!!!  😉

[fudgbug]

On 10/18/2022 at 2:29 PM, kent4489 said:

Hello. I need advice and information regarding the travel and medical benefits included with Chase Sapphire Reserve. I've been researching on the Chase website as well as speaking with them on the phone. I'm still confused and not sure exactly what my benefits are. On our last year Galapagos cruise and this year, June Azamara cruise and our Sept. France land travel, I bought travel medical insurance, but if we have coverage with the Chase Sapphire Reserve I don't necessarily want to buy something we don't need.

 

Specifically, we booked the Feb. 28 trans-Atlantic and staying on for the next cruise. I booked direct with Azamara and paid with the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

We will drive to the Miami port on Feb. 28, take the B2B cruise and disembark on Mar. 18 at Gran Canaria. The same day, we are taking a flight to Madrid, staying overnight and flying back to FL on Mar. 19. I did not use the Chase card for the flights. 

 

My questions: (Hope I don't sound stupid, but I just don't understand our coverage. I have spent hours researching and only get more confused.)

 

Are we covered for medical from the day we leave home until the day we return?

 

Under "evacuation", the benefits state that the trip must be booked through a travel agency, however, I booked direct with Azamara. When I called Chase, they said we would be covered, but I'm not feeling confident. Any thoughts on this? Anyone know how or if a medical evacuation can happen on a trans-Atlantic?

 

For trip cancellation, are we covered for the entire trip even though I only used the Chase card for the cruise?

 

All this being said, we traveled for years without giving these things much thought, but now, kind of at the age where it could be a concern. Thank you so much for any helpful knowledge specific to coverage with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

If using Chase for a claim, don't hold your breath waiting for the claim to be paid.  Requests for same documents over and over.  It's been going on since early August with Card Benefit Services.  Now the claim is still in hands of someone who manages claims at Alliaz and the claim is permanently "Pending" with never ending requests for additional documentation.

 

As I said, "Don't hold your breath waiting for a claim to be paid."  The reason for this air fare only claim was caused by an unexpected open abdominal aneurysm repair.

[luv2travel90266]

Insurance companies are notorious on dragging payments out. Try complaining to the regulatory agency.

https://www.nh.gov/insurance/consumers/documents/onlinecompform2.pdf

[kent4489]

3 hours ago, fudgbug said:

If using Chase for a claim, don't hold your breath waiting for the claim to be paid.  Requests for same documents over and over.  It's been going on since early August with Card Benefit Services.  Now the claim is still in hands of someone who manages claims at Alliaz and the claim is permanently "Pending" with never ending requests for additional documentation.

 

As I said, "Don't hold your breath waiting for a claim to be paid."  The reason for this air fare only claim was caused by an unexpected open abdominal aneurysm repair.

So sorry. I do get it. We have a small travel delay claim from our June cruise and it’s still pending. This was with a policy I purchased from insure my trip. I’ve decided as long as we have medical and evacuation, those are the important things. The Chase coverage will be a crap shoot if needed. After lots of reading and a phone call today, we’re leaning toward the Geoblue coverage for medical.