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Erika’s Picks for Best Credit Cards for Flight Delays
- Best overall:
Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Best for luxury travel:
The Platinum Card® from American Express - Best for premium perks:
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card - Best for low annual fee:
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card - Best for hotel perks:
Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card
No one plans a trip expecting a flight delay. But unfortunately, delays happen.
Dangerous weather or a staffing shortage may mean missing out on prepaid excursions or hotel nights. Plus, you may have to buy necessities and pay for alternate lodging and meals.
Thankfully, a credit card with flight delay compensation can help you make the best of a bad situation.
Best Overall
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Rewards Rate
- 10x points on hotel stays and car rentals through Chase Travel℠
- 10x points on dining purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- 5x points on flights booked through Chase Travel℠ (after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually)
- 3x points on restaurants and travel
- 1x points on everything else
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Annual Fee
$550
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a top travel rewards card with a wide range of benefits — including insurance for travel disruptions such as baggage delays and accidents.
If your flight on a common carrier is delayed by more than six hours or requires an overnight stay, your travel insurance under the Sapphire Reserve may apply.
With this card, you can claim up to $500 per covered traveler for applicable delays, which takes care of a hotel and extra meals.
Other travel perks of the card include:
- Elevated rewards on Chase TravelSM bookings
- 50% higher redemption value of rewards on Chase TravelSM purchases
- $300 annual travel credit
- Auto rental coverage
- Trip cancellation and interruption insurance
- Access to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide
- Statement credit for TSA PreCheck® or Global Entry
Trip delays are just one of the issues you can face when traveling, and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® has one of the most comprehensive sets of travel insurance options available.
It’s a super-versatile rewards card, so not only do you get trip delay coverage, but also a ton of other perks. If you travel frequently, you can easily recoup the higher annual fee through all the card’s benefits.
As with any travel insurance, whether it’s for trip cancellation/delay, baggage delay, or car rental coverage, you must book and pay for the flight or rental with the card in order to qualify for reimbursement.
Best for Luxury Travel
The Platinum Card® from American Express
Rewards Rate
- 5X on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel® on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year. 1x thereafter
- 5x on prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com
- 1x on all other spending
Welcome Offer
Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $8,000 in the first 6 months
Annual Fee
$695 (rates and fees)
The Platinum Card® from American Express is a luxury rewards card that offers, among other benefits, trip delay insurance* to ensure delays don’t derail you any more than necessary.
With the Amex Platinum, you must have prepaid for a round-trip flight with the card. If you’re delayed by six hours or more due to a covered reason, you may be entitled to up to $500 per trip.
Expenses you may be reimbursed for include meals, lodging, toiletries, medication, and other items you need to purchase due to a delay. You can claim this benefit up to two times per year.
The card also offers a ton of other premium travel perks:
- Up to $200 airline fee statement credit per calendar year for one selected qualifying airline
- Up to $200 hotel statement credit on select prepaid hotel bookings through American Express Travel®
- Access to over 1,400 airport lounges
- Elevated rewards on travel purchased at AmexTravel.com
- Up to $199 statement credit for CLEAR® Plus
- Fee statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®**
- Car rental loss and damage insurance*
- Trip cancellation and interruption insurance*
- Lost or damaged baggage insurance*
* Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.
** Receive either a $120 statement credit for Global Entry or a credit of up to $85 for TSA PreCheck after you apply through any Authorized Enrollment Provider. Only one credit will be given in a 4 year period for Global Entry or in a 4.5 year period for TSA PreCheck, depending on whichever application fee is charged to your eligible American Express® Card first.
The Platinum Card® from American Express is one of the best all-around rewards cards with solid travel protections*, especially for travelers who like a bit of luxury.
Your trips can go more smoothly with perks like lounge access and TSA PreCheck®/Global Entry**, plus you won’t have to stress about some of the costliest unexpected circumstances with coverage for not just trip delays, but also trip cancellation, lost/damaged baggage, and car rental loss/damage.
* Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.
** Receive either a $120 statement credit for Global Entry or a credit of up to $85 for TSA PreCheck after you apply through any Authorized Enrollment Provider. Only one credit will be given in a 4 year period for Global Entry or in a 4.5 year period for TSA PreCheck, depending on whichever application fee is charged to your eligible American Express® Card first.
Best for Premium Perks
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Rewards Rate
- 10x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 5x miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel
- 2x miles on all other purchases
Welcome Offer
Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
Annual Fee
$395
Like other travel cards on this list, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card provides up to $500 in reimbursement for expenses incurred due to a covered delay of six hours or longer.
Here are some of the card’s other travel-related perks:
- $300 travel credit for bookings using Capital One Travel
- $50-$100 experience credit for stays at hotels and resorts from the Premier Collection
- Statement credit for TSA PreCheck® or Global Entry
- Capital One Lounge access at worldwide airports
- Elevated rewards when booking with Capital One Travel
- Transfer miles to other travel loyalty programs
- Trip cancellation and interruption insurance
- Travel accident insurance
- Auto rental collision damage waiver
If you like Capital One Travel for booking hotels and flights, this is an excellent card for you. It’s good for earning miles that won’t ever expire, and there are no blackout dates for redeeming miles.
Your Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card offers trip delay coverage and insurance for trip cancellation/interruption through the Visa Infinite network. Coverage is applicable to you, your spouse, and dependent children under age 22.
Note that other Capital One credit cards are either Visa Signature or World Elite Mastercard, and don’t have this type of travel coverage.
Best for Low Annual Fee
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Rewards Rate
- 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries
- 2x on all other travel purchases
- 1x on all other purchases
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Annual Fee
$95
If you’re looking for a card with high rewards-earning potential and great travel benefits, but a lower annual fee, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is your best bet. It offers a lot of travel perks, but is far more affordable than the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and other premium rewards cards.
The Sapphire Preferred offers trip delay reimbursement that you can apply for if the delay is at least 12 hours long or requires an overnight stay. (The previous cards listed in this round-up only require a six-hour delay.)
Coverage is up to $500 per covered traveler for reasons such as equipment failure or staffing shortages.
Other travel benefits included with Sapphire Preferred include:
- $50 annual hotel credit for stays purchased with Chase TravelSM
- Trip cancellation and interruption insurance
- Travel accident insurance
- Baggage delay insurance
- Lost luggage reimbursement
- Auto rental coverage
- 25% bonus on rewards value when redeemed through Chase TravelSM
Although the trip delay insurance doesn’t kick in until the 12-hour mark with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, it’s still a good protection to have. Plus, this card has a very low annual fee, considering the impressive list of travel perks you get as a cardholder.
This is the perfect card if you want a lot of value and travel protection for a minimal fee and plan to use it for frequent travel.
Best for Hotel Perks
Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card
Rewards Rate
- Up to 14x total points per $1 spent at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®
- 2x at grocery stores, rideshare, select food delivery, select streaming, and internet, cable, and phone services
- 1x points on all other purchases
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 Bonus Points plus 1 Free Night Award after spending $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening with the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card! Free Night Award valued up to 50,000 points. Certain hotels have resort fees.
Annual Fee
$0
There are several airline and hotel-branded loyalty credit cards to consider for trip delay insurance, but the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card is a rare one with no annual fee.
With the Bonvoy Bold, you can be eligible for trip delay reimbursement of up to $500. The delay must be at least 12 hours or require an overnight stay to qualify.
Other travel perks you get with the Bonvoy Bold include:
- Baggage delay insurance
- Lost luggage reimbursement
- Elevated rewards earning with Marriott purchases
- Automatic Silver Elite status with Marriott Bonvoy®
As you might have guessed, the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card is most beneficial if you prefer Marriott Bonvoy® hotels and resorts.
The card allows you to earn your highest level of rewards through stays at Marriott-branded hotel and resort properties, plus you get basic travel protections like coverage for baggage and trip delays.
This card isn’t as versatile as the others on this list, though, so if you’re looking for a more flexible option, you’re better off with a general travel card, even if there’s an annual fee.
How Flight Delay Compensation Works with Credit Cards
Some rewards credit cards provide travel insurance, such as flight delay coverage when a flight can’t leave on time.
Credit card flight delay reimbursement applies after the airline reimburses you or gives you vouchers for costs incurred.
A minimum length of delay is required to be eligible for compensation.
What expenses are covered?
If your credit card offers flight delay compensation, read the details in your card agreement. Typically, reimbursable expenses include things like a hotel and meals to get you through the delay.
While most U.S. airlines provide some sort of compensation if you’re delayed, that’s only if it’s a controllable delay. Uncontrollable delays like bad weather, labor disputes, civil unrest, or fuel shortages aren’t typically eligible for any compensation from the airline — which is where your credit card’s coverage could kick in.
Costs must be reasonable, so avoid booking a luxury hotel or running up room service bills that could put you beyond the maximum compensation amount.
What qualifies for compensation?
Often, you’ll qualify for compensation for lodging and meal costs, as well as incidentals you may need to purchase.
You’ll need to have paid for the flight with your card (some cards also include flights booked with rewards).
Also, beware that “covered reasons” don’t include delays caused by your mistakes. For example, covered reasons under Chase credit cards include equipment failure, bad weather, or a strike.
Other card companies may have different definitions of covered reasons or eligible expenses.
How long must a delay be to qualify?
Many cards say your flight must be delayed by at least six hours to qualify for flight delay compensation, while a few cards included here require a 12-hour delay for reimbursement to kick in.
Other stipulations exist as well. There’s a maximum dollar amount for reimbursement and a limit on how many such claims you can make (usually two per calendar year).
How To File a Flight Delay Compensation Claim
If your flight is delayed, follow these steps to have expenses covered.
1. Keep documentation for reimbursement
First and foremost, hang on to every piece of documentation of your expenses incurred from the flight delay. If a vendor doesn’t give you a receipt (either printed or as an email), request it.
Keep records of your original flight itinerary and how long the flight was delayed. Plus, keep receipts from hotels or anywhere else you may need to make purchases due to the delay. The card issuer will require all of this proof for reimbursement.
2. Check what the airline owes you
Check the airline’s policy as well. Airlines may be required to compensate you for delays, and credit card policies only cover what the airline doesn’t.
To help you find the info you need, Erika has a full breakdown of what each U.S. airline owes you when a flight is delayed:
- Alaska Airlines flight delay
- Allegiant Air flight delay
- American Airlines flight delay
- Delta Air Lines flight delay
- Frontier Airlines flight delay
- Hawaiian Airlines flight delay
- JetBlue Airlines flight delay
- Southwest Airlines flight delay
- Spirit Airlines flight delay
- United Airlines flight delay
3. Contact your credit card issuer for a claim
Next, reach out to the card issuer as soon as possible to initiate the claim process, whether by phone or online.
There’s typically a window for filing claims, and you’ll need to submit proof of the delay and your expenses.
4. Check claim deadlines and processing times
When you contact your card issuer, find out how long you have to file a claim. Proceed quickly to avoid losing out on compensation.
To give you an idea of what to expect, The Platinum Card® from American Express provides a 60-day window to notify them of your claim and 120 days to submit documentation.
It’s always wise to launch your claim as soon as possible, though.
How fast you receive your money will vary, but the faster you submit your documentation of expenses, the better.
Bottom Line: Is Credit Card Flight Delay Insurance Worth It?
Having your flight pushed back is never fun, but there are plenty of travel credit cards that can ease the hassle and expense. Choosing a card that has a wide range of benefits, including flight delay compensation, can turn travel headaches into hassle-free solutions.
Once you have a credit card with strong travel protections, always book your flights with it and keep receipts when delays happen so you can easily file a claim for reimbursement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most credit card flight delay coverage requires a six-hour or overnight delay to be eligible for compensation. Certain cards (usually those with lower or no annual fees) bump it up to a minimum 12-hour delay.
Most card-related policies cover “reasonable” expenses that come up due to flight delays. Primarily, this means hotel stays and meals during the delay.
It depends. Some card issuers stipulate that you must pay for your round-trip with the card, while others say “all or part” must be booked with the card. Paying with points or miles may also leave you eligible for trip delay coverage. When in doubt, read the fine print.
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Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
