American Express says their travel insurance will cover Platinum cardholders for coronavirus

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

• James says:

  30 Jan30 January 07:09

  50K for a 16 square metre room !!

• VP says:

  30 Jan30 January 07:27

  Sorry for OT but just came from a trip to Texas & Florida and thought of sharing some miles & points experiences which might help readers of the blog so here goes.
  – T5 Concorde – Meh! No complimentary spa slot available when called 10 days in advance.
  – BA First (LHR-AUS) – Mixed crew. Great service. Food & drinks have really gone up a notch since we travelled last in First 3 years ago. Felt like fine dining experience but BA is very stingy with quantities loaded so make sure you don’t leave your dessert order for last.
  – Internal flights AA (booked on Avios – No OW Status): We never paid for seat assignment. We tried to check in online but 10-12 hrs before flight but all free seats were exhausted so we checked in directly at airport and on all 3 internal flights we got Economy Plus seats but we (wife and myself) were separated on 1 flight (<2hr flights so we didn’t mind)
  – IC Miami stay booked using UK IHG Free night voucher – All Ambassador benefits honoured. No Resort fee charged.
  – Also stayed a few nights at Mariott Townplace Suites – Miami Airport – Category 3 on points. Highly recommended for a cheap points stay. Well maintained hotel, free airport shuttle, walking distance to restaurants. They also do free shuttle drop within 2 miles (Little Havanna or Mall). Ideally located for Bus excursion to Key west as this is the last pick up and first drop off point. $20 to South Beach $15 to downtown by Lyft. For Everglades, some tour operators have this as pick up point some don't.
  – Miami – Ft. Lauderdale-West Palm beach. There is a Brightline operated (branded as Virgin Trains USA) train service (30 mins to Ft. Lauderdale). Website was offering one free return ticket for first time bookers with $5 Lyft credit to go to train station so we went to Ft. Lauderdale for free (Lyft fare varied between $35-$60 depending on time of the day)
  – Lyft was cheaper than Uber and had lots of promo codes available for first time users. We got almost $70-80 off between wife and myself over $250 of cab rides. No problem with UK credit card.
  – Return Flight FLL-EWR-LHR on United using Kris Flyer miles which were expiring. At time of booking, I thought I was wasting my Krisflyer miles on economy but each ticket was just $5 and EWR-LHR was on a 767 with 2-3-2 configuration in Economy with only the middle 3 in Economy. The 2-2 were in Economy Plus (seemed to be same leg space as PE). We didn’t pay for seat selection during online check-in and were assigned Economy Plus ($112 online) at airport!! The 767 configuration (hardly 20 rows in economy with just middle 3 true economy) was such a civilised experience that I was genuinely surprised by the flight.

  Apologies for the long post and thanks again to HFP as our BA First experience was possible only due to this site.

  • VP says:

    30 Jan30 January 07:32

    (hardly 20 rows in economy with just middle 3 true economy) should be (hardly 20 rows in economy with just middle 3 seats in each row true economy)

  • NigelthePensioner says:

    30 Jan30 January 08:07

    1) You can also earn Hhonors or Bonvoy’s by linking one or the other to your Lyft account. Conversely, you can use Bonvoy’s or Hhonors for Lyft fares by converting to Lyft credit in your account. Lyft has always been cheaper than Uber in our experience.
    Sorry – no Lyft in UK!!
    2) Cholesterol level is one of many factors contributing to coronary atheroma (furred up coronary arteries). Statins reduce the (LDL) cholesterol level and the target should be 4 mmol/L if on such therapy (up to 5 is OK before suggested treatment). However, the latest NICE guidelines suggest that institution of such therapy should be based on the level of “non-HDL” cholesterol (there is more than just HDL and LDL!) and not simply on total cholesterol level. Whilst total cholesterol should be above 5 mmol/L to warrant treatment, non-HDL need only be above 4 to start you on treatment. There is a brand of statin out there that suits almost everybody so don’t be put off. Just don’t wash them down with grapefruit juice – buts that’s another story!

    • Anna says:

      30 Jan30 January 10:24

      Like Liz, mine is above 6, but my GP says I don’t need statins. The latest thinking, apparently, is that even if you eat cholesterol-raising food, your body will produce less of its own cholesterol to compensate, so will balance itself out. High cholesterol is only dangerous in individuals with an inherited condition which would be apparent by their 30s or 40s.

      • Anna says:

        30 Jan30 January 10:39

        Also – my uncle’s cholesterol is 7 and he’s a marathon running vegetarian. My grandpa (his dad) is still with us at the age of 94, a life-long pipe smoker!

      • NigelthePensioner says:

        30 Jan30 January 20:04

        There is a cost implication as well as a cost benefit to GP’s for health screening / treatment. Sure, some people smoke into their 80’s and then die “of something else”
        The bloke who “invented” jogging apparently died of a heart attack. Never mind his diet.
        The question is … “Do you feel lucky?”!!
        The medical evidence is there and some will heed it and others will ignore it. Some people can abuse their bodies and get away with it, others will suffer life and claim that that gave them longevity…..but there is no controlled trial for them to prove that it was their chosen lifestyle that gave them existence to whatever age. The facts about “cholesterol” are however proven for the general population and within a gaussian distribution, you need to be below the level stated – gets you reading previous posts!! Or do you feel lucky???

  • roberto says:

    30 Jan30 January 08:25

    Sounds like a great trip.. After nearly 20 years in Spain we are looking at FLL as our home town , it certainly ticks a lot of boxes.

    • VP says:

      30 Jan30 January 13:31

      We prefered the beach hotels there over south beach as well.

  • meta says:

    30 Jan30 January 08:59

    You need to call 29 days before for spa booking at T5 to get any decent slots. Also sometimes you can ask if there are slots available at T5b instead of T5a!

    • Anna says:

      30 Jan30 January 10:27

      Yes I accidentally called at 29 days out for my F flight last May and got slots for me and my OH. However, a 15 minute (sometimes less) treatment doesn’t significantly add to the experience IMO (I was much more excited about running into Mick Fleetwood on the way to the loos), and I’m not going to bother on my next F trip as we will only have about 90 mins in the Cathay Lounge so not worth trekking back and forth from the treatment rooms.

      • Polly says:

        31 Jan31 January 05:26

        Loved to have bumped into Mick Fleetwood! We loved chatting to Jack Nicholson at the burger stand at Wimbledon. He was an absolute hoot.

  • Scott says:

    30 Jan30 January 10:20

    $250 worth of cab rides? Even with the discounts you mentioned, to me that’s a lot . I know Miami area not great for public transport, so I’d have based myself within walking distance of the attractions.

    • AJA says:

      30 Jan30 January 11:11

      I’m with you. I think I would have put the $250 towards staying in hotels in Miami Beach rather than staying near the airport because there were good redemption rates. Rather odd to travel in First Class but scrimp on the hotels. But each to their own.

      • VP says:

        30 Jan30 January 13:04

        Some clarifications
        1)The $250 of cab rides is not for Miami but whole US trip which was over 2 weeks in Texas + Florida and includes one single $50+ trip. In Miami & Fort Lauderdale , we probably did $60 of trips over 7 days.

        2)We stayed in Airport hotel at Miami not for the beach but because we used it as base for tours to Key West, Everglades and we arrived in Miami at 23h so we were there just for sleeping. We did move to IC which is more central for couple of days to explore downtown and SoBe but if a family of 4 is on budget then you can’t beat the value of staying in Miami for 5 days for approx. 70K Mariott points with decent daily breakfast and in suite kitchen facilities and be within walking distance of supermarkets, restaurants and excursion pick up points. The beach is 20 mins by car if traffic is clear.

        3)We did not fly in paid First Class but rather used 2-4-1 voucher and in any case that was to Austin. We flew to Miami in Economy and left in Economy

        • AJA says:

          30 Jan30 January 13:25

          Apologies, my post wasn’t meant to be a criticism. I am glad you enjoyed the flight to Austin in First. And I get the point about basing at the airport hotel if you were using it to get to Key West and Fort Lauderdale. It just sounded like you spent longer there than perhaps you did. Anyway thanks for the clarification and I am glad you enjoyed your trip and thanks for sharing. 🙂

        • Anna says:

          30 Jan30 January 14:17

          We’ve got 3 nights in Miami at Easter before we connect to the Caribbean, going to do a bit of shopping and maybe the Vizcaya museum as we’ve never been there. I’ve booked the Residence Inn at the airport for convenience when we arrive and depart, free breakfast and more privacy as they have 1 bedroom suites which are better for traveling with a teenager than standard hotel rooms.

        • Rhys says:

          30 Jan30 January 15:23

          Vizcaya is well worth the visit

        • VP says:

          30 Jan30 January 14:21

          @AJA

          No worries AJA no offense taken 🙂 . I can see how the misunderstanding could have happened. I have learned so much from the site so just thought of sharing something back.

        • Anna says:

          30 Jan30 January 14:22

          And we’re flying out in F!

• shane says:

  30 Jan30 January 07:45

  Does anyone know what HSBC Premier Insurance’s stance is/is likely to be to Corona Virus flight and hotel change claims?

• Sussex Bantam says:

  30 Jan30 January 07:56

  OT – Marriott bonus points arrived this morning from pre-Christmas AMEX promotion.

  • Secret Squirrel says:

    30 Jan30 January 08:28

    A few people stated yesterday they were going to try a top from VA card to Revolut using Curve, did you receive a cash fee in the end?

    • idrive says:

      30 Jan30 January 10:25

      There is no point in doing that, goes through as per original MCC code.

  • Grant says:

    30 Jan30 January 08:51

    Were you taregted for the offer with an email?

    • Sussex Bantam says:

      30 Jan30 January 12:53

      Did the transfer on 11 November – did get the target email

  • JPa says:

    30 Jan30 January 09:31

    What date did you request the transfer? nothing on my wifes (done at the beginning), or mine done towards the end) yet.

    • Grant says:

      30 Jan30 January 09:35

      I’ve seen several reports of bonus points landing but all from those who received the email about the offer. I’m yet to read about anyone receiving the bonus who had assurances from Amex CS that they were eligible despite not receiving the email.

      • Rob says:

        30 Jan30 January 09:49

        You’re not getting them. Never trust a call centre.

        • Grant says:

          30 Jan30 January 10:09

          What would you suggest then in similar circumstances? Genuine question, as this wouldn’t the first time that email offers have been available to more than those who received the email. How else are we supposed to check?

        • Lady London says:

          30 Jan30 January 11:07

          …..unless you’ve got screenshots of a live chat with Amex or other record? I am sure they would have to honour that.

        • andy says:

          30 Jan30 January 15:12

          I took photos of my online chat with Amex confirming that i was eligible even though i didn’t get an email. I’d expect Amex to honour it as it’s clearly written evidence. More difficult if it’s a phone call admittedly.
          I guess I’ll start chasing them and see where i get, is Amex the sort of place that if i try and escalate it higher up the chain of command they’ll just shut my account down?

        • Rob says:

          30 Jan30 January 16:13

          We had another reader in the same boat. He was offered paltry compensation.

      • JPa says:

        30 Jan30 January 09:52

        My wife didn’t get the email but I did. I am not at 8 weeks for mine yet.

        However for the Hiltons ones I got the email and went over 8 weeks. Had to chat to Amex and initially said that Hilton should issue them not them. In the end they followed it up and the points arrived the next day.

        Do you know of anyone without the email and not got the points that have got Amex to credit them?

        • Grant says:

          30 Jan30 January 10:06

          I didn’t get the email and haven’t had the bonus points. Amex will tell you that the bonus points are issued by Marriot so you need to chase them. I made a number of calls to Marriot and the update I had this morning is that there is a note on my account from two days ago to say the points will be credited in 7-10 working days. I’ll believe it when I see them.

        • Freddy says:

          30 Jan30 January 10:10

          No email, no bonus but I screenshot live chat with amex to say I’m eligible for the transfer bonus. Sounds like a complaint will be getting made

        • JPa says:

          30 Jan30 January 10:18

          Amex CS went down that line with the Hilton offer as well with me, and were quoted T&C’s that were on Amex internal system but were not on the original email (about the bonus points are issued by Hitlon and not them). In the end they backed down and raised a ticket. The points were then added next day in my Hilton account.

          Might have to do the same with the Marriott offer…. It is usually a right pain to get the the other company to do it as they have loads of offers and usually can’t find any details about it.

• Mikeact says:

  30 Jan30 January 08:27

  For what it’s worth, we have been with Lloyd’s Bank, + insurance for years, and yet to have a problem. And as a regular overseas traveller we feel it best to always call them prior to departure. Being a bit cynical, I don’t want to be hit with any excuses, whether that’s “You should have told us you’ve had the flu jab” or anything else. And it’s always good to ask any “What if ?” questions…..eg taken ill on a cruise, what is the correct procedure ? We’re going off shortly on another month around the US to visit certain historical places, and that is the last place we would want a medical problem.
  ps And they got me back home from Nepal a few years back when I suffered a serious bout of altitude sickness.

  • Shoestring says:

    30 Jan30 January 08:31

    feeling smug I got my flu jab already, pussycat virus holds no fear

    • Anna says:

      30 Jan30 January 10:09

      The flu jab won’t protect you from corona virus in the admittedly unlikely chance of you coming into contact with it!

      • Lady London says:

        30 Jan30 January 11:10

        And lots of years it has turned out the flu virus was badly targeted in terms of which version of the flu, or not fully effective anyway.

        • Shoestring says:

          30 Jan30 January 14:20

          I can’t take too many chances since damn black cat end up hospitalising me, eventually with severe pneumonia & on the intravenous antibiotics for best part of a week

          lungs have never been the same since despite all the exercise I take

        • Cat says:

          30 Jan30 January 15:03

          The flu jab is far from perfect (it is based on educated guesswork as to which strains of the flu are going to be most prevalent next winter), but hey, anything that improves the probabilities.

        • Lady London says:

          30 Jan30 January 16:57

          Apparently public health authorities like us to take even relatively ineffective vaccines as it creates “herd immunity”. So might not actually be good or effective for a particular individual but supposed to be for the greater good.

        • Cat says:

          30 Jan30 January 21:15

          Exactly!

    • maccymac says:

      30 Jan30 January 11:16

      There are a lot of different types of flu viruses in the UK let alone coronavirus. The flu jab attempts to cover against common strains but these strains can unfortunately mutate. That said well done on getting the jab, it’s madness not to. Healthcare is not all or nothing, it’s all about reducing risk.

      • marcw says:

        30 Jan30 January 11:37

        BTW maccymac. A new paper in the lancet has been published about coronavirus. This time, 99 patients. Interesting, and different to the previous study, in this one median age is 55 y/o, mainly affects men, and usually good prognosis. Predicted mortality rate: 4% (obviously, early days and can change a lot) https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30211-7/fulltext

        • maccymac says:

          30 Jan30 January 18:59

          Thanks for sharing marcw. Data does look much more promising with a slightly larger study. The healthcare infrastructure is probably getting better at treating patients now that they have a better understanding of what they are dealing with so the bulk of the risk looks to be shifting towards higher ages and those with co-morbidities. Hopefully the Chinese government’s steps to reduce spread will be effective and hospitals will still be able to cope with the caseload.

          They seem to have learned lessons from SARS and were much quicker this time round. The WHO confirmed the Wuhan coronavirus issue and the Chinese government published the gene sequence within 14 days of the first speculative report. During SARS the WHO took 49 days to confirm and the Chinese government took over 60 days to publish the genome.

• stron says:

  30 Jan30 January 08:30

  I also called Platinum insurance recently to ask if the insurance would cover the cost of rerouting my Australia flights given that I now couldn’t use by bargain LHR-PEK-SYD flights that I picked up during the Air China xmas sale – the answer (as expected) was a flat no – if I got the money back I had no claim, even though to replace those costs to get to Australia would now cost me almost double. Are there any insurance products out there that protect routings of savvy flyers? i.e. if I snag a bargain and have this insurance policy will they get me there if my flight gets cancelled regardless of replacement ticket costs? Would booking through an OTA serve this function?

  • Shoestring says:

    30 Jan30 January 08:46

    booking on a *credit* card (not charge card) would probably have covered you under Section 75
    https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/section-75-of-the-consumer-credit-act

  • marcw says:

    30 Jan30 January 08:54

    But are your flights cancelled?

    • Ben says:

      30 Jan30 January 09:06

      Bit surprised by this – Last year I had internal flights in Brazil cancelled by Avianca. Had to book last minute flights with Gol, at roughly 4x the cost of the original flights. Amex Plat insurance paid the cost difference to the original flights.

      • marcw says:

        30 Jan30 January 09:10

        If your flights are cancelled, then insurance will cover replacements flights. But I believe the flights @stron booked are not cancelled.

      • Shoestring says:

        30 Jan30 January 09:12

        there’s probably a big difference (in the answers) between 2 different questions:
        1. ‘what if my flights LHR-PEK-SYD get cancelled & refunded? just calling to see if Amex Plat insurance will cover me to buy more expensive replacement flights if that happens’
        2 ‘my LHR-PEK-SYD flights have been cancelled and refunded and people say it’s impossible to get Air China to re-ticket me under EC261 law. will Amex Plat insurance cover me to buy more expensive replacement flights?’

        • stron says:

          30 Jan30 January 09:50

          Thanks all – some additional details
          Flights were not officially cancelled by Air China – they were offering free refunds given the situation and when the FCO advised against all non-essential travel to china I pulled the trigger and asked for a refund via online form – I am taking my wife and infant daughter so definitely not worth risking
          Flights were scheduled for last week of Feb so didn’t have time to see how this developed
          Booked on BAPP but also have Amex Platinum
          Also called Halifax UR current account travel insurers (AXA) and was also advised I wouldn’t have a claim
          Currently have some replacement flights on hold until tomorrow evening

          Will take a look at section 75 and give Amex another call

        • Shoestring says:

          30 Jan30 January 09:57

          BAPP – S75 – you’re covered for consequential losses in the event of cancellation

          voluntary refund?

        • stron says:

          30 Jan30 January 10:11

          I would argue that it was involuntary given that I waited until FCO advised against non-essential travel

          However I fear the insurer or Amex would argue that the consequential losses would only occur if I choose at my discretion to book alternative flights?

          In terms of EU261 – Air China could still cancel outside of the 14 day window and I’d have no claim there either – also “compensation is not due if the carrier can prove that the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.”

        • TGLoyalty says:

          30 Jan30 January 23:24

          I’d prepare to be told you voluntarily took a refund and that you aren’t covered by your insurance or s.75 regardless of FCO advice

        • stron says:

          31 Jan31 January 13:33

          Spent more time on the phone with Amex today, bottom line is that they advised I take the free refund and cancellation from Air China as Air China force majeure clause would mean that a Section 75 claim for the cost of new tickets would be declined.
          Also no interest from Amex Platinum travel insurance.
          I honestly thought (somewhat naively it turns out) that Amex Platinum would come good in these situations and justify the annual fee.
          I’m very disappointed to find out they are offering no help whatsoever and I now need to seriously think about whether or not it’s worth the annual fee anymore.
          The value proposition was on the brink anyway:
          – FX Fees,
          – Only earn 1mr / £.
          – Addison Lee discount is virtually worthless as they are unreliable and grossly overpriced compared to uber.
          – Concierge service could not get me rugby world cup tickets, or premier league tickets (only a £1,000+ premium package)
          – Gold Bonvoy status is truly worthless
          +
          – Hilton status is worthless to me as I already have diamond

          So it basically comes down to do I get £575 of value from priority pass each year…

        • Rob says:

          31 Jan31 January 13:39

          No-one can get you Premier League tickets which are not hospitality ones, because resale of football tickets is illegal and most Premier League grounds are season-ticket-only. I also don’t realistically see how you think they could get your Rugby World Cup tickets except via a massively expensive hospitality package. Why should a Premier League club give Amex a ticket allocation when it has a 50,000-strong membership base who get first dibs on tickets sent back by season ticket holders? Your other points are totally fair but you are being unreasonable on this one.

        • stron says:

          31 Jan31 January 14:06

          Ok, useful to now know that on the football tickets. I also think the fact that mastercard/visa are normally major sponsors of big sporting events means that Amex gets shut out. It all just seems to undermine the impression I had that Amex Platinum concierge could get hold of “hard-to-get” tickets / reservation etc. Along with the we’ve got your back travel insurance.

          For what it’s worth when I re-booked alternative flights through a travel agent they said that had I booked my Air China flights with them originally then they would have just refunded me and offered no re-routing protection.

          I’m now almost £3k out of pocket and still none-the-wiser as to how I could have insured against this event

• Lloyd says:

  30 Jan30 January 08:40

  I wonder what country Hong Kong counts as here? At present the foreign office advises against travel to China, officially Hong Kong is China, but is it classed as a separate country for insurance purposes? Booked to travel there at the end of March and am wondering if I would be insured if I choose not to go.

  • tony says:

    30 Jan30 January 08:43

    The distinction seems to be Mainland China vs Greater China. The latter includes Macau & HK.

  • Shoestring says:

    30 Jan30 January 08:47

    HK gets its own section on the FCO travel advisory site and the ins cos go by this
    https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice

    • Lloyd says:

      30 Jan30 January 08:55

      Thanks, as I suspected. Funny really, considering the recent protests in Hong Kong, where China made it abundantly clear that Hong Kong is a part of China, not its own separate state!

      • Lady London says:

        30 Jan30 January 11:12

        Same issues withTaiwan

      • Sandgrounder says:

        30 Jan30 January 12:37

        HK and Macau continue to operate their own immigrations systems and issue their own passports.

• Colin MacKinnon says:

  30 Jan30 January 09:53

  Virgin credit card have refunded all Revolut cash advance fees going back to December
  . Happened automatically and appears on my app. Entries appear next to each cash advance fee, so easy to check.

  • Secret Squirrel says:

    30 Jan30 January 11:20

    December? Thought Revolut fees only applied just over a week ago!

    • jc says:

      30 Jan30 January 11:34

      Was gradual. Minority were hit in Dec, by last week it was just about everyone

    • Grant says:

      30 Jan30 January 11:39

      Colin was an early adopter! 🙂

      • Lady London says:

        31 Jan31 January 09:00

        Luckily, he was also a “canary” and gave us warning last month when it happened to him.

  • Crafty says:

    30 Jan30 January 12:24

    Anyone checked with Creation?

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.