Amex Platinum Travel Insurance – Supplementary Cardholders

[jamesjingyi]

Hi,

I did try and look in the forum for details on this but couldn’t find a thread.

In the platinum insurance documentation it says that supplementary cardholders are covered by the travel insurance. Does anyone know whether this includes any gold or green cardholders and not just the supplementary platinum cardholder?

I did call AXA but they seemed to be unsure as well. Before I call back again I just thought I would check whether anyone here knew?

Thanks

[JDB]

I think that if you read the policy carefully it is actually very clear that the cover unsurprisingly applies to Plat supplementary cardholders and their families only. See the definitions.

If you call Amex/Axa and they tell you otherwise and you intend to rely on that, make sure you keep evidence of such advice.

[jj]

I did read the T&Cs very carefully before taking a skiing trip to the States in February with several adult offspring/partners. I firmly came to the conclusion that the insurance extends to free Gold supplementary cardholders linked to the Platinum account.

Rob has repeatedly come to the same conclusion in articles on this site. For example, see the second paragraph here: https://www.headforpoints.com/2020/08/13/american-express-platinum-beefs-up-its-travel-insurance/

[jj]

So you have me a little worried, @JDB, as I know you are a seasoned reader of T&Cs. What have I missed? Or are you confusing the Amex Platinum with some other card?

[JDB]

jj wrote:

So you have me a little worried, @JDB, as I know you are a seasoned reader of T&Cs. What have I missed? Or are you confusing the Amex Platinum with some other card?

I re-read the insurance terms this morning before replying and I have now looked at Rob’s old article (extract below) which also doesn’t say that supplementary cardholders of non Plat cards are covered. It would be extraordinarily/surprisingly generous if they were covered. The policy does allow for certain elements of the cover to be paid on other Amex cards allowed for by use of the term “your account” but I don’t read this as extending to the people covered.

“Subject to enrolment, Platinum cardholders receive coverage for themselves and their immediate family. Even better, anyone who is given a free supplementary card on the account also receives coverage for themselves and their immediate family.” [from HfP article Aug 2020]

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[Froggee]

@JDB – are you aware that a platinum cardholder can issue multiple supplemental cards for free? One of these can be a second platinum but they can also dish out up to four free gold or green supplementary cards also – these are on the platinum account.

[jj]

@JDB, I think that we have misunderstood each other and that we are saying the same thing.

A Platinum card holder can issue multiple supplementary cards: one free Platinum card; additional paid-for Platinum cards; and up to four (IIRC) Gold or Green cards. These Gold and Green cards are free supplementary cards linked to the account but they are not Platinum cards. It is these supplementary cards that come with insurance benefits, and my supplementary cardholders were able to download a certificate of insurance from the Amex portal.

Entirely separately, it’s possible for a cardholder who holds multiple Amex cards to provide other kinds of supplementary cards to family and friends – for example, a supplementary BA card. These cards do not come with the benefit of Platinum travel insurance.

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[JDB]

Froggee wrote:

@JDB – are you aware that a platinum cardholder can issue multiple supplemental cards for free? One of these can be a second platinum but they can also dish out up to four free gold or green supplementary cards also – these are on the platinum account.

Yes! It seems quite concerning that even Axa can’t provide the answer.

[JDB]

jj wrote:

@JDB, I think that we have misunderstood each other and that we are saying the same thing.

A Platinum card holder can issue multiple supplementary cards: one free Platinum card; additional paid-for Platinum cards; and up to four (IIRC) Gold or Green cards. These Gold and Green cards are free supplementary cards linked to the account but they are not Platinum cards. It is these supplementary cards that come with insurance benefits, and my supplementary cardholders were able to download a certificate of insurance from the Amex portal.

Entirely separately, it’s possible for a cardholder who holds multiple Amex cards to provide other kinds of supplementary cards to family and friends – for example, a supplementary BA card. These cards do not come with the benefit of Platinum travel insurance.

Indeed, if they can download the cover document in their name, then all is good and you must be correct, even if Axa can’t answer the question. I don’t think the level of cover or medical inclusions on the Plat policy compare very favourably to other packaged products such as HSBC Premier or Nationwide, but if the gold & green supps plus their families are indeed covered, that huge cascade of extra people covered makes it much more interesting. It seems to throw up oddities such as the various sections that require you to pay on the Plat card – is a green card holder travelling independently covered if they pay on the green supp rather than actual Plat?

[jj]

@JDB the cascade is exactly what makes it interesting. Winter sports coverage for North America is not cheap. Regarding payment with the card, the core health benefits are always provided; it doesn’t matter whether you pay with Amex. My reading of the T&Cs is that the primary cardholder can pay with any Amex to get the cancellation benefits, but that other cardholders must use the supplementary card. You have to follow a very complex trail of definitions to arrive at that conclusion though, so I may not be right about the supplementary cardholders as that wasn’t very important to me last time I did the brain work.

The Platinum insurance has a few limitations. There is no facility for approving pre-existing medical conditions (I’m healthy so don’t care), and it doesn’t cover non-winter sports if that’s the primary reason for travel. So a sailing, mountain biking or hiking trip wpouldn’t be covered unless you can find something else to do when you’re travelling. That matters to me much more as I am rather fond of active holidays.

[jamesjingyi]

Hi all thanks very much for the replies. I called up AXA and Amex and whilst initially got mixed answers from different agents. Amex always said that the wording of the document meant that all supplementary card holders would get travel insurance whereas the first Axa agent I talked to said that she would be ‘very surprised if it applied to everyone.

Eventually they went away to check and the final verdict from Axa was that all supplementary (Plat, Gold and Green) card holders and their families get travel insurance coverage. The only difference is that the Platinum card and the Platinum Supplementary get travel insurance for their families even if the Platinum card or Platinum Supplementary card holder is not travelling with them.

Honestly I think this is absolutely ridiculous value!

The agent also confirmed that purchases for flights/travel could be made on any card linked to the main Platinum account.

Platinum insurance also only covers ages 25 to under 70. I issued a card to my sister who is 21 and my mother, and was told that any insurance claims for my sister should be made through my mother instead, with her as in her ‘family’.

Also can confirm you can log into the insurance portal as a supplementary card member and download a certificate in each name.

[RobL]

jamesjingyi wrote:

Platinum insurance also only covers ages 25 to under 70. I issued a card to my sister who is 21 and my mother, and was told that any insurance claims for my sister should be made through my mother instead, with her as in her ‘family’.

I don’t see anything in the Plat insurance T&C’s that specifies a lower age limit of 25. However ‘dependant children’ must be under 25 to be covered.

All Cardmembers including Supplementary Cardmembers and their Families must be under the age of 70 throughout the trip to receive Medical Assistance and Expenses benefits.

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .