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Free Travel Insurance for CBA Gold/Diamond/Platinum Credit Card Holders - Register Online, No Spend Required

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Free Travel Insurance for CBA Gold/Diamond/Platinum Credit Card Holders - Register Online, No Spend Required
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GreatWhiteHunter on 25/10/2016 - 18:53 commbank.com.au (2597 clicks)
Last edited 26/10/2016 - 11:43 by 1 other user

In the past you could get free travel insurance from your credit card provider only if you paid for your flights and/or accommodation with the credit card.

That is no longer the case.

As long as you hold a Gold, Platinum or Diamond credit card from CBA, you are entitled to free travel insurance for trips of up to 6 months duration (Platinum and Diamond) or 3 months if Gold.

There is no need to buy your airfares with your credit card - in fact there is no need to spend a cent on the card to get the insurance.

You do need to activate the insurance before you travel here:

A $250 excess applies to claims for Dimaond/Platinum cardholders ($500 for Gold)

Read the PDS here

If you need transit insurance (protection from injury while on transport like planes, boats, etc) you must pay for your "trip" on the CBA card - see page 77 of the PDS.

I am doing a 70 day trip shortly. Most insurance is $200+ for 70 days (and many insurers wont insure trips that long).
Flight Centre quoted me $429 for insurance.
Although the excess here stings a little, it's not much more than the premium would otherwise be.

Free travel insurance with cards is nothing new, but the mechanism for this is and so is the nil spend requirement. See previous post for prior comments/discussion.

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    • brentsbits on 26/10/2016 - 08:34

      This seems like a question for CBA customer service

    • boomramada on 26/10/2016 - 08:42
      +2

      Yes

    • derek324 on 26/10/2016 - 08:45

      Isn't all that answered in the original post? BTW, "100% covered" is not the case anyway - there are many exclusions and deductions. Read PDS linked before for full details.

  • davohatcher on 26/10/2016 - 08:45
    +1

    Its been like this for more then a year + …..

  • sashatheman on 26/10/2016 - 09:08

    I am planning to rent a car overseas. Its great that CBA credit card holders also get the cover for the excess they have to pay in case something goes wrong.

    Rental Vehicle Insurance Excess
    Cover is only provided under this benefit if you have purchased motor
    vehicle insurance or damage waiver from the rental company or agency
    you rented the rental vehicle from. This benefit does not cover items
    such as, but not limited to, tyres and/or windscreens if they are not
    covered by the motor vehicle insurance or damage waiver purchased
    from the rental company or agency.
    This benefit only provides cover for the excess payable under the motor
    vehicle insurance or the liability fee payable under the damage waiver
    specified in your rental agreement up to the limit shown in ‘Part B -
    Cover limits’ on pages 46 & 47.
    14.1 We will pay
    a] If, during your period of cover, a rental vehicle you have rented
    from a rental company or agency is:
    • involved in a motor vehicle accident while you are driving it; or
    • damaged or stolen while in your custody,
    then we will pay the lesser of:
    • the motor vehicle insurance excess or the liability fee you are
    required to pay under a damage waiver; or
    • property damage for which you are liable.
    You must provide a copy of:
    • your rental vehicle agreement;
    • an incident report that was completed;
    • repair account;
    • an itemised list of the value of the damage; and
    • written notice from the rental company or agency advising that
    you are liable to pay the excess or liability fee.
    b] If your attending medical adviser certifies in writing that you are
    unfit to return your rental vehicle to the nearest depot during your
    journey, then we will pay up to $500 for the cost of returning your
    rental vehicle.
    LINK TO PDS page 32>

  • RocketSwitch on 26/10/2016 - 11:18

    Good to know for those that don't, I remember CBA told me back in March this year.

  • farknos on 26/10/2016 - 11:21
    +1

    you will save $429 if you dont have to claim.
    you are putting your life in the hands on which bank?
    i love living on the edge but honestly the odds are stacked against you with these dogs.
    maybe you should have a look at the past offerings for insurance from which bank and note many of the failures to pay out on policy holders that were due.

    • GreatWhiteHunter on 26/10/2016 - 11:42

      I agree CBA's insurance history isn't great, but keep in mind the insurance is actually underwritten by Allianz.

      So if you end up in court, you'll be fighting Allianz, not CBA.

      • KayDat on 26/10/2016 - 12:09

        CBA was with Zurich prior. Perhaps they changed for a good reason?

        • GreatWhiteHunter on 26/10/2016 - 12:35
          +1

          I think farknos is referring to the much publicised issues with CBA Life Insurance.

          It's been well covered on Four Corners and in the media in general. Google "CBA not paying insurance".

          The important difference here is that your insurer is not CBA at all - it's Allianz.

          All insurance companies try to weasel out of paying, but Allianz has a reasonable reputation compared to some….

  • I like cats on 26/10/2016 - 13:30

    Can anyone tell me where the $500 excess for gold cards is written in the PDS?

    I can only see the below, and it doesn't specify which card (so I assume it applies to all cards).
    And if activated, the excess is brought down to $250 anyway.

    Base Cover
    International Travel Insurance - you must pay the first $500 for each claim made under:
    – Benefit 2 - Overseas Emergency Medical & Hospital Expenses
    Note if you have completed Activation, the above excess will reduce to $250.

  • Look43Bs on 26/10/2016 - 13:52

    What's the annual fee on these cards??

  • Big Bad Bagheera on 26/10/2016 - 15:59

    The $250 cash back offer (still running) combined with the above listed travel insurance was enough for me to switch from Westpac to CBA.
    I must admit however the transition process was very painful. The staff member at local branch wasn't the least bit helpful but I feel I was unlucky to receive a bad one.

  • [Deactivated] on 26/10/2016 - 16:30
    -2

    I'm sorry - but this is crap.

    Absolute crap.

    For 2 reasons.

    1 - I have already had a very bad experience with Commbank as a Diamond Card holder (the highest card they offer) and their rubbish travel insurance inclusion.

    After purchasing tickets and flying out sure enough a flight got cancelled and it was the last flight available. When I went to make a claim - it turns out you had to spend at least $1000 per person on trip expenses and those payments had to have been made in advance in Australia (so if you booked hotels outside of Australia it didn't count)

    Unlucky for me in the true OzBargain way - I found tickets to Philippines for $500 return flying Qantas and even with all other expenses it cost me under $1000 per person to go there.

    2 - The coverage you get is for medical and does not include any of the coverage you would actually want (like cancellations, delays, lost lugguage, lost items) etc.

    I would say it is almost worthless.

    Furthermore - I activated and went to register a bogus trip and guess what - the next page for any kind of normal coverage comes up with a quote section for you to "upgrade" your insurance to "Essentials" (ironic that essentials aren't actually included - aren't they essential?)

    $83 for a 32 year old to go on a 10 day trip to Philippines.

    Go figure - "we'll give you what is surely unlikely to happen for free and you can upgrade for all things essential."

    • GreatWhiteHunter on 26/10/2016 - 16:43
      +1

      So this bad experience occurred when?

      IN the current PDS there is no mention of a $1000 spend on trip expenses (correct me if you can find it).

      I am wondering if perhaps you claimed when this insurance was underwritten by someone other than Allianz?

      As for the things you say are not covered:
      Lost or Damaged Luggage & Personal Goods - section 10 of the PDS

      Cancellation Fees & Lost Deposits - section 4 of the PDS

      Travel Delay - section 12 of the PDS

      Alternative Transport Expenses - section 13 of the PDS

      Rental Vehicle Insurance Excess - section 14 of the PDS

      Also I did activate it yesterday for a 72 day trip - they asked if I wanted to advise of existing medical conditions and if I wanted cover for some extras - I said no and they emailed my insurance documents 1 minute later….

      • [Deactivated] on 26/10/2016 - 16:57
        -1

        I'll ring them and check.

        It's misleading to quote me for the things in the PDS when I went to activate my trip.

        And yes - the bad experience occurred a while ago but was enough for me.

        • GreatWhiteHunter on 26/10/2016 - 17:07
          +1

          It sounds like your claim may have been made under their old insurance, not this new one.

          Did you have to activate your insurance online ?

          If not, in was on the old system.

          This insurance is not perfect, and the test is always when you make a claim so I'd be interested to hear from people who have actually claimed - but to be fair to CBA, it's free and its better than nothing.

          It actually compares pretty well to the $429 policy Flight Centre were trying to flog me. The lack of transit insurance unless you pay for your "trip" (whatever that means) isn't great, but other than that I was surprised how good the cover was.

          Covering scuba diving with an instructor for example - scuba diving is risky and scuba policies are often bloody expensive - hopefully I'll never have to claim for that one but I do love to scuba in The Philippines - Malapascua is great.

        • KayDat on 26/10/2016 - 18:51

          @GreatWhiteHunter: I agree with GWH, it sounds like you were insured with Zurich, not Allianz. So in essence a completely different product.

    • whichtyler on 26/10/2016 - 21:18
      +2

      This insurance covered my delays when I got stuck in Bali after flights were cancelled due to volcanic activity. They paid for five star accommodation and all meals for a whole week!

  • omblygombly on 29/10/2016 - 20:44

    I just broke my hip in Madrid, 2nd day into a 5 week holiday. Allianz were the initial contact and took them 48 hours to approve my operation - a pin and 2 screws. The hospital was ready to operate within a few hours of me being admitted. In hindsight I should have paid for the operation on my credit card and racked up a few bonus points. Spent 3 weeks in hospital after the operation and got upgraded to business class with Emirates for my flights home.

    I have just submitted my claims which are worth over $3000.That includes a cruise, 10 nights accommodation a couple of fights and a long distance train ride.Oh and $400 worth of overseas phone calls. I was told over the phone that I will be reimbursed. I will also be receiving income loss for my time lost for not working.The wait begins.

    Quite honestly, how can you go wrong when the yearly cost of the card is a third of what it would have cost me to by some other travel insurance ?

    • GreatWhiteHunter on 29/10/2016 - 22:21

      As long as they pay your claim I agree with you. The test of the quality of an insurer is always when you claim.

      No doubt they will request all your previous medical history to confirm you didn't have any sort of pre-existing hip complaint.

      Good to see you got back to Oz OK…

  • 10muscat on 17/11/2016 - 03:48

    I am travelling via singapore and the transit time is too short. Will the insurance take care of a flight getting missed in transit ( delayed first flight / transit time was too short to go from one terminal to the other[virgin])

    • GreatWhiteHunter on 17/11/2016 - 07:20

      Without looking at the pds, the first thing I would say is they are likely to not pay if you didn't allow sufficient time for transit.

      I had a problem once in Manila and my claim with another insurer was refused because I had not allowed at least 4 hours transit time between flights and my flights were on different carriers and were booked at different times.

      If your flights are with the same airline and were booked simultaneously, if you miss the 2nd flight because of a delay in the first, generally the carrier covers the rebooking (but not any food/accommodation/other expenses).

      Having read the PDS I haven't seen anything about covering a missed transit. There is a travel delay section - I guess it could fall under that.

      Probably best you call CBA/Allianz to confirm.

  • yht on 01/12/2016 - 16:31

    What about after you take the insurance, you cancel the related CBA card ? Will they deny you for insurance claim ? My cc annual fees is now due and CBA won't budge to either reduce or waive the fee.

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