Hi fellow travellers
does anyone know of any good reviews and / or comparisons of the travel insurance cover provided by the Amex Velocity Platinum Card or thew ANZ Black VISA card v’s stand alone and more traditional travel insurance providers / policies?
Are the credit card schemes any good?
thanks
Sam
Hi Sam, firstly without being rude, you would be more likely to get responses to your question had you titled it Credit card insurance or something similar.
Credit card insurance varies enormously in what it does and does not cover with the differing cover being governed by the underwriter. It can be quite complex and for that reason, you must read the terms and conditions very closely to ensure you have all the cover you require. Example: Last week I hired a 12 seater mini bus for a weekend away with friends. Car rental insurance can cost as much per day as the cost of the vehicle hire so I was hoping to find cover with one of my credit cards. Unfortunately, the one that did offer cover for rental excess had as one of the conditions ‘Geographical Scope means worldwide including country of domicile
provided the rental takes place further than one hundred and fifty
(150) kilometres from the permanent or temporary place of residence You are currently residing in.’ Because I was hiring from a local outlet there would be no cover.
With travel insurance you need to look at exactly what is and is not covered paying particular attention to ‘pre-existing medical conditions’, that’s an easy out for insurance companies.
Unfortunately, there is no quick answer to your post, decide what cover you need then read the T & Cs attached to your card.
I almost always end up paying for traditional travel insurance 
Choice did a review of a number of credit card and stand-alone travel insurance policies a few months ago, you should be able to buy the results online, or save yourself a bit and read the relevant PDS documents online, they’re usually easy to find, but can be quite long.
Generally, the excess is higher with the credit card policies (typically $250-$500) and it can’t be reduced for an extra fee. Credit card policies often offer higher coverage for individual items of high value, like smartphones or laptops, without having to pay extra. Watch for activities that aren’t included, retail policies are often quite generous covering things like white water rafting, skiing or riding a scooter, but credit cards may not offer cover.
Credit card policies can be a significant saving for destinations like the US.
TLDR: credit card policies are usually good, but read the PDS.
I just did my own comparison cheat sheet on the factors that matter to me on the 5 credit cards I have. IMO, there is little difference between all of them in respect of anything that one might worry about.
Usually the one key point I need to know is the qualifying criteria, so I refer to that a lot. The rest are variances with the claims limits, none of which would matter enough to go and buy insurance directly, or panic because I chose the right one.
The fact remains that paid for travel insurance varies widely by insurer also and are not necessarily better than the credit card insurance (and are often can be the same underwriter)