Many credit cards include automatic travel protections when you use your card to purchase travel. I’ve separately compared these protections for ultra premium cards, here: Ultra-Premium Credit Card Travel Insurance. In this post, I compare protections provided by each of Chase’s Ultimate Rewards cards including the Sapphire Reserve, Ink Business Preferred, Sapphire Preferred, and more.
The following chart summarizes travel insurance provided automatically by each Ultimate Rewards card. Cells in green indicate best in class coverage, yellow indicates good coverage, red indicates worse than peers’ coverage. “Pay partial” means that you can get full coverage even if you pay only part of your transportation costs with this card. For example, you could pay just the taxes and fees for an award flight. Or, you could pay part of a cruise with gift cards and the rest with the credit card.
Sapphire
ReserveSapphire PreferredInk Business PreferredInk Cash, Ink Business UnlimitedFreedom, Freedom UnlimitedAuto Rental Collision Damage WaiverPrimaryPrimaryPrimary for Business*
Primary for Business*Secondary*Roadside Assistance4X per year limit
Pay per use
Pay per usePay per usePay per useTrip Cancellation and InterruptionPay partialPay partialPay partial
N/APay partial
Trip Delay6 hour delay
Pay partial12 hour delay
Pay partial
12 hour delay
Pay partial
N/AN/ALost LuggagePay partialPay partial
Pay partialN/AN/A
Baggage Delay6 hour delay
Pay partial6 hour delay
Pay partial6 hour delay
Pay partial6 hour delay
Pay partial
N/A
Travel Accident InsurancePay partialPay partial
Pay partialPay partialN/A
Emergency Evacuation and Transportation$100K limit
Pay partialN/AN/AN/AN/AEmergency Medical and Dental$2,500 limit
Pay partialN/AN/AN/AN/A
* Each of these cards offers primary coverage outside of your country of residence. Unfortunately, the Ink Cash, Ink Business Unlimited, Freedom, and Freedom Unlimited cards all incur foreign transaction fees outside of your country of residence.
Based on the above chart, we can conclude that:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve has the best all around coverage compared to other Ultimate Rewards cards (it also has the best when compared to ultra-premium cards).
- The Sapphire Preferred and Ink Business Preferred cards have nearly identical coverage. The only obvious difference is that the Sapphire Preferred offers primary coverage within your country of residence for personal or business travel. The Ink Business Preferred offers primary coverage within your country of residence only for business purposes. Outside of your country of residence, all of the cards in this roundup offer primary coverage.
Caution: I’m far from an expert on this stuff. I did my best to read through the benefit guides to figure out what was covered and when, but I can’t promise that I got all of the details correct.
Card comparison for other travel related perks
Sapphire
ReserveSapphire PreferredInk Business PreferredInk Cash, Ink Business UnlimitedFreedom, Freedom UnlimitedForeign Transaction Fee?WaivedWaivedWaivedYesYesPoints per dollar for travel3X
2X
3X1X (Ink Cash)
1.5X (Unlimited) 1X (Freedom)
1.5X (Unlimited)Points per dollar for dining3X2X1X
2X (Ink Cash)
Occasional 5X (Freedom)
Cents per point redeemed for travel1.5
1.25
1.25
1
1
Transfer points to partners?Yes
Yes
Yes
No*
No*
Priority Pass Select Lounge MembershipYes
No
No
No
No
* Points earned on the fee-free Ink and Freedom cards cannot be directly transferred to airline and hotel partners, but you can move the points to your or a household member’s Preferred or Reserve card and then transfer.
Card overviews
FM Mini Review: Great for 5X categories. Good companion card to Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred.
Annual Fee: $0
Card Type: Visa Signature or Platinum
Base1X
(1.5%)Shop5X
(7.5%)Other5X
(7.5%)
Earning rate: 5X in rotating categories on up to $1,500 spend per quarter. Q4 2019: 5X PayPal, Chase Pay, and Department Stores
See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide
FM Mini Review: Great to earn 1.5X Ultimate Rewards in categories with no bonuses. Excellent companion card to Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred!
Annual Fee: $0
Card Type: Visa Signature or Platinum
Base1.5X
(2.25%)
Earning rate: 1.5X on all purchases.
See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide
Chase Ink Business Cash Credit Card
FM Mini Review: This one should be in everyone’s wallet. Incredible signup bonus for a no-fee card. Great card for 5X categories. Excellent companion card to Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred!
Annual Fee: $0
Card Type: Visa Signature Business
Base1X
(1.5%)Dine2X
(3%)Gas2X
(3%)Phone5X
(7.5%)Office5X
(7.5%)
Earning rate: ⚬ 5X office supplies ⚬ 5X cellular/landline/cable (on up to $25,000 in total purchases in 5x categories annually) ⚬ 2X gas and restaurants
See…
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