It’s travel season, when many Australians head off on holiday for a well-earned few weeks of R and R. Those of you with gold or platinum credit cards may have free travel insurance included and we take a look here at how these deals stack up.

Often it seems that rewards and perks attached to credit cards aren’t really worth the extra money you pay for the annual fee – and in the case of gold and platinum cards that fee can be quite high – but having heard some good recent reports from friends who have used free travel insurance to good effect, we thought we’d investigate it a little further.

Who Offers Free Travel Insurance?

Most of the major banks have gold or platinum credit card deals that offer free international travel insurance as a perk. These are available usually to Australian residents who have a mid to high level income and a good credit history.

Terms of Use

Most of the card deals require that the air ticket and maybe some of the accommodation is paid for using your credit card.

There may well be a minimum amount per person to be paid for them to be included on the insurance too – possibly each person’s return tickets. Check what deal applies to your card and make sure there are no surprises when it comes time to make a claim.

Who Is Covered By The Insurance

Usually you and your family will be covered by the insurance – that means your spouse and any dependents, but check the individual policy to see if this is true of your deal.

Making A Claim

Like most insurance, if you make a claim there will be an excess to pay. These will vary from around $200 upwards.

Some cards offer reduced or no excess for some claims – like loss or damage to personal property (passports, air tickets etc), baggage or travel delays – but they may slap a larger excess on medical claims.

Duration of Cover

There are usually limits stipulated for the duration of the insurance cover – often in the region of 3 months. This means that if you plan more than 3 months of consecutive travel you will probably have to purchase extra insurance as most of these deals cannot be extended.

Medical Insurance

This is probably the main area that people are concerned about when they go overseas. Check out your insurance policy – some will offer unlimited insurance, but most will not cover pre-existing conditions and many will not cover extreme sports injuries – skiers may need separate insurance for example.

With all these factors mentioned above check the small print of your policy before you travel because there will be variations from one credit card to another, but the above guidelines should help you find the right one with no surprises.