Price Protection Report: Credit Cards Shielding You From Price Drops
4:27 AMPosted by: Alina Comoreanu
We’ve all heard about retailers offering price-match guarantees. But what most people don’t realize is that roughly 52% of credit cards from major issuers do the same thing, perhaps even better. So-called credit card price protection enables you to get a refund for the difference between what you pay for an item and a lower price advertised in the following 60-90 days. In other words, credit card price protection can eliminate your fear of missing out on a better deal, allowing you to both buy with confidence and save money.
But credit cards with price protection are not created equal. Coverage amounts and exclusions vary widely, as do claims procedures. So to help you better understand what the most popular cards bring to the table, WalletHub’s editors compared the 10 largest credit card companies’ price protection policies from top to bottom.
You can find the results of WalletHub’s review below. And if you’d like to learn more about the other secondary benefits that credit cards provide, check out our reports on extended product warranties, purchase protection, rental car insurance and more.
Some of the cards listed on this page originate from our partners, but that did not impact our conclusions. Offers are accurate as of Nov. 8, 2017 and many are likely to have changed since.
Main FindingsChase and Discover credit cards offer the best price protection, providing up to $500 in coverage per item and $2,500 per year.
| Rank | Cards | WalletHub Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | All Chase Cards | 87.50% |
| 2 | All Discover Cards | 87.00% |
| 3 | All Citi Cards | 84.00% |
Chase and Discover have led the market in price protection since 2014.
* Issuers not represented in the chart do not have any cards offering the benefit. If only certain cards from an issuer are listed, it is because the rest of the issuer’s cards do not offer the benefit.
Only half of the largest issuers – Citi, Discover, Chase, Barclaycard and USAA – offer price protection benefits with all of their cards.
More than two-thirds of credit cards with price protection provide coverage for 90+ days.
29% of the cards that offer price protection limit claims to 4 per year.
Wells Fargo, Capital One and USAA are the most transparent about their price protection policies.
The Coverage You Can Expect
| Example of a Standard Policy | Best Policy | |
|---|---|---|
| Sign Up | Not required | Not required |
| Coverage | Clothes and shoesElectronics and computers | Clothes and shoesElectronics and computers |
| Exclusions | PerishablesJewelry and certain other purchases | PerishablesJewelry and certain other purchases |
| Maximum Coverage per Item | $250 per eligible item | $500 per eligible item |
| Maximum Coverage per Year | Up to $1,000 annually per account | Up to $2,500 annually per account |
| Price Protection Period | 120 days from the date of purchase | 90 days from the date of purchase |
| Number of Claims per Year | 4 | No limit |
| Number of Claims Per Identical Item | No limit | No limit |
| Cards Offering this Type of Policy | USAA Cashback Rewards Plus American Express | Chase Sapphire Preferred |
| Overall Rank | Card Name | Sign Up | Covered Items | Price Protection Period | Claims | Transparency | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum Points | 10% | 45% | 20% | 15% | 10% | 100% | |
| T - 1 | Chase Sapphire Preferred | 10.00% | 39.00% | 15.00% | 15.00% | 8.50% | 87.50% |
| T - 1 | Chase Freedom | 10.00% | 39.00% | 15.00% | 15.00% | 8.50% | 87.50% |
| T - 1 | Chase Slate | 10.00% | 39.00% | 15.00% | 15.00% | 8.50% | 87.50% |
| T - 1 | Chase Freedom Unlimited | 10.00% | 39.00% | 15.00% | 15.00% | 8.50% | 87.50% |
| T - 1 | Chase Sapphire Reserve | 10.00% | 39.00% | 15.00% | 15.00% | 8.50% | 87.50% |
| T - 1 | J.P. Morgan Reserve | 10.00% | 39.00% | 15.00% | 15.00% | 8.50% | 87.50% |
| T - 7 | Discover it | 10.00% | 39.00% | 15.00% | 13.00% | 10.00% | 87.00% |
| T - 7 | Discover it Miles | 10.00% | 39.00% | 15.00% | 13.00% | 10.00% | 87.00% |
| T - 7 | Discover it Chrome | 10.00% | 39.00% | 15.00% | 13.00% | 10.00% | 87.00% |
| T - 7 | Discover it - 18 Month Balance Transfer Offer | 10.00% | 39.00% | 15.00% | 13.00% | 10.00% | 87.00% |
| T - 11 | Citi ThankYou Premier Card | 10.00% | 39.00% | 10.00% | 15.00% | 10.00% | 84.00% |
| T - 11 | Citi ThankYou Preferred Card | 10.00% | 39.00% | 10.00% | 15.00% | 10.00% | 84.00% |
| T - 11 | Citi Double Cash | 10.00% | 39.00% | 10.00% | 15.00% | 10.00% | 84.00% |
| T - 11 | Citi Simplicity | 10.00% | 39.00% | 10.00% | 15.00% | 10.00% | 84.00% |
| T - 11 | Citi Prestige Card | 10.00% | 39.00% | 10.00% | 15.00% | 10.00% | 84.00% |
| T - 11 | Citi Diamond Preferred Card | 10.00% | 39.00% | 10.00% | 15.00% | 10.00% | 84.00% |
| T - 17 | USAA Cashback Rewards Plus American Express | 10.00% | 26.00% | 20.00% | 14.00% | 10.00% | 80.00% |
| T - 17 | USAA Cash Rewards American Express | 10.00% | 26.00% | 20.00% | 14.00% | 10.00% | 80.00% |
| T - 17 | USAA Cash Rewards Visa Signature | 10.00% | 26.00% | 20.00% | 14.00% | 10.00% | 80.00% |
| T - 17 | USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature | 10.00% | 26.00% | 20.00% | 14.00% | 10.00% | 80.00% |
| T - 17 | USAA Rewards Visa Signature Card | 10.00% | 26.00% | 20.00% | 14.00% | 10.00% | 80.00% |
| T - 17 | Capital One® Savor℠ Cash Rewards | 10.00% | 26.00% | 20.00% | 14.00% | 10.00% | 80.00% |
| T - 23 | Mastercard® Black Card | 10.00% | 26.00% | 20.00% | 15.00% | 8.50% | 79.50% |
| T - 23 | Mastercard® Titanium Card | 10.00% | 26.00% | 20.00% | 15.00% | 8.50% | 79.50% |
| T - 23 | Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MaterCard | 10.00% | 26.00% | 20.00% | 15.00% | 8.50% | 79.50% |
| T - 23 | Barclaycard CashForward | 10.00% | 26.00% | 20.00% | 15.00% | 8.50% | 79.50% |
| T - 23 | Mastercard® Gold Card | 10.00% | 26.00% | 20.00% | 15.00% | 8.50% | 79.50% |
| 28 | Wells Fargo Visa Signature | 10.00% | 26.00% | 10.00% | 15.00% | 10.00% | 71.00% |
| T - 29 | Capital One QuicksilverOne | 10.00% | 26.00% | 10.00% | 14.00% | 10.00% | 70.00% |
| T - 29 | Capital One Platinum | 10.00% | 26.00% | 10.00% | 14.00% | 10.00% | 70.00% |
| T - 29 | USAA Rate Advantage Platinum Visa | 10.00% | 26.00% | 10.00% | 14.00% | 10.00% | 70.00% |
The following cards do not offer price protection:
We took an even deeper look at the practice of price matching, turning to a panel of experts in the fields of retail and consumer studies for insights on issues ranging from the value of price matching for retailers to whether or not price monitoring is worthwhile to the consumer. You can check out the experts we consulted, the questions we asked them, and their responses below.
- To what extent is a price match guarantee an effective strategy for a retailer?
- Does leveraging a price protection policy (one that enables you to monitor and act on price changes after you buy) tend to be worth a consumer’s effort (e.g. price monitoring) when all is said and done?
- How do price match guarantees impact consumer habits?
Ian Alam Associate Professor of Marketing, State University of New York at Geneseo
Wilfred Amaldoss Thomas A. Finch Jr. Professor in the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University
Roger Beahm Full Professor of Practice in Marketing at the Wake Forest University School of Business
Monika Kukar-Kinney Professor of Marketing and F. Carlyle Tiller Chair in Business in the Robins School of Business at University of Richmond
To what extent is a price match guarantee an effective strategy for a retailer? There are two types of price match:
- A store will match the prices of their competitors.
- A store will match their own price if the price drops within a week or 10 days.
To what extent is a price match guarantee an effective strategy for a retailer? When competing retailers offer price matching guarantees, the effective price that a consumer pays is the lowest price of all the retailers in the market. Now if retailers do not have the same cost structure, those retailers with a higher cost structure will lose margins and profits, and over time will not have the resources to invest in the business. However, the retailer with the lowest cost structure can gain sales if it chooses to compete on price. It can also use price matching guarantee to help prevent other retailers from cutting their prices aggressively. Does leveraging a price protection policy (one that enables you to monitor and act on price changes after you buy) tend to be worth a consumer’s effort (e.g. price monitoring) when all is said and done? To avail the benefits of a price protection policy, consumers typically need to monitor market prices and provide the retailer with supporting evidence about any price discrepancy. When purchasing a product, consumers assume that they could effortlessly monitor prices and are hence lured by price protection policies. In reality, however, a very small fraction of consumers ( say 15-30%) do actually invest the time and energy to monitor prices and avail the benefits of price protection. How do price match guarantees impact consumer habits? If implemented well, these guarantees may help consumers to focus more attention on the benefits of the products (rather than the price). It would also increase store loyalty. Roger Beahm Full Professor of Practice in Marketing at the Wake Forest University School of Business 
To what extent is a price match guarantee an effective strategy for a retailer? A price-match guarantee is quite effective for retailers because it is a way they can add credibility to a claim of low pricing. In retail, as in other areas of marketing, most people make claims. Unless these claims are both (1) meaningful, and (2) believable, they often don’t generate much response. A claim of “lowest price” is substantive, and can attract attention and interest. It can also turn into an increased customer base and higher sales volume. The price-match guarantee therefore adds an important “reason why” people can believe the claim. It says, “If you don’t believe it, just try it.” And the use of that credibility device – i.e., a demonstration – can be the “tipping point” that moves customers from “interested” to “persuaded.” Does leveraging a price protection policy (one that enables you to monitor and act on price changes after you buy) tend to be worth a consumer’s effort (e.g. price monitoring) when all is said and done? The answer to this depends on three things: (a) the price you paid for the item you bought, (b) the amount of money to be gained by exercising the policy, and (c) how much you value your time – not just exercising a claim, but even thinking about it. Since there are time limits associated with these price-protection policies, you don’t want to become too preoccupied in monitoring. But for bigger ticket items (and again, the exact value of this will vary from customer to customer), monitoring prices the first few weeks after a major purchase makes sense if the item was purchased through a means that has a price-protection policy associated with it. How do price match guarantees impact consumer habits? Price-match guarantees are really credibility devices that make claims believable. Consumers are more likely to be persuaded by a retailer that offers a price-match guarantee than one who simply claims the “lowest price.” That persuasion typically turns into higher store traffic and increased sales at the cash register. Monika Kukar-Kinney Professor of Marketing and F. Carlyle Tiller Chair in Business in the Robins School of Business at University of Richmond 
To what extent is a price match guarantee an effective strategy for a retailer? A price-matching guarantee serves as a pre-purchase signal of low prices to less price sensitive consumers, so they may stop searching for a lower price elsewhere. However, the more price sensitive consumers typically do not really on it as a price signal to the same degree and are likely to do their own legwork to determine the lowest price available. Thus, price-matching guarantees are especially effective in attracting purchases of less price sensitive consumers. Moreover, the wider the scope of the policy (the more competitors, the more products it covers), the more beneficial consumers’ response and the more likely the customer will return to the store. Interestingly, the less price sensitive consumers rely on these policies to a large degree as signals for low prices and often do not check for lower prices after the purchase. The more price sensitive consumers, on the other hand, use such policies differently - primarily to protect them in case they find a lower price after the purchase. They may actively monitor competitive prices after the purchase, and should they find a lower price, they will come to see the refund for the price difference. What about purchase protection plans that act as insurance against theft or accidental damage? Purchase protections plans work in a different way. They do not protect the consumer against the retailer’s own action (lowering the price after a consumer has purchased) or competitive actions, but rather against perceived “uncontrollable” events on the consumer side. As such, they primarily appeal to the more risk-averse consumers. They do represent an effective strategy for the retailers, especially on the high ticket items. The retailers can offer such programs as opt-in and they allow them to effectively discriminate between the more and less risk-averse consumer segments. Does leveraging a price protection policy (one that enables you to monitor and act on price changes after you buy) tend to be worth a consumer’s effort (e.g. price monitoring) when all is said and done? This depends on the consumer. As mentioned above, price sensitive consumers place higher importance (than not price sensitive consumers) on finding the lowest price and are willing to spend the time and effort to make sure that they are getting it. It is not just the price savings that they are after, but also the feelings of being a smart shopper and experiencing pleasure and /or price at knowing that they had received a good deal. This psychological satisfaction is perhaps even more important to them than potentially saving a few dollars by taking advantage of the price- matching policy. How do price match guarantees and purchase protection plans impact consumer habits? Price-matching guarantees impact consumers by attracting them to the store and causing them to terminate their price search ahead of the purchase, as they signal low price levels. Rarely do they stimulate additional price search after the purchase, even though it does happen for the more price conscious consumers and when the retailer does not only offer to match, but rather to beat any lower price. This additional benefit represents extra savings, so may encourage the price sensitive consumers to actively search after purchase in order to be able to take advantage of it. Protection plans provide consumers with a peace of mind guarantee in case of unforeseen events that the consumer cannot control. Methodology
The data used in this report are based on public disclosures regarding the price protection policies of the 10 largest issuers of consumer credit cards in the United States. Co-branded, student and business credit cards were not evaluated. Offers for which online applications were not available also were excluded. In situations where policies were incomplete or unclear, we requested verification and proceeded to update the report as needed.
Each individual card was scored according to the following criteria:
1. Sign Up – Worth 10% Total
- If there is no sign-up requirement = 10%
- If product registration is required but price reduction is tracked automatically by the company = 10%
- If there is a onetime sign-up requirement = 5%
- If there is an annual sign up requirement = 2%
- If each product needs to be registered and price reduction needs to be tracked manually by the consumer = 0%
2. Coverage – Worth 45% TotalA. Coverage & Exclusions – Worth 20%
- For each major category of items excluded from coverage, we subtracted 6%
- For each minor category of items excluded from coverage, we subtracted 2%
- Issuers are deducted a maximum of 20% points, even if their exclusions add up to more issuers only lose 20% points
B. Coverage Limit Per Item – Worth 15%
- $500+ = 15%
- $400 - $499 = 12%
- $300 - $399 = 9%
- $200 - $299 = 6%
- $100 - $199 = 3%
- Less than $100 = 0%
C. Annual Coverage Limit – Worth 10%
- $2,000+ = 10%
- $1,500 - $1,999 = 8%
- $1,000- $1,499 = 6%
- Less than $1,000 = 0%
3. Price Protection Period – Worth 20% Total
- 120+ days = 20%
- 90 – 119 days = 15%
- 60 - 89 days = 10%
- 30 - 59 days = 5%
- Less than 30 days = 0%
4. Claims – Worth 15% TotalA. Annual Claims Limit – Worth 5%
- 5+ claims = 5%
- 4 claims = 4%
- 3 claims = 3%
- 2 claims = 2%
- 1 claim = 0%
B. Claims – Worth 5%
- If filing a claim requires only 1) a product receipt, 2) a credit card statement and 3) either a dated ad OR a statement from a store documenting the details of the lower price = 5%
- If filing a claim requires a 1) product receipt, 2) a credit card statement, 3) a dated ad and 4) a statement from the store documenting the details of the lower price = 2.5%
- If filing a claim requires a 1) product receipt, 2) a credit card statement, 3) a dated ad, 4) a statement from the store documenting the details of the lower price, and 5) any additional documentation = 0%
C. Claims Limit On Items Purchased As A Set – Worth 5%
- 5+ items = 5%
- 4 items = 4%
- 3 items = 3%
- 2 items = 2%
- 1 item = 0%
5. Transparency Score – Worth 10%A. How easily can one find the info? – Worth 3%
- Information is prominent on issuer website = 3%
- Information is not prominent on issuer website; or it is prominent, but users need to log in to see the full disclosure = 1.5%
- Information cannot be easily found on website = 0%
B. How easy it is to read the info? – Worth 1%
- Information is presented in normal-size font = 1%
- Information is in small-size font = 0%
C. How complete are the policies provided? – Worth 4%
- Full policy provided = 4%
- A couple of key points missing from policy = 3%
- Part of policy provided = 2%
- Benefits briefly described = 0.5%
- No key details provided = 0%
D. How open and transparent are card issuers about the policies? – Worth 2%
- Transparent about policies = 2%
- Not transparent about policies = 0%
Scores were determined based on our opinion of how each price protection policy compares to a theoretical ideal policy. An ideal policy is one based on common sense for which a consumer knows all of the most important information without having to delve into the fine print.
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