Best Credit Cards for Purchase Protection
10:31 PMPosted by: Bianca Peter
Credit card purchase protection covers eligible items against damage and theft in the months after you buy them. So if you have the right card and follow the proper protocol, your misfortune could be reversed with a full refund or a repaired/replaced item.
When might credit card purchase protection come in handy? Well, there were 13.5 million cases of property crime in 2018, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. And more than 1.3 million fires resulted in an estimated $25.6 billion in direct property loss, according to National Fire Protection Association. So it’s worth having an extra layer of protection.
But not all credit cards offer purchase protection. And policies vary widely among those that do. So to help you understand what coverage you may already have and whether you need an upgrade, WalletHub compared the 10 largest credit card companies’ purchase protection policies. You can check out our findings below.
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 1, 2019.
- Best Credit Cards
- Other Key Findings
- The Coverage You can Expect
- Detailed Scoring
- Ask The Experts
- Methodology
| Rank | Cards | WalletHub Score |
|---|---|---|
| T - 1 | Chase Sapphire Reserve | 100% |
| T - 1 | J.P. Morgan Reserve | 100% |
| T - 3 | Platinum From American Express | 96% |
| T - 3 | Gold Card from American Express | 96% |
| 5 | All other Chase Cards | 94% |
Only half of credit cards from the 10 largest issuers continue to offer purchase protection, and only six issuers have even one card with purchase protection.
Chase cards provide the best purchase protection coverage, while Citi and Barclays removed the benefit this year.
| Issuer | % of Cards with Purchase Protection |
|---|---|
| Chase | 100% |
| American Express | 100% |
| U.S. Bank | 86% |
| Bank of America | 50% |
| Capital One | 43% |
| Wells Fargo | 40% |
| Citi | 0% |
| Barclays | 0% |
| Discover | 0% |
| USAA | 0% |
In 2020, only 22% of cards will give purchase protection for up to 120 days – down from 41% in 2019. The drop is due to American Express reducing its protection period from 120 days to 90 days.
Jewelry and items stolen from personal vehicles are the most common types of exclusions from credit card purchase protection (41%).
61% of cards have fully transparent purchase protection policies, while the rest lose points for not disclosing complete benefit terms.
The Coverage You Can Expect
| Example of a Standard Policy | Best Policy | |
|---|---|---|
| Sign Up | Not required | Not required |
| Coverage | Items stolen or accidentally damaged by: FireSmokeVandalismAccidental discharge of water or steam | Items stolen or accidentally damaged by: FireSmokeVandalismAccidental discharge of water or steam |
| Exclusions | Perishables Consumables Collectibles Certain other purchases (e.g. computer software) | Perishables Consumables Collectibles Certain other purchases (e.g. computer software) |
| Maximum Coverage per Item | $500 per eligible item | $10,000 per eligible item |
| Maximum Coverage per Year | Up to $50,000 per cardholder | Up to $50,000 annually |
| Purchase Protection Period | 90 days from the date of purchase | 120 days from the date of purchase |
| Cards Offering this Type of Policy | Wells Fargo Visa Signature | Chase Sapphire Reserve |
Effective January 1st, 2020, American Express will be reducing its Purchase Protection period from 120 days to 90 days. This is why we display scores for both 2019 and 2020 for American Express in the following table.
| Overall Rank | Card Name | Sign Up | Coverage | Purchase Protection Period | Claims | Transparency | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum Points | 10% | 50% | 20% | 10% | 10% | 100% | |
| T - 1 | Chase Sapphire Reserve | 10.00% | 50.00% | 20.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 100.00% |
| T - 1 | J.P. Morgan Reserve | 10.00% | 50.00% | 20.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 100.00% |
| T - 3 | Platinum From American Express | 10.00% | 50.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 96.00% for 2020 policy 100.00% for 2019 policy |
| T - 3 | Gold Card from American Express | 10.00% | 50.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 96.00% for 2020 policy 100.00% for 2019 policy |
| T - 5 | Chase Sapphire Preferred | 10.00% | 44.00% | 20.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 94.00% |
| T - 5 | Chase Freedom | 10.00% | 44.00% | 20.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 94.00% |
| T - 5 | Chase Slate | 10.00% | 44.00% | 20.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 94.00% |
| T - 5 | Chase Freedom Unlimited | 10.00% | 44.00% | 20.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 94.00% |
| T - 9 | Cash Magnet from American Express | 10.00% | 47.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 93.00% for 2020 policy 97.00% for 2019 policy |
| T - 9 | Blue Cash Everyday From American Express | 10.00% | 47.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 93.00% for 2020 policy 97.00% for 2019 policy |
| T - 9 | Blue Cash Preferred From American Express | 10.00% | 47.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 93.00% for 2020 policy 97.00% for 2019 policy |
| T - 9 | EveryDay From American Express | 10.00% | 47.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 93.00% for 2020 policy 97.00% for 2019 policy |
| T - 9 | EveryDay Preferred From American Express | 10.00% | 47.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 93.00% for 2020 policy 97.00% for 2019 policy |
| T - 9 | Blue From American Express | 10.00% | 47.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 93.00% for 2020 policy 97.00% for 2019 policy |
| 15 | Bank of America Premium Rewards | 10.00% | 44.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 5.00% | 85.00% |
| T - 16 | Wells Fargo Propel | 10.00% | 35.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 81.00% |
| T - 16 | U.S. Bank FlexPerks Gold American Express | 10.00% | 35.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 81.00% |
| T - 18 | U.S. Bank Cash 365 American Express | 10.00% | 35.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 8.00% | 79.00% |
| T - 18 | U.S. Bank FlexPerks Select+ American Express | 10.00% | 35.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 8.00% | 79.00% |
| T - 18 | Bank of America Travel Rewards | 10.00% | 38.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 5.00% | 79.00% |
| T - 21 | Capital One Venture | 10.00% | 32.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 78.00% |
| T - 21 | Capital One VentureOne | 10.00% | 32.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 78.00% |
| T - 21 | Capital One Quicksilver | 10.00% | 32.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 78.00% |
| T - 21 | Wells Fargo Visa Signature | 10.00% | 32.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 78.00% |
| T - 25 | U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite® Card | 10.00% | 32.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 8.00% | 76.00% |
| T - 25 | U.S. Bank Cash+ | 10.00% | 32.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 8.00% | 76.00% |
| T - 25 | U.S. Bank FlexPerks Travel Rewards Visa Signature | 10.00% | 32.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 8.00% | 76.00% |
The following cards do not feature the purchase protection benefit:
For more insight into what retailers get from offering purchase protection and how the availability of such coverage affects consumer spending habits, we turned to a panel of leading experts in the fields of consumer psychology and retail studies. You can check out their bios and responses to the following questions below.
- To what extent are purchase protection plans, which act as insurance against theft or accidental damage, an effective strategy for a retailer?
- How does a purchase protection plan impact consumer habits?
Ravi Dhar George Rogers Clark Professor of Management and Marketing & Director of the Center for Customer Insights at Yale School of Management
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
Ravi Dhar George Rogers Clark Professor of Management and Marketing & Director of the Center for Customer Insights at Yale School of Management
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 BusinessThe data used in this report is based on public disclosures regarding the purchase 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, nor were cards that cannot be applied for online. In situations where policies were incomplete or unclear, we requested verification, and proceeded to update the report as needed. Information is accurate as of Nov 1, 2019.
Each individual card was scored according to the following criteria:
1. Sign Up – Worth 10% Total
- If there is no sign-up or product registration = 10%
- If there is a one-time sign up requirement = 5%
- If there is an annual sign up requirement = 2%
- If product registration is required for all purchased items = 0%
2. Coverage – Worth 50% TotalA. Coverage & Exclusions – Worth 20%
- For each major category of items excluded from coverage (e.g. jewelry or electronics), 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. Maximum Coverage per Item – Worth 15%
- $2,000+ = 15%
- $1,000 to $1,999 = 12%
- $500 to $999 = 9%
- $250 to $499 = 6%
- $100 to $249 = 3%
- Less than $100 = 0%
C. Maximum Coverage per Year – Worth 15%
- $25,000+ = 15%
- $20,000 to $24,999 = 12%
- $15,000 to $19,999 = 9%
- $10,000 to $14,999 = 6%
- $5,000 to $9,999 = 3%
- Less than $5,000 = 0%
3. Purchase Protection Period – Worth 20% Total
- 120+ days = 20%
- 90 days to 119 days = 16%
- 60 days to 89 days = 12%
- 30 days to 59 days = 8%
- Less than 30 days = 0%
4. Claims – Worth 10% Total
- If filing a claim requires only a product receipt, copies of relevant insurance forms and a filed report for the vandalized / stolen item (if applicable) = 10%
- If filing a claim requires a credit card receipt, a product receipt, copies of relevant insurance forms and a filed report for the vandalized / stolen item (if applicable) = 5%
- If filing a claim requires more than a credit card receipt, a product receipt, copies of relevant insurance forms and a filed report for the vandalized / stolen item (if applicable) = 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 are determined based on our opinion of how each purchase 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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