2022.4 Update: Updated a lot of changes over the years. In particular: new card Bilt Mastercard and Capital One Venture X have this benefit; Chase IHG Premier no longer has this benefits.
In recent years, some credit cards start to offer cellular telephone protection benefit: as long as you pay your monthly wireless telephone bill with the specific credit card, you will get an insurance that covers damage and theft of your cell phone. You don’t need to use that credit card to purchase that cell phone.
Not all credit cards have this benefit. Here are the ones that currently have it:
Chase
AmEx
Citi
Wells Fargo
Capital One
US Bank
Other Banks
Comparison
The specific policies of different credit cards are slightly different. Here’s a summary:
| Bank/Card | Deductible | Maximum Liability per Claim | Maximum Liability per 12 month period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Freedom Flex (CFF) | $50 | $800 | $1,000 and 2 claims |
| Chase Ink Preferred (CIP) | $100 | $600 | 3 claims |
| AmEx premium cards | $50 | $800 | 2 claims |
| Citi Prestige | $50 | $1,000 | $1,500 and 5 claims |
| Wells Fargo cards | $25 | $600 | $1,200 |
| Bilt Mastercard | $25 | $800 | 2 claims |
| Capital One Venture X | $50 | $800 | 2 claims |
| US Bank Altitude Connect | $25 | $600 | 2 claims |
| US Bank Visa Platinum | $25 | $600 | 2 claims |
| Deserve Edu | $50 | $600 | $1,000 |
| Sofi Credit Card | $50 | $800 | $1,000 and 2 claims |
| HSBC Elite | $50 | $800 | $1,000 |
| HSBC Premier World | $50 | $600 | $1,000 |
Attentions
There are some details that you need to pay attention. Let’s use this Guide to Benefit for Deserve Edu as an example:
- You need to use this card to pay total bill of the wireless plan.
- You are eligible for coverage the first day of the calendar month following the payment.
- If you have other relevant insurance such as home insurance, rental insurance, etc., then you need to use these insurance first.
- This insurance does not cover lost or “Mysteriously Disappear”.
- You need to file the claim within 90 days (this time frame may vary by credit card).
- Prepaid plans are not covered.
- There are other details, and please read guide to benefit for your specific credit card for clarification.
Summary
Among the credit cards that offer cell phone protection benefit, Chase Ink Preferred (CIP) is the most suitable for wireless telephone bills because it can earn 3x UR points. If your cell phone is expensive, then Citi Prestige is a good choice because it has a large upper limit per claim ($1,000). Among the no annual fee credit cards, Chase Freedom Flex (CFF) is a good choice, because it has a decent upper limit per claim ($800) and a low deductible ($50).