Credit card purchase protection covers eligible items against damage and theft in the months after you buy them. So, if you have the right credit card and follow the proper protocol, your misfortune could be reversed with a full refund or a repaired/replaced item.
But not all credit cards offer purchase protection. In fact, a growing number of credit cards have dropped the purchase protection benefit in recent years. And policies vary widely among those that still offer it. 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 information was collected on Nov. 9, 2023.
Best Credit Cards for Purchase Protection
Rank | Cards | WalletHub Score |
---|---|---|
1 | Chase Sapphire Reserve | 93.50% |
2 | Platinum From American Express Gold Card from American Express | 92.00% |
4 | U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite® Card U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Card Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card | 91.00% |
The Coverage You Can Expect
Category | Example of a Standard Policy | Best Policy |
---|---|---|
Sign Up | Not required | Not required |
Coverage | Items stolen or accidentally damaged by fire, smoke, vandalism or accidental discharge of water or steam | Items stolen or accidentally damaged by fire, smoke, vandalism or accidental discharge of water or steam |
Exclusions | Perishables, consumables, collectibles, rented or leased items, items stolen from vehicles and certain other purchases | Perishables, consumables, collectibles and certain other purchases |
Maximum Coverage per Item / Incident | $500 per eligible item | $10,000 per eligible item |
Maximum Coverage per Year | Up to $50,000 annually per account | Up to $50,000 annually per account |
Purchase Protection Period | 90 days from the date of purchase | 120 days from the date of purchase |
Cards Offering this Type of Policy | Capital One Venture Rewards | Chase Sapphire Reserve |
Other Key Findings
Only 50% of the credit cards from the 10 largest issuers continue to offer purchase protection, and only six issuers have even one card with purchase protection.
Chase, American Express and USAA are the only major issuers that offer purchase protection on all of their credit cards.
Issuer | % of Cards with Purchase Protection |
---|---|
Chase | 100% |
American Express | 100% |
USAA | 100% |
Capital One | 70% |
U.S. Bank | 30% |
Bank of America | 22% |
82% of credit cards with purchase protection only provide coverage for 90 days after a purchase.
Sports equipment & remote-controlled toys are the most common exclusions from credit card purchase protection (excluded by 24% of cards).
76% of cards have fully transparent purchase protection policies, while the rest lose points for not disclosing complete benefit terms or not making the terms easily accessible.
Detailed Scoring
Overall Rank | Card Name | Sign Up | Coverage | Purchase Protection Period |
Claims | Transparency | Total Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Info | Maximum Points | 10% | 50% | 20% | 10% | 10% | 100% |
1 | Chase Sapphire Reserve | 10.00% | 50.00% | 20.00% | 5.00% | 8.50% | 93.50% |
T - 2 | Gold Card from American Express | 10.00% | 46.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 92.00% |
T - 2 | Platinum From American Express | 10.00% | 46.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 92.00% |
T - 4 | U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite® Card | 10.00% | 50.00% | 16.00% | 5.00% | 10.00% | 91.00% |
T - 4 | U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Card | 10.00% | 50.00% | 16.00% | 5.00% | 10.00% | 91.00% |
T - 4 | Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card | 10.00% | 50.00% | 16.00% | 5.00% | 10.00% | 91.00% |
T - 7 | Blue Cash Everyday From American Express | 10.00% | 43.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 89.00% |
T - 7 | Blue Cash Preferred From American Express | 10.00% | 43.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 89.00% |
T - 7 | EveryDay From American Express | 10.00% | 43.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 89.00% |
T - 7 | EveryDay Preferred From American Express | 10.00% | 43.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 89.00% |
T - 7 | Cash Magnet from American Express | 10.00% | 43.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 89.00% |
T - 7 | American Express® Green Card | 10.00% | 43.00% | 16.00% | 10.00% | 10.00% | 89.00% |
T - 13 | Chase Sapphire Preferred | 10.00% | 44.00% | 20.00% | 5.00% | 8.50% | 87.50% |
T - 13 | Chase Freedom Unlimited | 10.00% | 44.00% | 20.00% | 5.00% | 8.50% | 87.50% |
T - 13 | Chase Freedom Flex | 10.00% | 44.00% | 20.00% | 5.00% | 8.50% | 87.50% |
T - 13 | Chase Slate Edge | 10.00% | 44.00% | 20.00% | 5.00% | 8.50% | 87.50% |
T - 13 | Chase Freedom Rise | 10.00% | 44.00% | 20.00% | 5.00% | 8.50% | 87.50% |
T - 18 | Capital One Venture | 10.00% | 38.00% | 16.00% | 5.00% | 10.00% | 79.00% |
T - 18 | Capital One VentureOne | 10.00% | 38.00% | 16.00% | 5.00% | 10.00% | 79.00% |
T - 18 | USAA Eagle Navigator™ Visa Signature Credit Card | 10.00% | 38.00% | 16.00% | 5.00% | 10.00% | 79.00% |
T - 18 | USAA Cashback Rewards Plus American Express | 10.00% | 38.00% | 16.00% | 5.00% | 10.00% | 79.00% |
T - 18 | USAA Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Signature | 10.00% | 38.00% | 16.00% | 5.00% | 10.00% | 79.00% |
T - 18 | USAA Rewards Visa Signature® Card | 10.00% | 38.00% | 16.00% | 5.00% | 10.00% | 79.00% |
T - 18 | USAA Rewards American Express Card | 10.00% | 38.00% | 16.00% | 5.00% | 10.00% | 79.00% |
T - 18 | USAA Rate Advantage Platinum Visa | 10.00% | 38.00% | 16.00% | 5.00% | 10.00% | 79.00% |
T - 18 | USAA® Secured Visa Platinum® Credit Card | 10.00% | 38.00% | 16.00% | 5.00% | 10.00% | 79.00% |
T - 18 | USAA® Secured American Express® Credit Card | 10.00% | 38.00% | 16.00% | 5.00% | 10.00% | 79.00% |
28 | Bank of America Premium Rewards | 10.00% | 44.00% | 16.00% | 5.00% | 1.50% | 76.50% |
T - 29 | Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards | 10.00% | 29.00% | 16.00% | 5.00% | 10.00% | 70.00% |
T - 29 | U.S. Bank FlexPerks Gold American Express | 10.00% | 29.00% | 16.00% | 5.00% | 10.00% | 70.00% |
T - 29 | Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards | 10.00% | 29.00% | 16.00% | 5.00% | 10.00% | 70.00% |
T - 29 | Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards | 10.00% | 29.00% | 16.00% | 5.00% | 10.00% | 70.00% |
T - 29 | Capital One Savor Cash Rewards | 10.00% | 29.00% | 16.00% | 5.00% | 10.00% | 70.00% |
Ask The Experts
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?
Ask the Experts
Methodology
This report is based on public disclosures regarding the price protection policies of the 10 largest credit card issuers in the United States. Offers information was collected on Nov. 9, 2023.
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 generally contacted the issuer directly, requested verification, and proceeded to update the report as needed. When people apply for some credit cards, there's a chance they could be approved for a different level of benefits than they expect. For example, some applicants may get approved for the traditional Visa version of the card, which has basic benefits, while others could get the Visa Signature version with better benefits. For consistency, we evaluated these cards based on the set of benefits posted for reference along with the card's online application. As a result, it is possible that this report might list a card as not offering the benefit when the perk could be available to people who are creditworthy enough.
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% Total
A. 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 (e.g. sports equipment, remote control toys), 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 or card statement, a product receipt, copies of relevant insurance forms and a filed report for the vandalized / stolen item (if applicable) = 5% points
- If filing a claim requires more than a credit card receipt or card statement, 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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