Comparing NZ Credit Card Insurances

As I evaluate different credit cards, this year I've also been scrutinising the credit card travel insurance policies, and although most of them are same-same, there are some key differences which is worth writing about.



The table above shows the credit cards that have complimentary travel insurance attached, note that BNZ has just made some major changes to their card from February, so the analysis below excludes BNZ until there's more clarity around their new policies, though they don't cover cruises from February which is a showstopper for me anyway. So let's get into it.

What would I get?

Well, let's do a process of elimination. Remember your needs and travel pattern will be different to ours. Atleast once a year, we'll fly to Sydney or Brisbane, get on a cruise ship to the pacific, then rent out a car and travel within Australia for a few days, and come back home. Sometimes I'll do the booking, and sometimes my wife will book. This means we need general travel insurance, cruise, and rental car cover that applies to both of us. This means....
  • NOT BNZ (No cruise cover)
  • NOT TSB (No rental car cover anywhere)
  • NOT AMEX (No cover for supplementary cardholders)
  • NOT Kiwibank ($5000 of cancellation cover is paltry for international, that would barely cover the cost of flights out of NZ over the school holidays), also only 40 days of cover.
That leaves Westpac, ANZ, ASB. 
  • Westpac has easy eligibility, but only 35 days of cover. Also excludes skiing and any pandemic cover.
  • ANZ is 50% on the card or eftpos, 90 days of cover, and relatively generous with their cover. However, they do charge $150 for the card and offer less rewards.
  • ASB is $500 on the card, 90 days cover, relatively generous. Do they exclude pandemic cover however. In saying all that, the card is only $80 and offers a 1% cashback. 
I would pick ASB for my next credit card for travel insurance.

Eligibility

  • For all the cards, must be an active cardholder (so main or supplementary) except AMEX, where only the main cardholder is covered.
  • Must be a resident of New Zealand.
  • Must be return trips (starting and ending in New Zealand)

Feature

Westpac

ANZ 

AMEX 

TSB

ASB

Kiwibank



Activation Spend

If self, $250 for AU/Pacific, $500 internationally. Double for family.

50% prepaid on the card, or from an ANZ account if fees apply.

100% of the airfares must be on the card. You must not use any points.

50% of prepaid costs

 Prepay $500 on the card

Pre-pay $500 for international, $250 for domestic on the card (12 months before departure max)

Trip Duration (Without paying extra)

35 days

90 days

180 days, and max 183 days per year (wtf?)

90 days

90 days

40 days

Coverage


Benefit

Westpac

ANZ

American Express

TSB

ASB

Kiwibank

Cancellation

Unlimited (Ages 75+: $5,000pp)

Unlimited

$30,000 per Trip

$10,000

Unlimited

$5,000 per Period of Insurance (shared limit for all travellers)

Overseas Medical

Unlimited 

Unlimited 

$2,500,000

Unlimited

Unlimited 

$40,000,000

Medical Excess

$200

$200

$250

$200

$200 per claim event (across Sections A, B, C)

$200 per claim event (Does not apply to Travel Delay or Emergency Baggage)

Personal Baggage

$12,500 per person

$30,000 per Insured Adult (shared with dependents)

$30,000 per 365 days

$4,000 per Insured Adult (shared with dependents)

$20,000 per person or per family

$30,000 total limit. General Item Limit: $2,500. Special Item Limit (Computers/Cameras): $5,000.

Rental Vehicle Excess

$5,000 per family

$6,000 per policy

$3,000

N/A

$5,000 per person or per family

$6,000

Personal Liability

$2,500,000

$2,500,000

$2,000,000

$675,000

$2,500,000

$2,500,000

Accidental Death

$100,000

$100,000

$800,000 (Transport Accident) & $10,000 (General Accidental Loss of Life)

$100,000

$50,000 (General) & $1,000,000 (Scheduled Transport Accident)

$100,000

Travel Delay

$825 per person / 6hrs

$15,000 per person / 6hrs

$1,000 per event (for hotel/meals after 4-hour delay)

$1,000 per person / 6hrs

$1,200 max per person (after 12 hrs, $400 per 6 hrs)

$2,500 max. $500 after 6 hours, then $500 per each full 24-hour period.

Exclusions

All cards exclude
  • 75+ persons, though some let you do a medical assessment and pay extra
  • Pre-existing medical conditions
  • Financial defaults from tour operators
  • Not adhering to don't travel warnings from the government.
  • Extreme sports

Epidemics
  • Westpac, AMEX, and ASB exclude this.
  • ANZ, TSB, and Kiwibank seem to offer some cover.

Snow Sports
  • Not covered: Westpac, AMEX, ASB
  • Covered: TSB, ANZ, Kiwibank (with conditions)
Domestic Travel
  • Westpac, ANZ, ASB are international only
  • Kiwibank and TSB offer domestic cover, but only cancellation of journey and travel delays.
  • AMEX offers domestic coverage.

Rental Cover

All the credit cards will cover the excess that has been paid. The difference is in how much the sum insured of the excess is.


Warning: TSB DOES NOT OFFER RENTAL CAR INSURANCE COVERAGE.

Feature

Westpac

ANZ

American Express

ASB

Kiwibank

Sum Insured

$5,000 per family

$6,000 per policy

$3,000

$5,000 per person or per family

$6,000

Cruises

Cruises are not specifically mentioned or excluded in any of the policies, which I interpret to mean coverage is provided. Obviously BNZ is now the one that's an outlier.