Canada - Capital One Aspire credit card - any real world experience?

The endless devaluation spiral of Aeroplan miles is pushing me away from any credit cards that accumulate in the program. Of the alternatives, the Capital One Aspire World MasterCard is the one that best suits my needs. On paper the card looks great, but I was wondering if anyone had any real world feedback to share. I am particularly interested on whether there is any hassle in claiming insurance (rental car / trip cancellation / trip interruption) or disputing charges. Capital One has terrible customer service in the US; this is the only thing that gives me pause right now.

(Not interested in TD Infinite / RBC Avion / SPG - thanks).

I'm in the same boat.
I'm going with Amex for Canadian purchases and Chase amazon.ca Visa for all foreign purchases.

Heard the aspire card is smart value

Hmmm... Just got this card in June after cancelling the CIBC Aventura MC to finish my commitment to AE. Didn't know about Capital One's customer service reputation, though. So far I haven't had problems, but I haven't had any issues to deal with.

Hmmm... Just got this card in June after cancelling the CIBC Aventura MC to finish my commitment to AE. Didn't know about Capital One's customer service reputation, though. So far I haven't had problems, but I haven't had any issues to deal with.

+1

My redemptions have gone through without issue - use the website for redemptions.


I haven't had a disputed charge or other situation that required customer support to intervene.

Hi Everyone,

It's Andrew from Capital One Canada. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank @Mauricio23 for initiating this thread. We're always looking for feedback on our products and services, so I look forward to reading everyone's comments.

If I can ever be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Cheers!

Thanks Andrew! I have applied for the card, and will be in touch if I have any questions.

Should be making our first claim in the next couple weeks. All I know so far is that last year MoneySense rated the various reward cards based on various spending levels and CapitalOne came out #1 in almost all categories so we applied and switched most of our spending to it. Now only use Amex for Costco and AirMiles partners as we get double miles.

I'm looking into the Capital One Aspire World as well, because RBC is "improving" the WestJet World MC to a more expensive "World Elite". Now I can't decide between Travel and Cash. Cash is nicer as I don't need to reach a certain level of points to use the reward - but Travel has by far the nicer sign up bonus. :-)

Is there currently a referral bonus if an existing customer refers a new one?

A quick update - I got my card three weeks after applying. Nice welcome package, and very good description of all coverages. My credit limit is more than ample (low credit limits were the most common complaints against Capital One when the card was first introduced). The welcome bonus posted immediately after the first purchase. One welcome surprise is that your mileage balance is updated and can be applied towards redemptions as soon as each charge posts - no waiting for statements in order to access your rewards!

My wife submitted a claim under the baggage delay insurance covered by the Capital One Aspire card and we received a reimbursement within 3 weeks of submitting the claim and supporting documentation.

I have had the card for almost a year now and have no complaints apart from the credit limit which will apparently be reviewed at the one year mark.

My wife submitted a claim under the baggage delay insurance covered by the Capital One Aspire card and we received a reimbursement within 3 weeks of submitting the claim and supporting documentation.

I have had the card for almost a year now and have no complaints apart from the credit limit which will apparently be reviewed at the one year mark.

I have had a Capital One card for a few years now and every horrible customer service experience makes me swear I am going to cancel it. I haven't yet but the last interaction yesterday has pushed me over the edge.

I made an online purchase - nothing expensive, $22. The product arrived and doesn't work. The company has not reponded to enquiries (have tried for a week, by email, webpage contact etc; they do not have a phone number listed on their site and googling only gets me fax numbers and non- answered numbers). I called Capital One to dispute the payment and after about a half hour on the line, they say there is nothing they can do! The charge was made 3 weeks ago so it is still recent but they just won't do it. They say I must first return the product at my expense to Hong Kong and wait and see if they respond. I pointed out that when you usually return something, you have had some contact with the company first so they know/have advised you to return it. And I would just be throwing more money away as the company obviously isn't going to reimburse me for the product, let alone the return postage.

I asked them what was the point of paying by credit card if I can't dispute charges? Where is the protection? I have never had this issue with other cards. The charge is removed and they investigate. Not so Capital One. They will not remove a charge, dispute it with the originator or help you in any way. You get no consumer protection when using this card. I shudder to think of trying to claim for rental car or travel insurance. Bye bye Capital One.

I started this thread asking for real world experience with the insurance products associated with the Capital One credit card. Now I got some of my own, and it is not good. Bottom line - if you plan to rely on your card's travel insurance, go with someone else. Capital One sucks.

In late December, I was delayed for over 13 hours in an EZE-YVR flight (4 hours at EZE, another 10 because of a missed connection in YYZ). I called Capital One, and they directed me to their insurance provider, World Travel Protection (WTP). WTP confirmed that I would be eligible for hotel and meal expenses, as the delay was over 4 hours. I checked into a day-use room at the Hampton Inn in YYZ, and ordered lunch. Total expenses: slightly over $100.

On January 3, I submitted the claim exactly as instructed by WTP - receipts, copy of itinerary, copy of credit card statement charging the flight, confirmation of delay from the airline, explanatory letter - the whole enchilada. Six weeks later, having heard nothing, I email them a status inquiry. Within two days I get a call back informing me that the claim is "at the last stage of review" and I should hear back soon.

After hearing nothing for two more weeks, I sent a second status inquiry three days ago, making it clear that this delay was unacceptable and that my continued cardmembership depended on how they handled the claim. Yesterday, still having heard nothing, I called WTP. A customer service representative informed me that the claim was "with a supervisor", and that she had no idea how long it would take to resolve. She had my email in front of her, and promised to escalate it. I have yet to hear from them.

In the meantime, I also contacted Capital One via secure message, informing them that I was getting the runaround from WTP, and that since the benefit is offered and published by them, I expected them to sort out the mess if they want me to keep pushing my spend through their credit card. All I got was a canned response telling me to contact WTP for any questions about benefits.

I also contacted AMCyyz on this board, who identified himself as the Capital One Aspire representative, three days ago. No response.

I'll update the thread with whatever happens next. In the meantime, all spend for which I expect to need insurance will go to Amex Gold. Depending on the resolution of this, that may soon become all spend, period. An extra fraction of a percentage in benefit yields is not worth dealing with this type of hassle.

Minor update: after I replied to Capital One's canned email with a few choice words and requested escalation to a supervisor, I received a slightly more meaningful reply. The customer service rep said that my complaint "was forwarded to the appropriate department for review", and offered a $30 credit as a goodwill gesture for the delay and inconvenience. Still, they said that I need to wait for the claims processor to make a decision. While I certainly appreciate the goodwill gesture, it doesn't solve the basic problem: I now have no confidence in the insurance protection offered by Capital One.

As a result of this, I am already putting all the purchases that may require insurance through AMEX Rewards Gold. Since with that card you get two points per dollar spent on groceries, gas, travel and drugstores, there's no difference between its yield and the Capital One Aspire for these purchases.

If you ask me, Capital One's choice of travel claims processor was a pretty dumb move in terms of cardholder retention.

If you ask me, Capital One's choice of travel claims processor was a pretty dumb move in terms of cardholder retention.

Probably a great move for cost savings for them, lol....Hope your claim finally gets settled.

If I can ever be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Be careful what you wish for...

I finally heard back from the claims processor today. The claim was denied because the reason for the delay was coded by Air Canada as "late inbound aircraft". In the opinion of the claims processor, this is not a "covered cause". That the inbound aircraft was late because of a weather delay at the point of origin does not matter to them. The customer service representative could only tell me to file an appeal if I wanted to. This is a $110 claim, and I have better things to do with my time. An appeal would likely not prosper in any case, as "late inbound aircraft" is not a specifically covered cause - although it is the weasel reason of choice for airlines who don't want to acknowledge scheduling or mechanical reasons down the line. Amex never denied me a claim when the stated reason was "late inbound aircraft". I know where my future credit card business is heading.

In a sense, I am glad this happened over a small claim. Now I know to never trust Capital One with any purchase that requires any kind of insurance. I hope this information proves useful to others considering their services.

I finally heard back from the claims processor today. The claim was denied because the reason for the delay was coded by Air Canada as "late inbound aircraft". In the opinion of the claims processor, this is not a "covered cause".

Forgive my ignorance, but isn't the whole point of trip delay insurance to cover you in the case of flight delays >4 hours? Why would the type of delay matter?

Forgive my ignorance, but isn't the whole point of trip delay insurance to cover you in the case of flight delays >4 hours? Why would the type of delay matter?

When you go to the fine print, they have a list of "covered causes". Decent insurers, like Amex, pay for all delays. Crappy insurers, like the one subcontracted by Capital One, try to find any reason not to pay.

I finally heard back from the claims processor today. The claim was denied because the reason for the delay was coded by Air Canada as "late inbound aircraft".

Interesting - Good reason to be cautious about Capital One.

Last week my flights into and out of SFO were greatly delayed due to weather (fog). Because they were ground-stopped at their originating airport they were listed as "late inbound aircraft." Obviously they were late inbound - They hadn't left because of bad weather in SFO.

Thanks for the information.

I think this topic should be in the credit card discussion, but
if the insurance company authorized you to go ahead book and the hotel and meal, they are now on the hook. Denial like the one you experienced wouldnt fly in court.
They are hedging that you'll just walk away.

I think this topic should be in the credit card discussion, but
if the insurance company authorized you to go ahead book and the hotel and meal, they are now on the hook. Denial like the one you experienced wouldnt fly in court.
They are hedging that you'll just walk away.

Which I will. I am not going to court over $110. Hopefully they will lose way more than that in the long run.

When you go to the fine print, they have a list of "covered causes". Decent insurers, like Amex, pay for all delays. Crappy insurers, like the one subcontracted by Capital One, try to find any reason not to pay.

This is really interesting. I find this thread very valuable. I have had an Apsire for a couple of years now and for the most part have been happy but then again I have never had to file a claim. This thread is eye opening and I am probably going to move to another card after I read over the insurance in more detail. The insurance is a big reason I got the card over others in the first place.... if I didn't care about insurance there are better cards out there.

Has anyone ever used TD Infinite insurance?

Minor update: after I replied to Capital One's canned email with a few choice words and requested escalation to a supervisor, I received a slightly more meaningful reply. The customer service rep said that my complaint "was forwarded to the appropriate department for review", and offered a $30 credit as a goodwill gesture for the delay and inconvenience. Still, they said that I need to wait for the claims processor to make a decision. While I certainly appreciate the goodwill gesture, it doesn't solve the basic problem: I now have no confidence in the insurance protection offered by Capital One.

As a result of this, I am already putting all the purchases that may require insurance through AMEX Rewards Gold. Since with that card you get two points per dollar spent on groceries, gas, travel and drugstores, there's no difference between its yield and the Capital One Aspire for these purchases.

If you ask me, Capital One's choice of travel claims processor was a pretty dumb move in terms of cardholder retention.


Hi @Mauricio23 – Please accept my apology for my absence on this thread. For some reason, I didn’t receive any notification that there were new posts; otherwise I would have jumped into the conversation right away.

The Aspire Travel World MasterCard is considered top in class for the insurance benefits it provides, which is why it's so popular among Canadian travelers and consumers. The Flight Delay benefits offered on the Aspire card are similar to the Flight Delay benefits covered by other credit cards in the marketplace.

After reading your post, we reviewed your claim with the underwriter and with WTP, the administrator of the benefits. We found a couple of discrepancies:

First, there was a lengthy delay in reviewing and processing your Flight Delay claim. In addition, it would appear that the claims the administrator reviewing your claim did not investigate the "late inbound flight" clause provided by the airline more fully. It’s quite conceivable that the delay may have indeed been caused by a mechanical breakdown or a weather delay.

As a result of this review, the claim will be processed and you will be reimbursed for your expenses in full. Could you please contact us at socialcanada@capitalone.com so we can discuss this matter further with you. I think you’ll be pleased with the outcome.

Best regards,

Andrew

Following Andrew's reply here, I received a letter from WTP apologizing for the long time it took to process my claim, and thanking me for my feedback. Included with the letter were two checks - a full payment of my claim, and a reimbursement of my annual credit card fee.

The letter made it clear that the payments are a gesture of goodwill, and that WTP stands by its original adjudication of the claim. That is, the next time someone submits a flight delay claim where the airline states that the reason for the delay was "late inbound aircraft" (or any reason that is not mechanical, weather, or strike), it will be denied (but promptly). Since Air Canada states "late inbound aircraft" as the reason for the vast majority of their delays, this Canadian credit card is of very little value as an insurance product when flying on Canada's largest airline.

As I explained in private correspondence to Andrew, I am glad that Capital One stands behind its World Aspire product, and consider this issue resolved to my satisfaction. I might also add that, despite the rocky patches, I feel the customer service experience with Capital One ended on a high note. It speaks well of a company when screw ups are recognized and made right.

At the end of the day, however, the World Aspire Mastercard flight delay insurance coverage remains highly deficient relative to at least one main competitor. The AMEX Gold Rewards Card, for the same annual fee and with otherwise very similar benefits, covers *any* delay regardless of what the airline states as the reason (with the usual exclusions of terrorism, war, and nuclear reaction). Because of this, I cannot rely on the World Aspire Mastercard as an insurance tool for my considerable travel spend, and cannot recommend it to anyone in search for a card with travel insurance benefits. I will continue to use this card and its excellent rewards program for all my non-travel spend; I hope the folks at Capital One review and update their insurance coverages so as to make their product competitive on that front again.

That is, the next time someone submits a flight delay claim where the airline states that the reason for the delay was "late inbound aircraft" (or any reason that is not mechanical, weather, or strike), it will be denied (but promptly)

Thanks for the update.

Good reason to avoid the card, as many of my weather delays are ground stops where the aircraft is 'late inbound.'

Note that it's not just AC - UA will also have a 'late inbound' status if they have a weather-related ground stop.

Following Andrew's reply here, I received a letter from WTP apologizing for the long time it took to process my claim, and thanking me for my feedback. Included with the letter were two checks - a full payment of my claim, and a reimbursement of my annual credit card fee.

The letter made it clear that the payments are a gesture of goodwill, and that WTP stands by its original adjudication of the claim. That is, the next time someone submits a flight delay claim where the airline states that the reason for the delay was "late inbound aircraft" (or any reason that is not mechanical, weather, or strike), it will be denied (but promptly). Since Air Canada states "late inbound aircraft" as the reason for the vast majority of their delays, this Canadian credit card is of very little value as an insurance product when flying on Canada's largest airline.

As I explained in private correspondence to Andrew, I am glad that Capital One stands behind its World Aspire product, and consider this issue resolved to my satisfaction. I might also add that, despite the rocky patches, I feel the customer service experience with Capital One ended on a high note. It speaks well of a company when screw ups are recognized and made right.

At the end of the day, however, the World Aspire Mastercard flight delay insurance coverage remains highly deficient relative to at least one main competitor. The AMEX Gold Rewards Card, for the same annual fee and with otherwise very similar benefits, covers *any* delay regardless of what the airline states as the reason (with the usual exclusions of terrorism, war, and nuclear reaction). Because of this, I cannot rely on the World Aspire Mastercard as an insurance tool for my considerable travel spend, and cannot recommend it to anyone in search for a card with travel insurance benefits. I will continue to use this card and its excellent rewards program for all my non-travel spend; I hope the folks at Capital One review and update their insurance coverages so as to make their product competitive on that front again.


Hi Mauricio,

Thank you for your follow up comments on this matter. We really appreciate all customer feedback. I can confirm that all of your concerns have been shared with the appropriate associates for review.

We value your business with us.

Sincerely,

Andrew