Which Credit Card(s) Have the Best Purchase Protection/Warranty?
Which travel (or other) credit cards have the best additional warranty and/or purchase protection?
A lot of us have some of those high bonus cards, like the BA Visa, Priority Club Visa, AA cards, Venture card, CO card, DL Amex, etc., but which is the best for online and other purchases?
Since things like TVs die easily, maybe we can get a sense of which cards have the best warranty, purchase protection, etc.
Many cards come with an additional 1 year warranty protection through the CC processor (Mastercard, Visa, AMEX, etc.). I think the general consensus is that the warranty service of AMEX is better to significantly better than the others. I have heard good things about visa signature warranty coverage, but nothing superior to AMEX.
For return protection, cards issued by AMEX (e.g. not a Citi Amex card) come with a 90 day $300/item return protection plan for up to $1000 per year. I have taken advantage of this for an item the merchant wouldn't take back, and it was painless.
Most or all of my electronic purchases are done with one of my AMEX's.
Programs: UA UGS, at least for 2013 :) ; SPG Gold, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Plat, National EC
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Also keep in mind that there is a difference between having the best terms and being the easiest actually get a claim honored. That is why I try to focus spending on my AMEX when it make sense as they seem to have the best reputation for customer service.
All - 2x manufacturer's warranty, up to 1 year additional, on top of:
MC - 1 year original warranty
Visa Plat/Signature - 3 years
AMEX - 5 years
Citi - 1 year, regardless of card network
I heard that Visa includes remanufactured/refurbished items while everyone else does not, but I didn't verify that.
In any case, I try to put my important items on AMEX or Visa cards, and stay away from Citi and MC if warranty is a concern.
I have a Citi MC which doubles your warranty period up to 1 year. The constraint is that the original warranty should not exceed 1 year. If you purchase extended warranty yourself, they are willing to start their warranty coverage after that expires but again the extended warranty cannot exceed 1 year.
schwab cc has been pretty good for me. all claims always paid easily. also not all amex card warranties are created equal regarding purchase protection
The Chase Continental OnePass Plus card has a price protection guarantee that I haven't seen on other cards with a sub $100 annual fee. It also has some trip cancellation benefits you won't find on other cards.
The catch with warranty extension on credit cards is you can't cancel the card and keep the protection. That gets pricey if the card has an annual fee so I would go with a non-annual fee card for warranty protection.
Programs: A3 Blue, Mileage Plus Premier, SkyPesos, SPG Gold, Hyatt Plat., Asia Miles
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Quote:
Originally Posted by adambadam
Also keep in mind that there is a difference between having the best terms and being the easiest actually get a claim honored. That is why I try to focus spending on my AMEX when it make sense as they seem to have the best reputation for customer service.
I had a cellphone charger stolen from a hotel lobby 30min after the purchase (fortunately the phone was already in my pocket).
Filled out the AMEX form online and got a "please call us message". Filled it out again and said it was "lost", and got a "claim filed" message and money back within 3-4 days.
Any additional data on this issue (who has the better extended warranty)? I am looking to buy a tablet using either Chase Visa Signature or Amex Zync card.
AMEX cards ( issued by AMEX itself ) in general have the most consumer friendly claim process.
You can file a claim online with AMEX.
Also As AMEX themselves has access to your statements, they often already have all the info they need after you tell them when and where you purchase it from.
On the other hand, Visa / MC often require you to call-in to file a claim, and then mail-in / fax-in the original receipt, the statement, and other paperworks.
