I just filed a claim because most flights ex-HND were canceled yesterday due to weather.

I bought our tickets with Amex and got $1000 trip delay insurance. Nice meals and stay at Tokyo Shangri-La by the way.

When I was done filing the claim with the agent, I asked him. If these tickets were AP tickets paid for with points and only used the Amex to pay for the taxes and fees, would I be covered?

The answer was very clear: YES

There are two kinds of travel insurances that Amex would cover:

1. Trip interruption insurance (for non-refundable trips)
2. Flight/Baggage delay insurance

1 would be covered only if one pays for the tickets with money, or MR points, but not AP points

2 would be covered whether the tickets were paid with money, MR points, or AP points. In other words, a AP ticket would be covered for 2 as long as the fees and taxes were paid for by an eligible Amex card.

This is consistent with my experiences with past claims with AP tickets.

I would not use CIBC VS to pay for tickets as they only cover up to $500. My Shangri-La hotel stay alone was JPY74750 a night!