Originally Posted by taxicabnumber

RE: your first question, I know that as long as you buy one ticket with points, you can buy the others with a CC. Not sure about the other questions, sorry!

Originally Posted by dukerau

CSP covers tickets purchased with the card. When you buy an airline ticket with a credit card, the passenger name and basic ticket info are transmitted to the credit card company, so they can tell which tickets were purchased with their card. The ticket you use your Flexperks for will not be covered by CSP no matter what you do unless there's a way to use Flexperks for partial (most) of the ticket cost and pay a part with CSP. Just paying award taxes with CSP activates the protections so I think any amount would work.

You can certainly buy the other two tickets separately. If I were in your shoes, I would rely on the CSP coverage for your traveling companions and either self-insure or purchase travel insurance for yourself. As for seating, as long as the airline you book allows seat selection in advance (most do but there are a few exceptions), it shouldn't be a problem to sit together. You book your flight with Flexperks, it has a PNR (confirmation record locator). You book the other two tickets with CSP, and there's a new PNR for them. Then you go on the airline's website and put one of the PNR in, find 3 seats available that you want, book the seat or two under that PNR. Log out and back in on the other PNR and book the seat(s) you identified previously. You could also call the airline but it's usually quite simple to do online.

Originally Posted by sexykitten7

NB: CSP benefit only applies to cardholder and immediate family. From MMS