They do not cover points redemptions even though the fees were charged to the card.
I wouldn't take the risk.

Sorry, I wasn't interested in a card that earned aeropesos, so I didn't research CIBC Aerogold. I was actually getting out of the Amex Aerogold when I signed up for Capital One.

In any case, this is a bad time to be applying for CIBC Aerogold, as the rumor is that CIBC will divorce Aeroplan and come out with a different travel card, while TD will pick up the Aeroplan affinity.

I hear what you're saying, but the certificate of insurance implies that they do cover frequent flyer mile-booked trips. For example, under the cancellation section of the benefits guide, it says "This coverage will only cover any excess cost (i.e., the administration charges to cancel or change the itinerary) over and above the travel rewards provided by any reward or frequent flyer plan. This plan does not cover the value of the loss of reward or frequent flyer plan points." (Page 17 here http://www.capitalone.ca/media/doc/c...d-benefits.pdf)

I believe erring on the side of caution is good, but the benefits guide seems to suggest that the costs associated with points-travel would be covered, if the full cost was charged to the C1 card. It is precisely your beliefs and what the benefits guide says, which I'm trying to reconcile and which I find confusing. So many mixed messages on this one!

Good point, C1 makes no reference of exclusion of this situation either which make me believe you are right. Other cards definitely cover and say so, even though they use the language of "full fare" as C1 does. There is too many negative comments regarding these claims which makes this card less and less appealing.

And Yaknow, I don't blame the insurance companies for wanting to weed out claims. But the claims these companies should be focusing on are the BOGUS claims, things like where people are trying to scam the system to get purchase protection on stolen/damaged goods, things like that. I personally know someone who abused the purchase protection on a $600 item and it wasn't even questioned.

Yet when legit travellers suffer very tiring, inconvenient delays or hassles, things that truly might even cause problems in someone's life...once in a blue moon, and have a claim on a $100 hotel room just so they can make heads and tails of their day, and those claims are meticulously scrutinized and rejected - that is where I find "the system" disappointing. Plus, for the vast majority of consumers, many don't even bother with "filing claims" for small amounts. The people who focus on this kind of thing are people like us Flyertalkers, and other educated consumers. So there are probably many more people out there who could file claims for things, but simply don't know how or don't care.

Got clear answers to my Qs:

Great post.

C1 still should be much clearer in their own contract (T&C) and not deal with individual's questions as these come up. One does not buy ticket with award points as Aeroplan points have no monetary value. Redemption is not the same as payment or charge. Be it as it may, card has no value to me for insurance purposes because of this and also the issue of "delays" being interpreted unfairly.

Is this the same as other CC such as Amex and RBC Avion?

If they continue to deny my claim for flight interruption coverage for my Aeroplan award travel, I will be suing them in small claims. My argument is that, as the receipt for my travel shows, Aeroplan points are not a form of payment, they just reduce the fare to 0$. All charges due were put on my card.

AX Aeroplatinum and CIBC Aerogold Infinite include travel insurance on AP redemption flights.
It is the single reason I keep my Aero Visa ........ But will be cancelling soon.

Going to look into C1 but would never use them when a purchase may require cust service/insurance. That's for real cards - eg Plat AX and the like

I smell a class action on this one. The insurance documents need to be more explicit in saying they simply DO NOT cover ANYTHING associated with a flight for which points were used to reduce the fare in ANY way.

The wording, as it reads now, is very open to interpretation. I agree with the poster who said "they're just reducing the ticket portion of the total fare to $0 but the other fees are still payable". The "full cost of a fare" is made up of several components, including ticket cost, taxes, etc.

Class action.

Wow it sounds like it can be a mess navigating insurance coverage provided by various cards but unfortunately you don't find out until you need it....which is too late.

I just got reimbursed for hotel/car rental/meals under Trip Interruption Insurance due to a missed connection (weather affected incoming flight causing me to miss a connecting flight) with an Aeroplan flight redemption to YYZ-TPA with only taxes/fees(?) charged to my CIBC Aerogold Infinite Visa. The airline got me on a flight the next morning to MCO (my choice) so didn't incur any additional flight charges, just the overnight hotel (CLE-where I missed my connection), prepaid car rental I missed, and dinner/breakfast.

Good news, how much effort to make a claim?

Actually it was pretty easy. I sent in copies of all receipts and an email from the airline confirming the delay and received the cheque about 3 weeks later.

The only part of my claim they declined/refused was reimbursement for a Pit Pass for the pre-race on Saturday of the Daytona 500 race weekend. I don't quite understand the decline on that portion (US$30) so will be following up with them on it.

A bonus was a US$150 travel credit UA (good for one year when booked through their website) issued to me when I contacted them after my experience with the flight delay/missed connection.

Hi @marktwothousand,

It’s Andrew from Capital One. I spoke with our insurance administrator and they confirmed that if customers charge the full cost of a flight to their Capital One Aspire card through several transactions, then it does meet the requirement set out in the Certificate of Insurance. As long as the full cost of the flight was charged to the card and customers submit all the transactions (for example, the itinerary from the travel agent or airline company as well as the MasterCard statements with the transaction(s) highlighted for easy reference) as part of the back-up.

On another note, thanks for sharing the example of the detailed letter that the airline provided you concerning the purpose of your flight delay. It's exactly what a claims' administrator looks for when reviewing a submission. Having said that, if the airline had only provided you with "late inbound flight" as the reason for the delay, then the claims' administrator would reach out to the airline to acquire more detail. I think we can both agree that when airlines provide detailed reasons for cause of delay, similar to what you received, it's much more efficient and saves everyone a lot of time.

Feel free to DM any time if I can be of any assistance, and please let me know when your claim is settled.

Regards,

Andrew