bloc0102

I use my credit card. Most premium cards have it (notably absent is Amex), although when benefits kick in and coverage varies.

I generally use my Chase Sapphire Reserve (especially when just taxes on an award flight), but when I'm not as concerned about delays, the 5x MR from Amex Plat is tough to pass up.

paperwastage

I only bought insurance once, for my scuba diving trip (not many cover "extreme" sports like scuba diving, so there's limited selection)

as someone else mentioned above, it's bigger risk than my normal leisure trips

the big negative is that you have to do paperwork to file/claim insurance. it's at least an hour of work

you can self-insure (set aside $5 per trip in your savings account)

Wimsta

Thanks for responding to the thread-jack, I appreciate the thoughtfulness and help being offered.

I've spent most of my life traveling on a shoestring. The last two years have been something of an evolution for me. The first notable change was that I would rarely try to non-rev anymore. I don't have the time for playing standby anymore. The second has been realizing the value of comfort in travel.

More recently I've become the primary care-giver (though she doesn't need much) for my 73 year-old mother. She still loves to travel, but it changes the focus on comfort even more.

Last year when AF cancelled our flight due to the strikes, was the first time I ever really wondered if insurance would have been an improvement. The compensation, by EU rules, worked (though it was time consuming).

I could see buying annual coverage, if for nothing but peace of mind, but I'm not sure what it would do for me. Hence the responses I was seeing piquing my interest.

Mostly, however, it seems that there is no consensus on "best practice" and if I do decide to go on the insurance route I should do some research. Maybe the mod moving the thread I started to a different forum would be helpful for that.

Only last question here, does status on DL ultimately help in responding to issues when the come up?

flyerCO

Yes status helps. With DL, CS responds to emails quickerforthose with status. Also what you get is generally increased. I can tell you that as a DM I get hotels paid for even when it not DL fault.

ncwillett

Yes, in my experience.

And it is not uncommon for those with status, particularly at the higher levels, to have policies waived in order to be accommodated when things go awry and/or travel plans change.