The best credit cards with travel insurance

The best credit cards with travel insurance in 2026

Here are 5 of the best credit cards that offer travel insurance, based on their Finder Scores and the 2026 Finder Credit Card Awards.

1. Finder awards best travel credit card. The Bankwest Breeze Platinum Mastercard won the 2026 Finder Award for best travel credit card. With this card you and your spouse and dependent children are covered if you're traveling together. There's no minimum spend required. You're covered as long as the card is active.
2. Highly commended travel cards. There are also 7 highly commended cards in this award category, including the Bendigo Bank Ready Credit Card which has complimentary international travel insurance if you use the card to book a return trip and the Bankwest's Qantas Platinum Mastercard which offers the same travel insurance as its Breeze Platinum counterpart.
3. Best Qantas frequent flyer card with travel insurance. The Qantas American Express Ultimate Card has a Finder Score of 9.81 in the frequent flyer category. Its complimentary insurance covers domestic and international trips.
4. Best Velocity frequent flyer card with travel insurance. The American Express Velocity Platinum Card has a Finder Score of 9.51 in the frequent flyer category. It has complimentary domestic and international travel insurance, which you can activate by paying for your trip using the card.
5. Best rewards credit card with travel insurance. The ANZ Rewards Black Credit Card has a Finder Score of 9.1 in the rewards category. It offers complimentary international and domestic insurance cover. You need to make travel related purchases on the card to activate cover.

Complimentary credit card travel insurance 101

• Complimentary travel insurance is a credit card benefit that gives you insurance cover for overseas trips, domestic trips or both. In most cases, you, your partner and dependent children travelling with you are covered.
• You don't have to pay for this travel insurance, it's included with your credit card. But you typically need to book your return travel using the credit card or activate the policy online before the trip.
• Complimentary travel insurance is just one great credit card feature. But you should also look at the card's fees, the purchase rate, and whether you can earn points.

How do I find the best credit card with travel insurance cover?

1. Work out what kind of credit card you need. You wouldn't get a credit card just for travel insurance. Choose a card based on your needs. That could be a card that offers reward points, frequent flyer points or even just a low rate card. Keep in mind that not every card offers travel insurance (cheaper low rate are less likely to offer it).
2. Look at the cost of the credit card. Credit cards with overseas travel insurance typically have annual fees that range from $49 to over $450, although some cards do offer $0 annual fees in the first year or ongoing.
3. Check what kind of cover the card offers. No one likes reading the fine print (unless you work at Finder) on an insurance booklet. But it's important to know how to activate your insurance, what is covered, and who is eligible for cover.
4. Check what other features are on the card. Most credit cards that offer overseas travel insurance are platinum or higher-level accounts. So you could get benefits like frequent flyer or reward points, airport lounge passes or travel credit. Just keep in mind that these features are only worth it if you use them and can justify the card's annual fee.

Types of credit card travel insurance

• International travel insurance
  Typically gives you comprehensive cover for overseas trips, including for emergency medical and dental costs, travel delays and lost or stolen luggage.

• Transit accident insurance
  A type of cover for injuries or accidents that happen on planes, trains, buses or other eligible vehicles. It usually only applies when you're overseas.

• Rental vehicle excess insurance
  Helps cover the cost of any excess you need to pay a car hire company if there's an accident. Depending on the card's insurance policy, you could get cover on rental vehicles overseas, in Australia or both.

• Domestic interstate flight inconvenience insurance
  Offers cover for issues such as cancelled flights, flight delays of 4 hours or more, delayed or lost luggage and funeral expenses when you're flying interstate.

"I always activate my CBA Low Rate Gold card's travel insurance policy before travelling anywhere. And last year it reimbursed us over $10,000 when we had to cancel a trip to Europe because of a sudden emergency. The complimentary travel insurance covered everything we would have lost financially."

Matt Corke

Head of Publishing Ventures

Is complimentary credit card travel insurance a good deal?

"Credit card travel insurance is convenient but there are some situations where it falls short. Many don't automatically cover pre-existing medical conditions and lots come with a $500 excess. This can make smaller claims pointless. For example, my luggage was delayed on a recent trip. ​​I could have claimed to buy essentials. Instead, I made do with what I had. There's no way my expenses would have exceeded $500. In these situations, standalone travel insurance may be better."

Gary Ross Hunter

Journalist

Other credit card travel insurance costs to look for:

• Excess payments. This is what you pay when you make an insurance claim. It's typically between $0 and $500 per claim with complimentary credit card travel insurance, which is similar to the excess for paid travel insurance.
• Out-of-pocket costs. You need to cover any essential costs (e.g. medical bills) while a claim is being processed. And if your expenses are more than the claim limit, you'll be out of pocket.
• Other policy fees. If you need to request cover for a pre-existing medical condition or if you're over the maximum age for standard cover, there may be an additional premium.

How to activate credit card travel insurance

Most credit card travel insurance is automatically activated when you meet one of these criteria:

• Book a return ticket. Most credit card travel insurance policies require you to book and pay for your return ticket to Australia before your trip starts.
• Use your credit card to book your travel. Usually, you need to pay for some or all of your overseas trip with your credit card. A really simple way to do this is to use it for flights, accommodation or other major costs. If you have a rewards credit card, you may be able to activate the policy by redeeming points for some or all of your travel booking.
• Activate the policy. Sometimes you'll need to activate your credit card travel insurance online to be eligible for full cover.

How to make a claim

This process depends on the insurance provider. But as a general guide, the steps you'll need to take are:

1. Contact the insurance provider. As soon as you think you'll need to make a claim, call or email the insurance provider using the contact details in the insurance policy booklet.
2. Fill in the claim form. This is usually an online form or one that you can download and send back to the insurer.
3. Include supporting documents. It's important to provide supporting documents and evidence with your claim. These details help the insurer assess your eligibility for a payout. Some examples of what to include are:
   • Your credit card statement showing the relevant purchase/s required to activate the policy (e.g. a travel ticket)
   • A copy of a police report if you're claiming for lost or stolen items
   • Medical certificates
   • Photo evidence
   • Proof of ownership for lost, stolen or damaged items
4. Submit your application. You should receive written confirmation from the insurer once you have submitted all the details online, over the phone or by mail.

What limits and exclusions apply to credit card travel insurance?

Age limits

Most credit card travel insurance policies cover people up to the age of 79. But different age limits may apply if you have a pre-existing condition. Finder's guide on credit card insurance and age limits has more details on different age requirements.

Pre-existing medical conditions

All travel insurance policies have specific requirements around when you will and won't be covered for a pre-existing condition.

In basic terms, a pre-existing condition is anything you have been professionally diagnosed with and/or are currently being treated for before the start of your trip. For example:

• Pregnancy
• Diabetes
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Asthma
• Psychological and psychiatric conditions

Some pre-existing conditions can be automatically covered by an insurance policy and others may require you to apply for cover. Depending on the policy, some conditions may not be covered at all.

Other types of complimentary credit card insurance

Some credit cards offer complimentary insurances that relate to purchases or specific items, including:

• Purchase protection insurance. Cover for theft, accidental damage or loss of items purchased with an eligible card, typically for up to 90 days from the purchase date.
• Extended warranty insurance. Offers an extension on the manufacturer's warranty for eligible items purchased in Australia, usually for up to 12 months.
• Mobile phone insurance. A few credit cards offer insurance for mobile phones, including some MyCard and Amex cards. Depending on the policy, you could get cover for accidental damage to your smartphone screen, theft or accidental damage.

Frequently asked questions

• What should I do if I have a pre-existing medical condition?

  Credit card travel insurance cover for pre-existing medical conditions varies depending on the policy. So here's what to do before you travel:

  • Check the credit card insurance policy document to find out if your pre-existing condition is covered.
  • Contact the insurance provider (not the credit card company) and ask if there is a way for you to get coverage for the pre-existing condition.
  • Ask the insurer for confirmation that your pre-existing condition will be covered and/or that you'll be eligible for cover unrelated to the condition.

• What domestic travel insurance can I get through my credit card?

  A lot of credit cards offer interstate flight inconvenience insurance, which typically covers trips of up to 14 days when you book return flights to another state or territory in Australia. Some cards also offer rental vehicle excess in Australia insurance.

  If your international travel includes a domestic leg as part of the booking, it may also be eligible for a limited amount of cover through a credit card's international travel insurance policy.

  Credit card transit accident insurance offers cover for serious injuries or accidental death when you're travelling on a licensed plane, train, bus, ferry or other form of specified transportation. It also applies when you are boarding or leaving the transport. It's sometimes known as travel accident insurance and full details will be in each insurance policy booklet.

• Do I need to travel with all my documents to get insurance?

  Credit card travel insurance policies don't typically require you to travel with any extra documentation beyond what's needed for the trip (such as your passport, flight or other travel tickets and any required international visas).

  But it is useful to take a copy of the credit card travel insurance policy and proof you have activated the cover (e.g. a receipt showing pre-payment for the trip).

• How do I get the policy number for my complimentary travel insurance?

  You can check the credit card complimentary insurance policy booklet to see if there is a master or group policy number – this number is often used instead of an individual policy number. You could also call the insurance provider to get these details.

  If you need the policy details for a travel company or cruise, you can also ask for a letter of eligibility.

• Does credit card travel insurance cover travel agent issues?

  There is typically some cancellation cover for bookings made through travel agents. For example, if you had to cancel a trip because you were seriously injured and the travel agent you booked with charged a cancellation fee.

  But complimentary travel insurance won't cover travel agent errors and omissions. That's why you should always read the policy booklet for full details or call the insurance provider.

• Can I get cover for trips that start overseas?

  No, credit card travel insurance policies typically require your trip to start in Australia. Most policies also require you to have a return ticket to Australia before your trip.

• Does credit card travel insurance cover COVID-19?

  A lot of major banks and brands offer credit card travel insurance with some COVID-19 cover.

  • American Express
  • ANZ
  • BankSA
  • Bankwest
  • Bank of Melbourne
  • BOQ Specialist
  • Bendigo Bank

  • CommBank
  • NAB
  • P&N Bank
  • St.George
  • Virgin Money
  • Westpac

Pictures: Flaticon

To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Richard Whitten as part of our fact-checking process.

Written by

Amy Bradney-George

Journalist

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Amy is an experienced journalist with over 16 years of experience, contributing to major publications like Money Magazine, The Sydney Morning Herald, and ABC News Australia. Specialising in personal finance, she frequently appeared in media outlets and on radio. Amy holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Drama from Griffith University and earned RG146 certifications in Tier 1 Generic Knowledge and Tier 2 General Advice Deposit Products, ensuring her expertise is grounded in current financial regulations. Amy was Finder's Senior Writer for Credit Cards from 2016 to 2024. See full bio

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Amy has written 457 Finder guides across topics including:

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