Which travel insurance policies cover miles and points bookings?

Those of us who collect miles and points will know that they’re as valuable as cash. Even if you’re not explicitly paying for them (e.g. buying miles or hotel points from the loyalty programmes themselves, or via services like CardUp/Citi PayAll), there’s always an implicit cost involved in earning them (in the sense that you could have swiped a cashback card instead).

The problem is, travel insurers rarely see things the same way. In fact, the vast majority of policies explicitly exclude frequent flyer miles or points.

This means that if a medical or family emergency prevents you from taking your trip, you won’t be able to get a refund of your flight and hotel expenses if they’ve been redeemed with miles and points!

To guard against this, it’s highly advisable that you purchase a travel insurance policy with coverage for miles and points, and we’ll look at the options in Singapore. 

Aren’t miles and points bookings refundable?

Miles and points bookings are generally refundable, but there can be situations where you may not be able to get your miles or points back. 

It depends on the loyalty programme, as well as when the cancellation is made. 

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

KrisFlyer’s policies are actually quite lenient. You can cancel your flight anytime up till the scheduled departure time and pay a US$75 (Saver) or US$50 (Advantage) fee per passenger to get all your miles and taxes refunded.

Even if you fail to show up for your flight altogether, you can still get a refund of your miles, subject to paying a no-show fee on top of the refund fee. 

However, if you book a Spontaneous Escapes ticket, the rules are different. Spontaneous Escapes awards are strictly non-changeable and non-refundable, so if you can’t fly, you lose your miles. I have heard of anecdotal exceptions, but since that’s the official policy, you shouldn’t go in expecting the same to be granted to you.

Other FFPs

Most FFPs allow you to cancel and get a full refund of your miles so long as you do it before the flight departs, but some (e.g. British Airways and Etihad) have stricter policies.

Here’s a summary of the more popular programmes in Singapore:

Hotels

With hotel loyalty programmes, the cancellation window will vary depending on property. In some cases, it may be 24 hours before arrival, in the case of popular resorts like the Maldives, it may be as much as three months or more.

Cancelling outside this window results in a penalty that is usually charged in cash, not points. With Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt, you’ll receive a full refund of your points, but you will need to pay at least the first night’s cash rate, if not more. 

Which travel insurance policies cover miles and points?

The way I see it, there’s two main scenarios where your airline/hotel cancellation may fall outside the cancellation window.

• Trip Cancellation: When a covered event causes you to have to cancel your trip before it begins (e.g. falling sick the day of departure)
• Trip Curtailment: When a covered event causes you to have to abandon your original trip and return home (e.g. death of a family member mid-way through your trip)

Before we talk about specific policies, here’s a few general pointers to note. 

First, compensation can only be claimed if your miles/points are not recoverable. If it’s possible to pay a cancellation fee and get your miles/points back (e.g. Saver or Advantage awards on KrisFlyer), you cannot make a claim for the miles/points under your travel insurance policy (though you may be able to claim the cancellation fee).

Second, your trip must have been cancelled/disrupted for a covered reason. Changing your mind is not valid grounds for a claim, unless you purchase Singlife’s travel insurance policy and make a claim under the “cancel for any reason” clause (which pays you 50% of the expenses incurred, capped at S$5,000 and once per period of insurance).

Third, the general approach that insurers take when valuing miles and points is to look at the retail value of the flight ticket or hotel booking. That actually works out in your favour- I’d rather be reimbursed for the cash value of a Business Class ticket than at 1-2 cents per mile! 

Fourth, even though cancellation policies are stated in black and white on most airline/hotel websites, most insurers will still require you to contact the loyalty programme and get  written confirmation that your miles/points cannot be refunded. I imagine they do this to minimise their own liability, in the off chance that the loyalty programme decides to grant a one-off exception due to extenuating circumstances.

Miles and points coverage is not a common feature among travel insurance policies in Singapore, but I’ve managed to find several which do.

AMEX My Travel Insurance

Apply here
Policy Name	My Travel Insurance
Loss of Frequent Flyer Miles or Points	Essential: S$5,000 Standard: S$10,000 Superior: S$20,000
Policy Wording	Link

AMEX My Travel Insurance, underwritten by Chubb, provides up to S$20,000 of coverage for forfeited loyalty points and miles. 

There’s currently an ongoing promotion that offers additional gifts for those who purchase at least a Standard plan. 

In addition to this, American Express cardholders who purchase their plans (whether single-trip or annual) via my referral link will enjoy an extra S$15 eCapitaVoucher (if the link has expired, drop me a note in the comments and I’ll update it).

For avoidance of doubt, you’ll receive one welcome gift and one referral gift per policy purchased, so for example, someone who buys 2x single-trip Superior plans will get 2x S$40 eCapitaVoucher + 2x S$15 eCapitaVoucher .

DBS TravellerShield Plus

Apply here
Policy Name	TravellerShield Plus
Loss of Frequent Flyer Miles or Points	Classic: N/A Premier: S$5,000 Platinum: S$7,500
Policy Wording	Link

DBS TravellerShield Plus was recently refreshed to provide up to S$7,500 of coverage for the loss of frequent flyer miles and points. Do note that the cap here is per individual; if you purchase the family plan, the coverage goes up to S$22,500.

DirectAsia TripSaviour

Apply here
Policy Name	TripSaviour
Loss of Frequent Flyer Miles or Points	Classic: S$10,000 Deluxe: S$15,000 Platinum: S$15,000 (S$25,000 for Annual)
Policy Wording	Link

Citibank sells a policy underwritten by DirectAsia called TripSaviour, which provides coverage for frequent flyer points of up to S$25,000 for the annual Platinum plan. The coverage can be as high as S$62,500 on a family basis, making this one of the highest coverage plans.

The Platinum tier also has a “cancel for any reason” clause that allow you to recoup 50% of the non-recoverable expenses, capped at S$5,000 (individual) or S$12,500 (family). This is claimable once per period of insurance. In other words, if you’ve booked a trip with miles and points but decide not to travel, and the reason is not a covered reason, you can invoke this clause and get reimbursed for any non-recoverable miles and points.

Singlife Travel Insurance

Apply here
Policy Name	Travel Insurance
Loss of Frequent Flyer Miles or Points	Lite: N/A Plus: S$15,000 Prestige: S$20,000
Policy Wording	Link

Singlife works a little differently. The policy covers the loss of frequent flyer miles and points for the Plus and Prestige tiers, but doesn’t state an explicit value.

Instead, you need to read that section in conjunction with the sections on trip cancellation, in which case the coverage is up to S$20,000, or trip interruption in which case the coverage is up to S$15,000.

Also note that the Plus and Prestige tiers have a “cancel for any reason” clause that allow you to recoup 50% of the non-recoverable expenses, capped at S$5,000 (Plus) or S$7,500 (Prestige). This is claimable once per period of insurance. In other words, if you’ve booked a trip with miles and points but decide not to travel, and the reason is not a covered reason, you can invoke this clause and get reimbursed for any non-recoverable miles and points.

Applications via SingSaver currently earn you an extra 4 miles per S$1, regardless of which card you pay with. Extra discounts can be enjoyed if you’re an existing MINDEF/MHA/POGIS policyholder; you’ll be prompted for this during the application process.

Klook Protect

Apply here
Policy Name	Klook Protect
Loss of Frequent Flyer Miles or Points	Lite: S$2,500 Essential: S$5,000 Deluxe: S$7,500
Policy Wording	Link

Klook Protect, underwritten by Zurich Insurance, is similar to Singlife in that it doesn’t state an explicit amount for loss of frequent flyer miles and points. Instead, you should refer to the sections on travel cancellation, where coverage is up to S$7,500.

Other policies

There are a few other policies on the market which cover the loss of miles and points, but their coverage amounts are so insubstantial I don’t think it’s worth the effort to list them out in detail.

Conclusion

If you plan to pay for your holiday with miles and points, you should absolutely get a travel insurance policy which covers them, just in case. 

I’m quite curious to know how travel insurers actually value miles and points, so if you have any experiences with claims, do share them.

Do you know of any other travel insurance policies with miles and points coverage?