Travelling abroad is nothing short of an adventure, filled with diverse cultures, interesting traditions, exciting photo opportunities and tons of new cuisine to try. However, travelling abroad also carries its own risks and unforeseen expenses. Fortunately, some of the best credit cards in UAE today offer perfectly tailored travel insurance policies, allowing cardholders to enjoy their international travel with peace of mind and unfiltered abandon.
While most people are lured in by the add-on benefits of popular credit cards such as those of airport lounge access, air miles and complimentary hotel stays, it is travel insurance that plays the most important role for trips abroad.
For frequent travellers, a measure of the best credit card in UAE is determined by the travel insurance benefits the card offers. The most popular credit card travel benefits and arguably the most important travel insurance covers are as follows:
Multi Trip Insurance
Popular credit cards in the UAE for travel typically offer multiple-trip insurance policies. The insurance policy comes into effect from the date of travel and is applicable for pre-determined trip durations. The most common type of travel insurance policy offered is the multiple trip cover for trip durations of up to 90 days. Customers that are required to make numerous international trips for work should opt for multiple trip insurance cards only.
Travel Inconveniences
Some of the best credit cards in UAE even offer travel inconvenience insurance cover. Travel inconvenience is extremely useful for unexpected delays and for protecting personal assets during travel. Travel inconvenience covers may include the following services:
- Trip Delay: Trip delays covers are a popular credit card feature which compensates the cardholder in the event that a flight is delayed, forcing the cardholder to bear additional expenses for food, lodging and medical purchase.
- Trip Cancellation: The trip cancellation service will cover the cardholder against any unforeseen trip cancellations. Trip cancellation is one of the most basic covers offered by the best credit cards in UAE.
- Missed Connections: On missing a connecting flight due to an accident or bad weather, the cardholder will be covered for the additional cost of reaching their target destination. What makes this a popular credit card travel benefit is that most airlines will provide absolutely no compensation for missed connections.
- Baggage Delay: Waiting for luggage to show up on the baggage carousel can be an excruciatingly slow task. But occasionally the bags don’t show up at all, having accidentally been routed to different destinations and other such reasons. In such cases, the best credit cards in UAE will reimburse the cardholder for the cost of purchasing travel essentials such as clothing, toiletries and medicine.
- Baggage Loss: In the event that bags are misplaced entirely, the cardholder will receive suitable compensation for the contents of their belongings, up to a specified limit. Some of the best credit cards in UAE offer as much as US$ 3,000 for lost baggage claims.
Medical Emergencies
The medical emergency cover is one of the most important credit card travel benefits offered. It can cover everything from hospital expenses to emergency evacuations and more. Many of the best credit cards in UAE will offer the following services under their medical insurance cover:
- Personal Accident: This popular credit card service covers the cardholder in case of bodily injury or even death.
- Emergency Medical Expenses: Hospitalization in a foreign land can be extremely inconvenient and expensive. Some of the best credit cards in UAE offer the cardholder support for emergency medical expenses up to US$ 500,000.
- Emergency Evacuations & Repatriation: As suggested by the name, this service covers the cardholder against emergency medical evacuations and bears the costs of repatriation of remains to the cardholder’s family members in event of death. Medical evacuations can be extremely costly without this popular credit card travel benefit.
- Daily Hospital Allowance: In the unfortunate situation that a cardholder is hospitalized, they will continue to accrue daily hospitalization charges. Even amongst the best credit cards in UAE, very few offer the cardholder a daily hospitalization allowance.
Legal & Medical Aid
Foreign medical and legal hassles can be tricky to navigate, due to the cultural and language barriers. To combat these inconveniences, most of the best credit cards in UAE provide around the clock legal and medical aid. The service includes connecting the cardholder to an English speaking representative and referring them to the appropriate legal and medical practitioners.
Over to You
Knowledge of these popular credit card benefits should prove invaluable in picking the best credit card in UAE for travel. Once you feel you are accurately represented, a final step to making the decision is identifying welcome offers. Some of the most popular credit cards in UAE not only offer travel insurance cover but also membership into attractive loyalty programs. As an added incentive, most credit card issuers also give new customers huge welcome bonuses in the form of loyalty points.
We wish you the best of luck on your journey to pick the best credit card in UAE and safe travels.
