While everyone is always talking about the points and miles you’ll earn with a certain credit card, one thing you do not want to overlook are the benefits that come along with a card. You might not have known this, but one benefit that comes with a few select credit cards is cell phone protection. As long as you pay your monthly wireless bill with that particular card, you are covered against damage or theft, which is amazing! I personally have taken advantage of this benefit many times with my Chase Ink Business Preferred credit card which has saved me a ton of money over the past year! While I wish I was more careful with my phone, I have two young kids and them throwing around my phone is just part of my everyday life! So here are the best credit cards you can get that come with this awesome cell phone protection coverage. 
Credit Cards with Cell Phone Protection
Chase Ink Business Preferred
With the Chase Ink Business Preferred credit card, you can receive up to $600 per claim with their cell phone protection benefit. While this card does come with a higher deductible than many of the other cards on the list ($100 per claim), you can file up to 3 claims per year (where many others only allow two claims per year). Also, everyone on your bill is covered and there is no limit to the number of lines.
Recap:
- Protection: $Up to $600
- Deductible: $100
- Number of claims: 3 per year
- Annual fee: $95 per year
The Chase Ink Business Preferred is actually my most preferred credit card when it comes to cell phone protection and the card that I use to pay my families wireless cell phone bill. With this card, you’ll also earn 3 points per dollar spent on all wireless services. My monthly cell phone bill for 5 of us on the plan comes to about $330 per month. With the 3x points, this means I earn close to 12,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points per year, which I value to worth about $240. Of course, I could earn even more points by using the Chase Ink Business Cash card which earns 5x points on wireless spend, it doesn’t come with the same cell phone protection (same as the Chase Ink Bold and Chase Ink Plus which are no longer available to new applicants). While those cards would net me about 20,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points per year, which I value at about $400, for the $160 difference in points, I’d absolutely prefer to use a card that gets me the cell phone protection. AppleCare would also cost my family much more per year and the benefits are not nearly as good. By using this card, my family has been reimbursed $507 in just the past year. This card also comes with an amazing welcome bonus where you can earn 80,000 Chase Ultimate Reward bonus points when you spend $5,000 on the card within the first three months.
Wells Fargo Propel American Express® Card
The Wells Fargo Propel American Express card (Learn more)Â also gives you up to $600 in protection, but has some slight differences than the Chase Ink Business Preferred. The great thing about their cell phone protection is that the deductible you pay is only $25. Let’s say your phone breaks and it only costs $150 to fix, you’ll be reimbursed $125 ($150 – $25 deductible). With the Chase Ink Business Preferred card you’d actually only be reimbursed $50 ($150 – $100 deductible). But, with this protection you are only able to file a claim twice every 12 months.
Recap:
- Protection: $Up to $600
- Deductible: $25
- Number of claims: 2 per year
- Annual fee: $0
The Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card (Learn more) is my second favorite card that comes with cell phone protection — although for some of you, you might prefer it over the Chase Ink Business Preferred. It is also a personal card vs. a business card, so it might be a better option for you if you are not eligible for a business credit card. While the $25 deductible is significantly less, only being able to file a claim twice vs. three times doesn’t work so well for my family! We maximized our claims last year and being able to file 3 claims, even with the higher deductible and annual fee, we still saved more money by using the Chase Ink Business Preferred card. If you take better care of your phone then only needing the insurance of two claims a year might work for you. One other thing to note is that this card only covers 4 lines on the cell phone bill, so if you have a larger family this might not cover everyone. This card also comes with a 30,000 point welcome offer after you spend $3,000 on the card within the first 3 months.
Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa Platinum
The Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa Platinum cards (Learn more) has the exact same cell phone protection as the Wells Fargo Propel American Express card (Learn more). This card is tied in second place for cell phone protection benefits, in my opinion. Keep in mind that actually ALL Wells Fargo personal credit cards carry the same cell phone protection, but these two are my favorite due to the welcome offer and points earned.
Recap:
- Protection: $Up to $600
- Deductible: $25
- Number of claims: 2 per year
- Annual fee: $0
The one reason to get this card over another Wells Fargo credit card is that you’ll actually earn more points on paying your cell phone bill with the card. For example, my families monthly bill is around $330. With the Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa Platinum cards (Learn more) you earn 1.5x points on all purchases. And while the Wells Fargo Propel American Express card (Learn more) offers 3x points on many category purchases (i.e., eating out, gas stations, travel, etc.), wireless cell phone bills will only earn you 1x points. This means for my families $330 bill, the Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa Platinum card will earn $60 cash back over the course of the year where the Wells Fargo Propel American Express card will only earn $40 cash back. With that being said, the Wells Fargo Propel American Express card offers a significantly higher welcome bonus where you’ll receive $300 instead of $200 with the Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa. With my monthly cell phone bill, for example, it would take 5 years to break even, which is why I suggest the Wells Fargo Propel American Express instead of this card. Of course though, it depends on your monthly bill expense!
Uber Visa Card
The Uber Visa Card is another card to consider when it comes to cell phone protection. It comes with similar coverage of up to $600 per claim, 2 claims per 12 months, and a $25 deductible. Similar to the Chase Ink Business Preferred card, it also has no limit on the number of phones that can be covered.
Recap:
- Protection: $Up to $600
- Deductible: $25
- Number of claims: 2 per year
- Annual fee: $0
If you have a lot of people on your cell phone bill that you want to be covered, but you are not eligible for the Chase Ink Business Preferred card, this card is a great option for you. While I generally prefer the two Wells Fargo cards those cards limit the protection to only 4 lines being covered. This card also comes with a low welcome offer of $100, so not as high as the Wells Fargo cards mentioned above either.
U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Credit Card
The U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Credit Card is probably my least recommended cards for cell phone protection when compared to the other cards that carry the same benefit, but is a benefit that should not be overlooked. Similar to all of the Wells Fargo cards, you’ll receive coverage up to $600 with the same $25 deductible — up to 2 claims per 12 month period as well.
Recap:
- Protection: $Up to $600
- Deductible: $25
- Number of claims: 2 per year
- Annual fee: $0
The main reason that I do not recommend this card over the Wells Fargo cards (if you are looking for a personal credit card with cell phone protection) is there is no welcome offer for the card and no rewards program. So while I do not recommend applying for this card solely for the cell phone protection, if you already have this card or want to apply because of another benefit (i.e., 0% APR offer for 20 months), then it could work for you. The Chase Ink Business Preferred or Wells Fargo cards are significantly better cards.
Overall…
Having a credit card benefit that automatically gives you cell phone protection is huge. Of course there are a few stipulations to receive coverage, such as having to pay your bill in full every month with the card, the phone cannot be rented, leased, borrowed, or on one of those “pay as you go” plans, lost phones are not covered (but stolen phones are), etc. It is also good to know that the cell phone coverage does not start until the month after you pay your entire cell phone bill. In my experience, filing a claim and getting reimbursed was a seamless process. I for one have saved a good amount of money due to the coverage and unfortunately assume I’ll be filing many more claims in years to come!
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Do you read Wells Fargo as you have to own the phone outright for it to be covered? I’m on Sprint with a monthly $20 monthly lease payment (they match $20). Then I could but after 18 months for reduced buyout price.
When I read the terms it seemed like I would not be covered.
OK, first F#ck Wells Fargo and their crooked a$$ company practices…
Just picked up the Uber card for their cell phone protection. For a no AF card, I preferred their bonus categories to what WF offers on the propel. Min spend being a decent bit lower didn’t hurt either.
Uber deductible is $25, just used it for a damaged iPhone X. Saved me $524!
wells fargo cash wise deductible is $25