Stranded from Hurricane Hermine? Your Credit Card Might Reimburse You!

With Hurricane Hermine coming up the coast, there are many flights canceled or delayed. While many people might be happy extending their long weekend vacation, the cost of spending an extra night at a hotel can absolutely add up. One credit card perk (primarily offered by Chase, Discover, and Citibank) that is many times forgotten about is travel delay reimbursement.

If you booked your airfare with the following credit cards, you are entitled to these reimbursements:

• Chase Credit Cards (Marriott Premier Rewards, Ritz Carlton Rewards, IHG, Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire, Ink Bold, Ink Plus, Ink Cash, United MileagePlus, United MileagePlus Explorer): For delays of 12+ hours or requires an overnight stay, you can get reimbursed up to $500 per ticket for lodging and meals. From the terms it says you need to purchase either a portion or the entire cost of your airfare using your card. However, I’ve read many mixed results on using miles for your airfare and your Chase card for the taxes/fees.

• Escape by Discover Credit Card: For delays of 6+ hours get up to 3 consecutive days of expenses covered of $150 per day for lodging and meals. You can learn more about this here.

• Citi: If your flight is delayed for 12+ hours, you can get up to $500 in reasonable travel expenses (including hotel, ground transportation, meals, toiletries). If you have the Citi Prestige or Citi AAdvantage Executive card you can get a refund for these expenses if you trip is delayed just 3+ hours. You must purchase your ticket in full on the respective card.  Just paying the taxes/fees on an award ticket will not qualify you for this coverage. You can learn more about this here.

If there are any others that I am forgetting, feel free to list them in the comments section to help out other readers. Make sure to get full documentation of your flight delay or flight cancellation. You will need this information when submitting it to the respective credit card company. Also, you’ll need to use the card you used to book the flight on your extra out of pocket expenses. Also, make sure to keep all receipts for reimbursement.

I’ve only used this before with Chase and the process went smoothly. I personally only use Chase credit cards that offer this protection when booking flights.

Has anyone used this benefit before and what was your experience? To learn more about many of these credit cards listed above, check out this page. I have many of the cards listed out, including full blog posts on the perks, sign up bonus, benefits, etc.