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The American Express® Gold Rewards Card offers travel insurance perks and frequent flyer bonus perks at a more affordable yearly fee than the Platinum card.

“At first glance this Amex card may not look like an Aeroplan card, but it’s your best bet if you are a fan of that rewards program. Convert your points on a one-for-one basis” –  Moneysense, Best Travel Credit Cards of 2015.

Advantages

  • Unlimited medical travel insurance benefits
  • American Express offers some great signup bonuses, including no annual fee for the first year and 15,000 bonus points for signing up
  • Transfer points to frequent flyer programs, including AeroPlan®
  • Excellent customer service. Representatives answered all of our questions quickly when we called to ask about benefits.

Disadvantages

  • Travel insurance cover is only valid for those age 64 or under (this is true of almost all credit cards with travel insurance)
  • No trip cancellation insurance

What Travel Insurance Is Included?

  • Emergency medical insurance for the first 15 days of each trip for you, your spouse and dependent children. Only covers those aged 64 and under. You can call American Express to buy additional insurance if your trip is longer than 15 days.
  • Trip interruption $1,500 per person ($6,000 maximum)
  • Baggage insurance $500 total per trip (for all insured people combined)
  • Flight delay insurance $500 total for hotel, motel, restaurant and sundry expenses if our flight is delayed (and no alternate transportation is made available)
  • Accidental death and dismemberment insurance $500,000 for you, your spouse, and dependent children
  • Hotel/motel burglary $500
  • Car rental theft and damage
  • Medical and trip interruption insurance is underwritten by RBC Insurance Company of Canada. Car rental theft and damage is underwritten by Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada. Accidental death and dismemberment insurance is underwritten by ACE INA Life Insurance.

Other Perks and Details

  • Purchase and fraud protection
  • No annual fee for the first year (a $150 savings)
  • 15,000 bonus points for signing up ( you must make $500 in purchases in the first three months)
  • Transfer points to frequent flyer programs and on-to-one on AeroPlan®
  • Earn double points on travel and everyday purchases (gas, grocery and drugstore purchases)

How Can I Get An American Express Gold Card?

You can find out more about the American Express® Gold Rewards Card on Rate Supermarket.ca, one of our very favorite Canadian sites for comparing credit cards.

*As always, the information on this page is from one Canadian traveller to another. We have spent years abroad and have gotten to know the ins and outs of the industry however we are not travel insurance agents. If you have any travel insurance questions, please talk to a qualified travel insurance agent or broker. Finally, policies and plans can and do change all the time, without warning, so always consult your insurance policy since that is the legal document to which you are agreeing to.
*This article is only intended as general advice. Please check your own policy carefully.

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