Have you ever read the details of your BMO flight delay insurance provided by your credit card?
Understanding flight delay insurance can be beneficial when your flight is delayed or cancelled. I have worked with many clients who have encountered long delays, including overnight delays, that have been made for more comfortable because we could leverage their flight delay insurance to recover significant costs incurred due to a flight delay.
I have summarized important details about the flight delay insurance provided by your BMO credit card.
The following credit cards have BMO flight delay insurance:
- BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Privilege | Certificate of Insurance
- BMO Ascend World Elite MasterCard | Certificate of Insurance
- BMO Cashback World Elite MasterCard | Certificate of Insurance
- BMO Air Miles World Elite MasterCard | Certificate of Insurance
Other insurance benefits information for being a BMO credit card holder is available here:
The information listed below is my interpretation of the insurance policy.
When to use flight delay insurance?
Flight delay insurance provides coverage for reasonable living expenses such as accommodations and other travel expenses when your flight is delayed due to a covered reason. In many scenarios, it might be difficult to get compensation from the airlines so credit card insurance might be easier to work with.
The flight delay insurance takes into effect when your scheduled flight departure is delayed by more than 4 hours.
Coverage Eligibility
The following conditions apply prior to being eligible to use the flight delay insurance:
- The full cost of the delayed flight was charged to the credit card,
- The delayed flight is a scheduled service by an airline.
The BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Privilege has a maximum coverage amount of $1,000, in total, for all insured person.
All other BMO credit cards have a maximum coverage amount of $500, in total, for all insured person.
Who is covered?
BMO covers the following individuals:
- The primary cardholder, or,
- The spouse of the primary cardholder.
It is not clear if the spouse needs to be traveling with the cardholder. As it is unclear, we would suggest using another credit card that will explicitly cover cardholders spouse or dependent children when not traveling with the cardholder.
Claim Information
If you find yourself needing to use the BMO flight delay insurance, you should call 1-877-704-0341 in Canada or the United States. From anywhere else in the world, call collect to: +1-519-741-0782.
You should initiate the claim within 90 days of the flight delay and you will need the following documents to complete your claim formalities:
- A fully completed claim form, signed by the primary cardholder or the spouse of the primary cardholder,
- A copy of the airline ticket; and,
- A copy of the credit card statement showing the cost of the ticket purchase; and,
- Original itemized expense receipts; and
- A statement by the airline confirming the date and time of the carrier delay and the reason surrounding the delay.
As usual, the claims administrator might request for additional details at their discretion.
Conclusion
The flight delay insurance has been incredibly valuable during any delays. I have made multiple successful claims, and it has been a blessing during bad travel days, that often impact all of us at some point in time.
I love that BMO does not impose any reasons for a flight delay. If your flight is delayed by more than 4 hours, you will be eligible to use the flight delay insurance. BMO will also not cover any authorized users on the credit card for flight delay insurance.
