Capital One World Mastercard removes Travel Insurance

acc

I use Capital One's World Mastercard, which gives free world travel insurance and 1% cashback, and Capital One say they will remove the travel insurance from 1 November 2009 and pay an annual £10 cashback bonus instead.

Can you credit card experts please advise me on whether this card is still a good deal, or recommend a better alternative?

Thanks.

mrmajika

I think the general consensus was that the travel insurance wasn't comprehensive enough. I certainly never used it.

I still use this card as one of my "main" cashback cards for the uncapped 1%. I too got the letter today regarding this £10 cashback bonus, but with no further information as to how it works. I would assume that not everyone will get this!? There is no mention of a minimum spend to receive the £10, but I'd doubt they'd give this to dormant cards.

shinydoc

I got the letter today and was a little puzzled. It is Mastercard themselves that supply the travel insurance/ CDW Policy, not Capital One, so I wonder if this is just being withdrawn because if the recession hitting Mastercard?

I thought the Policy was actually quite comprehensive and this is the 2nd time that this has happened to me - MBNA did a 'Beyond' card that had similar benefits and they withdrew this about 18months ago too.

I know you can get these type of benefits on a card you pay for, but it's still cheaper to get single trip or annual then pay for the load of additional benefits you never use.

We have insurance for 4 of us to go to the US and it was essentially no more to put the kids on it! It only cost about £26 for all of us.

Chris2000

The insurance cover was not provided by Mastercard. Most of the benefits were provided by AIG. Travel Assistance was provided by AXA.

Regarding the new £10 annual cashback bonus, the Q&A on the back of the letter are quite clear, "...it is not subject to you making a purchase."

shinydoc

Chris2000 wrote: »

The insurance cover was not provided by Mastercard. Most of the benefits were provided by AIG. Travel Assistance was provided by AXA.

Regarding the new £10 annual cashback bonus, the Q&A on the back of the letter are quite clear, "...it is not subject to you making a purchase."

I said supply, and what I meant was it was not directly paid for as a benefit by Capital One themselves, but more by Mastercard as a feature of their 'World' card.(http://www.credit-card-comparison-online.co.uk/articles/world-mastercard.html) I thus cannot see their saving by withdrawing it, but maybe they pay Mastercard a small premium to issue this card?

I have written to Mastercard directly to see if they are withdrawing this from other providers, although I think Capital One are the only ones offering this in the UK.

roddydogs

As the insurance was dependant on you paying the full amount on the CC, which then costs you 2% , it was virtually useless anyway.

INT1

roddydogs wrote: »

As the insurance was dependant on you paying the full amount on the CC, which then costs you 2% , it was virtually useless anyway.

The full amount of the travel, you were covered if it was over 75% I think?

I found the CDW to be very handy when booking hire cars, guess will have to try and find another card that offers that, does AMEX cover CDW?

Not fussed about travel insurance as get that free with HSBC Plus account

KDH_2

shinydoc wrote: »

I said supply, and what I meant was it was not directly paid for as a benefit by Capital One themselves, but more by Mastercard as a feature of their 'World' card.(http://www.credit-card-comparison-online.co.uk/articles/world-mastercard.html) I thus cannot see their saving by withdrawing it, but maybe they pay Mastercard a small premium to issue this card?

I have written to Mastercard directly to see if they are withdrawing this from other providers, although I think Capital One are the only ones offering this in the UK.

I'm pretty sure the Egg Money card is now a "World" Mastercard and all these benefits have only recently been ADDED to their cards

shinydoc

KDH wrote: »

I'm pretty sure the Egg Money card is now a "World" Mastercard and all these benefits have only recently been ADDED to their cards

Yes, you are correct, shame they charge a monthly fee though, even if it is only £1 - hardly seems worth it!

shinydoc

Just checked the table of travel insurance benefits and they are nowhere near as comprehensive as the Capital One benefits.:(

acc

Thanks for your comments folks. I thought the Capital One travel insurance benefits were adequate, and did make use of their policy, but need to start taking out a separate policy. I'll continue using this card as my main card for the moment, as the 1% cashback is still competitive, so the £10 per annum will go toward the separate insurance policy.