Purchase Protection - Not often discussed here

[Open123]

From my own personal experience, those I know IRL and various reports of experiences of those on the net, Amex’s warranty, purchase protection, and handling of Merchant disputes is without peer. With most claims, Amex handles this process quickly and with very little hassle.

For any large purchase, I would ONLY use an Amex period. The difficulties and additional steps involved with claims with Visa/MC/Discover aren’t worth the hassle, in my view.

All Amex cards have a similar Warranty protection. Any purchase up to $10,000, on any Amex card, extends the Manufacturer’s warranty an extra year, but not to exceed five. In other words, if your products warrant is 2 years, then Amex will cover it for year 3. If a product’s warrant is 5 years, then there is no extension.

For Purchase protection, up to 90 days coverage for theft or accidental damage, Amex Platinum and PR Gold offers coverage for $10K per claim, and $50K in aggregate claims per calendar year. All other Amex cards are limited to $1K per claim, but still allowed up to $50K per year.

Moreover, for Merchant disputes, Amex may at their discretion issue a chargeback in the cardmember’s favor without any input from the Merchant (they don’t even have a right to present their side without being asked by Amex), and no right of appeal. In other words, if Amex believes you, that’s enough, unlike with Visa/MC/Discover.

For these reason, I will only make certain high priced purchases on my Amex cards, the Plat if I require $10K accidental/theft protection. With these purchases, I forgo the extra rewards, and will ONLY make these purchases from those Merchants who accept Amex.

[Anonymous]

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@Open123 wrote:

From my own personal experience, those I know IRL and various reports of experiences of those on the net, Amex’s warranty, purchase protection, and handling of Merchant disputes is without peer. With most claims, Amex handles this process quickly and with very little hassle.

For any large purchase, I would ONLY use an Amex period. The difficulties and additional steps involved with claims with Visa/MC/Discover aren’t worth the hassle, in my view.

All Amex cards have a similar Warranty protection. Any purchase up to $10,000, on any Amex card, extends the Manufacturer’s warranty an extra year, but not to exceed five. In other words, if your products warrant is 2 years, then Amex will cover it for year 3. If a product’s warrant is 5 years, then there is no extension.

For Purchase protection, up to 90 days coverage for theft or accidental damage, Amex Platinum and PR Gold offers coverage for $10K per claim, and $50K in aggregate claims per calendar year. All other Amex cards are limited to $1K per claim, but still allowed up to $50K per year.

Moreover, for Merchant disputes, Amex may at their discretion issue a chargeback in the cardmember’s favor without any input from the Merchant (they don’t even have a right to present their side without being asked by Amex), and no right of appeal. In other words, if Amex believes you, that’s enough, unlike with Visa/MC/Discover.

For these reason, I will only make certain high priced purchases on my Amex cards, the Plat if I require $10K accidental/theft protection. With these purchases, I forgo the extra rewards, and will ONLY make these purchases from those Merchants who accept Amex.

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Hmmm, I'm only seeing $1k when I look online for PRG (and I admit, I didn't check Plat before...that one IS $10k). I haven't gone to get my paper T & C for the PRG, and we know AmEx's site has been a bit wonky. But it's only saying $1k for me. WAIT...

Digging deeper...

IMPORTANT NOTICE Purchases made prior to November 15, 2015, are eligible for Purchase Protection, which can help protect eligible purchases for up to 90 days from the date of purchase if the item is stolen or accidentally damaged with coverage up to $1,000 per occurrence. Purchases made on or after November 15, 2015, are eligible for increased Purchase Protection coverage which can help protect your purchase for up to 90 days from the date of purchase if the item is stolen, accidentally damaged, or lost with coverage up to USD $10,000 per occurrence. Existing Card Members will be informed of this benefit enhancement as part of their September 2015 billing statement.

Thanks for making me check. I'm pretty sure you're the one who said something on another thread that sparked this. 

[yfan]

My understanding is that for the most part on Visa and MC products, the purchase protection is provided by the networks, not the banks. Banks certainly may provide additional coverage if they choose on select products.

But the discusison on purchase protection is a worthy one. I have said more than once that I have saved more money using purchase protection, extended warranty and price protection (this is when an issuer or network covers the price difference if the price of a covered item within a given period of time - Mastercard does this for 60 days with World and World Elite covering this 120 days, Discover does this for 90 days) - then I have on straight cashback. These considerations govern my major purchases for cashback. Cashback is the second consideration - if the coverage with the o thers are roughly equivalent.