Covers non-refundable deposits, prepaid excursions and unused travel and accommodation costs up to $30,000 per trip when you have to cancel or cut the trip short for a listed reason. Listed reasons include the illness, injury or death of you, a travelling companion or a close relative aged 80 or under, redundancy, jury service, and a delay of more than 24 hours on the outward leg. A ticket bought with Membership Rewards points is paid back at its retail price if the points cannot be recovered. A $250 excess applies.
American Express Gold Card insurance: what does the Gold Rewards cover actually pay?
American Express·$200/year·American Express·Chubb Insurance New Zealand Limited
1,8/5Independent review · verified October 2026
2,5
0,0
3,3
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Our Verdict · Travel Insurance
Our take on travel insurance for the American Express Gold Rewards Card
Expert review · Pauline LauroreAuthor of HelloSafe's card insurance reviews
$2.5M medical cap. Full return fare on the card. Here's what that means before you fly. You come down with a fever in Honolulu and the clinic wants payment up front: with the Amex Gold travel insurance, Chubb covers treatment up to $2,500,000 after a $250 excess (the first slice of each claim you pay yourself), but any bill over $1,500 needs Chubb Assistance's approval first. Most cardholders assume holding the card is enough. It isn't: the policy wording (the insurer's full policy document for the card's cover) only switches cover on when the full fare for a return trip went on the Gold Rewards Card, so a fare paid another way leaves you uninsured. ACC (the Accident Compensation Corporation) and the public health system pay nothing overseas, and standalone policies sold in New Zealand usually carry no dollar cap on medical. The kicker: there is no flight delay, personal liability or accidental death cover at all, and supplementary card members are not insured. If you are under 80 and pay for your return flights with the card, this cover handles the medical and cancellation side of a typical trip; if you want delay or liability cover, or travel with a pre-existing condition, a standalone policy fills the gap.
What works on travel
- $2,500,000 overseas medical, with evacuation and repatriation arranged by Chubb Assistance
- $30,000 cancellation per trip, including Membership Rewards points lost on a cancelled ticket
- Trips up to 180 days, overseas and within New Zealand more than 150 km from home
- $30,000 a year of baggage cover, $2,000 per item and $5,000 for a laptop
- Partner and dependent children aged 22 or under covered with the primary card member
Where travel breaks down
- Full return fare must go on the Gold Rewards Card: pay any other way and there is no travel cover
- Medical capped at $2,500,000 where most bank cards advertise unlimited, and only for travellers under 80
- No flight delay, missed connection, luggage delay, personal liability or accidental death cover
- Supplementary card members get no travel cover at all
- Pre-existing medical conditions excluded, with no option in the policy wording to buy cover
Our methodology
Every score is derived from official bank documents: terms and conditions, benefit guides, and claim procedures. No commercial relationship influences our ratings.
Travel Insurance · 20 guarantees
What does American Express Gold Rewards Card Travel Insurance actually cover?
Cover only exists if the full return fare went on the Gold Rewards Card. Pay the flights another way and a cancellation is not covered.
What's covered
- Non-refundable deposits and prepaid excursion costs
- Unused travel and accommodation costs you paid or must pay
- Travel agent's commission, up to $750 or 15%, whichever is less
- Other reasonable additional expenses, up to $5,000
- Retail price of a ticket bought with Membership Rewards points, if the points cannot be recovered
What's not covered
- Pre-existing medical conditions
- Changing your mind, work commitments or your financial circumstances
- Any government regulation, prohibition or restriction
- Circumstances known before you activated cover
- Travel agent or operator failure, or a tour cancelled for lack of numbers
- Costs of anyone other than the primary card member, their partner and dependent children
Medical is capped at $2.5M, not unlimited, and stops at age 80. Bills over $1,500 need Chubb Assistance's prior approval, so call before treatment.
Pays emergency treatment overseas up to $2,500,000, after a $250 excess per claim, for card members under 80 on an international return trip. Chubb Assistance must approve any medical cost above $1,500 before you incur it, wherever you can physically call. Costs incurred in New Zealand are never covered, and ACC (the Accident Compensation Corporation) and the public health system pay nothing overseas.
What's covered
- Treatment by a doctor to cure or relieve acute illness or injury overseas
- Emergency dental treatment up to $1,000
- Hospital admission arranged and costs guaranteed by Chubb Assistance
- Reasonable extra accommodation costs in a medical emergency
- Repatriation or evacuation approved by Chubb Assistance
What's not covered
- Pre-existing medical conditions (2-year look-back, any heart or circulatory condition, pregnancy within 8 weeks of the due date)
- Special Sports, including heli-skiing, ski racing, scuba diving below 30 metres and bungee jumping
- Manual work
- Costs incurred in New Zealand
- Costs after Chubb Assistance says you should return home
- Trips taken to get treatment, cosmetic treatment, and acts of terrorism
Pays to move you to the nearest hospital, evacuate you to a better-equipped one, or bring you home to New Zealand when Chubb Assistance's senior medical officer approves it. American Express lists repatriation inside the $2,500,000 medical cover, and the policy wording sets no separate cap for it. If you die on the trip, it pays to bring your remains home, for cremation, or for a local burial, up to $15,000.
What's covered
- Transport to the nearest hospital where it is not free locally
- Evacuation to an adequately equipped hospital
- Repatriation to New Zealand on medical advice
- Return home after hospitalisation when your original transport cannot be used
- Return of remains, cremation or local burial, up to $15,000
What's not covered
- Pre-existing medical conditions
- Special Sports and extreme sports
- Coffins or urns that do not meet airline standards
- Countries under a United Nations embargo
Pays emergency dental treatment overseas up to $1,000 when sudden dental pain needs treatment that cannot wait until you are home. It sits inside the medical section, so the $250 excess and the under-80 rule apply. Dentures, crowns and orthodontics are excluded.
What's covered
- Emergency dental treatment for sudden dental pain overseas
What's not covered
- Dentures, crowns and orthodontics
- Pre-existing medical conditions
- Treatment in New Zealand
No hospital cash allowance. This benefit is not included with this card. No daily allowance is paid during a hospital stay overseas, so the incidental costs of an admission are yours to cover.
What's not covered
- No hospital cash benefit in the policy wording
Reasonable extra travel and accommodation costs are paid up to $5,000 when a listed reason forces you to cancel or cut the trip short, inside the $30,000 cancellation limit. Where you have both forfeited costs and extra costs for the same night, only the higher amount is paid. A delay on its own, without a cancellation or curtailment, pays nothing.
What's covered
- Reasonable additional travel and accommodation expenses, up to $5,000
What's not covered
- Pre-existing medical conditions
- Government regulation, prohibition or restriction
- Travel provider insolvency
- Changing your plans
No travel delay cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Meals, accommodation and transport during a long delay, such as an unplanned night in Nadi, are the cardholder's responsibility.
What's not covered
- No travel delay benefit in the policy wording
No alternative transport cover. This benefit is not included with this card. The cost of alternative transport to reach a prepaid cruise, tour or event on time is out of pocket.
What's not covered
- No alternative transport or missed connection benefit in the policy wording
If the death, serious accident or acute illness of a close relative aged 80 or under sends you home, it pays reasonable extra costs to go back and finish the original itinerary, up to $5,000. You must resume the trip within 30 days, with at least two weeks or 25% of the trip left, whichever is greater. A $250 excess applies.
What's covered
- Reasonable extra costs to resume the original itinerary, less refunds for unused prepaid accommodation
What's not covered
- Close relatives aged 81 or over
- A close relative already declared terminally ill before the trip started
No luggage delay cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Clothes and toiletries bought while your bag is delayed, say on arrival in Rarotonga, are out of pocket.
What's not covered
- No luggage delay benefit in the policy wording
Valuables are not covered in checked bags or left in a car, and anything left unattended in a public place pays nothing.
Pays for lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed baggage up to $30,000 in any 365-day period, on overseas trips and on trips within New Zealand more than 150 km from home. Each item, pair or set and each valuable is capped at $2,000, a smartphone at $1,000 and a laptop at $5,000, with payment based on today's price less wear and tear. The excess is $100 per claim, or $250 for a laptop.
What's covered
- Personal baggage, clothing and personal effects
- Valuables such as jewellery, watches, cameras and computers, up to $2,000 each
- Smartphones up to $1,000
- Laptops up to $5,000
What's not covered
- Items left unattended in a public place
- Valuables in checked baggage or left in a vehicle
- Theft from a hotel room without signs of forced entry
- Sports gear damaged while in use
- Electrical or mechanical breakdown, wear and tear
- Items loaned, hired or entrusted to you
Lost or stolen cash, travellers' cheques, travel tickets, passports, visas and driving licences are covered up to $500, inside the baggage limit. A $100 excess applies, and the loss must be reported to the police within 48 hours. Shortages, errors and currency depreciation are excluded.
What's covered
- Currency and travellers' cheques
- Travel tickets, passports, visas and driving licences
- Hotel and other holiday vouchers
What's not covered
- Shortages, errors, omissions and depreciation in value
- Items left unattended in a public place
No personal liability cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Legal liability for injuring someone or damaging property overseas is uninsured, and claims of this kind commonly reach hundreds of thousands of dollars.
What's not covered
- No personal liability benefit in the policy wording
No accidental death cover. The medical section only pays to bring remains home, or for a local burial, up to $15,000. No lump sum is paid to you or your estate if an accident on the trip causes death or permanent disablement.
What's not covered
- No accidental death or disablement benefit in the policy wording
No loss-of-income cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Injured in Bali and off work for 8 weeks on your return, you get no income replacement from this card, and ACC weekly compensation only applies to injuries ACC covers.
What's not covered
- No loss of income benefit in the policy wording
The cancellation cover also applies to a return trip within New Zealand more than 150 km from home, up to $30,000 per trip, when the full fare went on the Gold Rewards Card. It pays non-refundable deposits and unused travel and accommodation costs when you cancel or cut the trip short for a listed reason. A $250 excess applies.
What's covered
- Non-refundable deposits and prepaid excursion costs
- Unused travel and accommodation costs
What's not covered
- Pre-existing medical conditions
- Changing your mind, work commitments or your financial circumstances
- Any government regulation, prohibition or restriction
No domestic delay cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Meals and accommodation during a delayed or cancelled domestic flight are the cardholder's responsibility.
What's not covered
- No travel delay benefit in the policy wording
On a domestic trip more than 150 km from home, reasonable extra travel and accommodation costs after a listed cancellation or curtailment reason are paid up to $5,000. Only the higher of forfeited costs or extra costs is paid for the same night. A $250 excess applies.
What's covered
- Reasonable additional travel and accommodation expenses, up to $5,000
What's not covered
- Pre-existing medical conditions
- Changing your plans
- Travel provider insolvency
Baggage cover applies on trips within New Zealand more than 150 km from home, sharing the same $30,000 limit per 365 days as overseas trips. Each item or valuable is capped at $2,000, a smartphone at $1,000 and a laptop at $5,000. The excess is $100, or $250 for a laptop.
What's covered
- Personal baggage, clothing and personal effects
- Money and documents up to $500
What's not covered
- Items left unattended in a public place
- Valuables in checked baggage or left in a vehicle
- Sports gear damaged while in use
No domestic luggage delay. This benefit is not included with this card. Essentials bought while your bag is delayed on a domestic flight are out of pocket.
What's not covered
- No luggage delay benefit in the policy wording
Policy document
We source benefits from official card guides, but PDFs are sometimes hard to obtain or update. Spotted something off?
Coverage Radar
Where the American Express Gold Rewards Card wins, where it loses
Coverage snapshot for this tab — click any layer to highlight its scores.
Medical repatriation: above the market average
Trip cancellation: above the market average
Hospital cash allowance: not covered by this card
Trip interruption: below the market average
Overseas emergency dental: below the market average
Compare
Gold Rewards CardThis card1.8/5?
$200/yrWith travel insuranceIdeal
Complete coverage · 5.0 / 5Premium card avg.
$297 avg. annual feeClick a layer to highlight its scores on the radar.
Side-by-side comparison
How the American Express Gold Rewards Card stacks up against the alternatives
Same 5 coverage dimensions, ranked head-to-head against the cards most Gold Rewards Card shoppers also consider.
| Card | This card Gold Rewards Card American Express · $200/yr 1.8/5? | Platinum Card American Express · $850/yr 3.6/5? | Visa Platinum Rewards ASB · $125/yr 3.2/5? | Airpoints Visa Platinum ANZ · $150/yr 3.1/5? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Trip cancellation Per person, per trip cap | $30,000 per trip All prepaid trip costs, $30,000 cap | $30,000 per person All prepaid travel, $30,000 cap | Unlimited All prepaid deposits, no dollar cap | Unlimited All prepaid travel, no dollar cap |
Emergency medical Hospital bills abroad | $2,500,000 Capped $2,500,000, overseas only | $5,000,000 Capped $5,000,000, overseas only | Unlimited Unlimited, ages 75 and under | Unlimited Unlimited under age 75 |
Emergency evacuation Air ambulance + repatriation | Within $2,500,000 medical Approved by Chubb Assistance | $5,000,000 Approved by Chubb Assistance | Unlimited Included in unlimited medical | Unlimited Included in unlimited medical |
Trip delay trigger Hours before benefits kick in | Not covered Cover this gap → | 4h / $650 Trigger: 4 hours | 6h / $400 Trigger: more than 6 hours | 6h / $250 Trigger: 6 hours |
Trip interruption Covered amount | $5,000 per trip Cancellation or curtailment, listed reasons | $5,000 per person Trip change during the trip | Unlimited Unlimited, broad list of events | Unlimited Unlimited, broad list of events |
StrongLimited / misleadingNot covered
Data verified against each card's Guide to Benefits, May 2026.
Emergency · Card assistance line
How to contact American Express Gold Rewards Card assistance?
New Zealand Claims & Enquiries (Chubb)
0800 703 702
Free call within New Zealand · Online claims any time at americanexpress.com/newzealand/claims
Chubb Assistance, medical and travel emergencies overseas
+64 9 356 3716
24/7
Benefit administrator: Chubb Insurance New Zealand Limited (Chubb Assistance) for American Express International (NZ), Inc.
Claims & pre-authorizations
How to make an Amex Gold Rewards Card insurance claim
1
Step 1: Call Chubb Assistance before treatment overseas
If you are hurt or ill overseas, call Chubb Assistance on +64 9 356 3716 with your Gold Rewards Card account number and a number where you can be reached. The policy wording says Chubb will not pay medical costs over $1,500 without its prior approval, so call before treatment wherever you physically can. Report a theft or loss to the police, carrier or hotel within 48 hours, and bags damaged in transit to the carrier within 24 hours, and keep the written reports.
2
Step 2: Lodge the claim within 20 days with proof you paid the full fare
Lodge online at americanexpress.com/newzealand/claims within 20 days of the loss, or as soon as reasonably practicable, or call 0800 703 702 (+61 2 9335 3354 from overseas) for a claim form. Send the card statement showing the full return fare was paid with the card, itemised bills, original receipts and any police or carrier report. A $250 excess comes off medical, resumption and cancellation claims and $100 off baggage claims ($250 for a laptop), and Chubb pays within 30 days once it accepts the claim.
3
Step 3: If Chubb says no, take it to FSCL
Complain first to Chubb's Complaints and Customer Resolution Service on +64 9 377 1459 or Complaints.NZ@chubb.com: it acknowledges within 5 business days and gives you a deadlock letter if the complaint is not resolved within two months. Financial Services Complaints Ltd (FSCL) then reviews the dispute for free on 0800 347 257, and the policy wording asks you to go to FSCL within 2 months of the deadlock letter. FSCL can award up to $500,000.
FAQ
What people ask about the American Express Gold Rewards Card
- You activate it by paying the full fare for a return trip with your Amex Gold Rewards Card before you travel. Holding the card is not enough, and part-paying the fare with another card can leave you uninsured. The trip must start and end in New Zealand: one-way trips are not covered, and a trip within New Zealand only counts when it takes you more than 150 km from home. Cover lasts until you get home or until the trip passes 180 consecutive days. There is no registration step. The policy wording does not say whether a fare paid with Membership Rewards points activates cover, so confirm with Chubb on 0800 703 702 before booking that way.
- The primary card member is covered, and the policy wording counts their spouse or partner as part of that, provided you have lived together for at least six months. Dependent children aged 22 or under who rely on you financially are covered too, including stepchildren and adopted children. Supplementary card members are not covered, and neither are their partners or children, even on a trip paid with the card. If your partner holds an additional card on your account, ask Chubb how the policy wording treats them before you travel. Medical cover also needs each traveller to be under 80, and work colleagues or friends on the same booking are never covered.
- No. The Amex Gold Rewards Card has no rental vehicle excess cover, overseas or in New Zealand, and no damage waiver either. The policy wording only has four sections: medical emergency expenses, resumption of journey, baggage, money and documents, and travel cancellation. So if a hire car or campervan is damaged or stolen, the excess (the amount the rental company charges you after damage or theft) is yours to pay. The one related cover is baggage: belongings stolen from a hire car are covered if they were locked out of sight and there are signs of forced entry, though valuables left in a vehicle are excluded. Buy the hire company's excess reduction or a standalone rental excess policy if you drive on holiday.
- Claims go to Chubb Insurance New Zealand, the insurer behind the card. In a medical emergency overseas, call Chubb Assistance on +64 9 356 3716 before treatment, because medical costs over $1,500 need its approval. Otherwise lodge online at americanexpress.com/newzealand/claims within 20 days of the loss, or call 0800 703 702 for a claim form, with your card account number, original receipts, itemised bills, any police or carrier report and proof the full fare went on the card. Chubb pays within 30 days of accepting a claim. If it declines and its complaints team does not fix it, Financial Services Complaints Ltd (FSCL) reviews the dispute for free and can award up to $500,000. The policy wording asks you to go there within 2 months of Chubb's deadlock letter.
- Five gaps catch people. If the full return fare did not go on the card, there is no travel cover at all. Pre-existing medical conditions are excluded, including any heart or circulatory condition you have ever had, and the policy wording offers no way to buy that cover. Medical cover needs you to be under 80, and claims linked to a close relative aged 81 or over are refused. There is no flight delay, missed connection, luggage delay, personal liability, accidental death or rental car excess cover. And heli-skiing, ski racing, scuba diving below 30 metres, acts of terrorism and travel provider insolvency are excluded, as is any medical cost incurred in New Zealand.
- Yes for recreational skiing and snowboarding overseas, with no paid extension. They are not on the policy wording's Special Sports list, so a ski injury abroad falls under the $2,500,000 medical cover after a $250 excess, and Chubb Assistance can arrange transport to hospital. Heli-skiing, ski racing, ski jumping, ski stunting, paraskiing and skidoo are excluded, and so are extreme sports needing special equipment, training and preparation, which leaves off-piste skiing uncertain. Your own skis count as baggage up to $2,000 per item, but not while in use. There is no personal liability, ski hire or unused lift pass cover, and an injury on a New Zealand ski field is never paid by the card.
- Partly. A return trip within New Zealand counts when it takes you more than 150 km from home and the full fare went on the Amex Gold Rewards Card. On those trips, cancellation cover up to $30,000, extra travel and accommodation costs up to $5,000 inside that limit, and baggage, money and documents cover all apply. Medical cover does not: it only applies on international return trips, and costs incurred in New Zealand are excluded, so ACC and the public health system remain your safety net at home. There is no flight delay or luggage delay cover on a domestic trip either. A weekend away 100 km from home is not covered at all.
- Often, yes, depending on the trip. Medical is capped at $2,500,000, while standalone policies sold in New Zealand usually carry no dollar cap on overseas medical, which matters most on a long hospital stay in Honolulu. This American Express travel insurance also has no flight delay, personal liability, accidental death or rental car excess cover, excludes pre-existing conditions with no way to buy cover, and stops medical cover at 80. Supplementary card members are not insured at all. For a short overseas trip with no pre-existing conditions, paid in full on the card, the medical and cancellation cover handles the main risks. If any of the other gaps apply to your trip, a standalone policy fills them.
- No. Pre-existing medical conditions are excluded from every section of the Amex Gold Rewards Card insurance, and the policy wording offers no medical assessment or extra premium to add them. The definition is wide: any condition that caused symptoms, treatment, medication, a consultation or a check-up in the 2 years before you booked the trip, any heart or circulatory condition at any time (high blood pressure and raised cholesterol included), and a pregnancy within 8 weeks of the due date. So a long-managed blood pressure condition can sink a heart-related claim overseas. If you travel with a condition like that, a standalone policy that assesses it is the only way to be covered.
- Yes. The Amex Gold Rewards Card, which costs $200 a year, includes complimentary travel insurance underwritten by Chubb Insurance New Zealand. It covers overseas medical emergencies up to $2,500,000 including repatriation, travel cancellation up to $30,000 per trip, resumption of journey up to $5,000, and baggage, money and documents up to $30,000 a year. The cover only applies when you pay the full fare for a return trip with the card, and the cancellation and baggage cover also work on trips within New Zealand more than 150 km from home. It does not include rental car excess, flight delay or purchase protection, so compare it with what your trip needs before you rely on it.
Not just American Express
Other cards worth considering
Gold Rewards Card is a strong choice — but depending on what you prioritize, one of these may suit you better.
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