Can I still get the Kiwibank Airpoints Visa?

No. Kiwibank stopped offering the Air New Zealand Airpoints Low Fee Visa and the Airpoints Platinum Visa on 27 May 2025, and the Airpoints Standard Visa had already been withdrawn. Kiwibank and Air New Zealand ended the partnership: cardholders could keep earning Airpoints until 31 October 2025, and Kiwibank then moved them to its Platinum Visa automatically. So if you held an Airpoints Visa, the card in your wallet today is most likely a Platinum Visa, with a $25 account fee every six months, the same as the old Low Fee card. That switch matters for travel. The Platinum Visa carries Kiwibank's complimentary travel insurance, underwritten by Tower Limited, while the Low Fee and Standard Airpoints cards carried none. Check which card you hold before you book your next trip.

How do I activate the Kiwibank Airpoints Visa complimentary travel insurance?

You can't, because the Kiwibank Airpoints Visa (the Low Fee and Standard versions) came with no complimentary travel insurance to activate. Kiwibank's credit card travel insurance policy wording (the insurer's full policy document), underwritten by Tower Limited and managed by Allianz Partners, names only the Platinum Visa and the Airpoints Platinum Visa as insured cards. If your account was moved to the Platinum Visa, its cover switches on when you spend at least $500 on prepaid travel costs for an overseas trip, or $250 for a domestic trip, with the card within 12 months before departure. There is no registration step, though Allianz Partners' checkyourcover.co.nz tool lets you confirm you qualify. You also need to live in New Zealand, be a citizen or resident and hold a return ticket.

Who is covered under my Kiwibank Airpoints Visa complimentary insurance?

Nobody, because the Kiwibank Airpoints Visa came with no complimentary insurance: not you as the cardholder, and not a partner or children travelling with you, whoever paid for the trip. If your account has since moved to the Kiwibank Platinum Visa, its Tower policy covers you and members of your family travelling with you. Each of them must live in New Zealand, be a New Zealand citizen or resident and hold a return ticket, and the cover must have been activated with at least $500 of prepaid travel costs on the card for an overseas trip. You also need to hold a valid Platinum Visa when you book and for the whole trip. Read the definition of Family in the policy wording before you rely on it for a child or partner.

Does the Kiwibank Airpoints Visa cover rental car excess?

No. The Kiwibank Airpoints Visa has no rental vehicle excess cover, so after damage to or theft of a hire car, the excess (the amount the rental company charges you) is yours to pay, overseas or in New Zealand. The Platinum Visa that replaced it is different for overseas hires: its Tower policy reimburses up to $6,000 of rental vehicle excess, as long as you were the driver, rented from a licensed rental agency, kept to the rental agreement and the vehicle's insurer accepted the claim. It pays back the excess; it is not a damage waiver. Hires on a domestic trip within New Zealand are not covered by that section, so for a campervan at home, take the rental company's excess reduction or a standalone rental excess policy.

How do I make a claim on my Kiwibank Airpoints Visa insurance?

There is nothing to claim on: the Kiwibank Airpoints Visa carried no travel insurance, so no insurer handles claims for trips paid with it. If you now hold the Kiwibank Platinum Visa and activated its cover, claims go to Allianz Partners, which manages the policy for the underwriter Tower Limited. Lodge online at claimmanager.co.nz or call 0800 876 541 (Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm), and call +64 9 486 6868 for 24/7 emergency help overseas. Keep itemised bills, any police or airline report, and the card statement showing your prepaid travel costs went on the card. If a claim is declined and Allianz Partners' complaints process doesn't fix it, the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme (IFSO Scheme) is free and independent, usually within 3 months of reaching deadlock, and can award up to $500,000 + GST.

What does the Kiwibank Airpoints Visa not cover?

The Kiwibank Airpoints Visa carries no complimentary insurance, so there is no overseas medical, cancellation or baggage cover, and no purchase protection or extended warranty. That means no emergency medical or evacuation cover overseas, where ACC (the Accident Compensation Corporation) and the public health system pay nothing for treatment. There is no travel delay or trip curtailment cover either, and no rental car excess, ski cover or personal liability. The replacement Platinum Visa fills part of that gap, with its own limits: cover only starts after $500 of prepaid overseas travel costs go on the card, stops after 40 days per trip, and gives no automatic medical cover from age 75. Pre-existing medical conditions are not automatically covered either, though you may be able to add them for an extra premium.

Does the Kiwibank Airpoints Visa cover skiing or snowboarding?

No. The Kiwibank Airpoints Visa has no snow-sports cover of any kind: no ski injury medical costs, no mountain rescue, no cover for your own or hired gear and no refund of an unused lift pass. On a ski trip out of Tokyo, a broken wrist treated in Japan quickly reaches five figures, and ACC doesn't pay for treatment overseas. If your account moved to the Kiwibank Platinum Visa, its Tower policy only excludes skiing and snowboarding outside ski resort boundaries, so its overseas medical cover can apply to a fall on a marked run once the trip is activated. Skis and snowboards are left out of the baggage cover unless they are damaged in transit with a licensed commercial transporter, or burnt or stolen from locked accommodation, so check the policy wording before you rely on it for gear.

Do I still need separate travel insurance if I had the Kiwibank Airpoints Visa?

Yes, unless your account has moved to the Kiwibank Platinum Visa and you put the trip on it. The Airpoints Visa itself includes no travel insurance, so a trip paid with it leaves you exposed to hospital bills, an air ambulance home and non-refundable bookings, and a few nights in a Honolulu hospital commonly run to six figures. The Platinum Visa covers overseas medical and repatriation up to $40,000,000 for travellers under 75, once $500 of prepaid overseas travel costs go on the card, but only for the first 40 days of each trip. A standalone New Zealand travel policy still makes sense for a longer trip, for travellers aged 75 and over, or for anyone with a pre-existing condition that Allianz Partners won't add to the card's cover.

Does Kiwibank Platinum Visa travel insurance cover former Airpoints cardholders?

Yes, once you hold the Platinum Visa and meet its rules, because the Tower policy covers the card you hold now, not the one you used to have. Kiwibank moved Airpoints cardholders to the Platinum Visa automatically after Airpoints earning ended on 31 October 2025. From then on, cover depends on the Platinum Visa's activation rule: at least $500 of prepaid travel costs for an overseas trip, or $250 for a domestic one, charged to the card within 12 months before departure. Cover activated before 1 July 2025 falls under the previous policy wording, with claims through Tower. The current wording also requires a valid insured card when you book and for the whole trip, so keep the card active until you are home.

Kiwibank Airpoints credit card closed: does any travel insurance still cover you?

Kiwibank·$50/year·Visa

Pauline LauroreAuthor of HelloSafe's card insurance reviewsUpdated 27 October 20268 min read

0,0/5Independent review · verified October 2026

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Our Verdict · Travel Insurance

Our take on travel insurance for the Kiwibank Airpoints Visa

Expert review · Pauline LauroreAuthor of HelloSafe's card insurance reviews

No longer sold. No travel insurance either. Kiwibank stopped selling the Airpoints Visa on 27 May 2025, let cardholders earn Airpoints until 31 October 2025, and then moved them to its Platinum Visa automatically. So, you're in a Honolulu clinic after a fall, on a trip paid with the old Low Fee card, and the front desk wants payment up front: that card had no overseas medical, evacuation, cancellation or baggage cover behind it. Most people assume Kiwibank credit card travel insurance came with every Airpoints card, but the Tower policy names only the Platinum Visa and the Airpoints Platinum Visa as insured cards, and ACC (the Accident Compensation Corporation) pays nothing for treatment overseas. Covered on the replacement card? Yes, once $500 of prepaid travel costs for an overseas trip go on the Platinum Visa, for up to 40 days per trip. If your trips are short and paid on that card, it does the job; if you travel for longer or pay another way, a standalone New Zealand travel policy is the safer route.

What works on travel

Automatic move to the Platinum Visa: Kiwibank switched Airpoints cardholders to a card that carries Tower travel insurance
Same $25 account fee every six months on the Platinum Visa as on the old Airpoints Low Fee Visa
Platinum Visa cover adds domestic trips: activated with $250 of prepaid travel costs for a trip within New Zealand

Where travel breaks down

No longer sold: Kiwibank stopped offering the Airpoints Visa on 27 May 2025
No complimentary travel insurance on the Low Fee or Standard Airpoints Visa: trips paid with it had no cover
No overseas medical or evacuation cover: ACC and the public health system pay nothing for treatment overseas
Replacement cover stops at 40 days per trip: a longer journey has no cover after day 40

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 Kiwibank Airpoints Visa Travel Insurance actually cover?

No trip cancellation. This benefit is not included with this card. Prepaid flights, hotels and tours are not reimbursable if you cancel, and a non-refundable week in Tokyo for two commonly runs to several thousand dollars.

No overseas medical cover. This benefit is not included with this card. All medical costs overseas are the cardholder's responsibility, because ACC and the public health system don't pay for treatment overseas, and a few nights in a Honolulu hospital commonly run to six figures.

No evacuation or repatriation. This benefit is not included with this card. Evacuation and repatriation costs are entirely the cardholder's responsibility, and an air ambulance from Bali to New Zealand commonly costs six figures.

No emergency dental cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Emergency dental treatment overseas is out of pocket, because ACC and the public health system don't pay for treatment overseas.

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.

No travel disruption cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Extra accommodation and transport after a disruption, such as a cyclone closing Nadi airport, are the cardholder's responsibility.

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.

No missed connection 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.

No trip curtailment cover. This benefit is not included with this card. The cost of flying home after a family emergency, and of resuming the trip afterwards, is out of pocket.

No baggage 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.

No baggage cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Replacement costs for lost or stolen bags and belongings are the cardholder's responsibility.

No travel documents cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Replacing a lost passport or stolen cash overseas, including the extra travel to reach a consulate, is out of pocket.

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.

No personal accident cover. This benefit is not included with this card. No lump sum is paid to you or your estate if an accident on the trip causes death or permanent disablement.

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.

No domestic cancellation cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Prepaid domestic flights and accommodation, such as a Queenstown ski week, are not reimbursable if you cancel.

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.

No domestic disruption cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Extra accommodation and transport after a disruption on a trip within New Zealand are out of pocket.

No domestic luggage cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Lost or stolen luggage on a trip within New Zealand is not reimbursable through this card.

No domestic bag-delay cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Essentials bought while your bag is delayed on a domestic flight are out of pocket.

We source benefits from official card guides, but PDFs are sometimes hard to obtain or update. Spotted something off?

Report an error Send updated PDF

Coverage Radar

Where the Kiwibank Airpoints Visa wins, where it loses

Coverage snapshot for this tab — click any layer to highlight its scores.

Trip cancellation: not covered by this card

Medical fees abroad: not covered by this card

Medical repatriation: not covered by this card

Compare

Airpoints VisaThis card0.0/5?

$50/yr

With travel insuranceIdeal

Complete coverage · 5.0 / 5

Premium card avg.

$297 avg. annual fee

Click a layer to highlight its scores on the radar.

Side-by-side comparison

How the Kiwibank Airpoints Visa stacks up against the alternatives

Same 5 coverage dimensions, ranked head-to-head against the cards most Airpoints Visa shoppers also consider.

Card	This card Airpoints Visa Kiwibank · $50/yr 0.0/5?	Platinum Visa Kiwibank · $50/yr 3.0/5?	Visa Platinum Rewards ASB · $125/yr 3.2/5?	Platinum Card American Express · $850/yr 3.6/5?
Trip cancellation Per person, per trip cap	Not covered Cover this gap →	$5,000 Capped $5,000, shared by family	Unlimited All prepaid deposits, no dollar cap	$30,000 per person All prepaid travel, $30,000 cap
Emergency medical Hospital bills abroad	Not covered Cover this gap →	$40,000,000 Capped $40,000,000 under age 75	Unlimited Unlimited, ages 75 and under	$5,000,000 Capped $5,000,000, overseas only
Emergency evacuation Air ambulance + repatriation	Not covered Cover this gap →	$40,000,000 Included in $40M medical limit	Unlimited Included in unlimited medical	$5,000,000 Approved by Chubb Assistance
Trip delay trigger Hours before benefits kick in	Not covered Cover this gap →	6h / $500 Trigger: 6 hours	6h / $400 Trigger: more than 6 hours	4h / $650 Trigger: 4 hours
Trip interruption Covered amount	Not covered Cover this gap →	$50,000 Broad list of disruptions	Unlimited Unlimited, broad list of events	$5,000 per person Trip change during the trip

StrongLimited / misleadingNot covered

Data verified against each card's Guide to Benefits, May 2026.

Kiwibank card enquiries (not travel insurance)

0800 113 355

Free call within New Zealand

Kiwibank card enquiries from overseas

+64 4 473 1133

What to do if you held the Kiwibank Airpoints Visa

Step 1: Check which Kiwibank card you hold now

Kiwibank moved Airpoints cardholders to the Platinum Visa automatically after Airpoints earning ended on 31 October 2025. The Airpoints Low Fee and Standard Visas carried no travel insurance, so a trip paid with one of them had no cover from the card. If your card now says Platinum Visa, its Tower policy can apply to trips you pay for with it.

Step 2: Activate the Platinum Visa cover, or buy a standalone policy

On the Platinum Visa, cover switches on when you put at least $500 of prepaid travel costs for an overseas trip, or $250 for a domestic trip, on the card within 12 months before you leave, and it lasts up to 40 days per trip. Questions go to Allianz Partners on 0800 876 541, and +64 9 486 6868 is the 24/7 emergency line overseas. For a longer trip, buy a standalone New Zealand travel policy when you book.

Step 3: Take an unresolved insurance dispute to the IFSO Scheme

If Allianz Partners declines a Platinum Visa claim, use its internal complaints process first. If that ends in deadlock, the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme (IFSO Scheme) is free and independent, usually within 3 months of reaching deadlock, and can award up to $500,000 + GST. A question about the card itself goes to Kiwibank on 0800 113 355.

No. Kiwibank stopped offering the Air New Zealand Airpoints Low Fee Visa and the Airpoints Platinum Visa on 27 May 2025, and the Airpoints Standard Visa had already been withdrawn. Kiwibank and Air New Zealand ended the partnership: cardholders could keep earning Airpoints until 31 October 2025, and Kiwibank then moved them to its Platinum Visa automatically. So if you held an Airpoints Visa, the card in your wallet today is most likely a Platinum Visa, with a $25 account fee every six months, the same as the old Low Fee card. That switch matters for travel. The Platinum Visa carries Kiwibank's complimentary travel insurance, underwritten by Tower Limited, while the Low Fee and Standard Airpoints cards carried none. Check which card you hold before you book your next trip.
You can't, because the Kiwibank Airpoints Visa (the Low Fee and Standard versions) came with no complimentary travel insurance to activate. Kiwibank's credit card travel insurance policy wording (the insurer's full policy document), underwritten by Tower Limited and managed by Allianz Partners, names only the Platinum Visa and the Airpoints Platinum Visa as insured cards. If your account was moved to the Platinum Visa, its cover switches on when you spend at least $500 on prepaid travel costs for an overseas trip, or $250 for a domestic trip, with the card within 12 months before departure. There is no registration step, though Allianz Partners' checkyourcover.co.nz tool lets you confirm you qualify. You also need to live in New Zealand, be a citizen or resident and hold a return ticket.
Nobody, because the Kiwibank Airpoints Visa came with no complimentary insurance: not you as the cardholder, and not a partner or children travelling with you, whoever paid for the trip. If your account has since moved to the Kiwibank Platinum Visa, its Tower policy covers you and members of your family travelling with you. Each of them must live in New Zealand, be a New Zealand citizen or resident and hold a return ticket, and the cover must have been activated with at least $500 of prepaid travel costs on the card for an overseas trip. You also need to hold a valid Platinum Visa when you book and for the whole trip. Read the definition of Family in the policy wording before you rely on it for a child or partner.
No. The Kiwibank Airpoints Visa has no rental vehicle excess cover, so after damage to or theft of a hire car, the excess (the amount the rental company charges you) is yours to pay, overseas or in New Zealand. The Platinum Visa that replaced it is different for overseas hires: its Tower policy reimburses up to $6,000 of rental vehicle excess, as long as you were the driver, rented from a licensed rental agency, kept to the rental agreement and the vehicle's insurer accepted the claim. It pays back the excess; it is not a damage waiver. Hires on a domestic trip within New Zealand are not covered by that section, so for a campervan at home, take the rental company's excess reduction or a standalone rental excess policy.
There is nothing to claim on: the Kiwibank Airpoints Visa carried no travel insurance, so no insurer handles claims for trips paid with it. If you now hold the Kiwibank Platinum Visa and activated its cover, claims go to Allianz Partners, which manages the policy for the underwriter Tower Limited. Lodge online at claimmanager.co.nz or call 0800 876 541 (Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm), and call +64 9 486 6868 for 24/7 emergency help overseas. Keep itemised bills, any police or airline report, and the card statement showing your prepaid travel costs went on the card. If a claim is declined and Allianz Partners' complaints process doesn't fix it, the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme (IFSO Scheme) is free and independent, usually within 3 months of reaching deadlock, and can award up to $500,000 + GST.
The Kiwibank Airpoints Visa carries no complimentary insurance, so there is no overseas medical, cancellation or baggage cover, and no purchase protection or extended warranty. That means no emergency medical or evacuation cover overseas, where ACC (the Accident Compensation Corporation) and the public health system pay nothing for treatment. There is no travel delay or trip curtailment cover either, and no rental car excess, ski cover or personal liability. The replacement Platinum Visa fills part of that gap, with its own limits: cover only starts after $500 of prepaid overseas travel costs go on the card, stops after 40 days per trip, and gives no automatic medical cover from age 75. Pre-existing medical conditions are not automatically covered either, though you may be able to add them for an extra premium.
No. The Kiwibank Airpoints Visa has no snow-sports cover of any kind: no ski injury medical costs, no mountain rescue, no cover for your own or hired gear and no refund of an unused lift pass. On a ski trip out of Tokyo, a broken wrist treated in Japan quickly reaches five figures, and ACC doesn't pay for treatment overseas. If your account moved to the Kiwibank Platinum Visa, its Tower policy only excludes skiing and snowboarding outside ski resort boundaries, so its overseas medical cover can apply to a fall on a marked run once the trip is activated. Skis and snowboards are left out of the baggage cover unless they are damaged in transit with a licensed commercial transporter, or burnt or stolen from locked accommodation, so check the policy wording before you rely on it for gear.
Yes, unless your account has moved to the Kiwibank Platinum Visa and you put the trip on it. The Airpoints Visa itself includes no travel insurance, so a trip paid with it leaves you exposed to hospital bills, an air ambulance home and non-refundable bookings, and a few nights in a Honolulu hospital commonly run to six figures. The Platinum Visa covers overseas medical and repatriation up to $40,000,000 for travellers under 75, once $500 of prepaid overseas travel costs go on the card, but only for the first 40 days of each trip. A standalone New Zealand travel policy still makes sense for a longer trip, for travellers aged 75 and over, or for anyone with a pre-existing condition that Allianz Partners won't add to the card's cover.
Yes, once you hold the Platinum Visa and meet its rules, because the Tower policy covers the card you hold now, not the one you used to have. Kiwibank moved Airpoints cardholders to the Platinum Visa automatically after Airpoints earning ended on 31 October 2025. From then on, cover depends on the Platinum Visa's activation rule: at least $500 of prepaid travel costs for an overseas trip, or $250 for a domestic one, charged to the card within 12 months before departure. Cover activated before 1 July 2025 falls under the previous policy wording, with claims through Tower. The current wording also requires a valid insured card when you book and for the whole trip, so keep the card active until you are home.