No personal accident benefit. This benefit is not included with this card. Accidental death and permanent disablement while travelling pay nothing from this card. A standalone travel or personal accident policy is required for this cover.
Does the BOC F1RST Card come with travel insurance for overseas trips?
Bank of China·$0/year·Visa
0,0/5Independent review · verified October 2026
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0,0
Our Verdict · Travel Insurance
Our take on travel insurance for the Bank of China F1RST Card
Expert review · Pauline LauroreAuthor of HelloSafe's card insurance reviews
The BOC F1RST Card is a youth cashback card built for young adults getting their first credit card, and it carries no complimentary travel insurance. Charging a flight to it earns your usual cash rebate but activates nothing: no overseas medical, no trip cancellation and no baggage cover. Picture a serious hospital admission in the US or Europe, where the bill can pass S$100,000, with nothing paid by the card. MediShield Life, the national health scheme that helps with large hospital bills in Singapore, does not cover treatment overseas, so that whole cost lands on you. A standalone Singapore travel policy fills the gap from around S$20 for a single trip, covering overseas medical, cancellation and lost baggage. Treat this card as an everyday rewards tool, and buy travel cover separately before you fly.
Where travel breaks down
- No complimentary travel insurance: overseas medical, cancellation and baggage are all uninsured
- No overseas hospital cover: a major admission abroad can pass S$100,000, none of it paid by MediShield Life
- Charging your air fare to the card earns rebate but activates no travel policy
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 · 14 guarantees
What does Bank of China F1RST Card Travel Insurance actually cover?
What's not covered
- Personal accident is not a benefit of this card
No overseas emergency medical cover. This benefit is not included with this card. All medical costs overseas are the cardholder's responsibility. MediShield Life does not cover you outside Singapore, and a serious hospital admission in the US or Europe can run S$100,000 or more.
What's not covered
- Overseas medical treatment is not a benefit of this card
- Pre-existing conditions and pregnancy excluded
No emergency evacuation cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Emergency evacuation costs are entirely the cardholder's responsibility. An air ambulance from Bali or Bangkok back to Singapore runs S$50,000 to S$120,000.
What's not covered
- Emergency medical evacuation is not a benefit of this card
No overseas emergency dental cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Emergency dental treatment overseas is out of pocket.
What's not covered
- Overseas emergency dental is not a benefit of this card
No hospital cash allowance. This benefit is not included with this card. There is no daily cash payment while you are hospitalised overseas.
What's not covered
- Overseas hospital daily cash is not a benefit of this card
No trip cancellation. This benefit is not included with this card. Prepaid flights, hotels, and tours are not reimbursable if you cancel. A standalone travel insurance policy is required for this coverage.
What's not covered
- Trip cancellation is not a benefit of this card
No trip curtailment cover. This benefit is not included with this card. The cost to fly home early after a family emergency and resume a trip is out of pocket.
What's not covered
- Trip curtailment is not a benefit of this card
No travel disruption cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Extra accommodation and transport from a trip disruption are the cardholder's responsibility.
What's not covered
- Travel disruption is not a benefit of this card
No travel delay cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Meals, accommodation, and transport during a delay are the cardholder's responsibility.
What's not covered
- Travel delay is not a benefit of this card
No missed connection cover. This benefit is not included with this card. The cost of alternative transport after a missed connection is out of pocket.
What's not covered
- Missed connection is not a benefit of this card
No baggage cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Replacement costs for lost or stolen bags are the cardholder's responsibility.
What's not covered
- Baggage loss is not a benefit of this card
No baggage delay cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Purchases of essential items during a bag delay are out of pocket.
What's not covered
- Baggage delay is not a benefit of this card
No travel documents cover. This benefit is not included with this card. The cost to replace a lost passport or reclaim fraudulent card use overseas is out of pocket.
What's not covered
- Loss of travel documents is not a benefit of this card
No personal liability cover. This benefit is not included with this card. Legal liability for injury to others or property damage overseas is uninsured, and claims commonly reach hundreds of thousands of dollars.
What's not covered
- Personal liability overseas is not a benefit of this card
We source benefits from official card guides, but PDFs are sometimes hard to obtain or update. Spotted something off?
Coverage Radar
Where the Bank of China F1RST Card wins, where it loses
Coverage snapshot for this tab — click any layer to highlight its scores.
Accidental death: not covered by this card
Medical fees abroad: not covered by this card
Medical repatriation: not covered by this card
Compare
F1RST CardThis card0.0/5?
$0/yrWith travel insuranceIdeal
Complete coverage · 5.0 / 5Premium card avg.
$210 avg. annual feeClick a layer to highlight its scores on the radar.
Side-by-side comparison
How the Bank of China F1RST Card stacks up against the alternatives
Same 5 coverage dimensions, ranked head-to-head against the cards most F1RST Card shoppers also consider.
| Card | This card F1RST Card Bank of China · $0/yr 0.0/5? | Visa Infinite CIMB · $0/yr 2.0/5? | Centurion American Express · $7,500/yr 4.2/5? | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Trip cancellation Per person, per trip cap | Not covered Cover this gap → | S$1,000 Trip cancellation | S$20,000 S$20,000 prepaid costs | |
Emergency medical Hospital bills abroad | Not covered Cover this gap → | S$25,000 Overseas medical | Chubb arranges and pays No stated medical sub-limit | |
Emergency evacuation Air ambulance + repatriation | Not covered Cover this gap → | S$100,000 Evacuation & repatriation | Arranged and paid by Chubb Evacuation + repatriation | |
Trip delay trigger Hours before benefits kick in | Not covered Cover this gap → | 6h / S$500 Flight delay 6h | 4h / up to S$900 Trigger: 4 hours | |
Trip interruption Covered amount | Not covered Cover this gap → | Not covered | S$300/person S$300 per person |
StrongLimited / misleadingNot covered
Data verified against each card's Guide to Benefits, May 2026.
Cardholder reviews
What cardholders say about the Bank of China F1RST Card
Cardholder experience with the card 2 reviews
KL
Kathlyn Laiu (Seedly)
How the 0.5% rebate works
The BOC F1RST card does give you a 0.5% cash rebate for the total amount billed to you at the end of the month (maximum spending of $500 and no minimum spending).
G(
Gabriel (Seedly)
Low rebate and hefty fees later on
The BOC F1RST card only offers half of that, 0.5% rebate. Besides, the annual fees after the initial few years of waiver seems pretty hefty.
Emergency · Card assistance line
How to contact Bank of China F1RST Card assistance?
This card carries no complimentary travel insurance, so there is no underwriter or 24-hour assistance hotline attached to it. For medical, cancellation and baggage cover overseas, buy a standalone Singapore travel policy and keep its emergency assistance number with you while you travel.
What to do if you need travel cover with the BOC F1RST Card
1
Step 1: Buy a standalone travel policy before you fly
Because the card includes no travel insurance, arrange a standalone Singapore travel policy that states its overseas medical, cancellation and baggage limits in writing. Cover starts from around S$20 for a single trip.
2
Step 2: Keep your policy and emergency number with you
Save your travel insurer's 24-hour emergency assistance number and policy number on your phone, and keep receipts, medical reports and any police or airline reports to support a claim.
3
Step 3: Escalate to FIDReC for a card-issuer dispute
For a dispute with the card issuer itself, not travel insurance, you can approach FIDReC, the Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre, free of charge within 6 months of the issuer's final reply.
FAQ
What people ask about the Bank of China F1RST Card
- No. The BOC F1RST Card is a youth cashback card for first-time cardholders, and it carries no complimentary travel insurance of any kind. There is no overseas emergency medical cover, no trip cancellation and no baggage protection tied to the card. Charging your flights to it earns your usual cash rebate, but it does not switch on any policy, because there is no policy attached to activate. If you booked a trip assuming the card would protect you, you are travelling uninsured. To close that gap, buy a standalone Singapore travel policy before departure, which starts at around S$20 for a single trip and pays the hospital bills, cancellations and lost bags the card does not cover.
- None. The BOC F1RST Card offers no travel insurance protection at all, because it is built for everyday cashback rather than travel. There is no overseas medical benefit, no personal accident sum, no trip cancellation and no baggage cover tied to the card. It still works as a Visa payment method wherever you travel, and you keep earning your cash rebate on overseas spend, but that rebate is a reward, not insurance. Some cardholders mistake a payment perk for cover; they are not the same thing. If you want real protection for a trip, you need a standalone travel policy, since the card pays nothing towards a claim if something goes wrong abroad.
- Yes. Because the card carries no complimentary cover, using the BOC F1RST Card to pay for a trip gives you no insurance protection on its own. A single unexpected hospital admission overseas, which MediShield Life does not cover outside Singapore, can run past S$100,000, and none of that falls on the card. A standalone Singapore travel policy fills the whole gap from around S$20 for a single trip, and it typically covers overseas medical, trip cancellation, baggage and personal liability. Many plans include COVID-19 medical costs too. Buy the policy before you depart, keep the confirmation, and treat the card purely as a convenient way to pay and earn cashback.
- No. The BOC F1RST Card does not cover COVID-19 medical costs overseas, because the card carries no travel insurance at all. If you catch COVID-19 abroad and need treatment or a hospital stay, the bill is entirely your own, and MediShield Life does not pay for care outside Singapore. This is a common point of confusion, since several Singapore travel policies do include COVID-19 cover. This card is not one of them. If COVID-19 protection matters for your trip, buy a standalone travel policy that lists COVID-19 medical and, ideally, trip cancellation among its benefits, and check the certificate wording before you rely on it.
- No. The BOC F1RST Card does not include mobile phone insurance, and it carries no purchase protection or extended warranty either. If your phone screen cracks or the handset is stolen, the repair or replacement is your own cost, and a flagship screen repair alone runs about S$200 to S$600. The card's value sits in cashback on your everyday spend, not device or shopping protection. For phone cover you would need a separate gadget or mobile insurance policy, or a different card that specifically lists phone protection among its benefits. Do not assume a cashback card includes device cover, because in Singapore that benefit is uncommon and is not attached to this card.
- For earning cashback and paying merchants abroad, the BOC F1RST Card works well, and its Visa network is widely accepted overseas. For protection, it is not enough on its own. The card carries no overseas medical, cancellation or baggage cover, so a trip paid entirely on the card is still an uninsured trip. The realistic setup is to use the card for spending and rebate, and pair it with a standalone travel policy that covers the medical and disruption risks. That policy starts at around S$20 for a single trip. With both in place, you keep the rewards and gain the protection the card does not provide.
Not just Bank of China
Other cards worth considering
F1RST Card is a strong choice — but depending on what you prioritize, one of these may suit you better.
Centurion
American Express
Platinum Charge
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ULTIMA
Citibank
Prestige
Citibank