One of the credit card benefits I don’t usually pay attention to is purchase protection. That’s the coverage you get on a newly purchased item if it should get damaged or stolen. How often does something break or get stolen within a few weeks or months of purchase?
As with most insurance coverages, you don’t think about it until you need it.
Sharon just purchased a new backpack cooler to use when she goes fishing. She used it for the first time this week and put it away in our storage room for her next trip.
Either of us might have left the door open, but it was probably me (Note from Sharon: That’s the right answer, my love). This gave Dobby the Poodle the perfect opportunity to explore and find a new toy. It turns out, she likes to chew on zippers.
She hit the perfect place so that the bag could never close again. It’s a good thing she’s cute.
When Sharon discovered the damage, her comment was something like, “Really!?!? I just bought this!!”
Something in my brain clicked. I asked where she bought it and which card she used. She said she got it on Amazon and paid with whichever card I had set on her account. I knew she paid with my AMEX Gold card because I’m taking advantage of an AMEX offer to earn 5 Membership Rewards per dollar for Amazon purchases.
I logged into my AMEX account and went to the Account Benefits page. Towards the bottom was the box I was looking for.
Purchase Protection – Your covered purchases can be covered when they’re accidentally damaged, stolen or lost for up to 90 days from the covered purchase date with your eligible card.
Clicking on Learn More took me to this page.
I clicked on File a Claim. I filled out the form as truthfully as I could. Why lie about what happened?
They asked for some additional information on the damaged item.
I received a confirmation of my claim submission.
Before I woke up the following day, I had an email approving my claim and saying payment would arrive via a statement credit.
By the end of the day, the credit was on my account.
Final Thoughts
I never had to put a claim in for purchase protection before from any of our credit cards. Despite all of the grief I give American Express in other areas, I need to commend them on how straightforward the process was to enter a claim and the speed with which they issued a credit. We’re in the process of ordering a replacement for Sharon, so she’s set for her next fishing trip.
As for me, I’m checking that I’ve closed the door to the storage room every time that I leave the house.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
Cover Photo by Mikhail Nilov from Pexels
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