Hidden Benefits of Credit Cards

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Last Updated on November 10, 2024 by Carolyn

The Many Hidden Benefits of Credit Cards

Most of us know that we can earn cash back,  travel points, and air miles with our credit cards, but are you aware of the many other hidden benefits of credit cards? Perhaps they aren’t hidden benefits per se but they’re not publicized as much as the points and miles benefits are. As I was writing this post I even discovered some hidden benefits of my credit cards that I had no idea existed. Let’s explore some lesser-known or hidden benefits of your credit card.

Benefits Related to Purchases

Price Protection 

Everyone likes to get the best deal on their purchases but I can say with conviction that only some people like to shop for the best prices. I do my best to price shop but it still seems that the following week I’ll inevitably find something I just purchased on sale for less.

This is where Credit Card Price Protection comes to the rescue. If your credit card offers this benefit it will reimburse you the difference between what you paid and the new advertised price. Of course, the onus is on you to find the lower price and file a claim.

This benefit is nice as it enables you to purchase when you need it without fear that the price will drop next week.  Credit card companies have been dropping this benefit but Capital One Business Cards still offer the benefit, as does the Capital One Quicksilver Card.

Purchase Protection

Purchase protection covers new retail purchases against damage, theft, or accidental parting for a specified number of days after purchase. The coverage even extends to gifts purchased on the card for friends and family members.

How many times have you left something at a restaurant? Perhaps you’ve taken off your sunglasses and left them on the table, or left a bag containing your camera gear beside the table?  Fortunately, most times when we realize our carelessness and go back to the restaurant the items are there. But what if they are not?

Purchase protection would cover these mishaps up to their dollar limit. It would even cover damage to your phone if you were kayaking and flipped over and your phone sunk to the bottom of the lake and was irretrievable (and even if it were retrieved and found to be damaged, the coverage would kick in).

Return Protection

We’ve probably all experienced buyer’s remorse and purchased items on a whim only to decide we don’t need the items a few days later. If we realize this soon after we purchase the items we can usually return the item for a full refund.

But what happens if you wait longer than the store’s qualifying return period? Are you stuck keeping the item?

If your credit card offers return protection you might still have recourse. Return protection extends the return period and will reimburse you for the item according to their coverage terms.

Cell Phone Insurance

Cell phone insurance will cover the cost of your phone ( up to the coverage limit) should the phone be damaged, lost or stolen.

Normally this coverage is activated by charging your monthly phone bill to the card that provides coverage. It usually covers all phones on the phone plan.

This benefit comes at no additional cost so when buying a new phone you don’t need to buy the additional insurance coverage offered usually at about $10 per month. And since this coverage is per phone the savings can really add up!

Extended Warranty Protection

Have you ever noticed that things tend to break a month or two after the manufacturer warranty has expired?

This past summer I came home from vacation to find my automatic gate opener not functioning. I called the manufacturer’s support and we went through a bunch of troubleshooting tests and determined that the main control board was non-functional. The cost of a replacement? Just $30 less than a brand-new gate opener.

I was bummed. The predecessor to this gate opener had lasted almost 10 years and this one was shy of two years old. And yes, the manufacturer’s warranty was just one year.

Then I had a thought: Did I buy the gate opener on a card that doubles the manufacturer’s warranty? Sure enough, I had!

The claims experience was a bit of a pain as I had used an Amazon credit towards the purchase, but I ended up being reimbursed for all but that credit.

I learned that when making purchases for products with a warranty don’t use credits or gift cards towards the purchase, save those credits and gift cards for purchases of consumable items or items where warranty isn’t a concern.

Extended warranty protection also means it’s a waste of money to purchase the extended warranty so often offered with electronic and other products at purchase. Why pay for something that is free as a card benefit? Say “no” to extended warranty purchases and let your credit card assume the coverage.

Most credit cards with warranty protection will double the manufacturer’s warranty up to three years, and often include refurbished items that come with a manufacturer’s warranty.

Travel Related Benefits

Other than earning airmiles or points, many credit cards include many other travel benefits. These hidden credit card benefits are valuable! Let’s review them:

Roadside Assistance

Most of us have at some time returned to a car with a dead battery. You turn the key and hear “unh unh” or even worse just the click of the key. And then you look at your headlight switch and with a sinking feeling see that it’s in the “on” position. 

No problem if you carry a credit card with roadside assistance; one call and someone will soon be dispatched to give you a jump.

Roadside assistance is a common perk of credit cards with varying degrees of benefits provided (most charge a fee for this service)

Travel Insurance

Traveling comes with inevitable disruptions and travel insurance can take the pain of some of these disruptions away.

One common travel disruption is flight cancellations or flight delays that can cause a ripple effect of disruptions like missed connecting flights, and missed hotel and car reservations. Airlines will reimburse you for cancelled flights but what about all the other extra costs incurred due to the flight delay?

Many credit cards with travel insurance will reimburse you for these additional costs and will even cover extra costs incurred like food and lodging expenses resulting from the delay.

Other travel insurance provided by some credit cards is trip cancellation insurance which reimburses you should you have to cancel your trip before it starts, luggage protection which reimburses you should your luggage be lost, stolen, or damaged, and emergency medical coverage which reimburses you for some emergency medical costs.

Rental Car Insurance

Another perk of many credit cards is rental car insurance, which pays for damage to your rental car incurred in an accident or via theft, sometimes vandalism, and natural disasters. I have had to use this benefit on two occasions: once through my Bank of America Cash Rewards card and the other via Capital One Quicksilver. The claims process was simple and painless.

When you rent a car most car rental agencies won’t be telling you about this benefit and will happily sell you a policy you might not need!

This benefit has disappeared from many cards in the last few years, so be sure to review your card’s current policies before assuming it has coverage.

Airport Lounge Access

I didn’t know what all the fuss was about with this benefit until I had a card with this benefit and experienced it for myself.

Lounge access truly makes travel more enjoyable. Long layovers become much less painful when you can sit in comfortable chairs sipping on a glass of wine and munching on hor d’oeuvres.  Many lounges have showers to freshen up, fast wi-fi, quiet workspaces, and even offer take-a-way bags if you don’t have time to linger and enjoy the food.

TSA Precheck and Global Entry

Premium travel cards often offer TSA Precheck or Global Entry membership fee credits to cardholders.

TSA PreCheck provides expedited security screening for flights departing from US Airports, while Global Entry provides expedited US customs screening for international air travelers entering the US. Global Entry members also receive TSA PreCheck benefits as part of their membership fees.

No Foreign Transaction Fees

If you’re a frequent international traveler having a card with no foreign transaction fees is very important. The foreign transaction fees on cards that charge them are usually about 1-3% of the charge-they really rack up! 

If you travel internationally at all, make sure your chosen credit card has this benefit.

Free checked Bags/Priority boarding

Airline specific cards often have additional perks like free checked bags and priority boarding. If you fly mainly with one airline you may find having their credit card to be well worthwhile as bag fees add up fast!

Hotel/Flight/Uber credits

Travel cards often come with various annual travel credits that  go a long way towards offsetting their fees. Southwest Priority card has a $75 credit for travel booked on Southwest, the Capital One Venture X card has a $300 credit for travel booked through their portal as well as a $100 per experience credit for every hotel or vacation booked from the premium collection,  the Chase Sapphire Preferred card has a $50 hotel credit and the American Express Platinum card has a whopping Uber credit of up to $200 a year!

Complimentary or Discounted Memberships/Subscriptions

Here’s a really unsung benefit of some credit cards- complimentary or discounted memberships and subscriptions.

While writing this post I discovered my Bank of America Mastercard has free admission on the first weekend of every month to over 225 cultural institutions across the United States, with 6 of them in Colorado where I live!

Other complimentary subscriptions offered by various cards include Doordash and Shoprunner with some Chase cards, and discounted Walmart membership credit with American Express Platinum cards.

American Express  Platinum Cardholders can also receive up to $20 per month statement credit for various digital entertainment subscriptions.

Shopping Discounts

Many credit cards have shopping portals whereby you can get discounts ( usually in the form of extra cashback on your credit card statement).

Bank of America has “Bank Amerideals” with ( at the time of writing) cashback of 5% from eBay, up to 20% off of booking.com, and a slew of other offers.

American Express cards frequently offer discounts at Amazon of up to 50% off your Amazon purchase if you use American Express points for the purchase. 

Chase has “chase offers” and a shopping portal. Activating chase offers will yield discounts at select retailers and shopping through their portal can yield additional points.

Knowing Your Card Benefits Results in Savings

All of these benefits add up and we haven’t even factored in the most common benefit of miles and points.

It’s hard to remember which card to use for which expense. I created a spreadsheet that tracks the benefits of each card and helps me know which annual benefits I’ve used and which I haven’t.

The spreadsheet also helps me to know which card to use for which purchases to maximize points and potential other card benefits like purchase protection, insurance, or extended warranty coverage.

Remember to…

It’s important when making purchases to put the whole charge on the chosen credit card. Many cards have started limiting benefits if the entire purchase wasn’t charged to the card. This applies to rental car reservations.

I’d suggest keeping the benefits pamphlet that is mailed to you when you open a new card and periodically making sure the benefits haven’t changed (or verify that when you plan on using a benefit that it still is in effect).

There are time limits and maximum coverages with most types of benefits, compare them before making your purchasing choices.

Keep track of purchases that come with a manufacturer’s warranty and note which card you used to purchase the items, the date of the purchase, and the warranty term.  Keep your purchase receipt (I scan mine and keep it in a folder). Having all this information organized will save you so much time when you have a problem and want to know if you have coverage.

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