How Chase Sapphire Reserve lined my $200 broken bag

There are a whole lot of vacationers on the market who refuse to verify their baggage.

Nonetheless, I typically do — particularly once I want sufficient gear for an extended journey, as I did on a latest three-month journey round Europe. And since many European airways have smaller carry-on limits, I did not wish to danger it.

After a blissful 5 days in Porto, Portugal, I took a three-hour EasyJet flight to Prague solely to understand upon arrival that my checked bag had a giant dent within the prime nook.

Naturally, I used to be irritated, however I saved issues in perspective and centered on what I may do to exchange the bag and get some compensation.

Listed here are the 4 steps I went via.

Compensation from the airline: Denied

Lining up at an airport, particularly after touchdown, whether or not it is for immigration, baggage or catching a journey, is one in all my least favourite issues. So, I skipped talking with a baggage agent in individual.

Fortunately, EasyJet has a web based course of for submitting claims for broken, delayed or misplaced baggage.

You should file inside seven days of your flight, and the provider strongly suggests taking images of the harm earlier than leaving the airport, as “images taken later will not be accepted.” I snapped some photos once I arrived at my lodge half-hour later and submitted the declare the following day.

The on-line kind — hosted by the third-party supplier DamagedLuggage.com — took lower than 10 minutes to finish.

I uploaded:

• My flight particulars and reserving reference quantity
• My private data
• My lodge’s tackle
• An outline and images of the harm
• A duplicate of the acquisition receipt

I obtained an automatic electronic mail with a declare reference quantity. Then, 10 days later, a letter denying the declare “on the grounds of beauty harm, because it would not compromise its capability, and all options stay in full working order … Whereas it is unlucky, it would not have an effect on the performance” arrived.

This was technically true, and the letter was surprisingly nicely written and appeared to come back from an actual human.

If I hadn’t had safety via one in all my bank cards, I might’ve pushed again and submitted an attraction. However there was a better path to compensation.

Buy safety: Ineligible

My first intuition was to assert via the buy safety profit on my American Categorical® Gold Card, which I had used to purchase the bag.

Nonetheless, I purchased the bag in April 2023, and this profit solely covers loss, theft or harm inside the first 90 days of buy. So, I used to be out of luck.

Journey insurance coverage coverage: Not price it

I buy a 12-month journey insurance coverage coverage every year once I return to Australia, the place I am initially from. (These are usually cheaper and extra beneficiant than U.S. insurance policies.)

Whereas my protection included baggage harm, it got here with a 200 Australian greenback ($130) deductible. On condition that the bag solely value me $196, it wasn’t price submitting a declare.

Reimbursement from Chase: Success

Since I had used my Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see charges and costs) to e-book my flight, the cardboard’s journey protections kicked in.

This profit would additionally apply if I had paid for the flight with factors and lined the taxes and costs with the cardboard.

Below its “misplaced baggage reimbursement” profit, the Sapphire Reserve covers as much as $3,000 in damages, nicely above the $196 substitute value of my bag.

To qualify, I needed to notify Chase inside 20 days of the incident. I submitted:

• My journey itinerary
• Proof that I used my Sapphire Reserve to pay for the flight
• The denial letter from EasyJet
• The bag’s buy receipt

I submitted the declare on-line via Chase’s card advantages portal, now administered by Assurant. Chase beforehand used eClaimsline, which had a fame for poor customer support; in distinction, I discovered Assurant’s course of fast and clear.

The shape took lower than 5 minutes to finish. I submitted it the identical day I obtained the denial letter from EasyJet.

9 days later, I acquired an approval electronic mail asking for my financial institution particulars. And the following day, the $196 reimbursement landed in my account. I had anticipated a partial fee for the reason that profit technically covers solely the depreciated worth of the merchandise, so receiving the total quantity was a nice shock.

Backside line

Whereas I wasn’t thrilled that my baggage was broken, I used to be fortunate to have layered protections in place that made the reimbursement course of comparatively painless.

My tricks to put together for the same state of affairs are to:

• Maintain your receipts.
• Keep away from checking a bag when doable.
• Examine your bag for harm earlier than leaving baggage declare.
• Take images of any harm.
• Submit a declare with the airline.
• If relevant, file a purchase order safety declare inside 90 days of buy.
• Use a journey rewards card with baggage safety to buy your flight.

This can be a reminder that the perks your bank card provides aren’t simply advertising and marketing fluff. When one thing goes flawed, they will actually repay, so long as you are prepared to place in a bit bit of labor.

To study extra, learn our full overview of the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Associated: Which bank cards cowl baggage delays?