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Commonwealth Bank - Complementary International Travel Insurance for Gold, Platinum & Diamond CC Holders

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Commonwealth Bank - Complementary International Travel Insurance for Gold, Platinum & Diamond CC Holders
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cornucopia on 21/07/2015 - 09:39 commbank.com.au (3641 clicks)
Last edited 21/07/2015 - 11:13 by 2 other users

Commonwealth Bank is now offering the complementary international travel insurance available to holders of their Gold, Platinum and Diamond cards with no purchase conditions attached. You apply for the insurance online (via Netbank) and they issue a numbered cover certificate, however if you have one of the cards and travel WITHOUT applying for the certification you will still have basic cover which includes unlimited medical and hospital. Read the following extract from the site:

"Activate via NetBank
Log on to NetBank to register your travel plans and activate your insurance.
Add optional extras
Extend your cover by purchasing upgrade options such as increased cover for Rental vehicle excess, increased Snow cover or increased Cruise cover.^

Receive your Certificate of Insurance
Your Certificate will be emailed to you with your personalised policy number and cover details.
You can also activate your cover by calling Allianz Global Assistance on 1800 837 177 or +61 7 3377 3988.
If you activate while travelling there will be a 3 day waiting period before you receive the activated level of cover.*
If you don’t activate you’ll receive Base cover which includes personal liability cover and unlimited overseas medical assistance and hospital expenses only.*"

NB: there is no given expiry date, the offer is open ended.

NB2: It appears from the PDS that the cover INCLUDES on-piste skiing/boarding which is a bonus as not all card insurances provide this cover in the base policy. See page 25 of the PDS. Note that all off-piste activities are EXCLUDED from cover.

https://www.commbank.com.au/content/dam/commbank/personal/ap…

Travel Credit Card Insurance Travel Insurance

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closed Comments

    • ShatGPT on 21/07/2015 - 11:08
      -7

      Precisely. I tried to point out how ridiculous this offer was above but got negged to oblivion by the sheep who think this is amazing.

      Ah well, won't they be glad when they're stuck in a hospital bed overseas with thousands of dollars worth of medical bills and an amazing free travel insurance policy that they got on Ozbargain. Brilliant.

      • SuiCid3 on 21/07/2015 - 11:34

        Have done a comparison between this new underwriting by Allianz and the old PDS under Zurich.
        You are right in that the limits are the same and it's still a mediocre offering.

        Edit: It's still a bargain in that you are covered as long as you hold this card without having to purchase the trip on it.

      • dazweeja on 21/07/2015 - 11:38
        +3

        They may do that in the future for travel insurance that hasn't been activated but for those that have had their certificate and cover details emailed to them for a particular trip, it is highly unlikely that CBA won't honour it.

        I'm not sure why you are so negative about this deal - what other bank will provide you with decent travel insurance without purchase conditions?

        • countmein on 21/07/2015 - 13:15

          +1 for positive attitude

  • smoothymcmellow on 21/07/2015 - 10:58

    I received an email from Commbank a little while ago advising that they had removed the need for the pre-purchase, just need to register your holiday online

  • elvino on 21/07/2015 - 11:04
    +5

    Hi All. Just an FYI to avoid confusion. My wife works at Commonwealth bank, and confirms you now only need to have the card at the time of travel to be eligible.
    Previously you had to purchase either flights, or accommodation etc (some form of payment towards the cost of travel on the card), however this is no longer the case.
    (assuming you have one of the cards that is eligible of course).

    • RockyRaccoon on 21/07/2015 - 12:33
      +1

      Can you check if additional card holders can acess the benefits if travelling separately or is only for primary card holder - thanks

  • tatnal on 21/07/2015 - 11:07
    +1

    Looks like it doesn't cover domestic travel.

  • EVL on 21/07/2015 - 11:09
    -4

    This is old

    • cornucopia on 21/07/2015 - 16:31
      +2

      In which case it will have been posted to OzB previously. Please provide reference….

        • shamid202 on 21/07/2015 - 23:53
          +2

          you have 175 comments and no post. so what are you complaining about? what have your provided to ozbargain?

        • EVL on 22/07/2015 - 02:25
          -5

          @shamid202: Too busy working, have lots of deals I could post their just all confidential so I leave them for others to post once they're publicly available.
          A few years ago I had an account and regularly posted genuine deals, not this kind of slop, unfortunately let my linked email lapse etc.

        • cornucopia on 22/07/2015 - 07:10

          @EVL: 'it's not really a deal merely a standard feature for these type of cards.' That being the case I'm sure you can cite an example of at least ONE other card where the overseas travel insurance is provided at NO COST with NO PURCHASE PRECONDITIONS. Good luck with that .. :-) .. !!

  • inherentchoice on 21/07/2015 - 11:16

    That's cool that there are no purchase conditions. Now I can be covered for my week away, thanks OP.

  • dontpanic on 21/07/2015 - 11:18
    +1

    Bugger. Where was this a month ago?

  • aimon on 21/07/2015 - 11:24
    +2

    Sounds good but as with all insurance it more matters what happens after disaster strikes. If you are in a hospital requiring brain surgery are they going to be prompt with communication considering this is all free anyway. I have experienced VERY different service from insurance companies when my mother was taken to emergency in the USA and a good service is very worth it. Have e think about this as 100 bucks could change everything.

    • adam149 on 21/07/2015 - 11:35
      +11

      and how are people supposed to test this? How do you know that a $100 insurance is going to be better than this? You've posted a very general statement and there is a good chance that this insurance offers everything that a paid one does.

  • tonester on 21/07/2015 - 11:30
    +1

    fyi iirc the original anz premier gold visa card included international travel insurance with no purchase necessary whilst seniors received free domestic travel insurance previously :)

    • cornucopia on 21/07/2015 - 11:44

      ANZ does not have a card called Premier Gold Visa Card currently (http://www.anz.com.au/personal/credit-cards/premiumcards-ins…) however if you go to the PDS for the ANZ Premium Cards - Insurances on page 16 you will find the following

      (You) have purchased with your participating card account a
      minimum of $250 (inclusive of taxes and other charges)
      of your pre-booked transport costs (airfares and/or
      cruise) and/or land content (tours, hire cars or other hired
      transport and accommodation) prior to the
      commencement of your trip. The payment must be
      debited to your participating card account prior to your
      departure from Australia.

      • tonester on 21/07/2015 - 17:32

        true - it hasn't existed for a while :)

  • SuiCid3 on 21/07/2015 - 11:45
    +2

    Had a closer look at both PDS's
    So I take back my ground breaking comment from above and present the facts.

    New Allianz insurance vs old Zurich insurance.
    Complimentary International Travel Insurance are almost identical.
    There are some policies that have a little bit of extra cover (a few hundred) in the new Allianz policy but otherwise it appears to be identical.

    New Allianz BASE cover - very scaled back international insurance. Automatically covered.
    New Allianz Activated cover - same as the old Zurich cover, but won't automatically cover you unless you register your trip. Trip costs does not need to be on this card.
    Old Zurich cover is automatically covered once you are eligible by spending at least $1000 of your trip on the card.
    New Allianz cover can be optioned up, whereas the Old Zurich cover couldn't.

    RE: Cover of snow trips. Both new and old PDS state they do not cover OFF-PISTE adventures. The only difference is that the Allianz PDS includes OFF-PISTE in the Definitions & Interpretations. The old Zurich PDS didn't mention anywhere that normal snow activities WEREN'T included.

    • cornucopia on 21/07/2015 - 11:55
      +1

      SuiCid3: My comment about the inclusion of on-piste snow cover here relates generally to credit-card based international travel insurances. Some have now totally excluded ALL skiing/boarding (on-piste) from the base (=free) cover. As far as I know, off-piste was always excluded by all. I know this because I'm a skier and every time I intend to rely on this complementary cover I have to comb through the Ts&Cs, because the cover is always changing, over time and from one provider to another..

      • prankster on 21/07/2015 - 13:16

        sorry ready this now and just did a post but they don't cover snow unless you pay additional

  • Bluewhisky on 21/07/2015 - 11:54

    How difficult is it to get accepted for one of those cards if you don't (exactly) meet the income requirements?

    • alo1234 on 21/07/2015 - 22:07
      +1

      Buy a house and get CBA mortgage and you can get your insurance for free!

      • Bluewhisky on 21/07/2015 - 22:49

        But I can only afford a tent atm. What with being an ozbargainer and all

  • Trojan on 21/07/2015 - 12:04

    Thanks … already have this card (with my home loan package) and now I get free travel insurance without having to use the card to pay for the trip (and corresponding cc surcharge)

  • AshSet on 21/07/2015 - 12:15

    I've been trying since morning, when I log into netbank but I keep getting "This page is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later. Reference: 098fdc1e-b698-4ee6-b38a-a20652fe88d0".

    EDIT: I have a platinum card (3 months since I've got this). Just wondering if this offer is targeted.

    • cornucopia on 21/07/2015 - 13:04

      It looks as though you may have to be logged on to Netbank to get access. I went to

      https://www.commbank.com.au/personal/insurance/travel-insura…

      which is the page for the insurance but it directed me back through my Netbank login and THEN gave me access to the page, which then appeared to work OK.

      • tokyo on 21/07/2015 - 20:19

        Saw it this morning and closed the message. Thought it was just another marketing message! Thanks for posting, otherwise I would've completely missed it.

        Once you close the message you have to use the link in the above comment and login with Netbank.

        Thanks OP!

    • jinroh on 22/07/2015 - 00:02

      I've been trying since morning, when I log into netbank but I keep getting "This page is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later. Reference: 098fdc1e-b698-4ee6-b38a-a20652fe88d0".

      ozbargained?

      • AshSet on 24/07/2015 - 08:38

        Don't think so, it was a system issue. I got it over the phone by call their 1800 number

  • geordie on 21/07/2015 - 12:41

    awesome ozbargain just gave me a FREE lesson in English, I never knew there was more than one way of spelling komplamentry

  • Danthemanz on 21/07/2015 - 12:41
    +1

    Now i have two policies…lol

    • countmein on 21/07/2015 - 13:13

      can you claim to both for the same bill?

      • prankster on 21/07/2015 - 13:18
        -1

        technically should although one would hope not to claim anything on holiday unless you lost your $2000 camera ;)

        • cornucopia on 21/07/2015 - 14:39
          +1

          Most insurances have a single cover clause, ie you can't claim on them AND someone else. Of course getting caught doing it is another issue….

          NB: as far as I'm aware this doesn't apply to life insurance, you can have multiple policies.

      • grasstown on 21/07/2015 - 22:44

        someone correct me but I think it creates problems if you have two covers. as the insurers fight out which of the two has to pay up. only one is required to pay up because there is that single cover clause. I think if you have two covers, you are best off never mentioning the other cover.

  • prankster on 21/07/2015 - 13:11

    "NB2: It appears from the PDS that the cover INCLUDES on-piste skiing/boarding which is a bonus as not all card insurances provide this cover in the base policy. See page 25 of the PDS. Note that all off-piste activities are EXCLUDED from cover."

    Not true because I have this card and was completing it and for the snows, I had to pay extra for that cover

    • cornucopia on 21/07/2015 - 13:25
      +1

      If you read the PDS (link provided previously) you'll find that you have medical and hospital cover for on-piste skiing with no $ limit HOWEVER if you want any of the following insured

      Ski gear
      Rental equipment
      Mountain closure (weather)
      Avalanche (!!)

      then you will have to take out a Snow Pack at a cost. If you've paid up for the Snow Pack then presumably you wanted this ADDITIONAL cover. I've been skiing for 50 years (yes, 50!!) and I've never had one of these events intrude… :-) ..!!

  • elliot91 on 21/07/2015 - 14:22

    Probably a stupid question but I assume you still need to pay the annual fee on these cards, correct?

    • cornucopia on 21/07/2015 - 14:35

      Yes, you do need to have (and pay for) one of the cards, however the CBA Low Rate Gold Credit Card has an interest rate of 13.49% and an annual fee of just $89. That's about a third of the cost of a bought travel insurance policy for a few weeks overseas. And this is one of the cards that qualifies for the no cost/no expenditure insurance, I just double checked. Lay down misere….!!

      NB. apart from being a lifetime customer I have no connection with CBA.

  • jontymate on 21/07/2015 - 15:34

    I might have to go through PDS

  • roonie on 21/07/2015 - 16:15
    +1

    "Your included travel insurance covers more than just you - it also covers your spouse / partner and up to 10 dependent children travelling with you."

  • apmacfam on 21/07/2015 - 16:15

    I 'bought' a policy and had to pay an extra $102 for two pre-existing medical conditions. You go through a medical questionnaire and it lets you know whether you are approved or not. Also extra insurance will be offered upon checkout. Car, sport etc. and yes, you get send a policy to you straight away.
    I had to disclose Transverse Myelitis and prolapsed disc. I had trouble finding an insurance with compatible rates or even insuring you re back. Hope this helps.

  • roonie on 21/07/2015 - 16:29

    Platinum seems to be covered:
    "personal goods includes all new personal property and valuables acquired for personal domestic or household use, but does not include
    the following:
    •items with an original purchase price in excess of A$10,000 for Gold cardholders
    and A$20,000 for Diamond and Platinum cardholders"

  • ca6leguy on 21/07/2015 - 17:53
    -2

    Was previously free. Now they want you to register to the full cover.

  • Captain Electrode on 21/07/2015 - 20:48
    -4

    This is another case of favouritism and the rich getting richer. Things would be a lot fairer, if we had a more user-pay society.

  • hawkers8905 on 21/07/2015 - 21:29

    Surely us OzBargainers are a bunch of tightarses to have a gold, platinum or diamond CC in the first place

  • BlitzR on 22/07/2015 - 00:12

    thanks OP. this will come in handy when i travel OS soon

  • Associatedcpl123 @ Commonwealth Bank on 22/07/2015 - 08:57

    Here is the PDS so speculate no more on the terms and conditions
    https://www.commbank.com.au/content/dam/commbank/personal/ap…

    Disclaimer: I am posting in my personal capacity. I do not represent CBA but the website would only allow me to post if I tick "associated with Commonwealth Bank"

    • cornucopia on 22/07/2015 - 09:29

      Ahh….. thanks for trying to help however the PDS link is in the original post….:-) … !!

  • Gerbud on 22/07/2015 - 16:29
    +1

    Hey,

    So I applied yesterday (In Australia) and got my Cert. issued last night. My flight was then cancelled today due to ash cloud. Called them and they "think" I am not covered.

    Anyone else in a similar position?

    Thanks in advance.

    • [Deactivated] on 22/07/2015 - 16:33

      why do they "think" you're not covered? You have the certificate, so you're covered?!

      Btw who is "them", allianz? or CBA?

      • Gerbud on 22/07/2015 - 16:34

        I know…that's what I asked. Still on phone now trying to get some answers!

  • Gerbud on 22/07/2015 - 16:45

    They advised not covered as policy being taken up after ash cloud notification on July 3rd.

    • [Deactivated] on 22/07/2015 - 17:09

      ahh man that sucks! How long does one of these notifications hold effect? have they cleared it since the 3rd or was it still ongoing? Guessing airline is atleast rebooking you?

      • RockyRaccoon on 22/07/2015 - 19:36

        Probably as long as the mountain is "erupting". The impact is occuring because the wind is varying in its direction

  • Gerbud on 22/07/2015 - 16:46

    Doop.

  • natedogg92 on 23/07/2015 - 14:10

    This may be a silly Q - so I'm on the CBA Gold (3 months insurance). Since I'm travelling for more than 3 months, its saying I have to pay an additional premium of $500. That's an upfront right?

    • crudman on 23/07/2015 - 20:43

      yes, "Premium" is upfront costs. "Excess" is cost when you make a claim and is deducted from what they pay you if your claim is successful.

  • crudman on 23/07/2015 - 20:27
    +2

    Complex products like Finance Services shouldn't be posted here unless there is a clear cut advantage (like 28 degrees or citibank debit).

    People should realise there are 2 cost components to insurance cost. The upfront fee and the excess.

    While the upfront fee may be free, the excess is definitely not. In fact, insurance through credit cards have the highest excess costs with this one being $250 for the usual stuff and $500 for medical. For comparison, TID has an excess of $100 but is not free upfront with most of my policies with them costing between 40 to 100 upfront. Alternatively it has $0 excess but more upfront. What this means is that there is no point claiming anything under this excess value (e.g. $250 for this 'deal') simply because the net gain is negative.

    Lose a $300 item. Get up to $50 back with this deal. Most likely get $100 to $200 back with TID .
    Lose a $250 item. Can't file a claim because the net gain is 0. Most likely worth recovering with TID.
    Lose a $150 item. Can't file a claim because the net gain is negative. Maybe worth recovering with TID.
    Don't lose anything? The only way this deal can be cheaper unless you have a super high upfront.

    The negative effect of high excess is magnified if you lose multiple items (or have multiple claims of any kind). Lose 5x $300 items (bag full of goodies), gain up to $250 back (I say 'up to' because there is usually depreciation and their discretion of value). With an 'expensive' $100 upfront policy with $100 excess, the same scenario with result in up to $900 back ($200 for each item after 5x excess, less $100 upfront). You can't even buy a replacement for 1 item with the first, but you can buy 3 of the 5 with the second option.

    Making it further complex is that the cover itself is different and so are exclusions, across different insurers. This deal you can recover $500 worth of cash, but not before a $250 excess kicks in. So you must lose more than $250 for a cash claim for $0 to $250 back. TID is not necessarily better here with the max recoverable being $250 cash before $0 or $100 excess, for a max of $250 or $150 back excluding upfront fees. While that seems worse straight up, the lost cash threshold is $100 or $0, instead of $250. Just pointing out the complexities.

    Further, this (and the previous) only covers travel with RETURN flights with a limit of 3 months for Gold and 6 months for Plat or higher. TID you can buy singles for open ended trips or different carriers.

    Worth noting, Platinum holders (every tom, dik and harry) could previously get $0 upfront fee with a purchase of $1k towards the holiday on the card. Excess including medical was less at $250. Now we have to 'register' for the full package instead of it being automatic.

    Also, the snow cover is extra like other companies.

    • delfredo on 25/07/2015 - 08:51

      Personally I view insurance as a cover to mitigate risks. It's to protect against the unexpected during the trip. However I do not expect to be unfortunate enough have to make a claim for each and every trip that I make. So it's a balance against coverage and cost. I would say that my average of insurable incidents is 1 out of 10. So it's worth saving on insurance cost wherever possible for me. I'll make up the cost through money I have saved over time.

      I make the above assessment and opinion for small claims/small losses. For big losses/claims, this CBA deal is definitely the way to go!

  • cornucopia on 24/07/2015 - 07:39
    +1

    All very interesting, but I think you'll find the big issue for most is not losing a camera or a day's hotel accommodation but the potential for a financial catastrophe arising from a serious medical condition, where bills can run into the MILLIONS (in the USA at least). This free cover has $ unlimited medical and hospital and the excess is just $500, even without registering. Which incidentally is exactly the same excess as my best-of-breed Australian health insurance cover for the same items. Cheers!!

  • coolsteps on 27/07/2015 - 20:57

    does anyone know if the cba business no annual fee card holders transit insurance cover you for international flights? is it still with Zurich or changed now?

  • altomic on 27/07/2015 - 21:34

    this card has an $89 annual fee (though free if you spend over $10,000 a year with it).

    • KaTst3R on 27/07/2015 - 22:36
      -1

      Call them and ask them to waive it or else you cancel the card. The call centre will put you through to the customer retention team which they will usually do it for you. Pretty rare that they will refuse you. ..

      It is like standard these days, who the heck still pays for the credit card annual fees?

  • HeWhoKnows on 31/07/2015 - 08:19
    -1

    Extensive travel cover but so is the excess you have to pay. $500 excess for emergency medical - Only $250 on Bankwest cards and $100 to $200 on your regular travel insurance policies which give you this cover from as little as $42. Then $250 excess for the other covers. NOTHING IS ABSOLUTELY FREE!

    • cornucopia on 31/07/2015 - 11:32
      +3

      It's a trade-off. Do you take the hit when you take out the cover or when you claim on the cover? Some would prefer to take the hit when they take out the cover (they're called pessimists). Others prefer to take the hit when they claim (they're called optimists). Me, I'm forever the optimist .. :-) .. !! Have a nice trip…..

  • MagicTsukai on 11/08/2015 - 12:18

    Would it be a good idea to just get a low gold CC just for the travel insurance?

    It has an 89$ annual fee.

    • cornucopia on 11/08/2015 - 13:09
      +1

      Probably only if you can't qualify for the insurance with another card provider that you already have. I posted this deal but, rather ironically, I won't be using it for three overseas trips in the next eight months because I already met the pre-purchase qualifications for insurance with other card providers. If on the other hand you're using FF points for tickets and your other cards won't accept that as qualification then the Low Cost Low Rate CBA Gold Master Card (which is what I have) is the way to go .. :-) .. !!

  • [Deactivated] on 15/08/2015 - 17:17
    -5

    Not a deal. Always been around from all banks.

    • cornucopia on 17/08/2015 - 07:02

      You should have actually read what this post is about before adding your two cents worth. This is the FIRST TIME a bank has provided overseas travel insurance as a free adjunct to a credit card with NO PREPURCHASE CONDITIONS. Previously you had to buy something trip related (air, ground etc) of a certain specified minimum value to qualify for the insurance. You know of another such offer that predates this one? Tell us about it .. :-) .. !!

      • [Deactivated] on 19/08/2015 - 13:43
        -3

        I have NAB Gold Visa, and did not have to buy tickets on the Visa or anything. Bought tickets for cash through small travel agent. Paid accomodation in cash when I got there. The travel insurance was simply as a rusult of me owning the card. So my comment is correct.

        • cornucopia on 20/08/2015 - 13:43
          +1

          Here's an extract from the brochure for NAB Gold Visa Travel Insurance:

          'Prior to the commencement of your overseas journey,
          you have paid a minimum of $500 in pre paid overseas
          transport costs (including travel by air, rail, road or
          watercraft); and or accommodation costs….using your
          NAB credit card.'

          https://www.nab.com.au/content/dam/nab/personal/documents/na…

          If you travelled without meeting this card spend prequalification criterion you travelled without insurance.

          I'm still waiting for evidence to support your original assertion.

          Have a nice day .. :-) .. !!

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