Amex Purchase Protection: Everything you need to know (2024)

American Express Purchase Protection is a benefit included on some American Express cards that can cover your purchases if they are accidentally damage, stolen, or lost for up to 90 days after your date of purchase. Here’s what you need to know about Amex purchase protection.

What is American Express purchase protection?

American Express Purchase protection is a credit card benefit that covers the repair or replacement of items you purchase that are damaged or stolen within 90 days of purchase. Some Amex cards also cover items that lost.

Purchase protection is different from other consumer insurance benefits like extended warranty protection, which protects the items you buy and return protection, which guarantees your ability to get a refund for items you buy.

Amex Purchase Protection at a glance

American Express offers two tiers of its purchase protection for benefit. Here’s an overview of what’s included with each tier.

Cards that offer Amex purchase protection

These cards offer the standard tier of Amex purchase protection, which provides $1,000 of coverage per occurrence:

• The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
• American Express® Business Gold Card
• Blue Cash Preferred®Card
• American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card
• Plum Card®
• Blue Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card
• Gold Delta SkyMiles®Credit Card
• Platinum Delta SkyMiles®Credit Card
• Gold Delta SkyMiles®Business Credit Card
• Platinum Delta SkyMiles®Business Credit Card
• Hilton Honors American Express Card
• Hilton Honors American Express Ascend Card
• Hilton Honors American Express Business Card
• Marriott Bonvoy BusinessCard
• Amazon Business Card
• Amazon Business Prime Card
• Lowe’s Business Rewards Card

And these cards offer Amex premium purchase protection, which provides $10,000 of coverage per purchase and adds coverage for losing your item:

• American Express® Gold Card
• The Platinum Card
• Business Platinum Card®
• Delta Reserve® Credit Card
• Delta Reserve for Business Credit Card
• Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card

How to be covered by Amex purchase protection

To get coverage for an item you purchase, you must purchase the item using your eligible American Express card that offers purchase protection. Coverage is automatic and there is no need to either enroll in this benefit or register your purchase. You’ll also receive coverage if you use your American Express loyalty program points like your Membership Rewards® points to pay for a purchase.

Keep your receipts. While it is not required that you keep your receipt in order to be covered under purchase protection. If you need to make a claim American Express will likely request that you provide a copy of the purchase receipt of an item you are claiming.

More about American Express purchase protection

Here’s a bit more about Amex Purchase protection and what it offers.

What American Express purchase protection covers

American Express purchase protection will pay for the replacement cost of an item covered under purchase protection if that item is damaged or stolen within 90 days of your purchase. If your card offers Amex’s premium tier purchase protection, loss of the item is also covered. See the summary table above for cards that offer each benefit.

How much coverage does Amex purchase protection provide?

Amex purchase protection provides a reimbursem*nt for the lesser of the replacement cost of a covered item, the original cost of the item charged to your card or the benefit maximums. The benefit maximums for Amex purchase protection vary by card and are as follows:

Coverage limitations and exclusions

Items excluded from American Express purchase protection coverage

Some types of items won’t receive coverage under Amex purchase protection. These types of items include things like perishable items, cash-like purchases and items meant for commercial list. Here’s a list of the types of items excluded from coverage:

• Items covered by an unconditional satisfaction guarantee
• Damage caused by modification or alteration
• Animals, living plans, or consumable items.
• One-of-a-kind or antique items.
• Used items, except when refurbished by the original manufacturer
• Cash and cash-like items such as credit cards, securities, documents and tickets, travelers checks, negotiable instruments, gift certificates, gift cards, gift checks, food stamps, cash, notes, accounts, bills, currency, deeds, evidences of debt or intangible property, rare stamps, or coins.
• Items that are rented, leased, borrowed, or intended for resale.
• Motorized devices and motorized device parts, except those which are permanently attached to residential or business fixtures.
• Land or buildings
• More than one article of a pair or set, unless the items are unusable individually.
• Software, downloadable services, or computer programs.
• Items voluntarily or involuntarily discarded
• Indirect damages resulting from a covered event
• Medical or dental services or equipment.
• Items purchased for professional or commercial use or used in professional competition.

Situations excluded from coverage

Certain situations that cause an item to be lost, stolen, or damaged are not covered by Amex purchase protection. These include the following:

• War, acts of war, service in the armed forces or in an armed forces auxiliary unit
• Confiscation of items by any government, public, or customs authority.
• Your participation in any felony, riot, civil disturbance, protest, or insurrection.
• Damage to items that occurs while items are under the temporary care and control of a third party.
• Items that are not reasonably safeguarded, such as items left in an unlocked vehicle.
• Theft of items from baggage not carried by you.
• Normal wear and tear or product defects.
• Damage to items purchased for recreational use, such as sporting equipment.
• Fraud, dishonestly, criminal acts or omissions.

How to file an Amex purchase protection claim

Here’s our step-by-step guide on how to file an American Express purchase protection claim.

Step 1: Start your claim through the online claim center

You should initiate your claim as soon as possible after you notice that an item you purchased with your card has been broken, was stolen, or is lost. American Express states that you must provide a notice of claim within 30 days of your loss, or as soon as reasonably possible. But there is little reason to wait to submit a claim—the sooner you file a claim, the sooner you will get paid.

There are three ways to start your claim:

• Through the American Express online claim center. (This is our recommendation.)
• By calling 1-800-288-6855.
• By calling 1-303-273-6498 collect if traveling internationally

Accessing the online claim center

The easiest way to start your claim is by going to https://americanexpress.com/onlineclaim. If you are not logged into your account, you will be prompted to log in. Once you are logged into the American Express website, clicking the link above should take you directly to the online claim center. Here’s what the online claim center looks like:

Alternatively, you can access the online claim center through your online account portal by click on “Rewards & Benefits” at the top of the page. Depending on the width of your screen, it may be under a dropdown menu labeled “More.” Once you’ve selected “Rewards & Benefits,” select your card from the menu with the card icon at the top right of the screen. Then select “Benefits” from the secondary menu. Scrolling down on that page will show you a summary of each of your card’s benefits. Find the panel for “Purchase Protection” and click “Learn more.” On the next screen, you’ll see a “File a Claim” link which will take you to the online claims center.

Step 2: Select your card and benefits in the online claim center

Once you’ve clicked “File a Claim” in the online claim center, you’ll be prompted to select your card and select which benefit you’re filing a claim for. First, click on your card from the list. If you don’t see your card on the list, click on “Add Another Card.”

Next, select the date you purchased the item. For purchase protection claims, this is the date you purchased or ordered the item, not the date you received it.

On the next screen, you’ll choose which benefit you are claiming. For an Amex purchase protection claim, choose “Purchase protection.”

Step 3: Complete the claim forms online

The next screens will request information about the specifics of your claim, including details about the item you are claiming, the specifics of the type of loss you’re seeking reimbursem*nt for, and your contact information. Be prepared to provide the following with your claim:

• The date of your loss, the type of loss, and the country, city, and state of the loss.
• Basic information about the item or items you are claiming, including model number and serial number if applicable.
• Purchase information, including receipt, date, amount and place of purchase
• Your personal information, including your email-address

First, you’ll enter the basic information about your loss and what happened to your items.

Next, you’ll add the items you are claiming, one at a time. You can add up to 25 items per online claim form.

For each item you add, you’ll be required to provide some information about the item, including:

• Name/basic description of the item
• Purchase date
• Item type and description
• Merchant (where you purchased the item)
• Manufacturer (who made the item)
• Item cost, including taxes, but excluding shipping fees, in U.S. dollars.
• Model number and serial number of the item if applicable.

Finally, you’ll provide information about yourself before you finalize your claim.

After you’ve provided all of the requested information, you’ll be required to review the information you submitted and read an acknowledge the Amex fraud disclosures.

If you see the message below, you’ve successfully submitted your claim!

Step 4: Provide additional information

In most cases, American Express will contact you and request that you provide additional information about your claim. This will usually involve filling out a paper claim form and submitting a copy of your purchase receipt. It could also include a request to describe the item’s condition, provide more information about the specifics of your loss, or provide additional documentation like photos of the item.

Step 5: Amex evaluates and hopefully pays your claim

Once you’ve responded to any additional requests for information from American Express, Amex will review your claim. If everything is in order and your claim is valid, Amex will provide payment for your purchase protection claim.

Where to find your card’s Amex Purchase protection benefit guide

Amex publishes a benefit guide for each card that offers purchase protection with the full details on the terms, conditions and limitations that apply to your specific card. You can find your card’s benefit guide on the Amex website at this link.

Frequently Asked Questions

American Express Purchase protection disclosures

American Express wants us to provide the following information about purchase protection. They don’t have any editorial control over this site, but sometimes they ask us to add disclosures at the bottom of some of our pages.

For The Platinum Card, Delta Reserve® Credit Card, Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™American Express®Card, Business Platinum Card®, Delta Reserve for Business Credit Card, American Express® Gold Card: Purchase Protection is an embedded benefit of your Card Membership and requires no enrollment. It can help protect Covered Purchases made on your Eligible Card when they’re accidentally damaged, stolen, or lost, for up to 90 days from the Covered Purchase date. The coverage is limited to up to $10,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per Card Member account per calendar year. Coverage Limits Apply. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

For Blue Cash Preferred®Card, Hilton Honors American Express Card, Blue Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card, Platinum Delta SkyMiles®Business Credit Card, Business Gold Card, Hilton Honors American Express Business Card, Gold Delta SkyMiles®Business Credit Card, Marriott Bonvoy BusinessCard, Plum Card®, Amazon Business Card, Amazon Business Prime Card, Lowe’s Business Rewards Card, Hilton Honors American Express Ascend Card, Platinum Delta SkyMiles®Credit Card, Gold Delta SkyMiles®Credit Card, Blue BusinessSMPlus Credit Card, Blue Business Cash: When an American Express® Card Member charges a Covered Purchase with their Eligible Card, Purchase Protection can help protect their Covered Purchases for up to 90 days from the Covered Purchase date if it is stolen or accidentally damaged. The coverage is limited to up to $1,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per Card Member account per calendar year. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.