Trip cancellation is the benefit people find out about late. Emergency medical is the coverage a cardholder checks before a trip; cancellation is the one they go looking for on the day a parent is admitted to hospital and a non-refundable booking is already paid for. On 10 of the cards here, the answer at that moment is that the certificate never covered it.
Every figure below was read from the issuer’s certificate of insurance, which is linked on each row. This page reports what those documents say. It does not rank the cards and it is not insurance advice.
Which credit cards have trip cancellation insurance?
37 of the 59 cards on our roster publish a trip cancellation limit. It runs from $1,000 to $2,500 per insured person, and $1,500 is the most common figure, on 20 cards. 34 cards also state a per-account cap, between $3,000 to $10,000. A dash means the certificate states no figure we could confirm, which is not the same as saying the coverage is absent.
What does this cover your party for?
Per person and per account are different numbers, and the second one does not scale with the size of your party. Set the trip and each row shows what the certificate actually pays.
| Card | Cancellation, per person | Cancellation, per account | Interruption, per person | Interruption, per account |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Express Aeroplan Business Reserve CardAmerican Express · certificate | $1,500 | $3,000 | $1,500 | $6,000 |
| American Express Aeroplan CardAmerican Express · certificate | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| American Express Aeroplan Reserve CardAmerican Express · certificate | $1,500 | $3,000 | $1,500 | $6,000 |
| American Express Business Edge CardAmerican Express · certificate | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| American Express Business Gold Rewards CardAmerican Express · certificate | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| American Express Business Platinum CardAmerican Express · certificate | $1,500 | $3,000 | $1,500 | $6,000 |
| American Express Cobalt CardAmerican Express · certificate | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| American Express Gold Rewards CardAmerican Express · certificate | $1,500 | $3,000 | $1,500 | $6,000 |
| American Express Platinum CardAmerican Express · certificate | $2,500 | $5,000 | $2,500 | $6,000 |
| Marriott Bonvoy American Express CardAmerican Express · certificate | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express CardAmerican Express · certificate | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| BMO Ascend World Elite MastercardBMO · certificate | $1,500 | $5,000 | $2,000 | $10,000 |
| BMO eclipse Visa Infinite PrivilegeBMO · certificate | $2,500 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $25,000 |
| BMO Rewards Business MastercardBMO · certificate | $1,500 | $5,000 | $2,000 | $10,000 |
| BMO VIPorter World Elite MastercardBMO · certificate | $1,500 | $5,000 | $2,000 | $10,000 |
| CIBC Aeroplan Visa Business PlusCIBC · certificate | $1,000 | — | $2,000 | — |
| CIBC Aeroplan Visa InfiniteCIBC · certificate | $1,500 | $5,000 | $2,000 | — |
| CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite PrivilegeCIBC · certificate | $2,500 | $10,000 | $5,000 | $25,000 |
| CIBC Aventura Visa InfiniteCIBC · certificate | $1,500 | $5,000 | $2,000 | — |
| CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite PrivilegeCIBC · certificate | $2,500 | $10,000 | $5,000 | $25,000 |
| National Bank World Elite MastercardNational Bank · certificate | $2,500 | — | $5,000 | — |
| Cathay World Elite® Mastercard® – powered by NeoNeo Financial · certificate | $1,000 | $5,000 | $1,000 | $5,000 |
| United® MileagePlus® Neo World Elite® Mastercard®Neo Financial · certificate | $1,000 | $5,000 | $1,000 | $5,000 |
| More Rewards RBC VisaRBC · certificate | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| More Rewards RBC Visa InfiniteRBC · certificate | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| RBC Avion Visa Business CardRBC · certificate | $1,500 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $25,000 |
| RBC Avion Visa InfiniteRBC · certificate | $1,500 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $25,000 |
| RBC Avion Visa Infinite PrivilegeRBC · certificate | $2,500 | — | $5,000 | — |
| RBC Avion Visa PlatinumRBC · certificate | $1,000 | $5,000 | $2,500 | — |
| WestJet RBC MastercardRBC · certificate | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| WestJet RBC World Elite MastercardRBC · certificate | $1,500 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $25,000 |
| WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard for BusinessRBC · certificate | $1,500 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $25,000 |
| Rogers Red World Elite MastercardRogers Bank · certificate | $1,000 | $5,000 | $1,000 | $5,000 |
| Scotiabank Gold American ExpressScotiabank · certificate | $1,500 | $10,000 | $1,500 | $10,000 |
| Scotiabank Passport Visa InfiniteScotiabank · certificate | $1,500 | $10,000 | $2,500 | $10,000 |
| Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Business CardScotiabank · certificate | $2,500 | $10,000 | $2,500 | $10,000 |
| Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite PrivilegeScotiabank · certificate | $2,500 | $10,000 | $5,000 | $25,000 |
| Scotiabank Platinum American ExpressScotiabank · certificate | $2,500 | $10,000 | $5,000 | $25,000 |
| Tangerine Rewards World Elite MastercardTangerine · certificate | $2,000 | $5,000 | $2,000 | $25,000 |
| TD Aeroplan Visa Business CardTD · certificate | $1,500 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $25,000 |
| TD Aeroplan Visa InfiniteTD · certificate | $1,500 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $25,000 |
| TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite PrivilegeTD · certificate | $2,500 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $25,000 |
| TD Aeroplan Visa PlatinumTD · certificate | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| TD Business Travel Visa CardTD · certificate | $1,500 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $25,000 |
| TD First Class Travel Visa InfiniteTD · certificate | $1,500 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $25,000 |
| Wealthsimple Visa InfiniteWealthsimple · certificate | $1,000 | $3,000 | $1,000 | $3,000 |
| Wealthsimple Visa Infinite PrivilegeWealthsimple · certificate | $1,500 | $5,000 | $1,500 | $5,000 |
The spread across these cards is narrow by the standards of the rest of this dataset. The per-person figure moves by a factor of 2.5 from end to end, where the emergency medical limits on the same certificates move by a factor of hundreds. What actually separates one card from another here is not the number. It is whether the benefit is on the certificate at all, and what the certificate accepts as a reason to claim.
Which credit cards do not have trip cancellation insurance?
10 cards on the roster carry no trip cancellation benefit, and in each case the issuer’s own document says so. Six are American Express, three are RBC and one is TD. Nothing here rests on silence: a coverage is only reported as absent when a first-party document affirmatively establishes it, which for most of these cards is the certificate’s own list of the benefits the card does carry, with trip cancellation not among them.
The American Express Cobalt Card is the clearest case. Its certificate publishes a $5,000,000 emergency medical limit and no trip cancellation benefit at all, which is the reverse of what most people assume about that card.
| Card | Emergency medical on the same certificate | What the document states |
|---|---|---|
| American Express Aeroplan CardAmerican Express · certificate | Not included | “Flight and Baggage Delay & Hotel Burglary Insurance Lost or Stolen Baggage Insurance Car Rental Theft and Damage Insurance Buyer’s Assurance® Protection Plan” |
| American Express Business Edge CardAmerican Express · certificate | Not included | “Car Rental Theft and Damage Insurance Buyer’s Assurance® Protection Plan Purchase Protection® Plan” |
| American Express Business Gold Rewards CardAmerican Express · certificate | Not included | “Flight and Baggage Delay & Hotel Burglary Insurance Lost or Stolen Baggage Insurance Car Rental Theft and Damage Insurance Buyer’s Assurance® Protection Plan Purchase Protection® Plan” |
| American Express Cobalt CardAmerican Express · certificate | $5,000,000 | “Out of Province/Country Emergency Medical Insurance Flight and Baggage Delay & Hotel Burglary Insurance Lost or Stolen Baggage Insurance Car Rental Theft and Damage Insurance” |
| Marriott Bonvoy American Express CardAmerican Express · certificate | Not included | “Flight and Baggage Delay & Hotel Burglary Insurance Lost or Stolen Baggage Insurance Car Rental Theft and Damage Insurance Buyer’s Assurance® Protection Plan” |
| Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express CardAmerican Express · certificate | Not included | “Flight and Baggage Delay & Hotel Burglary Insurance........................................ 2 Lost or Stolen Baggage Insurance ....................................................................... 10 Travel Accident Insurance..................................................................................... 16” |
| More Rewards RBC VisaRBC · certificate | Not included | “Purchase Security & Extended Warranty Insurance, Mobile Device Insurance, Privacy Notice – RBC Insurance Company of Canada” |
| More Rewards RBC Visa InfiniteRBC · certificate | Not included | “Purchase Security & Extended Warranty Insurance, Mobile Device Insurance, Privacy Notice – RBC Insurance Company of Canada” |
| WestJet RBC MastercardRBC · certificate | Not included | “Travel Accident Insurance, Auto Rental Collision/Loss Damage Waiver Insurance, Delayed Baggage Insurance, Hotel/Motel Burglary Insurance, Purchase Security & Extended Warranty Insurance, Mobile Device Insurance” |
| TD Aeroplan Visa PlatinumTD · certificate | Not included | “Common Carrier Travel Accident Insurance Certificate, Delayed and Lost Baggage Insurance Certificate, Flight/Trip Delay Insurance Certificate, Auto Rental Collision/Loss Damage Insurance Certificate” |
Several of the quotes above are the contents listing from the front of the benefit guide, page numbers and all, reproduced as the document prints them. That is deliberate. The listing is the evidence: it enumerates every insurance benefit attached to the card, and trip cancellation is not on it.
The same 10 certificates exclude trip interruption as well, so on these cards there is no cover before departure and none once the trip has started.
Per person or per account: what a family is actually covered for
Two figures govern a claim and only one of them is usually quoted. The per-person cap is what a single insured traveller can recover. The per-account cap is the ceiling on everything claimed against the card for the same cancelled trip, no matter how many people were on the booking.
34 of the cards here state both, and the two are not proportional. The account cap sits between 2 and 6.7 times the per-person cap. On 23 of those 34 cards it is under four times, so a family of four travelling on one card, each holding a claim at the per-person maximum, would reach the account ceiling before the fourth claim is paid in full.
Three cards state a per-person figure and no per-account figure we could confirm: CIBC Aeroplan Visa Business Plus, National Bank World Elite Mastercard, RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege. Read that as an unanswered question rather than as an absent ceiling.
What counts as a covered reason?
A trip cancellation benefit only pays when the reason for cancelling is on the certificate’s list. 37 of the cards here record that wording. Of those, 29 name a medical condition, sickness, injury or hospital admission, 23 name a death, 19 extend the reason to an immediate family member and 22 extend it to a travelling companion. Two name quarantine.
The wording is reproduced exactly as each certificate states it, and it is not reduced to a checklist for a reason. Some of these cells are the opening items of a longer enumerated list; two are the clause that introduces the list rather than any item in it; one is a set of eight category headings. A cell that does not mention a particular reason is therefore not evidence the certificate refuses it. The certificate itself is the only place to settle that, and it is linked on every row.
| Card | Per person | What the certificate states about covered reasons |
|---|---|---|
| American Express Aeroplan Business Reserve CardAmerican Express · certificate | $1,500 | Your medical condition or admission to a hospital following an emergency. The admission to a hospital following an emergency of a member of your immediate family (who is not at your destination), your business partner, key employee or caregiver. |
| American Express Aeroplan Reserve CardAmerican Express · certificate | $1,500 | Your medical condition or admission to a hospital following an emergency, The admission to a hospital following an emergency of a member of your immediate family (who is not at your destination), your business partner, key employee or caregiver. |
| American Express Business Platinum CardAmerican Express · certificate | $1,500 | Your medical condition or admission to a hospital following an emergency, The admission to a hospital following an emergency of a member of your immediate family (who is not at your destination), your business partner, key employee or caregiver |
| American Express Gold Rewards CardAmerican Express · certificate | $1,500 | Your medical condition or admission to a hospital following an emergency, The admission to a hospital following an emergency of a member of your immediate family (who is not at your destination), your business partner, key employee or caregiver. |
| American Express Platinum CardAmerican Express · certificate | $2,500 | Your medical condition or admission to a hospital following an emergency, The admission to a hospital following an emergency of a member of your immediate family (who is not at your destination), your business partner, key employee or caregiver |
| BMO Ascend World Elite MastercardBMO · certificate | $1,500 | Health, Pregnancy, Work, Travel Documents, Legal, Transportation, Environmental, Other |
| BMO eclipse Visa Infinite PrivilegeBMO · certificate | $2,500 | Trip Cancellation benefits are payable when you cancel your trip prior to your scheduled departure date as a result of a covered reason listed below. |
| BMO Rewards Business MastercardBMO · certificate | $1,500 | Health, Pregnancy, Work, Travel Documents, Legal, Transportation, Environmental, Other |
| BMO VIPorter World Elite MastercardBMO · certificate | $1,500 | Trip Cancellation benefits are payable when you cancel your trip prior to your scheduled departure date as a result of a covered reason listed below. |
| CIBC Aeroplan Visa Business PlusCIBC · certificate | $1,000 | Your medical condition or admission to a hospital or medical facility following an emergency. |
| CIBC Aeroplan Visa InfiniteCIBC · certificate | $1,500 | Your medical condition or admission to a hospital or medical facility following an emergency. |
| CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite PrivilegeCIBC · certificate | $2,500 | Your medical condition or admission to a hospital or medical facility following an emergency. |
| CIBC Aventura Visa InfiniteCIBC · certificate | $1,500 | Your medical condition or admission to a hospital or medical facility following an emergency |
| CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite PrivilegeCIBC · certificate | $2,500 | Your medical condition or admission to a hospital or medical facility following an emergency. |
| National Bank World Elite MastercardNational Bank · certificate | $2,500 | his illness or injury, as established by a physician, who also recommends cancelling or interrupting a trip, his hospitalization, quarantine or death |
| Cathay World Elite® Mastercard® – powered by NeoNeo Financial · certificate | $1,000 | Your, Your Immediate Family Member’s, Your Travel Companion’s or Your Travel Companion’s Immediate Family Member unexpected death, sickness or injury, Hospitalization or death of the host at Your principal destination. |
| United® MileagePlus® Neo World Elite® Mastercard®Neo Financial · certificate | $1,000 | Your, Your Immediate Family Member’s, Your Travel Companion’s or Your Travel Companion’s Immediate Family Member unexpected death, sickness or injury, Hospitalization or death of the host at Your principal destination. |
| RBC Avion Visa Business CardRBC · certificate | $1,500 | Your emergency medical condition or death, The emergency medical condition or death of your travelling companion, The emergency medical condition or death of your spouse or your dependent child |
| RBC Avion Visa InfiniteRBC · certificate | $1,500 | Your emergency medical condition or death, The emergency medical condition or death of your travelling companion, The emergency medical condition or death of your spouse or your dependent child |
| RBC Avion Visa Infinite PrivilegeRBC · certificate | $2,500 | Your emergency medical condition or death, The emergency medical condition or death of your travelling companion, The emergency medical condition or death of your spouse or your dependent child. |
| RBC Avion Visa PlatinumRBC · certificate | $1,000 | Your emergency medical condition or death, The emergency medical condition or death of your travelling companion, The emergency medical condition or death of your spouse or your dependent child |
| WestJet RBC World Elite MastercardRBC · certificate | $1,500 | Your emergency medical condition or death, The emergency medical condition or death of your travelling companion, The emergency medical condition or death of your spouse or your dependent child. |
| WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard for BusinessRBC · certificate | $1,500 | Your emergency medical condition or death, The emergency medical condition or death of your travelling companion, The emergency medical condition or death of your spouse or your dependent child |
| Rogers Red World Elite MastercardRogers Bank · certificate | $1,000 | The unexpected death, sickness, injury, or quarantine of you, your family member, your travel companion or your travel companion’s family member. |
| Scotiabank Gold American ExpressScotiabank · certificate | $1,500 | death of an Insured Person, a Travelling Companion, an Insured Person’s Immediate Family Member or a Travelling Companion’s Immediate Family Member occurring after the Trip is booked and within 31 days prior to the scheduled Trip departure date |
| Scotiabank Passport Visa InfiniteScotiabank · certificate | $1,500 | death of an Insured Person, a Travelling Companion, an Insured Person’s Immediate Family Member or a Travelling Companion’s Immediate Family Member occurring after the Trip is booked and within 31 days prior to the scheduled Trip departure date |
| Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Business CardScotiabank · certificate | $2,500 | death of an Insured Person, a Travelling Companion, an Insured Person’s Immediate Family Member or a Travelling Companion’s Immediate Family Member occurring after the Trip is booked and within 31 days prior to the scheduled Trip departure date |
| Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite PrivilegeScotiabank · certificate | $2,500 | death of you, a travelling companion, your immediate family member, or a travelling companion’s immediate family member occurring after the trip is booked |
| Scotiabank Platinum American ExpressScotiabank · certificate | $2,500 | death of an Insured Person, a Travelling Companion, an Insured Person’s Immediate Family Member or a Travelling Companion’s Immediate Family Member occurring after the Trip is booked and within 31 days prior to the scheduled Trip departure date |
| Tangerine Rewards World Elite MastercardTangerine · certificate | $2,000 | death of an Insured Person, an Immediate Family Member, or a Travel Companion |
| TD Aeroplan Visa Business CardTD · certificate | $1,500 | death of an Insured Person or Travelling Companion, sudden and unexpected sickness or accidental injury of an Insured Person or Travelling Companion, death of an Immediate Family Member of the Insured Person |
| TD Aeroplan Visa InfiniteTD · certificate | $1,500 | death of an Insured Person or Travelling Companion, sudden and unexpected sickness or accidental injury of an Insured Person or Travelling Companion |
| TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite PrivilegeTD · certificate | $2,500 | death of an Insured Person or Travelling Companion, sudden and unexpected sickness or accidental injury of an Insured Person or Travelling Companion, death of an Immediate Family Member of the Insured Person |
| TD Business Travel Visa CardTD · certificate | $1,500 | death of an Insured Person or Travelling Companion, sudden and unexpected sickness or accidental injury of an Insured Person or Travelling Companion, death of an Immediate Family Member of the Insured Person |
| TD First Class Travel Visa InfiniteTD · certificate | $1,500 | death of an Insured Person or Travelling Companion, sudden and unexpected sickness or accidental injury of an Insured Person or Travelling Companion, death of an Immediate Family Member of the Insured Person |
| Wealthsimple Visa InfiniteWealthsimple · certificate | $1,000 | Your, Your Immediate Family Member’s, Your Travelling Companion’s or Your Travelling Companion’s Immediate Family Member’s unexpected death, sickness or injury. |
| Wealthsimple Visa Infinite PrivilegeWealthsimple · certificate | $1,500 | Your, Your Immediate Family Member’s, Your Travelling Companion’s or Your Travelling Companion’s Immediate Family Member’s unexpected death, sickness or injury. Hospitalization or death of the host at Your principal destination. |
Two conditions sit outside this list on almost every certificate and decide more claims than the reasons do. The first is a pre-existing condition clause, which asks whether a medical condition was stable for a set period before the trip was booked or before departure; that period widens with age, and the wording is quoted card by card on our travel insurance over 65 page. The second is how the trip was paid for, since certificates require some or all of the cost to be charged to the card.
Trip interruption, the other half of the same benefit
Certificates pair cancellation and interruption under one heading, so this page reports both. Cancellation applies before departure, when a covered reason stops the trip going ahead and the prepaid arrangements cannot be refunded. Interruption applies after departure, covering the unused portion of the trip and the cost of getting home.
37 cards publish an interruption limit per insured person, from $1,000 to $5,000, and 31 state a per-account figure of up to $25,000, which 15 of them reach. Interruption is set higher than cancellation far more often than not: on the 37 cards stating both per-person figures, interruption is the larger on 24 and the same on 13. On no card here is the interruption figure the smaller of the two.
The reason for the gap is what each benefit has to pay for. Cancellation reimburses money already spent. Interruption may also have to buy a one-way fare home at short notice, which is why the certificates that separate the two set the second figure higher.
Frequently asked questions
Which credit cards have trip cancellation insurance in Canada?
37 of the 59 cards checked here publish a trip cancellation limit in a certificate of insurance, running from $1,000 to $2,500 per insured person. 10 affirmatively exclude the coverage, with a quote from the issuer document proving it, and the rest state nothing we could confirm either way. Every row in the tables above links the certificate the figure was read from.
Does the Amex Cobalt have trip cancellation insurance?
No. The American Express Cobalt Card certificate lists the benefits the card carries and trip cancellation is not among them. The same certificate does publish a $5,000,000 out of province and out of country emergency medical benefit, so the gap on this card is cancellation rather than medical. That is the opposite of what the card is usually assumed to be missing. The quoted wording is in the exclusion table above.
What is the difference between a per person and a per account trip cancellation limit?
The per-person figure caps what any one insured traveller can claim. The per-account figure caps what everyone travelling on the card can claim for the same cancelled trip, and it is usually far less than the per-person figure multiplied by the number of travellers. 34 of the cards here state both. On 23 of those 34 the account cap is under four times the per-person cap, so a family of four each holding a claim up to the per-person maximum would reach the account cap before the fourth claim is paid in full.
What is the difference between trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance?
Trip cancellation applies before you leave, when a covered reason stops the trip going ahead and the prepaid arrangements are non-refundable. Trip interruption applies once the trip has started, covering the unused portion and the extra transport home. Certificates pair them under one heading and usually set a higher figure for interruption: on the 37 cards here that state both, interruption is the higher figure on 24 and identical on 13.