How Do I Evaluate Flight Costs Purchased With Points?

If you used frequent flyer miles or credit card points to book your flights, you may be wondering: What trip cost should I list when purchasing travel insurance?

Here’s how it works:

🎟️ Points & Miles Have No Cash Value

Travel insurance only reimburses prepaid, nonrefundable cash expenses.
Because points and miles are not considered cash, you don’t need to include them in your insured trip cost.

💵 What to Include Instead

If you used points or miles, you can include the actual cash you paid for:

Taxes and airline fees (often $5–$200 per ticket)
Seat upgrades or baggage fees paid at booking
Any nonrefundable surcharges charged to your credit card

👉 Example: If your flight was 50,000 miles + $75 in taxes, you would insure the $75 only.

🔄 Protecting the Rest of Your Trip

Remember, your trip cost also includes other prepaid, nonrefundable expenses such as:

Cruises, tours, or hotels
Vacation rentals
Excursions or event tickets

Even if your flights were booked with points, you’ll still want to insure the rest of your travel investment.

🛡️ Bottom Line

Don’t include the value of your points or miles in your insured trip cost.
Only list the cash amounts you paid (taxes, fees, surcharges).
Be sure to add in all other prepaid, nonrefundable trip expenses so your full investment is protected.

👉 Not sure what to include? Fill out a quote form and our team can confirm the right trip cost for your situation.

How Do I Evaluate Flight Costs Purchased With Points?

If you used frequent flyer miles or credit card points to book your flights, you may be wondering: What trip cost should I list when purchasing travel insurance?