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How to get cell phone protection coverage with your credit card

Jason

ADVERTISER DISCLOSURE: DaddyTravelsNow is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as MileValue.com  This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

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Update: July 20, 2023

My cell phone claim was approved on Monday, July 10
Claim check received by mail – Wed, July 19
For more details – read below
Cell phones. Love ’em or hate ’em….these days many of us would agree that we need them. I happen to love my smart phones. I wouldn’t know what to do without them. And if there’s another thing many of us would also also agree on, today’s cell phones are uber expensive. We are talking hundreds to thousands of dollars. Which begs the question….how do you protect your cell phone?

How to get cell phone protection coverage with your credit card

My son has an old iPhone 7. The screen cracked, and the dropped caused a domino effect of other issues. The phone was diagnosed as not repairable.
For this particular cell phone, we pay for it’s monthly billing charge using The Business Platinum from American Express. Why? For this particular credit card, to get coverage, according to the Guide to Benefits for American Express® Card Members Cell Phone Protection
You must charge your monthly Eligible Cellular Wireless Telephone bill to your Eligible Card Account. You are eligible for coverage the first day of the calendar month following the payment of your Eligible Cellular Wireless Telephone bill using your Eligible Card Account.
Not that we were expecting for something to happen, but that was the reason why we opted to pay for our monthly wireless telephone bill with our American Express card. We wanted to have cell phone protection if ever were needed it.

What’s covered

Specific to The Business Platinum from American Express, the maximum liability is $ 800, per claim, per Eligible Card Account. Each claim is subject to a $ 50 deductible. Coverage is limited to two (2) claims per Eligible Card Account per 12-month period. They will determine replacement cost/value at their sole discretion, and shall be liable only for the lesser of the following amounts:

1) The actual cost to repair or

2) Replacement value, up to $800 per claim (after a $50 deductible has first been applied to the cost to repair or replace).

How to file a claim

I called 1-833-784-1467 to open a claim. I got this phone number when I went to the benefits section of my credit card, and followed the links to review the Cell Phone Protection Benefits Guide.

After the phone call, I received an email acknowledging my new claim, and required documents to process the claim review.

Required Documents

AMERICAN EXPRESS STATEMENT 

Provide a copy of your full Eligible American Express card statement confirming the cellular wireless provider payment made in May. Include the New Charges Summary section of the statement which indicates all cards and all card holder names that are on your account.

CELLULAR PROVIDERS BILLING STATEMENT FROM MONTH /PERIOD OF THE THEFT /DAMAGE

Provide a copy of your Eligible Cellular Wireless Telephone service provider’s billing statement for plan coverage dates in effect on the date the Eligible Cellular Wireless Telephone was damaged or stolen.

CELLULAR PROVIDERS BILLING STATEMENTS FROM PRECEDING MONTH/PERIOD OF THE THEFT / DAMAGE

Provide a copy of your Eligible Cellular Wireless Telephone service provider’s billing statement which corresponds to the payment made using your Eligible Card Account in the calendar month prior to the date Eligible Cellular wireless telephone was damaged or stolen.

CLAIM FORMS

Please complete the attached claim forms.

PROOF OF ELIGIBLE CELLULAR WIRELESS TELEPHONE

Provide confirmation of the make and model of the damaged or stolen Eligible Cellular Wireless Telephone. This may be found on some cell providers billing statements, within the online account under device listings, or an original purchase receipt.

RECEIPT OF PURCHASED CELLULAR TELEPHONE

Please provide a copy of the receipt of purchase for the replacement cellular telephone.

REPAIR ESTIMATE

Please provide a copy of the repair invoice showing actual or estimated cost of repairs along with the name of the repair center, address and phone number.

What I didn’t provide (initially)

AIG Claims, the company that worked with American Express in handling the cell phone protection claim, asked for this:
RECEIPT OF PURCHASED CELLULAR TELEPHONE – a copy of the receipt of purchase for the replacement cellular telephone.

Why I did not provide that (initially)

In my mind, we’ve got a Chicken and the Egg, or the cart before the horse situation here. Well, we didn’t replace the phone yet, and we were waiting to see if the claim would be approved first. I didn’t want to buy a new phone, send my receipt, and later learn that the claim is denied.

Waiting for my proof of purchase

I called and AIG, and I was advised hat the proof of purchase of the replacement phone was the thing that was missing to process the claim.

Survey says

I checked with members of Daddy Travels Miles and Points Facebook group and it was unanimous. According to 3 of my trusted members, Joahna R, Carroll L, and Mona D. – they, too, submitted a cell phone claim with American Express and had to show “proof of replacement purchase receipt” for their claims to be processed and be approved.

Fine! I purchased a replacement phone

I purchased a phone to satisfy the requirement to provide a receipt. I submitted the receipt on July 6th and by Monday, July 10th, I received this approval via email that my cell phone protection claim was approved.
AIG approval email – $800 coverage

 

Over a week later

My cell phone claim was approved on Monday, July 10, Claim check received by mail – Wed, July 19
AIG Reimbursement Claim Check for $800

My takeaways from this cell phone protection claim

Bottomline, give them what they want – it’s that simple. I made sure to fill out the forms, I submitted all the required documents, including the replacement purchase receipt. It didn’t take that long for the claim to reviewed and be approved after all the required documents were submitted.

Is your cell phone protected?

STOP. Pop quiz. How do you pay your monthly wireless phone bill? Do you write a check? Pay with your debit card? Or, do you pay with a credit card?
Not-so-breaking news
Paying with a check, cash, or debit card – sorry, Charlie, no protection benefits! That’s a fact.
But, wait…. not just any credit card
Some of you might be paying your monthly cell phone bill with a credit card that earns points and/or cash back. That’s great! But, does your credit card offer cell phone protection coverage when you pay with the monthly bill? NOT ALL credit cards offer cell phone protection benefits.

Before you decide to use a credit card and pay for your monthly wireless bill, make sure to check the card itself if it offers cell phone protection coverage. These are some of the credit cards I know of that offers protection.

Credit cards with Cell Phone Protection

Have you ever needed to use your cell phone protection?

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Editorial Disclosure – The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers.

 

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Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
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