Best credit cards for extended warranty | Million Mile Secrets (2024)

Signing up for credit cards through partner links earns us a commission. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Here’s our full advertising policy: How we make money.

Update:   One or more card offers in this post are no longer available.  Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers.

We’ve all been there — your smartwatch (or other expensive item) dies just a week after its manufacturer’s warranty expires. Of course, paying extra for an extended warranty didn’t seem worth it at the time you bought it and now you’re out a few hundred dollars.

Situations like this stink, but by using the right credit card, you can get extended-warranty protection for free.

This guide lists the best cards that offer extended-warranty protection and looks at how extended warranties work and how to use a card’s extended-warranty benefit.

Summary of the best credit cards for extended warranties

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Best Chase card for overall value
• Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Best Chase card for travel and dining
• Citi Premier® Card: Best Citi card
• American Express® Green Card: Best Amex card for general travel
• The Platinum Card® from American Express: Best Amex card for premium travel benefits
• American Express® Gold Card: Best Amex card for dining at restaurants
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Best card for flat-rate earning

The information for the Amex Green Card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

The best cards for extended-warranty protection for 2020

Chase Sapphire Preferred

Best Chase card for overall value

When you’re approved for theChase Sapphire Preferred, you’ll earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months from account opening.

TheChase Sapphire Preferred’s benefits and perksinclude:

• 5x total points on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
• 3x points on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out
• 3x points on select streaming services
• 3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
• 2x points on all other travel
• 1x point on all other purchases

In addition,using your Sapphire Preferred card to purchase certain items will extend eligible U.S. manufacturers’ warranties of three years or less by one year. And you’ll be covered up to $10,000 per claim and up to $50,000 per account.

TheSapphire Preferred is one of thetop cards for beginnersin the miles-and-points hobby. When yousubtract theChase Sapphire Preferred’s $95 annual feefrom the value of the welcome bonus and the card’s benefits and perks, its value is pretty clear.

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Best Chase card for travel and dining

When you sign up forChase Sapphire Reserve,you’ll earn60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months from account opening.

Benefits

TheChase Sapphire Reserve benefitsinclude 3x Chase Ultimate Rewardspointsontravel(excluding $300 travel credit) and dining worldwide; 10x points on Lyft rides (through March 2022), and 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.

The best perk for this card is the annual $300 in travel credits, which are automatically earned whenever you make a qualify purchase, including airfare, hotels, rental cars and more. You also get an application fee credit (worth up to $100) forGlobal Entry or TSA PreCheckevery four years. The card also includes a Priority Pass Select membership, which gets you and up to two guests access to 1,200+airport lounges.

As for extended warranties,using the Chase Sapphire Reserve will extend eligible U.S. manufacturers’ warranties of three years or less by one year. And you’ll be covered up to $10,000 per claim and up to $50,000 per account.

Here’s an in-depth look at the benefits of the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve isthebest premium travel rewards credit card. TheSapphire Reservesign-up bonus isworth at least $750 in travel when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards. And with the$300 annual creditfor travel purchases every cardmember anniversary, that’s$1,050 in valuein the first year, not counting othermoney-savingperks you enjoy as a cardholder.

Be sure to run the numbers when deciding between theChase Sapphire PreferredandChase Sapphire Reserve. For example, you’reeffectively paying a $250 annual feewith theChase Sapphire Reserve($550 annual fee – $300 travel credit). You’ll pay a $95 annual fee for theChase Sapphire Preferred. So you’ll effectively pay $155 more each year ($250 – $95) for the Sapphire Reserve to get many extra perks, likelounge access, more bonus points on travel and dining purchases, rental car discounts and much more.

Chase has theserestrictions for their Sapphire-branded credit cards. You cannot have more than one Sapphire credit card open at the same time.

Citi Premier Card

Best Citi card

TheCiti Premiercard comes with a bonus of 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.

Benefits

With this card you’ll earn 3x ThankYou pointson air travel, gas station, hotels, restaurants, supermarkets; and 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.

This card hasnoforeign transaction fees.In addition to these perks, the Citi Premier card extends the manufacturer’s warranty by two years, with total coverage not exceeding seven years from the purchase date.

Citi doesn’t have a minimum manufacturer’s warranty required for coverage, so a one-month manufacturer’s warranty still would be extended by two years on covered items. If you purchase an extended warranty, Citi’s coverage begins at the expiration of that warranty.

You cantransfer Citi ThankYou pointsto 15 airline partners, like Cathay Pacific, Avianca, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic or Turkish Airlines, at a 1:1 ratio. This gives you the potential to unlock incredible deals. For example,you could transfer points to Singapore Airlines to book its expensive business-class and first-class seats. Or you can transfer points to Virgin Atlantic and book Delta business-class awards to Europe for only 50,000 miles one-way (plus taxes and fees). These are just some of thebest ways to use Citi ThankYou points.

These deals can be even better when you take advantage of limited-timeCiti ThankYou transfer bonuses.

American Express® Green Card

Best Amex card for general travel purchases

TheAmex Green cardhas a welcome bonus of 45,000Membership Rewards pointsafter you spend $2,000 on purchases on your new cardin your first six months. The information for the Amex Green Card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

TheAmex Green Cardhas some unique benefitsthat can save you time and money with a solid 3x Amex Membership Rewards points on both travel and worldwide restaurant purchases — two popular spending categories. Cardholders will get yearly statement credits of up to $100 when using the Amex Green Card to pay for a Clear membership, plus up to $100 in LoungeBuddy statement credits per year.

Because of COVID-19’s impact on travel, Amex has added up to $80 in statement credits for wireless phone services purchased directly from U.S. providers. You can earn $10 back each month from May through December 2020.

When you use your card for eligible purchases, Amex will match a manufacturer’s warranty of one year or less and extend a manufacturer’s warranty of two to five years by one year.

This card has a $150 annual fee (see rates and fees) and no foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees).

The card has an annual fee of $150, but if you’re able to take advantage of the card’s benefits throughout the year, you can easily come out ahead.

You can see our full guide ofwho should (or shouldn’t) get the Amex Green Card.

The intro bonus is worth $900 (based on ourAmex points valuation) and with the Clear and LoungeBuddy credits you could end up with a first year value of $950 after paying the $150 annual fee.

The Platinum Card® from American Express

Best Amex card for premium travel benefits

WithThe Platinum Card® from American Express, you can earn60,000Membership Rewards pointsafteryou spend $5,000 on purchaseswithin the first three months of opening your account.

TheAmex Platinum card’sbenefitsinclude anannual incidental-fee creditof up to $200 on your selected airline; up to$200inUbercredits per year (can be used for Uber Eats), and upto $100 in credit forSaks Fifth Avenueper year.

And when you use your Amex Platinum card for eligible purchases, Amex will match the manufacturer’s warranty of one year or less and extend the manufacturer’s warranty of two to five years by one year.

With the Amex Platinum card, you’ll also get access to moreairport lounges than with comparable cards. And for a limited time you’ll get up to $320 in credits for select streaming services and wireless phone services purchased from U.S. providers. You can receive up to $20 per month in each category from May to December 2020.

TheAmex Platinumcard has a $550 annual fee, which is not waived the first year (seerates and fees) and has no foreign transaction fees (seerates and fees).

TheAmerican Express Platinum card is worth the annual feeif you use the perks and credits. Each year you can get up to $500 total in credits for Uber, Saks Fifth Ave. and airline incidental fees. That means you’ll easily come out ahead if you can get just $50 in value from the other benefits like airport lounge access. And the limited-time offer for streaming and wireless phone services can offset the travel perks you won’t be able to take advantage of during the coronavirus pandemic.

If you max out the card’s statement credits (up to $500) and only get value from the intro bonus ($1,200 based on ourAmex points value), you should still get $1,150 in value the first year.

American Express® Gold Card

Best Amex card for dining purchases at restaurants

TheAmerican Express® Gold Cardhas a welcome bonusof60,000Amex Membership Rewards pointswhen youspend $4,000 on purchases in the first six monthsof account opening.

TheAmex Gold card’sbenefits and perkscan really add up. There is dining credit of up to $120 ($10 monthly) each year at participating restaurants (enrollment required). The best feature of this card is that it earns 4 Amex Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at restaurants and at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases; then 1x). That’s an incredible earning rate for such popular spending categories.

In addition, the card offers extended-warranty coverage on eligible purchases. Amex will match a manufacturer’s warranty of one year or less and extend a manufacturer’s warranty of two to five years by one year. Again, a valuable benefit that can really come in handy when you’re making an expensive purchase.

There’s a $250 annual fee (see rates and fees) and it has no foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees).

Although the annual fee is a bit high, it’s easy to see that if you can make the most of the credits, then theAmex Gold’s annual feecan be worth it because you’ll offset most of that cost.

Wevalue Amex points at 2 cents each, making this card offer worth $1,070 the first year once you add the dining credits ($120) and subtract the $250 annual fee.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Best card for flat-rate earning

After approval, you can earn 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases within three months from account opening.

In addition to the card’s valuable welcome bonus, theCapital One Venture’sbenefits and perksinclude 2x Venture miles on all purchases; a statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck (up to $100), and no foreign transaction fees. The card also comes withVisa Signature benefits, like secondary rental car insurance, travel accident insurance, lost luggage insurance and extended-warranty coverage.

The card will match warranties of less than one year and extend warranties of one to three years by one year. And will cover up to $10,000 per claim and up to $50,000 per cardholder. Benefits only available to accounts approved for the Visa Signature card. Terms apply.

Being able to earn 2Venture mileson every purchase is pretty great, especially because you don’t have to worry about tracking bonus categories — everything is simple and straightforward.

The card has a $95 annual fee — a smaller annual fee than other cards that reimburse Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fees, which usually have fees that between $450 and $550. Plus, the welcome offer alone is worth $500 or more if youtransfer your Capital One milesto the right travel partners.

What is an extended warranty?

When you use the right card to buy eligible products that offer a U.S. manufacturer’s warranty, your card will extend the warranty for a certain period of time.

For example, if you purchase an eligible product with your Chase Sapphire Preferred card,you’ll get an additional year of warranty (only eligible for warranties of three years or less).

How to use credit card extended warranty

Using a credit card’s extended-warranty protection is easier than you might think and can end up saving you quite a bit of cash.

To start, make sure you have the right documentation to file a claim, including:

• Original receipt
• Credit card statement showing the charge
• Manufacturer’s warranty document

If something you’ve purchased breaks, you’ll want to first check the manufacturer’s warranty. If it’s still covered, file a claim directly with the manufacturer.

If it’s no longer covered by the manufacturer’s warranty, check the details of the extended-warranty coverage offered by the credit card you used for the purchase. Then call your card’s benefits administrator to start the claims process.

You’ll likely have to collect appropriate documentation for your claim, likea repair quote, photos of the damaged item, the original receipt and the credit card statement showing the charge.In some cases, the benefits administrator may even ask you to send back the item for inspection or repair.

If the claim is approved, you’ll usually receive a statement credit or check as reimbursem*nt for yourrepair costs, replacement costs or the original purchase cost.

For rates and fees of the Amex Green card, clickhere.

For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum Card, please clickhere.

For rates and fees of the Amex Gold card, click here.

Meghan Hunter is an editor for Million Mile Secrets. She covers points, miles, credit cards, airlines, hotels and general travel. Her work has also appeared in The Points Guy.

More Topics

Join the Discussion!

You May Also Like