American Express recently launched new insurance coverage on the American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card. American Express is offering the following insurance coverage on the Card from November 1, 2019, through September 30, 2020:

• An Air Accident Cover of ₹1,00,00,000
• A Purchase Protection of ₹5,00,000

But unlike other credit cards which offer you the insurance just by holding the card and making purchases on it, American Express has gamified this a bit. The American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card (going free right now) is already the easiest way to get yourselves at least 1000 Membership Rewards Points every month by spending INR 1,000 on the card at least four times in a calendar month. Now, when you spend INR 1,000 on the card at least six times in a calendar month, you will be eligible for the insurance mentioned above covers in the month after.

For instance, if you spend INR 1000 x 6 on your Membership Rewards Credit Card in October 2019, you get the insurance in November 2019. When you spend INR 1000 x 6 in November 2019, you get the coverage in December 2019 and so on. The four transactions for the bonus 1,000 Membership Rewards points count as well.

The other catch is, this insurance cover is opt-in, and today (September 22, 2019) is the last day to opt-in. You need to go to this website to put in your card number and register, then spend six times a month (over INR 1,000) to get the insurance coverage for the next month. So if you have the Membership Rewards Credit Card, sign up for this now.

Before you ask, this insurance in this form is only on this specific card. I am also not sure if Amex will allow opt-in after today.

Here are the essential terms of the cover:

• The Air Accident Cover excludes Pilots, Armed Forces, Police and Air Crew under this plan and protection won’t be valid due to Terrorist Action. ICICI Lombard General Insurance is offering the coverage.
• The Purchase Protection Cover is valid only for 90 days on purchase of goods on the Membership Rewards Credit Card, against damage or loss due to fire or burglary. This does not cover Jewellery and Perishable items and does not work for incidents of Earthquake, Terrorism and Mysterious Disappearance. The policy is only valid for anything that happens in India.

This is not the most robust Purchase Protection on offer, because Purchase Protection, in other parts of the world, work for accidental damage as well, which is not the case in India.

Anyhow, if you would like to register for this insurance cover, today is the last day. So go for it. 

American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card