Which Credit Cards Offer Price Protection in 2020? How to Get Money Back if the Price Drops.
Which credit cards offer price protection still? The list has certainly decreased. Citi threw a bomb at their fringe card benefits back in July, and the end of 2019 / start of 2020 saw other perks slashed from American Express cards. If you’re wondering which cards still offer price protection, keep reading.
What is Price Protection?
Price protection protects…your price. Essentially, if you buy something and then the price goes down, you will get a refund of the difference. You bought something for $200. A week later, the price dropped to $175. Price protection gives you a refund of $25 in this example.
There are obviously restrictions on this, and every card issuer has different rules. Here are the variables you need to watch for:
- How long the price protection lasts
- How to file your claim for reimbursement
- How much time you have to file the claim (after seeing the price change)
- Whether you have to register the item after purchase or if the protection is automatic
- The maximum price difference refund per item
- The maximum amount of refunds you can receive per year on that credit card
- Any types of products not covered
- Quantity of the same item covered at once
- Whether items bought outside the U.S. are covered
These items can vary wildly between cards, card issuers, and even change depending on the type of item you bought. Reading the fine print is extremely important here.
How to Use Price Protection
Let’s assume you bought something, you used a card offering price protection, and now the price has dropped. Policies by bank are different, but you’ll generally need the following items:
- Original sales receipt, itemized and showing the item you purchased
- Credit card statement showing the purchase
- Proof of a lower price via advertisement (check policies for whether online ads or shopping portal prices count or whether it must be an in-store price)
The best path to start is contacting your credit card issuer by calling the number on the back of your card, chat, or secure message. Tell them you want to use this benefit then ask how to get started.
Chase Credit Cards that Offer Price Protection
Chase removed price protection from most of its credit cards last year. These 4 cards, however, still offer it.
- United Club Card
- United Club Business Card
- United TravelBank Credit Card
- United Explorer Business Card
The price protection on all 4 cards is the same. You are covered for $500 per item and up to $2,500 per year. The price is protected for 90 days.
Capital One Credit Cards that Offer Price Protection
Four business credit cards offer price protection at Capital One:
- Capital One Spark Cash for Business
- Capital One Spark Miles for Business
- Capital One Spark Cash Select for Business
- Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business
The price protection on all 4 business cards is the same. You are covered for $500 per item and up to $2,500 per year. The price is protected for 60 days. Capital One specifically excludes internet ads for price protection. You must be able to find the price advertised in print or in a store.
Amalgamated Bank of Chicago (ABOC) Cards that Offer Price Protection
Lesser-known Amalgamated Bank of Chicago has 2 cards that offer price protection:
- ABOC Platinum Rewards Mastercard Credit Card
- ABOC Union Strong Mastercard Credit Card
Both cards have the same benefits for the price protection perk. You are covered for $250 per item and a maximum of 4 claims per year. The price is protected for 60 days.
Single Credit Cards Offering Price Protection
There are other cards that offer price protection. These are single cards offering the benefit while no other cards from that bank publicly mention it.
- HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard credit card – Coverage up to $250 per item and a max of 4 claims per year. Coverage extends for 120 days.
- Navy Federal More Rewards American Express Credit Card – Coverage up to $250 per item and $1,000 per year. Coverage extends for 30 days.
- Rakuten Cash Back Visa Credit Card – Coverage up to $500 per item and $2,500 per year. Coverage extends for 60 days.
- UBS Visa Infinite Credit Card – Coverage up to $500 per item and $1,500 per year. Coverage extends for 90 days.
- U.S. Bank Cash 365 American Express Card – Coverage up to $250 per item and $1,000 per year. Coverage extends for 30 days. (Note: many items are excluded)
- Wells Fargo Visa Signature card – Coverage up to $250 per item and $1,000 per year. Coverage extends for 60 days.
Keeping on Top of Purchases for Price Protection
Monitoring the price of everything you buy can seem daunting. To really employ this perk, you’ll need a picture of the item and receipt for everything you buy. The quickest way to reduce this work is knowing what’s covere before buying. Now you aren’t tracking items needlessly.
Now that you’re only tracking items that might enjoy this perk, what’s the best way? The site Paribus (run by Capital One but can be used for purchases made on other cards, as well) could come in handy. It’s not perfect. It doesn’t catch everything, but it can help by tracking receipts in your email and scanning those sites for price drops. Obviously, this won’t help for something you bought in person, since the receipts aren’t in your email. As I said, it’s not perfect, since it also doesn’t scan the whole internet. It crawls 28 sites only.
For things you bought in person, you’ll need to monitor the price yourself. This also applies to purchases made from sites not tracked by Paribus, if you’re using it.
Final Thoughts
There are still credit cards offering price protection in 2020, but the list is smaller than it was last year. In this article, we looked at which credit cards offer price protection, what price protection is, and then how to use your benefit by being organized. The terms and conditions vary wildly, such as amount of coverage, items covered, and how much time you get from the purchase date. This can be a great perk if you stay on top of it.
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