Credit card trip delay cover pays after 6 or 12 hours, and only for causes the guide names
Many premium US travel cards repay up to US$500 after a 6 or 12 hour delay, but only for causes named in the card's guide, and an air traffic control failure isn't clearly on most lists. The 13 November 2026 FAA ground stop ran 4 hours 21 minutes, so on its own it passed none of these waiting periods.12
Below: a checker for your card, every US card guide we could read side by side, and the evidence on air traffic control claims. The benefit administrator decides each claim.
Will my card pay for this delay?
Choose the card, how long the trip was held up and the reason the airline gave. The answer comes from the card's own guide. Nothing you choose leaves this page.
Nine US card benefits side by side
Each row is one trip delay benefit as its guide describes it. Search, sort or filter the table. The wording column quotes the guide's own list of causes.
| Card | Waiting period | Pays up to | Covered causes (guide wording) | ATC or FAA failure | Claims handled by | Notice and proof deadlines | Links | Guide read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Sapphire ReserveCard pageYou and family members, who need not travel with you | More than 6 hours or overnight 3 | US$500Per covered traveller per trip | “equipment failure, inclement weather, strike, or hijacking/skyjacking”Closed list. Secondary to the airline and other insurance. | DependsSilent on air traffic control. Experts split on whether an FAA failure is equipment failure. | Virginia Surety (Assurant), via chasecardbenefits.com | 60 days to notify100 days for documents | Benefit guide Claim site | Read |
| Chase Sapphire PreferredCard pageYou and family members, who need not travel with you | More than 12 hours or overnight 4 | US$500Per covered traveller per trip | “equipment failure, inclement weather, strike, or hijacking/skyjacking”Same clause as the Reserve. | NoA 2025 claim for an air traffic control ground delay was reported denied. Same wording as the Reserve. | Virginia Surety (Assurant), via chasecardbenefits.com | 60 days to notify100 days for documents | Benefit guide Claim site | Read |
| Chase Ritz-Carlton cardCard pageYou and family members | More than 6 hours or overnight 5 | US$500Per covered traveller per trip | “equipment failure, inclement weather, strike, or hijacking/skyjacking”Example of other Chase cards. Each has its own guide. | DependsSilent on air traffic control. | Virginia Surety (Assurant), via chasecardbenefits.com | 60 days to notify100 days for documents | Benefit guide Claim site | Read |
| American Express, US$500 and 6 hour versionCard pageYou, family members and travelling companions who bought the trip on your card | More than 6 hours 6 | US$500Per trip, 2 claims a year | “A Common Carrier's equipment failure, as documented by the Common Carrier”Also weather, terrorism or hijacking, lost passports. No strikes. | NoCarrier's own equipment only. Amex said in Nov 2025 card benefits would not cover FAA-ordered delays. | New Hampshire Insurance (AIG), via aig.claimnotify.com | 60 days to notify180 days for proof of loss | Benefit guide Claim site | Read |
| American Express, US$300 and 12 hour versionCard pageYou, family members and travelling companions who bought the trip on your card | More than 12 hours 7 | US$300Per trip, 2 claims a year | “A Common Carrier's equipment failure, as documented by the Common Carrier”Same four causes as the 6 hour version. | NoCarrier's own equipment only. Same Amex statement applies. | New Hampshire Insurance (AIG), via aig.claimnotify.com | 60 days to notify180 days for proof of loss | Benefit guide Claim site | Read |
| Capital One Venture XCard pageYou, your spouse and dependent children under 22 | More than 6 hours or overnight 8 | US$500Per purchased ticket | “equipment failure, inclement weather, strike and hijacking/skyjacking”Defined as "Covered Hazards". Supplemental cover. | DependsSilent on air traffic control. No Capital One statement found. | Card Benefit Services, via eclaimsline.com | 30 days to call90 days for documents | Benefit guide Claim site | Read |
| Bilt Palladium CardCardholder trips bought entirely with the card | More than 6 hours 9 | US$300Per trip, 1 claim a year | “Equipment failure of a common carrier (documented by the common carrier)”Also weather and lost passports. No cover if the carrier cancels within 6 hours of departure. | DependsCarrier-equipment clause like Amex. No refusal recorded, so rated depends. | Sedgwick, underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance (AIG) | 60 days to notify180 days for documents | Benefit guide Claim site | Read |
| Citi Strata Elite and Strata PremierNot read | More than 6 hours (second-hand) 1011 | US$500 (second-hand)Guide could not be read | Guide could not be readCiti's Guide to Protection Benefits could not be opened. | DependsUnknown. Guide not read. | Not confirmed | Not readUse the guide in your Citi account | Guide (blocked) | Not read |
| U.S. Bank Altitude ReserveNot read | 6 hours or overnight (second-hand) 12 | US$500 (second-hand)Per ticket, guide not found | Guide could not be readNo official guide found. Reported closed to new applicants. | DependsUnknown. Guide not found. | Not confirmed | Not readCall the number on your card | No official guide or claim site found | Not read |
No US card guide read names air traffic control or the FAA
The guides list a short set of causes. Air traffic control failures, FAA system outages and government orders appear on none of the 7 read.3
Chase and Capital One say “equipment failure” without saying whose
Chase lists “equipment failure, inclement weather, strike, or hijacking/skyjacking”.3 Capital One's covered hazards are the same four.8 A claimant can argue an FAA equipment failure is an equipment failure.
The insurer has refused that argument at least once. A Sapphire Preferred cardholder's hotel claim after an air traffic control ground delay was denied in 2025.13 Experts quoted after the 2026 stop split on whether an FAA failure counts.14
Amex and Bilt cover only the carrier's own equipment
Amex covers “A Common Carrier's equipment failure, as documented by the Common Carrier”.6 Bilt's wording is close to it.9 The FAA's network belongs to the government, so the clause doesn't fit on its face.
Amex said in November 2025 that its card benefits would not cover cancellations or delays caused by the FAA's emergency order, and that standalone policies might.13
What the FAA and the transport secretary said about the cause matters to the “whose equipment” question. On 14 November Sean Duffy said a router flooded the FAA's network while a contractor switched lines from copper to fibre.15 The FAA says the root cause is still unconfirmed. Your claim is judged on the reason the airline writes down, so ask the airline for its statement and quote it exactly.
Canadian cards show another approach. RBC, BMO and Amex Canada Platinum certificates apply no cause test after 4 hours.1617 TD excludes losses from government orders, and Scotiabank names its causes.1819
The 13 November ground stop reached these cards only through rebooking and overnight stays
The FAA ordered a stop at every US airport at 3:54pm ET and lifted it at 8:15pm ET, after 4 hours 21 minutes.12 No card's hour threshold was passed by the stop alone.
The knock-on effect was longer. Friday closed with 9,159 flights cancelled.20 More than 6,000 more were cancelled by 6pm ET on Saturday. A traveller rebooked onto a Saturday flight could pass 6 or 12 hours, or need a hotel. That brings Chase and Capital One's overnight limb into play.
No source counts how many passengers were held overnight.21 The cause test still applies to every one of them.
Across all 126 insurance positions on the main page, 28 pay for this kind of event, 65 depend on the wording and 33 do not. Of the US delay products that state a waiting period, 10 of 14 start at 5 hours or more. See the insurance table.
Every card asks for the airline's written reason
- The airline's statement. Chase and Capital One ask for a “statement from the Common Carrier explaining the reason for the delay”. Amex wants a statement that the trip was delayed. Get it in writing with the scheduled and actual times.
- Proof the fare went on the card: the statement showing the last four digits, or the itinerary that shows them.
- Itemised receipts for meals, the hotel, toiletries and medication. Capital One needs food receipts always and itemised ones for bills of US$50 or more per traveller.
- Your original and new itineraries, and anything the airline paid or gave you, including vouchers. Every card pays only what is left after those.
Most refused card claims fail on the cause, the payment or the deadline
- The airline's stated reason isn't on the guide's list. A letter that says “air traffic control” or “FAA ground stop” matches none of the US card causes on its face.
- The fare went on another card, or was paid with another programme's points. Amex and Bilt need the full fare on the card. Chase and Capital One accept part.
- The delay fell short. “More than 6 hours” means a 6 hour delay doesn't qualify.
- Notice came late. Capital One gives 30 days to call. Chase and Amex give 60.
- The disruption was public before you left. Amex and Capital One exclude causes “made public or known” before departure.
- Prepaid costs. A delay benefit repays extra spending only.
Card cover or a standalone policy for the next trip? The trip delay insurance page compares waiting periods and causes by product. For hotel costs the airline may owe, see does the airline pay for a hotel. For the stop itself, see the ground stop page. Claiming from a travel policy as well? See how to make a travel insurance claim.
Questions cardholders ask
Can I get credit card insurance to cover delayed flights?
Yes, if your card carries a trip delay benefit, you paid at least part of the fare with it, the delay passed the waiting period and the airline's stated reason is on the guide's list. It repays reasonable extra costs such as meals and a hotel. It pays nothing for the lost time itself.
Can you get compensated for a 2 hour flight delay?
Not from the US cards on this page. The shortest US waiting period read is more than 6 hours. Several Canadian cards start at 4 hours. For what an airline owes on a short delay, see the passenger rules section.
Which credit cards have trip cancellation insurance?
This page covers trip delay only. Several of the same cards carry a separate trip cancellation and interruption benefit with its own list of reasons. The Sapphire Reserve's list names no air traffic control or carrier delay reason. Check the cancellation section of your own guide.
What does trip delay insurance cover?
Reasonable extra costs while you wait for travel to resume. Chase lists “meals, lodging, toiletries, and medication”. Amex says “including but not limited to meals, lodging, toiletries, medication, and other personal use items”. Capital One says “such as meals and lodging”. Costs you prepaid before the trip are excluded.
Does the delay need to be overnight?
Only as an alternative on some cards. Chase Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred and Capital One Venture X pay after their hour threshold or when the delay “requires an overnight stay”. The Amex and Bilt guides have no overnight alternative, so only the hours count.
Do award tickets count?
Chase and Capital One cover a trip where part of the fare went on the card or was paid with the card's own rewards. Amex wants the full amount on the card, though the card's points and certificates, vouchers or discounts from a frequent flyer programme can make up part of it.
Does paying the taxes and fees with the card count?
Chase and Capital One ask for “a portion” of the fare on the card. The guides don't mention taxes and fees on an airline-miles ticket, so whether that counts is the administrator's call. Ask before you rely on it.
Does it cover a delay on the return leg?
Yes on the guides read. Chase cover runs from the trip departure date to the trip completion date, which is the scheduled return. Amex cover runs until the round trip is complete. Capital One covers a trip of up to 365 days.
Can I claim from the card and a travel policy for the same delay?
You can claim from both, but you can't be paid twice. Every US card here is secondary: it pays only what the airline, another insurer or anyone else responsible hasn't paid. Tell each one about the other.
What is the 2:30 rule for Chase?
On card forums the “2/30 rule” describes how many new Chase cards people report being approved for within 30 days. Chase doesn't publish it, and the Sapphire guides contain nothing by that name. Their trip delay thresholds are 6 hours (Reserve) and 12 hours (Preferred).
Every figure links to its source
21 sources
Guides and certificates were read on the issuers' own documents on 15 November 2026. Card guides change, so check the guide in your own card account before you claim.
- FAA command centre advisory 111 Read on the provider's own page Also reference 40 on the methodology page.
- The Points Guy, ground stop lifted Reported elsewhere Also reference 10 on the methodology page.
- Chase Sapphire Reserve Guide to Benefits (BGC11559, effective 10/1/24) Read on the provider's own page
- Chase Sapphire Preferred Guide to Benefits (BGC11599, effective 10/01/24) Read on the provider's own page
- The Ritz-Carlton Credit Card Guide to Benefits (BGC11580) Read on the provider's own page
- American Express Trip Delay Insurance guide, US$500 and 6 hour version Read on the provider's own page Also reference 136 on the methodology page.
- American Express Trip Delay Insurance guide, US$300 and 12 hour version Read on the provider's own page
- Capital One Visa Infinite Guide to Benefits (form TRIP 12-300-2017) Read on the provider's own page
- Bilt Palladium Card Guide to Benefits (Mastercard) Read on the provider's own page Also reference 219 on the methodology page.
- Citi Strata Elite Guide to Protection Benefits (could not be opened) Could not be confirmed
- Your Mileage May Vary, credit card trip delay (reported elsewhere) Reported elsewhere Also reference 218 on the methodology page.
- Frequent Miler, premium card travel insurance (reported elsewhere) Reported elsewhere Also reference 220 on the methodology page.
- Thrifty Traveler, premium travel card insurance gap Read on the provider's own page Also reference 205 on the methodology page.
- Upgraded Points, flights resume after the ground stop Read on the provider's own page Also reference 7 on the methodology page.
- Yahoo News live blog, Duffy press conference Reported elsewhere Also reference 46 on the methodology page.
- RBC Avion Visa Infinite certificate of insurance Read on the provider's own page
- American Express Canada, The Platinum Card certificate of insurance Read on the provider's own page
- TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite certificate of insurance Read on the provider's own page
- Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite certificate of insurance Read on the provider's own page
- FlightAware via CBS News Read on the provider's own page Also reference 45 on the methodology page.
- Cirium via CNBC Read on the provider's own page Also reference 302 on the methodology page.