Wells Fargo Travel Insurance: A Comprehensive Guide 

• Written by Dia Adams
  

  Dia Adams

  Credit cards, travel rewards, travel, personal finance

  Dia Adams has been featured on national television, radio, print, and online media as an expert in the realm of credit cards, travel rewards, and family travel. She has acted as a senior staff editor on the personal finance team at Fortune and as a managing editor at Forbes Advisor. Dia has been writing about credit cards and travel rewards for over a decade, and has also written a best-selling guidebook on Disney World. She created, organized, and hosted Family Travel for Real Life (FT4RL), a successful travel rewards-focused conference that ran for six years. Outside of work, Dia is a mom of two residing in the DC Metro area. Between growing up in foreign service and working in consulting, she built up a serious love of travel that includes visiting over 50 countries and living in Thailand, China, and Ireland, where her son was born.

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• Edited by Jasmin Baron, CCC™
  

  Jasmin Baron, CCC™

  Credit Cards, Travel Rewards, Loyalty Programs, Family Travel, Credit Building, Credit Scores

  Jasmin Baron is a NACCC Certified Credit Counselor™ and CardCritics’ senior editor, responsible for editing and writing credit cards, travel rewards, loyalty program, and other credit-related content. She is passionate about personal finance education and enjoys sharing tips and tricks for making the most of credit card points and miles with her readers. Her expertise in maximizing credit card travel rewards originated from over two decades of aviation industry experience, including 18 years working as a pilot and college professor/flight instructor in her native Canada. Her work has appeared on sites such as CNN Underscored Money, Business Insider, The Points Guy, and point.me. When she’s not planning her next trip with credit card rewards, you’ll probably find her tinkering around in the kitchen, hanging out with her three kids, or playing with her dog, Benji.

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• Last Updated Feb 4, 2026

Wells Fargo offers solid complimentary travel protections on select credit cards, but where and what you swipe matters. Coverage applies only when you charge your trip to the correct card, and not every Wells Fargo credit card qualifies for coverage. 

If you’re considering a credit card for travel insurance, focus on travel-oriented options such as the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card or One Key+™ Card; balance transfer cards like the Wells Fargo Reflect® Card are much more limited. 

This guide breaks down what’s covered, which cards deliver, and how to actually use these perks without the headaches.

What Is Travel Insurance on Wells Fargo Credit Cards? 

Travel protections on Wells Fargo cards are built-in benefits that activate when you pay for eligible travel with the card — no separate policy purchase required. Credit card travel insurance differs from comprehensive standalone travel insurance plans, as you’d buy from Allianz or Travel Guard; instead, they cover specific scenarios like cancellations or rental car damages tied directly to your card spend.

Standalone Insurance vs. Credit Card-Provided Protections

Travel insurance policies from providers such as Allianz and Travel Guard routinely cover emergency medical and dental expenses during trips — up to $50,000 per person on basic plans, plus evacuation/repatriation coverage exceeding $100,000. This is the primary difference between a travel insurance policy and what you’ll get from swiping your eligible Wells Fargo travel card, which doesn’t offer such protections. 

How Wells Fargo’s Travel Protections Are Triggered

Qualifying for travel protections requires precision: you must charge the full expense to the specific card or its associated rewards program (no splitting payments). Miss the charge requirement or use cash/another card? Coverage evaporates. Standalone policies sidestep this by activating upon purchase, no card strings attached.

Core Travel Insurance Protections on Wells Fargo Cards 

Here’s a quick list of what you can expect from Wells Fargo travel protections. As you might expect, cards with annual fees, such as the Autograph Journey Card and One Key+ Card, offer more robust perks. Check your benefits guide for more details. 

Trip Cancellation and Interruption Protection 

This benefit reimburses non-refundables (up to $15,000 per traveler and $20,000 per year on premium cards) for covered illness, weather or carrier issues — provided you charge the full cost of the trip on the card.

Travel Accident Insurance 

Wells Fargo travel accident insurance pays up to $1,000,000 in lump-sum benefits for accidental death or dismemberment occurring on a common carrier like a flight, train, bus or cruise ship, but only when you purchase the entire ticket fare with your eligible Wells Fargo card.

Lost Baggage Reimbursement 

Wells Fargo lost baggage coverage reimburses up to $3,000 per covered trip when your carrier loses your luggage entirely. That said, don’t go checking your prized possessions willy-nilly, as the list of excluded items includes things you might not expect, such as perfume, cameras and contact lenses. 

Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver 

With most cards, Wells Fargo car rental insurance is secondary — your personal insurance policy pays first, and the card covers the gap. Two exceptions are the One Key™ Card and One Key+ Card, which offer primary coverage (except for New York residents).

Note that rental car collision coverage is often primary when you rent outside the U.S. In practice, this means I use my Autograph Journey Card for car rentals overseas, but not in the U.S. I recently saved over $20 per day by declining extra coverage in France and charging the rental to my card. 

Another thing to consider is that rental car collision insurance covers the car, not you. If you don’t have car insurance on an auto you own, it could be well worth purchasing the rental company-provided coverage.

Travel and Emergency Assistance Services 

Wells Fargo provides 24/7 worldwide travel and emergency assistance services through Visa or Mastercard networks, offering medical or legal referrals, emergency cash transfers, document replacement help, and evacuation coordination — but these deliver support and coordination only, not direct financial payouts or medical expense coverage.

Which Wells Fargo Cards Include Travel Insurance Benefits? 

As you might expect, Wells Fargo focuses its travel insurance benefits on those cards tailored toward travel. That said, a surprising list of cards offer basic car rental protection. 

Stronger Coverage Cards

• Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card: Up to $15,000 trip cancellation ($20,000 max per year), up to $1 million accident, up to $3,000 baggage, rental CDW
• Wells Fargo One Key+ Card: Trip cancellation up to $5,000 per traveler, per trip ($20,000 max per year), up to $1 million in accident coverage, rental CDW
• One Key™ Card: Trip cancellation up to $5,000 per traveler, per trip ($20,000 per year), up to $1 million accident, rental CDW
• Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard®: Trip cancellation up to $5,000 per traveler, per trip ($20,000 max per year), up to $3,000 baggage, up to $1 million accident, car rental CDW
• Choice Privileges® Mastercard®: Trip cancellation up to $5,000 per traveler, per trip ($20,000 max per year), up to $3,000 baggage, up to $1 million accident, car rental CDW

• Wells Fargo Autograph® Card: Car rental CDW
• Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card: Car rental CDW
• Wells Fargo Reflect Card: Car Rental CDW 

How To Use and Maximize Wells Fargo Travel Protections 

Book Your Trip Using Your Card 

Charge everything trip-related to your eligible card — that’s non-negotiable for activation. You can’t claim losses on expenses not charged to the specific card you’re trying to submit a claim from. 

Understand the Claims Process 

The main thing to do when you have a loss is to document, document, document. If you’ve missed a flight, get a letter from the airline detailing the reason for the cancellation. If you’ve been robbed, file a police report. If you break your leg and have to cancel your trip, get a note from your doctor. 

Don’t dawdle when filing a claim: expect a time limit for your claim eligibility. For instance, a car rental loss must be claimed within 60 days of the date it occurred to qualify if you used the Autograph Journey Card. The limits will vary by card, so be sure to review your guide to benefits. 

Know Common Exclusions andLimitations 

There are some things that card coverage won’t allow you to claim. Examples include: 

• Luxury or sports car rentals — many plans have a $50,000 per-rental limit.
• Losses due to speeding or other illegal activity.
• Cars rented through a sharing service such as Turo. 
• Many items aren’t covered in lost baggage insurance, including sporting equipment, prescription medicines, cosmetics and art. This could be a significant issue if you purchase an expensive souvenir, so be aware of policy limits before relying on credit card coverage. 
• Pre-existing conditions, but this is not meant to exclude managed conditions, such as those for which you take daily medication. Be sure to check your benefits guide.

When To Supplement with Additional Travel Insurance 

Card benefits, such as Wells Fargo’s, are narrower than standalone travel coverage, and there are trips where you’ll be glad you paid extra for coverage. I know I was when a five-night hospital stay in Gran Canaria was quickly covered by Allianz, but would not have qualified for credit card protections. 

To summarize, credit card coverage can provide trip cancellation/interruption coverage (meaning lost expenses, not medical bills), lost/delayed baggage, and rental car collision waivers. These perks protect against common carrier disruptions and rental mishaps, not health crises or supplier failures. 

Limits cap at $20,000 per account per year for cancellations, versus standalone policies that hit $50,000+. In other words, credit card travel protections are a solid starting layer for domestic flights/hotels under $10K, but they don’t do the heavy lifting of full trip safeguarding.