Credit card travel insurance in the UAE

When does card travel cover start?

Under the Mastercard MENA World terms, cover is automatic when you charge the entire fare to the eligible card, or buy it with points from the card’s rewards programme.¹ Accident, medical and trip claims need proof that the full fare was charged to the card.¹

The terms do not expressly cover paying partly with points and partly with cash. The travel accident section says card “and/or” points, and the trip inconvenience section says “or”. Read as written, the rule leaves out a ticket bought with another card or paid by your employer.

Other schemes work differently. Emirates NBD tells Visa Infinite and Visa Signature holders to apply for and print a certificate.² HSBC’s Premier Mastercard page refers to return air tickets bought with the card before departure,³ while the Mastercard terms also cover one-way trips of up to 90 days.¹ Bank pages say only that you should buy or purchase the ticket with the card.

Ask your bank whether you need a certificate before you travel, and whether a points or part-points booking counts.

How much does the Mastercard cover pay?

Up to USD 500,000 for medical expenses for the cardholder, and a quarter of each limit for children, parents and a domestic helper.

The 25% sub-limit applies to children, the cardholder’s parents and the domestic helper on every benefit except travel accident, where their maximum is USD 10,000.¹ The sub-limit does not name the spouse.

Who does the card cover?

The cardholder, a spouse, up to three children, the cardholder’s parents and a domestic helper, each with conditions.

Family means the spouse and up to three children.¹ The trip inconvenience section covers the cardholder, spouse, children, parents and helper, travelling together or separately.¹ The terms do not say whether cover stops if a cardholder turns 70 during a trip.

How long can your trip be?

Up to 180 days for a round trip or 90 days one way, from the departure date to the return date on the ticket bought with the card.¹ A trip inside your own country counts only beyond 100 km from your city of residence.¹ The travel medical section sets no limit on the number of trips.¹

Travel in, to or through Cuba, Iran, Syria, North Korea or the Crimea region, planned or actual, is excluded.¹

What do the Mastercard terms leave out?

• Cancellation reasons. Only those listed: sickness, injury or death, security reasons or mandatory evacuation at your destination, unexpected loss of formal employment, and being required to join the armed forces.¹
• Timing. Cancellation and delay cover apply only if you bought the trip before you knew of anything that could lead to cancelling.¹
• Trip delay causes. Bad weather, equipment failure, an unforeseen strike or job action by carrier staff, and operational reasons at the departure airport due to air traffic restrictions or the airline’s control. A delay made public or known before you booked is excluded.¹
• Pre-existing conditions. Excluded under cancellation and in the general exclusions. A pre-existing condition is one treated, advised on or first shown in the 12 months before the trip.¹
• Pregnancy. Pregnancy and related conditions are excluded under medical expenses, in-hospital cash, cancellation and curtailment.¹
• War. War, civil war, invasion, insurrection, revolution and use of military power are general exclusions.¹ See war, conflict and airspace closure.
• Sports. Loss during professional sports, winter sports, sky diving, parachuting, hang gliding, bungee jumping, scuba diving, mountain climbing or potholing is excluded.¹

Give written notice of a claim within 90 days of the incident. Claims go through mcpeaceofmind.com.¹ Claim deadlines and the complaint route are in the claims guide.

Can you use card cover for a Schengen visa?

Not at the German, Spanish or Swiss posts in the UAE, which state that card insurance is not accepted.⁴⁵⁶ HSBC offers a confirmation letter for Schengen or other visas.³ Check with your consulate before you rely on a bank letter. See credit card cover and Schengen visas.

Who provides the cover?

The Mastercard terms do not name the insurer. The policy is issued to Mastercard.¹ HSBC’s page says Mastercard provides the insurance.³ Changes agreed between the insurer and Mastercard bind you without prior notice.¹

Ask your bank which insurer underwrites your card’s cover, and for the current terms.

What do UAE bank pages say about their cards?

Most give only part of the terms. Where a detail is missing below, the bank’s page does not mention it.

Emirates NBD Visa Infinite and Visa Signature

The cover applies to credit and debit cards. The page describes multi-trip cover if you buy an air ticket with the card. You apply and print a certificate at cardholderbenefitsonline.com, and the terms sit behind a Visa card number log-in. Supplementary cards are included.²

Emergency medical is USD 2,500,000 (Infinite) or USD 500,000 (Signature), repatriation USD 2,000,000 or USD 500,000, and trip cancellation USD 7,500 or USD 5,000. Trip delay pays up to USD 75 or USD 42 an hour to a maximum of USD 1,000, after a 4-hour deductible. A USD 100 deductible applies to domestic medical.²

Claims go to Emirates Insurance Company on +971 (04) 253 6024 or by email to creditcardclaims@crawco.me, with notice within 90 days.² The page does not expressly name the underwriter. Age limits, trip length, family eligibility and whether the full fare must be charged are not stated.

ADCB Traveller Credit Card

The page lists travel insurance with medical and inconvenience cover, plus car rental collision and loss damage waiver. You generate a confirmation letter online, and information and claims sit at mcpeaceofmind.com.⁷ The terms effective 15 July 2024 hold no insurance terms.⁸ Underwriter, limits, fare rule, ages, trip length and family terms are not stated on ADCB’s pages.

FAB Elite Credit Card

The page lists travel medical insurance up to USD 500,000 for the holder, family and helper, and travel inconvenience insurance, both linking to Mastercard pages on priceless.com.⁹ The benefit terms dated October 2025 summarise the cover. Personal accident, emergency medical evacuation and repatriation, and medical emergency expenses each run up to USD 500,000, with USD 100 a day in-hospital cash. Lost baggage is up to USD 3,000, baggage delay USD 300, cancellation and curtailment USD 7,500 each, and trip delay and missed connection USD 500 each. The standard age limit for visiting parents is 80. Claims go through mcpeaceofmind.com.¹⁰ The consolidated terms page lists no travel insurance terms.¹¹ Underwriter, cardholder ages and trip length are not stated on FAB’s pages, and a payment rule appears only for visiting parents and children.

Mashreq Solitaire

Buying travel tickets with the card gives multi-trip insurance for local and international trips of up to 90 days, with a certificate through cardholderbenefitsonline.com.¹² The benefit sheet describes cover for the entire family, says tickets should be booked with the card, and lists primary and supplementary cardholders. Underwriter, medical limit and ages are not stated.¹³

HSBC UAE Premier Mastercard

The page describes travel medical and inconvenience cover for trips abroad where return air tickets were bought with the card before departure. It says Mastercard provides the insurance, links to the MENA terms and offers an online confirmation letter for Schengen or other visas.³

The small print

• Which cards the Mastercard terms cover. The terms list the UAE among ten territories, with a policy period from 1 April 2024 that renews each year. HSBC UAE hosts the document. It does not say which other UAE World, World Elite and Legend cards fall under it.¹
• Governing law. The law of the territory where the card was issued.¹
• UAE rules on insurance sold with cards. CBUAE Consumer Protection Standards 2.1.3.13 to 2.1.3.15 deal with insurance offered with credit products.¹⁴ Insurance Authority Decision 13 of 2018 deals with marketing insurance through banks.¹⁵
• Visa card portals. Emirates NBD and Mashreq send holders to cardholderbenefitsonline.com. A separate portal, insurancecemea.com, serves Visa cardholders in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Visa procures the services and Infocus administers them, and the public page shows no UAE benefit text.¹⁶ Whether a Visa certificate is a condition of cover is not stated.
• FAB’s protection list. FAB’s page shows the word OR between protection items, and its meaning is not explained.⁹