Yes, certain costs associated with flights, hotels and holidays booked using Avios, air miles or reward points may be covered by your CoverForYou travel insurance.
However, there is an important distinction between money you've actually paid and reward points you've earned through loyalty schemes.
Travel insurance is designed to reimburse eligible financial losses arising from an insured event. This means we can generally consider costs you've paid in money, but we cannot reimburse the value of points you've earned for free.
If you need to cancel your trip for a reason covered by your policy, the following expenses may be eligible for reimbursement.
If you've used Avios, air miles or reward points to book a flight or hotel, you may be able to claim the cash elements of your booking.
These can include:
Flight taxes and airport fees paid when booking a reward flight.
Cash contributions towards bookings made using a combination of money and points.
Other non-refundable cash charges associated with an eligible booking.
For example, if you booked a flight using 20,000 Avios plus £100 in taxes and fees, you may be able to claim the non-refundable cash amount you paid, but not the value of the 20,000 Avios.
Any reimbursement depends on whether the cancellation is covered by your policy and whether the costs can be recovered from your travel provider.
Some airlines and loyalty programmes allow you to cancel a reward booking and receive your points back, subject to a cancellation or administration fee.
For example, British Airways may allow eligible Avios bookings to be cancelled, with the points returned after payment or deduction of a cancellation fee.
If you cancel for an insured reason, we may be able to reimburse an eligible, non-refundable cancellation fee.
You should first check the airline's cancellation and refund rules to establish what can be recovered.
If you've paid money to purchase Avios, air miles or other reward points, we may consider reimbursing the financial loss if those purchased points are lost because of an insured event.
To support your claim, you'll need to provide:
An official purchase receipt showing how much you paid for the points.
Evidence of the reward booking made using those points.
Confirmation that the points have been lost and cannot be recovered or refunded.
Important: We can only consider the documented amount you actually paid to purchase the points, not their estimated redemption or equivalent cash value.
We cannot reimburse or replace points you've earned without directly purchasing them.
This includes points accumulated through:
Airline frequent flyer or loyalty programmes.
Credit card spending and rewards.
Hotel loyalty schemes.
Promotional offers or bonuses.
Other schemes where points are awarded without a direct purchase.
Although these points may have value when making a booking, they are not treated as a reimbursable cash loss under your policy.
We cannot reimburse what your Avios or reward points might have been worth if you'd purchased the same flight or hotel using money.
For example, if you used reward points to book a flight that would normally cost £500, you cannot claim £500 simply because that was the advertised cash price.
Claims are assessed based on eligible, documented financial losses rather than the estimated value of points used.
If you need to cancel a flight, hotel or holiday purchased using points, we recommend the following steps:
Contact your airline, hotel or booking provider to check whether your points, taxes and fees can be refunded.
Check for cancellation charges and request written confirmation of any fees deducted.
Keep your booking confirmation, showing the number of points used and any cash payments made.
Retain receipts for purchased points, if applicable.
Request written confirmation of any unrecoverable costs to support your insurance claim.
You can then submit a claim for eligible financial losses arising from an event covered by your policy.
Find out how to make a travel insurance claim
Booking Cost | Can I Claim? |
|---|---|
Non-refundable flight taxes and airport fees | Yes, for an eligible claim |
Non-refundable cash portion of a points booking | Yes, for an eligible claim |
Eligible airline cancellation fees | May be covered |
Purchased Avios or reward points | May be covered with proof of purchase and loss |
Points earned through loyalty schemes | Not covered |
Points earned through credit card spending | Not covered |
Estimated cash value of free reward points | Not covered |
Please note: All claims are subject to your policy's terms, conditions, exclusions, cover limits and any applicable excess. You cannot claim costs that have already been refunded or that are recoverable from your airline, accommodation provider or booking agent.
