Q: Last summer, I booked a Viking cruise with my father and wife. At the airport, my father suffered a medical emergency and had to be rushed to the hospital. We missed our cruise.
Since I had purchased the cruise using my Chase Sapphire Reserve, which covers cancellations when you’re traveling, I filed a claim for the value of the cruise and plane tickets.
I submitted all of the documents, but Chase is taking its time with the claim. It’s coming back and requesting information it already has, such as a travel ID number.
I have provided them with all this information. If they read the claim, they would clearly see they already have what they are asking for. I had to upload the same Viking Cancellation Statement four times before someone at Chase finally accepted it.
I want my claim approved and the full $19,148 paid, as per the Chase Sapphire Reserve benefits. Can you help me?
A: I’m so sorry to hear about your father, and I hope he is on his way to recovery. Chase promises you “peace of mind” when you book travel with its card, noting that if your trip is canceled or cut short by sickness, severe weather and other covered situations, you can be reimbursed up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for your prepaid, nonrefundable travel expenses. Your father’s collapse appeared to be covered by Chase.
As I review the voluminous paper trail between you and Chase, it appears the company was working on your claim, but it was slow. As you note, Chase asked for the same documents repeatedly. It also required you to get a letter from your cruise line stating that you did not receive any credits. Worse yet, the claims process was confusing.
There’s nothing wrong with requesting these documents. In fact, you want a credit card company to be thorough when it is dealing with a large claim like this. The underlying problem with your case is that it had dragged on for nearly three months. Even the most complicated claims shouldn’t take more than a month.
