【Updated 2024.11】According to Citi and Mastercard’s new terms, the extended warranty benefit is back. It can double the merchant’s warranty period, up to two years. If your Citi card is a Mastercard version, such as Double Cash or Custom Cash, it officially took effect on November 17. That’s especially useful during the holiday shopping season.
*Extended Warranty doubles the time period of your Covered Purchase’s original Manufacturer’s Warranty or Store Warranty up to a maximum of twenty-four (24) months following the day that the Manufacturer’s Warranty or Store Warranty expires.* If you purchase a Purchased Warranty of twenty-four (24) months or less on a Covered Purchase with an original Manufacturer’s Warranty (or Store Warranty), this coverage doubles the time period of the Covered Purchase’s original Manufacturer’s Warranty (or Store Warranty) up to an additional twenty-four (24) months following the day that the original Manufacturer’s Warranty (or Store Warranty) and the Purchased Warranty’s coverage periods end.
Contents [Hide]
Introduction to Credit Card Extended Warranty
In general, credit card companies provide an automatic extra year of warranty coverage for items you purchase at no additional cost. If the item you bought has a problem, you can first go to the manufacturer during the manufacturer’s warranty period. After that warranty expires, the repair cost may be covered by the credit card company.
Things to Keep in Mind
In general, there are a few things to note about extended warranty coverage:
- Excluded items: Credit cards do not provide extra warranty coverage for motor vehicles/boats or computer software. Other exclusions include antiques, plants and animals, consumables, real estate, and more.
- Keep your receipts: When filing a warranty claim, you need to provide the purchase receipt and the credit card statement. For expensive items, especially items bought in person, be sure to keep the documents.
- Full purchase amount: Credit card companies only reimburse items paid in full with their own credit card. If you used gift cards when shopping, the item may not be covered.
- Extended warranty limits: These are usually divided into a per-claim maximum and an annual maximum.
- Extended warranty length: The coverage matches the manufacturer’s warranty period, but no more than 1 year. Also, if the merchant provides more than 3 years of warranty, there is no extended warranty coverage (different cards have different rules for the original warranty length).
- Normal wear and tear: This refers to the wear and deterioration that occurs during normal use. Some credit card companies do not cover this.
Extended Warranty Card Comparison
| AMEX | Discover | Visa Signature | Mastercard | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merchant warranty length limit | 5 years | 3 years | 3 years | Varies from 1 to 5 years |
| Maximum coverage | $10,000 per claim, $50,000 per year | $10,000 per claim, $50,000 per year | $10,000 per claim, $50,000 per year | $10,000 per claim, unlimited number of claims |
| Normal wear and tear | Covered | Not covered | Covered | Not covered |
| Terms | AMEX terms | Discover terms | Visa Signature terms | Mastercard terms |
Also, while Visa only offers extended warranty on Signature cards and above, banks will often add extended warranty benefits on their own. Mainstream cards such as Chase Freedom and Slate also have this perk.
Summary
AMEX offers the best extended warranty protection in terms of duration. You can get up to 6 years of product warranty coverage. Other credit cards can provide up to 4 additional years of coverage at most. There is not much difference among the major companies in terms of coverage limits and scope. For Visa cards, Visa only offers extended warranty on Signature cards and above, but Chase still provides extended warranty on standard Visa cards. It is worth checking your bank’s benefit terms. However, since AMEX does not offer Price Protection, if you are sensitive to price drops, you may want to choose a card that offers both benefits. For an introduction to credit card Price Protection, see the blog post: Black Friday Warm-Up: Credit Card Price Protection (Price Protection)