meganwoolsey Home
Related Articles
I’m no stranger to a broken phone. I’ve probably shattered my iPhone more times than most before I invested in a good, hard-shelled phone case and screen protector. I replaced each phone with my own money — which usually meant buying cheaper, lower-end models. They weren’t nice to use and wore out quickly. (Thanks, planned obsolescence!)
That’s an expensive cycle to get stuck in. A few years ago, I invested in my first expensive phone after discovering the magic of a good phone case. Though nothing has happened to it (yet), I’m not nearly as stressed about breaking it now that I have cell phone insurance through my Bilt Mastercard®*.
I’m covered for up to $800 per claim if I need to replace or repair my phone due to theft or eligible damage. Best of all, the coverage is completely free since the Bilt Mastercard has no annual fee, All I had to do was start paying my monthly phone bill with the card.
The Bilt Mastercard is one of many cards offering cell phone insurance. But not all coverage is created equal. Luckily, I’ve compared the policies of the most popular no-annual-fee cards offering cell phone protection so you can get cell phone insurance completely free.
Read more: Can You Get Airport Lounge Access for Free? Yes, With the Right Credit Card
What cell phone insurance covers
Every credit card’s cell phone insurance has its own terms and features, but there are some shared conditions:
- In order to activate the protections, you must pay your cell phone bill with the card offering the benefit. Your coverage typically begins within a certain amount of time after paying your bill with the card and is automatically suspended for a certain amount of time after you fail to pay your bill in a particular month.
- If the cost to repair or replace your phone (minus the deductible) is less than the coverage limit, you’ll receive the smaller amount. If your coverage limit is $800 and the cost to repair your phone is $200, you’ll receive the smaller value (minus your deductible). If the cost to repair your phone is more than $800, you won’t receive more than this.
- The coverage is secondary or supplemental to any other coverage you may have, which means it’ll only pay out after any existing insurance you already have has run its course.
- Certain types of loss or damage are not eligible for coverage. Check your card’s terms and conditions, but generally, cosmetic damage and lost phones that mysteriously disappear with no evidence of wrongdoing are not covered.
- You have a limited time from the covered event to file a claim and provide documentation. The exact timeframe will be detailed in the terms and conditions of your card’s cell phone protection plan.
Comparing cell phone insurance from no-annual-fee cards
Here’s how the cell phone insurance policies from some of the most popular no-annual-fee cards with this perk stack up:
Cell phone insurance from no-annual-fee cards
| Card name | Rewards rate on your phone bill | What’s covered | Deductible | Coverage limit per claim | Maximum coverage limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Freedom Flex®* | 1% cash back (5% on up to $1,500 per quarter for activated rotating categories) | Theft, damage | $50 | $600 for World Mastercard; $800 for World Elite Mastercard | $1,000 per covered card per 12-month period; 2 claims per covered card per 12-month period |
| Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card** | 2% cash rewards 3X points None (balance transfer card) 1% cash rewards | Theft, damage, or if the phone in unrecoverable due to involuntary and accidental parting | $25 | $600 | $1,200 per covered card per 12-month period; 2 claims per 12-month period |
| Wells Fargo Reflect® Card** | No rewards | Theft, damage, or if the phone in unrecoverable due to involuntary and accidental parting | $25 | $600 | $1,200 per covered card per 12-month period; 2 claims per 12-month period |
| Wells Fargo Attune℠ Card** | Theft, damage, or if the phone in unrecoverable due to involuntary and accidental parting | $25 | $600 | $1,200 per covered card per 12-month period; 2 claims per 12-month period | |
| Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card** | 3x points per dollar for restaurants, travel, automotive full and power, transit, popular streaming services and phone plans; 1x on everything else | Theft, damage, or if the phone in unrecoverable due to involuntary and accidental parting | $25 | $600 | $1,200 per covered card per 12-month period; 2 claims per 12-month period |
| Bilt Mastercard® | 1x Bilt points if you use the card at least five times each statement period; 2x if you pay your phone bill on the first of each month with the Rent Day double points offer active | Damage, theft, or if the phone in unrecoverable due to involuntary and accidental parting | $25 | $800 | $1,600 per covered card per 12-month period; 2 claims per 12-month period |
| One Key™ World Elite Mastercard® | 1.5% OneKeyCash | Damage, theft, or if the phone in unrecoverable due to involuntary and accidental parting | $25 | $1,000 | $2,000 per covered card per 12-month period; 2 claims per 12-month period |
| Choice Privileges® World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card | 3x Choice Privileges points | Damage, theft, or if the phone in unrecoverable due to involuntary and accidental parting | $25 | $800 | $1,600 per covered card per 12-month period; 2 claims per 12-month period |
| SoFi Unlimited 2% Credit Card | 2% cash back rewards | Theft, damage | $50 | $800 | $1,000 per covered card per 12-month period; 2 claims per 12-month period |
| U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card | None (balance transfer card) | Damage, theft, or involuntary and accidental parting | $25 | $600 | $1,200 per covered card per 12-month period; 2 claims per 12-month period |
**These cards, all from Wells Fargo, share the same coverage terms, deductible and coverage limits
Annual-fee cards with cell phone protections
In addition to the no-annual-fee cards above, these annual fee cards also offer cell phone protection as a benefit:
If you already have one of these cards, you can simply use it to pay your phone bill and activate the benefits instead of opening a new card.
But if you want to open a new card solely for cell phone insurance, there’s no reason to get one with an annual fee (unless you value the card’s other benefits), considering all the no-annual-fee options available.
Which no-annual-fee card has the best cell phone insurance?
With so many factors in play when it comes to insurance, it’s hard to crown a definitive winner. Instead, you’d be better served by considering which elements you personally find the most important.
If you want the lowest deductible
If you’re looking for the lowest deductible, regardless of coverage limit, take your pick between these:
- Wells Fargo Active Cash*
- Wells Fargo Autograph*
- Wells Fargo Reflect*
- Wells Fargo Attune*
- Bilt Mastercard
- One Key World Elite Mastercard
- Choice Privileges World Elite Mastercard
- U.S. Bank Visa Platinum.
Why? All of these cards have the same low, $25 deductible.
You may want to prioritize having a low deductible if you don’t think you’ll hit the coverage limit (for example, if your phone isn’t worth much) and you want to minimize out-of-pocket costs.
If you want the highest per-claim and per-year coverage limit:
For the highest coverage limit, go with the One Key World Elite Mastercard. The card has both the highest per-claim limit and per-12-month-period limit out of the cards surveyed. You’re covered up to $1,000 per claim and $2,000 per 12-month period.
All of the cards have a maximum of two claims per 12-month period, so they’re equal on that front.
Choosing the card with the highest per-claim coverage limit can make sense if your phone would be costly to repair or replace. A higher total coverage limit over a 12-month period is helpful if you frequently sustain covered losses or damages to your phone or if you’re at risk of losses to multiple phones covered under the same policy (for example, if you’re paying the phone bill for a family plan).
If you want the widest coverage scope:
If you’re more concerned about the situations where you’ll be covered, you’ll get the most peace of mind with these:
- Wells Fargo Active Cash
- Wells Fargo Autograph
- Wells Fargo Reflect
- Wells Fargo Attune
- Bilt Mastercard
- One Key World Elite Mastercard
- Choice Privileges World Elite Mastercard
- U.S. Bank Visa Platinum
These cards all cover you if your phone is damaged, stolen, or unrecoverable due to involuntary and accidental parting. The Chase Freedom Flex and Sofi Credit Card cover theft and damage, but don’t specify coverage for involuntary and accidental parting in their terms.
What about rewards?
Generally, the strategy for maximizing credit card rewards is to use the credit card offering the highest rewards rate on each purchase. Since you must use the credit card offering cell phone insurance to pay for your monthly phone bill in order to activate the benefits, logic would follow that you should choose the card that offers the most rewards on your cell phone bill.
However, I think that’s shortsighted. As you can see in the comparison above, the card with the highest rewards rate on phone plans — the Wells Fargo Autograph, offering 3x points — has a lower coverage limit than many competitors.
Compared to the lowest rewards rate on the list — 1x points or 1% cash back — you’d only earn an extra 100 points (worth $1 if redeemed for cash back) on a $50 phone bill but potentially give up hundreds of dollars in coverage if your repair or replacement costs end up exceeding the Autograph’s $600 claim limit. Just like with credit card travel insurance, sometimes it’s worth sacrificing rewards potential for stronger protections.
If you’re choosing between multiple cards that all meet your coverage needs, then it makes sense to look at rewards or other perks. But you should consider how a card’s rewards mesh with your spending habits as a whole, not just one singular expense.
If a card can do double-duty as your cell phone insurance provider and your everyday use card, all the better.
What’s the card I’d recommend?
As much as I love analyzing different credit cards and their perks, I think the true best credit card for cell phone insurance is the one that’s already in your wallet — or one that fits in well with your spending strategy. Getting a new card just to “maximize” a particular perk can be exciting, but applying for a credit card shouldn’t be taken lightly.
That’s why I lean on my trusty Bilt Mastercard. It doesn’t have the highest coverage out of its competitors or the best rewards on my phone bill. It’s good enough for me, ready to use, and more importantly, it saves me from applying for a new card unnecessarily so I can save my applications for the cards I truly want.
*All information about the Bilt Mastercard®, Chase Freedom Flex®, Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, Wells Fargo Reflect® Card, Wells Fargo Attune, One Key World Elite Mastercard, Choice Privileges World Elite Mastercard and the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum has been collected independently by CNET and has not been reviewed by the issuer.
The editorial content on this page is based solely on objective, independent assessments by our writers and is not influenced by advertising or partnerships. It has not been provided or commissioned by any third party. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to products or services offered by our partners.
