How My Amex Platinum Cellphone Protection Came To The Rescue – Forbes Advisor – Technologist

Some American Express cards offer cellphone protection to cardholders—with The Platinum Card® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express covering up to $800 worth of repairs or phone replacement. Here’s how the cellphone protection plan works:

Cellphone Protection Activation

To use Amex Platinum cellphone protection—you must activate it. This is done by doing the following:

• Pay your cellphone bill with your Amex Platinum card.
• Coverage is activated the calendar month after you first pay your bill with an eligible card.

You can’t just switch over your cellphone bill to your Platinum card and have instant coverage. You must wait at least one calendar month for the coverage to kick in.

Once you’re covered, the main account holder for your cellphone plan and all supplemental lines are covered by the Amex Platinum cellphone protection plan.

Cellphone Protection Coverage and Limits

The cellphone protection plan with the Amex Platinum covers both theft of your cellphone and accidental damage—including a cracked screen. Luckily for me, this includes coverage of up to $800 for repairs or replacement—with a $50 deductible for each incident. You can submit up to two cellphone protection claims every 12 months. I took advantage of both cellphone claims within a few months.

But it’s important to note that a few things are not covered under this cellphone protection plan, including:

• Reported theft without a police report
• Cellphone accessories (sorry, no AirPods)
• Rented, borrowed, leased, or prepaid plan cellphones
• Cosmetic damage that doesn’t impair the phone’s basic functions (making and receiving calls)—but cracked screens are eligible
• Intentional or illegal acts that cause damage
• Losses covered under the manufacturer’s warranty

It’s a good idea to get familiar with your Amex Platinum cellphone protection guide to benefits for all the details.

Filing a Claim

Once you determine your cellphone is eligible for repair under the cellphone plan guidelines, you have 90 days to submit a claim. Unfortunately, this part is a bit cumbersome and requires submitting some paperwork.

To file a claim, you’ll first need to call the third-party insurer (New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG company) by dialing 1-833-784-1467 and reporting the damage. You’ll receive an email from AIG with a list of required documents to process the claim.

The documents needed include:

• AIG claim forms
• A copy of your previous American Express card statement (to prove your cellphone bill was paid by your Amex card prior to the month it was damaged)
• A copy of your phone bill
• Documentation of the purchase of your cellphone (linking it to your cellphone number)
• A copy of other insurance coverage (homeowner’s, auto) detailed policy deductibles
• Photos of damage
• Repair estimate receipt
• For theft—a copy of the police report filed within 48 hours of the theft

In my case, we needed to provide additional billing statements and a picture of the serial number on the phone box because we didn’t have the original receipt.