Qantas Travel Insurance: Cover, Cruises, Credit Card Insurance & Quotes

Buying travel insurance is one of the smartest moves you can make, covering all the big, expensive "what ifs" of a trip: overseas medical bills, flight cancellations, delays and lost luggage, and plenty more. With Qantas Travel Insurance, all policies also earn you Qantas Points. This guide walks through the different Qantas Travel Insurance policies, what they cover, how cruise cover works, and the difference between buying a policy and the "free" insurance on a Qantas credit card.

What Does Qantas Travel Insurance Cover?

Qantas travel insurance covers all the big things, like overseas medical bills, trip cancellations, delays, lost or stolen luggage, rental car excess and legal liability, and they provide 24/7 emergency help. 

There are three different Qantas Travel Insurance policies to choose from. First, the things that are the same across all three policies: 

• Travel delay: $200 if your pre-booked transport is delayed
• Baggage delay: up to 600 for essentials ($300 after 12 hours, another $300 after 36 hours)
• Rental vehicle excess: up to 8,000 per policy
• Rental vehicle return: up to 1,000 per policy
• Loss of your Qantas Points if you have to cancel: included

All prices are in AUD.

Image sourced from Unsplash.

And now, where the plans differ on their coverage, in Australian dollars.  

If there’s one thing to notice here, it’s that the Australian Comprehensive plan has no medical or evacuation cover at all. That’s simply because it’s the domestic plan, and when you’re travelling inside Australia, Medicare and your private health coverage will handle anything. Note that the trip needs to be more than 100 km from home or work to qualify. 

What's not covered: pre-existing medical conditions unless you declare them and they're accepted, anything involving alcohol or drugs, and travel against Australian Government "Do Not Travel" (Level 4) advice. Some activities are excluded or only lightly covered, including scuba diving, trekking and motorcycling, so check the general exclusions if your trip involves any of those.

Who Underwrites Qantas Travel Insurance?

Qantas Travel Insurance is issued by Zurich Australian Insurance Limited, usually written as ZAIL. Qantas acts as the authorised representative of ZAIL, rather than the insurer themselves. 

Up until the 13 of May 2026, AIG Australia was the underwriter of Qantas Travel Insurance.

How Does The Qantas Travel Insurance Excess Work?

The excess in Qantas Travel Insurance is the amount of money they will take off your payout when you claim. It’s charged per event, and per claim. The upside of 'per event' is that one mishap with knock-on costs is usually a single excess. If a cancelled flight leaves you paying for a hotel and a rebooked connection, that's one event, so you'd expect one excess, not one for each cost.

It also doesn't apply to everything. On the International Comprehensive and Annual Multi Trip plans, an excess comes off the everyday claims people actually make, meaning cancellation, medical, dental, luggage, and the optional cruise and snow cover. 

It's waived on the big, fixed-payout benefits: medical evacuation, accidental death, legal liability, and the rental vehicle excess benefit. The Australian Comprehensive plan doesn't charge an excess at all.

As for how much, Qantas sets your excess when you get your quote and shows it on your Certificate of Insurance, so it’s an important figure to check when purchasing your policy. Sample quotes have tended to land around $250, but treat that as a ballpark figure. Here's how it plays out. Say you claim $1,000 for emergency dental and your certificate shows a $250 excess: you get $750 back. If a claim is smaller than your excess, you get nothing, so a $180 pharmacy bill against a $250 excess pays out zero.

Is Qantas Travel Insurance Any Good?

In general, Qantas Travel Insurance is considered a solid, mainstream option, plus earning those Qantas Points sets it apart from other insurers. 

Every policy you buy earns you points, and you can also pay with existing points. Whether it’s the best value for you or not is a different question. For me, when comparing travel insurers, it all comes down to the excess (i.e. the amount you have to pay before the insurance kicks in and covers the remaining amount). 

What to weigh up before buying: 

• The points angle. You earn Qantas Points on the premium, which a standalone insurer won't give you. If you're chasing status or a redemption, the points will come in handy. You can also use existing points to lower your total price. 
• The excess. Check what the excess amount is, and for what claims. You can see a full list of things with an excess in our table below. 
• The cooling-off period. You can cancel for a full refund within the cooling-off window, as long as you haven't travelled or claimed. 
• Kids fly free. Children under 12 are covered at no extra cost, which can save families money if the kids don’t need their own policy. 

Does Qantas Travel Insurance Cover Cruises?

Yes, Qantas Travel Insurance can cover cruises, but it’s an add-on you have to select. The dedicated cruise cover is definitely worth having, as cruises carry extra risks that a regular holiday doesn’t. Things like onboard medical care, being medically evacuated at sea, and missed shore excursions or departures. 

On a normal land holiday, if something goes wrong there’s usually a hospital nearby. On a cruise, that hospital might be a helicopter flight away. That’s the whole reason cruise travel insurance exists. 

Qantas Credit Card Travel Insurance: How To Activate It

There’s Qantas Travel Insurance, and then there’s the travel insurance that comes with a Qantas-branded credit card. They’re not the same product. 

1. Qantas Travel Insurance is the standalone policy you buy (the one this guide is mostly about).
2. Complimentary travel insurance on a Qantas-branded credit card is a separate perk, underwritten separately, with its own terms.

The complimentary cover comes with the Qantas Money credit cards (the Everyday, Platinum and Titanium). The headline benefits are decent: medical emergency cover of up to AU $1,000,000, and also trip cancellation of up to AU $20,000, with Titanium sitting a tier above the others and extending cover to additional cardholders.

The cover switches on when you pay for your travel with the card, or book it using Qantas Points earned on the card. Beyond that, the fine print varies on the coverage; expect a minimum spend to qualify, age limits on older cardholders, and potential caps on how long a trip can be. 

Image sourced from Executive Traveller.

How To Get A Qantas Travel Insurance Quote

Getting a quote is quick, and you can do it online in a few minutes:

1. Pick your policy type (International Comprehensive, Australian Comprehensive or Annual Multi Trip).
2. Enter your destination, travel dates and travellers' ages.
3. Declare any existing medical conditions so they can be assessed.
4. Add any extras you need, such as cruise or snow cover.
5. Choose whether to pay with cash or Qantas Points, and review the excess before you confirm.

Prices start from around AU $31 for a domestic policy and $89 for an international one. Although take those figures with a grain of salt, as the prices of course change depending on your age, destination, trip length, and any existing medical conditions. 

Image from Unsplash.

How Qantas Travel Insurance Compares

Qantas isn't your only option for travel insurance. Here’s the lay of the land. 

If you're already booking flights and a hotel through Trip.com, adding cover in the same checkout saves the faff of a second quote elsewhere.

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