UPDATE 2022: Cell phone protection insurance from the REI Mastercard is no longer available. Chase Freedom Flex, a credit card with no annual fee, has an identical benefit.
With the REI credit card, you get 100% free cell phone insurance. As long as you pay your monthly cell phone bill with your credit card, you will be reimbursed for damage or theft of your cell phone.
In this blog post, I’m going to tell you everything you need to know about this extremely awesome benefit, which I have personally used to make three claims so far that totaled over $700.
| When | Damage | Phone | Amount |
| Jun 2019 | Cracked screen | Huawei Mate 20 Lite | $89.92 |
| Jul 2020 | Unrepairable drop | Huawei Mate 20 Lite | $510.08 |
| Jun 2020 | Cracked screen | Google Pixel 3a | $132.50 |
REI Mastercard Cell Phone Insurance
Gone are the days of paying in some cases excess of $15/month per line for cell phone insurance through your carrier.
As long as you pay your monthly cell phone bill with your REI credit card, your cell phone and any other lines on your family plan will be covered by this benefit at no cost to you.
What makes this such a great deal is the fact that the REI Mastercard has no annual fee, so that effectively means that the cell phone insurance is completely and 100% free.
What’s Covered?
According to the REI Mastercard website, damage and theft are covered by the cell phone protection insurance.
This would include water damage, cracked screens, and dropping your phone.
In my personal experience, my dad dropped his phone in 2020 which resulted in a cracked screen. Mastercard cut him a check for the cost of the repair which was $132.50 less the $50 deductible.
My sister on the other hand must’ve did some serious damage to her phone back in 2019, because the repair shop told her that it was beyond repair, so Mastercard cut her a check for over $500 so she could buy a new one.
Limitations
You can make up to 2 claims per year where each claim can be up to $800. There is a $1,000 limit per 12 month period, and each claim is subject to a $50 deductible.
As far as the deductible is concerned, this seems to be on par with cell phone insurance deductibles from AT&T but Verizon on the other hand has deductibles that go all the way up to $249.
How to Get Free Cell Phone Insurance with REI
To get free cell phone protection insurance through REI, here’s what you must do.
- Become an REI Co-op member which comes with a one-time $20 fee for a lifetime membership
- Apply for the REI Mastercard
After that, all you have to do is use your REI Mastercard to pay your monthly wireless cell phone bill. From that point forward, any and all phone numbers on your plan will be eligible for the free cell phone insurance.
Mastercard Cellular Wireless Telephone Protection Program
Cell phone accident coverage is available to REI Mastercard card holders through the Mastercard Cellular Wireless Telephone Protection Program. All this means is that REI is not the one providing the insurance, but rather Mastercard.
If and when the time comes necessary, you can file a claim at https://mycardbenefits.com.
Whether or not you are currently an REI shopper, find out how to score the best deals at REI like how I got a $130 pair of running shoes for just $45.
