Use Your Credit Card to Receive Extended Warranties and/or Purchase Protection When Buying Camera Gear

by Sean Setters

You probably know that Canon USA provides a 1-year warranty on new DSLR cameras and lenses purchased through its authorized retailer network. But what you may not know is that your warranty can often be extended by using a credit card to purchase your camera gear. In many cases, credit card companies will provide Extended Warranty protection (usually 1-year after the manufacturer's warranty has expired) when you charge the full amount of the camera gear to the credit card.

In addition to the extended warranty coverage, some credit card companies also offer purchase Protection Coverage (up to a specified amount) if your item is damaged or stolen within the first 90 days of purchase.

Yet another credit card benefit that you may be able to take advantage of is Price Protection. With this benefit, the credit card company will reimburse you the difference in price if you find a lower price on the newly purchased item within 60 days.

Of course, you'll need to contact your credit card company (or do your own research) to find out which (if any) of these benefits come with your specific credit card(s).

Here is some general information I found about various credit card benefits:

Visa Signature Card

Visa cardholders can register a product and extend a manufacturer’s warranty. One convenient service makes it quick and easy.
(This benefit may also be available on other card products. Check with your issuer to see if you qualify.)

Warranty Manager Service offers you a number of valuable features, including warranty registration and Extended Warranty Protection, all available with a simple toll-free telephone call. Warranty Manager Service’s registration service helps you take full advantage of your warranties, because you can get key information about your coverage with a single toll-free call. And if you send us [Visa] your sales receipts and warranty information, we’ll keep everything on file-so arranging for a repair or replacement is as easy as picking up the telephone. Warranty Manager Service offers Extended Warranty Protection that doubles the time period of the original manufacturer’s written U.S. repair warranty up to one (1) additional year on eligible warranties of three (3) years or less when an item is purchased entirely with your eligible Visa card.

MasterCard

Extended warranty
Doubles the original manufacturer's or store brand warranty for up to one year when you pay with your eligible MasterCard.

Price protection
Should you find a lower price for a new item within 60 days from the date of purchase using your eligible MasterCard, you may be reimbursed for the price difference.

Purchase assurance
Provides coverage for most items you purchase with your eligible MasterCard if the item is damaged or stolen within 90 days of the date of purchase.

Discover

No need to worry about expired warranties. We will extend the terms of an existing eligible warranty for up to 1 additional year on warranties of 36 months or less.

Note that the entire cost of the eligible purchase must be charged to your Discover Card (or accrued rewards) for coverage to apply.

American Express

Use your Card for your eligible purchases and you can have warranty protection for longer.

Use Your Eligible Card - Extended Warranty1 can provide up to one extra year added to the original U.S. manufacturer’s warranty. Applies to warranties of 5 years or less when the eligible purchase is charged to the Card.

Coverage - You will only be covered up to the actual amount charged to your Card for the item up to a maximum of $10,000; not to exceed $50,000 per Card Member account per calendar year. Please read important exclusions and restrictions.

Citi DoubleCash Card (MasterCard)

We will extend the manufacturer’s warranty for an additional 24 Months. If you purchase an extended warranty, our coverage begins at the expiration of that warranty. In the event of a covered failure we will repair or replace the item or reimburse up to the amount charged on your Citi card and/or ThankYou Points (excluding shipping and handling) or $10,000, whichever is less. In no event will total coverage exceed 84 Months from the purchase date.

As shown above, warranties longer than 3-years typically do not qualify for extended warranty benefits. This is important because even though Nikon DSLR purchases would qualify for extended warranty coverage (1 year warranty), Nikon USA provides 5-year warranty (1+4 year extension) on lenses after registration. Sigma lenses qualify for a 4-year Sigma USA warranty (1+3 year extension) and Tamron USA provides a rather generous 6-year warranty.

Again, I urge you to check your credit card benefits to see if any of these benefits apply to you. It's a benefit we hope to never use, but a great benefit to have if your camera gear fails soon after the manufacturer's warranty expires.

On that note, getting an extra year's warranty on the newly announced Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT doesn't sound so bad, does it?