Travel Guard vs Travelex: Which Travel Insurance Is Better?
Travel Guard and Travelex sell to the same traveler and answer the same question differently: Travel Guard puts its money into Deluxe’s $150,000 of medical and $1,000,000 of evacuation, Travelex into Ultimate’s $250,000 of medical and $1,000,000 of evacuation. This page puts the plans side by side from the insurers’ own plan documents, says which one wins for each kind of trip, and shows the numbers that decide it.
The plans side by side
| Plan | Emergency medical | Evacuation | Cancel for any reason | Pre-existing waiver window | Kids free |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel Guard Essential | $15,000 | $150,000 | No | 15 days | One per adult |
| Travel Guard Preferred | $50,000 | $500,000 | Upgrade, about 50% back | 15 days | One per adult |
| Travel Guard Deluxe | $150,000 | $1,000,000 | Upgrade, about 50% back | 15 days | One per adult |
| Travelex Essential | $25,000 | $200,000 | No | None | No |
| Travelex Advantage | $50,000 | $250,000 | No | None | No |
| Travelex Ultimate | $250,000 ($50,000 in New Hampshire) | $1,000,000 | Upgrade, 75% back, up to $7,500 | 21 days | One per adult |
Limits are per person. Read the medical column first: it is the one that separates these two companies, and it is the one that pays the bill that can pass $100,000. The Travel Guard review and the Travelex review go plan by plan.
Where each one wins
| The trip or the traveler | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A cruise or a trip outside the US | Travelex Ultimate | $250,000 of medical and $1,000,000 of evacuation. Travel Guard Deluxe carries $150,000. |
| A mid-priced plan | Travel Guard Preferred | Full cancellation, a free child per adult and $50,000 of medical. Travelex Essential and Advantage cap cancellation at $10,000 and have no waiver. |
| A domestic trip with children | Either | One free child per adult on every Travel Guard plan and on Travelex Ultimate. |
| Cancel for any reason | Travelex Ultimate, with a cap | 75 percent up to $7,500, bought within 21 days and 31 or more days before departure. Travel Guard refunds about 50 percent with no dollar cap stated. |
| A traveler with a pre-existing condition | Either, bought early | Travel Guard within 15 days on every plan; Travelex within 21 days on Ultimate only. |
| Price | Travelex, on the comparison | Priced next to the other plans when you enter the trip once, with a 21-day free look. Travel Guard sells only direct. |
The numbers that decide it
Medical and evacuation. Travel Guard’s best plan, Deluxe, carries $150,000 of medical and $1,000,000 of evacuation; Travelex’s best plan, Ultimate, carries $250,000 ($50,000 in New Hampshire) of medical and $1,000,000 of evacuation. For a trip outside the US the floor is $100,000 of medical and $250,000 of evacuation; for a cruise, a remote trip or a traveler over 65, $250,000 and $500,000.
Cancel for any reason. Travel Guard: Cancel for any reason is an upgrade on Preferred and Deluxe, refunds about 50 percent (most of the market pays 75), must be added within 15 days of the first payment, and requires cancelling more than two days before departure. Travelex: Cancel for any reason is on Ultimate only, refunds up to 75 percent capped at $7,500, must be bought within 21 days of the first payment and at least 31 days before departure.
Pre-existing conditions. Travel Guard: The pre-existing condition waiver applies when you buy within 15 days of the first trip payment and insure the full trip cost. Travelex: The pre-existing condition waiver is on Ultimate only, when you buy within 21 days of the first trip payment and insure the total trip cost; Essential and Advantage have no waiver.
Children. Travel Guard: One child 17 and under is free per paying adult on all three plans; the child must be related to and traveling with that adult. Travelex: One child 17 and under is free per insured adult on Ultimate, as long as the child’s trip cost is no more than the adult’s.
Free look. Travel Guard: 15 days after purchase for a full refund if you have not departed or filed a claim. Travelex: 21 days after purchase (30 in some states) for a full refund if you have not departed or filed a claim.
See Travelex priced next to the plans that beat Travel Guard
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Travel Guard sells only direct and is not on the comparison. Travelex is on the CoverTrip comparison, priced next to the other plans when you enter the trip once. Travel insurance is priced by the trip cost, the ages of the travelers and the trip length, and a package plan usually costs 4 to 8 percent of the trip cost, so the way to compare these two is to enter the trip once, note the price of a plan with the limits you need, and hold Travel Guard’s direct quote against it. Same price on the comparison as buying direct.
What the plans say
Travel Guard’s strengths are Deluxe’s $150,000 of medical and $1,000,000 of evacuation, one free child per adult on every plan, a large assistance operation behind it (AIG); its weak spot is a cancel for any reason refund of about 50 percent, and thin medical on Essential and Preferred for a trip abroad. Travelex’s strengths are Ultimate’s $250,000 of medical and $1,000,000 of evacuation, one free child per adult on Ultimate, the longest free look on the comparison, 21 days; its weak spot is Essential and Advantage: a $10,000 cancellation cap, no waiver and no cancel for any reason, so budget plans in the strict sense. Both refund 100 percent of the insured trip cost for a listed cancellation reason, both include a 24-hour assistance line, and both are underwritten by large insurers; the difference between them is the limits and the upgrade rules above, not the paper.
Questions people also ask
Is Travelex better than Travel Guard?
At the top, yes: Travelex Ultimate carries $250,000 of medical against $150,000 on Travel Guard Deluxe, and its cancel for any reason refunds 75 percent against about 50. In the middle, Travel Guard Preferred is the better plan, because Travelex’s Essential and Advantage cap cancellation at $10,000 and carry no pre-existing condition waiver.
Which is better for a family, Travel Guard or Travelex?
Both give one free child per adult: Travel Guard on every plan, Travelex on Ultimate only. On a domestic trip Travel Guard Preferred is the cheaper way to get it; on a trip abroad Travelex Ultimate carries the medical limit a family needs.
Does Travelex have cancel for any reason?
On Ultimate only: 75 percent of the trip cost up to $7,500, bought within 21 days of the first payment and at least 31 days before departure. Travel Guard’s upgrade on Preferred and Deluxe refunds about 50 percent and must be added within 15 days.
Related: Travel Guard review · Travelex review · family travel insurance guide · cruise travel insurance guide · Cancel For Any Reason guide · all company reviews
Plan limits and upgrade rules on this page are from the insurers’ plan pages and policy documents for Travel Guard and Travelex, checked 12 September 2026, and from the CoverTrip reviews of each company. Price guidance is from the plans on the CoverTrip comparison.
See Travelex priced next to the plans that beat Travel Guard
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Damian TysdalDamian Tysdal is the founder of CoverTrip and a licensed travel insurance agent since 2006. He believes travel insurance should be easier to understand, and started the first travel insurance blog in 2006. About CoverTrip.