I filed my first credit card extended warranty claim in June 2020.

I’ve been using credit cards regularly for years. It’s my preferred way to spend money. I’ve tried a few different spending methods and nothing works for me the way credit cards do.

Worth noting: I treat the credit card like debit, meaning I only use it to spend money we already have. In most cases, we make a purchase on the credit card then immediately transfer the money from our debit. There are exceptions to this (like December Christmas spending) but they are just that: the exception, not the rule.

Despite my years of credit card use, I’ve barely scratched the surface on using features associated with my cards. This includes the extended warranty. In a way, this is a good thing — it means the items I have purchased have held up well, right?

That said, it did result in a bit of a learning curve when it was time to actually use the benefit. Here’s what I learned through the process of using my credit card extended warranty.