My MacBook Was Stolen – How Chase Purchase Protection Got Me $1,204 Back in 9 Days

One of the nice things about having a bunch of credit cards is that they come with all sorts of benefits that most people don’t know about. In particular, many credit cards come with insurance benefits that can help you out when something goes wrong.

For example, several years ago, I had a flight get canceled because of a snowstorm. Luckily, because I’d booked the flight with my Chase Sapphire Reserve, the trip delay insurance kicked in, providing me with $500 per person for food and hotels for the night.

I recently had the opportunity to test out another one of these insurance benefits after someone stole my MacBook Air. The laptop was practically brand new, having been purchased less than four months earlier. Fortunately for me, I’d paid for the laptop using my Chase Ink Business Cash credit card, which comes with a benefit called Purchase Protection. This benefit covers eligible purchases against theft or damage for a certain period after purchase.

I almost forgot about this benefit until my brother asked if I had AppleCare or some other insurance that might cover the theft. After doing some research, I realized that Chase offered 120 days of Purchase Protection. Luckily, I’d purchased the laptop just barely within that coverage period.

I wasn’t sure whether my situation would qualify or how difficult the claim process would be.

But as it turns out, Chase approved my claim and reimbursed me the entire $1,204.14 purchase price of the laptop in just nine days!

I figured this was a story worth sharing, especially since it might help someone else who finds themselves in a similar situation

So, here’s what happened with my laptop, how I went about filing my claim, and what I learned about Chase Purchase Protection.

How My MacBook Air Was Stolen

Back in August, I stopped at McDonald’s to get some coffee after dropping my son off at daycare. This is a normal part of my morning routine. I always place my order using the McDonald’s app and then go inside to grab my coffee (which is usually ready for me when I arrive).

At the time, I was riding my Urban Arrow cargo bike. I had my backpack with me, and since it was raining, I had the rain cover on with my backpack sitting inside the bike.

This is basically what my bike looked like that morning.

I left my backpack in the bike while I went inside McDonald’s to grab my coffee.

I’ve been doing this for years and have never had an issue. The McDonald’s has a glass front, so I can see my bike from inside. Plus, since I was just running in to pick up a coffee I’d already ordered, I knew I’d only be inside for a moment.

Unfortunately, during the short time I was inside, someone came by and stole the backpack right out of my bike. I usually pay pretty close attention to my bike when I’m inside, but whoever stole my backpack caught me slipping for just a minute.

The theft was caught on surveillance video, so there wasn’t much question about what happened. Someone had taken my backpack, and with it, my laptop.

Obviously, this was a pretty frustrating situation. I’d purchased the MacBook Air directly from Apple in mid-April, meaning I’d owned it for less than four months. The laptop cost $1,204.14, so this wasn’t exactly a small loss.

And unfortunately, the laptop wasn’t the only thing I lost. The thief took my entire backpack, which meant I also lost the backpack itself, along with some charging plugs and various other miscellaneous things I had inside.

After discovering that my backpack and computer had been stolen, I filed a police report documenting the theft. At that point, I figured I was probably out the cost of the laptop and everything else in my backpack.

But then, after talking with my brother about possible insurance coverage, I started wondering whether the credit card I’d used to purchase the laptop might offer some protection.

Chase Ink Business Cash Purchase Protection

I have a lot of credit cards, mainly because I’m always taking advantage of sign-up bonuses and other benefits.

One of the cards I have is the Chase Ink Business Cash, which is a no-annual-fee business credit card. I opened this card back in March 2026 for a new sign-up bonus, and it happened to be the card I used when I purchased my computer.

One of the benefits of the Chase Ink Business Cash is Purchase Protection. Under the benefit terms applicable to my card, eligible purchases are covered against theft or damage for 120 days from the purchase date, subject to certain limitations and exclusions.

The benefit provides coverage of up to $10,000 per item and $50,000 per account. That’s a pretty substantial benefit for a credit card that doesn’t even have an annual fee.

My Chase Purchase Protection Claim Timeline

Here are the important dates from my experience:

• April 16, 2026: Purchased my MacBook Air directly from Apple for $1,204.14
• August 4, 2026: Backpack containing my MacBook Air was stolen from my bike
• August 5, 2026: Submitted my Chase Purchase Protection claim
• August 14, 2026: Received the full $1,204.14 reimbursement in my checking account

Since the laptop was stolen within 120 days of the purchase date, it appeared to fall within the coverage period.

And I was cutting it pretty close! If the theft had occurred just a couple of weeks later, I would have been outside the 120-day coverage window.

Of course, just because something happens during the coverage period doesn’t automatically mean it’s covered. There are exclusions and other requirements, so I still needed to submit a claim and see what the benefit administrator determined.

My Biggest Concern: Would Chase Cover Something Stolen From My Bike?

This was probably my biggest concern when I started looking into the benefit. The laptop wasn’t stolen from my house or taken directly out of my hands. It was inside a backpack that I’d left on my bike while I went into McDonald’s. I wasn’t sure whether Chase would consider that a covered theft or whether the face that I’d left the backpack in my bike would create some sort of issue.

In my situation, though, there was clear evidence that an actual theft had occurred. Someone had physically taken the backpack from my bike, and the incident was captured on surveillance video. I also had a police report documenting the theft.

I decided the best thing to do was simply submit the claim, explain exactly what happened, and let the adjuster make a determination.

It turns out that leaving the backpack on my bike didn’t prevent my claim from being approved.

That said, my experience doesn’t necessarily mean every theft from an unattended bike will be covered. Every claim depends on the circumstances and the specific terms of the card’s benefits.

Still, I’m glad I didn’t automatically assume my claim would be denied.

How I Filed My Chase Purchase Protection Claim

The actual claim process was fairly straightforward.

To file my claim, I went to the Chase Card Benefits website and initiated a Purchase Protection claim.

I entered information about the laptop, including when I’d purchased it, how much it cost, and the circumstances surrounding the theft. I also provided the laptop’s serial number and a written statement explaining what happened.

The next step was submitting documentation to support my claim. Chase required the following documents:

1. Chase credit card statement with the purchase. This showed the Apple purchase for $1,204.14 and established that I’d purchased the laptop using my Chase Ink Business Cash card.
2. Original Apple receipt. Since I bought the laptop directly from Apple, I had a receipt documenting the purchase.
3. Police report. This documented the theft and the circumstances surrounding it.
4. Homeowners insurance declarations page. This showed my homeowners insurance coverage and deductible.
5. MacBook serial number and incident statement. I provided these when I initially filed the claim.

One thing I’d recommend if you’re ever in a similar situation is to save your receipts for expensive purchases. It’s pretty easy to forget about a receipt once you’ve bought something, but having it available can make an insurance claim much easier. I buy almost everything online, so it’s usually pretty easy for me to find receipts somewhere in my emails.

What About My Homeowners Insurance?

One interesting part of this process was figuring out how my homeowners insurance factored into the claim. Purchase Protection is generally secondary coverage, meaning other applicable insurance may need to be considered first.

I have homeowners insurance, but my deductible is $5,000. Since the laptop only cost $1,204.14, the loss was well below my homeowners insurance deductible.

Even if the theft otherwise qualified for coverage under my homeowners policy, there wouldn’t be a payment because the loss was smaller than my deductible.

I needed to show Chase that my homeowners insurance wouldn’t reimburse me for the laptop. To do this, I submitted my homeowners insurance declarations page showing the $5,000 deductible. Since my deductible was higher than the cost of the laptop, I wasn’t required to submit the claim to my homeowners insurance first (this makes logical sense, as it’d be a waste of time to submit a claim where the deductible is higher than the covered loss).

This is another reason why Purchase Protection can be valuable. Even if you have homeowners or renters insurance, your deductible might be too high for it to help with a relatively small theft. And while $1,200 isn’t a huge amount compared to something like a house or car, it’s still a lot of money to lose.

Chase Approved My Purchase Protection Claim and Reimbursed Me $1,204.14 in Just 9 Days!

I submitted my Chase Purchase Protection claim on August 5, 2026, the day after my MacBook Air was stolen. After uploading all my documentation, my claim showed a status of “Open – Adjuster Review.”

At that point, there wasn’t much else for me to do. I’d provided all the documentation Chase asked for, so I just had to wait and see what happened.

On August 14, 2026, just nine days after submitting my claim, I received notice that my claim had been approved!

Even better, I received a deposit of $1,204.14 directly into my checking account that same day. That’s the full amount I paid for my MacBook Air.

I have to say, I was pretty impressed with how smoothly everything went. From submitting the claim to having the money deposited into my checking account, the entire process took just nine days. I find it pretty remarkable that a credit card with no annual fee offers a benefit like this.

I’ve always been a big fan of credit cards for their sign-up bonuses and rewards, but this was a good reminder that the insurance benefits can be extremely valuable too.

Obviously, I’d rather not have had my laptop stolen in the first place. But getting the entire purchase price back in less than two weeks definitely made the situation a lot less painful.

I Didn’t Even Know About Purchase Protection When I Bought My MacBook

One thing I should mention is that I didn’t actually use my Chase Ink Business Cash to purchase the MacBook because of its Purchase Protection benefit. I mainly use whichever credit card I need to put spending on to earn sign-up bonuses. So it was pretty much just luck that I happened to use a credit card that offered this benefit. In fact, if I’d used one of my American Express cards instead, I might have been out of luck.

Many American Express cards offer Purchase Protection for only 90 days, compared to the 120 days offered by my Chase Ink Business Cash. Since my laptop was stolen more than 90 days after I purchased it, that difference could have been the deciding factor in whether I received any reimbursement.

It’s pretty crazy to think that something as simple as which credit card I happened to use could make a $1,200 difference.

That being said, now that I’ve gone through this experience and seen how well Purchase Protection worked, it’s definitely something I’ll pay more attention to in the future.

When I’m making a big purchase, I generally focus on earning sign-up bonuses or maximizing my points and cashback.

Going forward, though, I think I’ll also consider which credit cards offer the best Purchase Protection benefits, especially when I’m buying expensive electronics.

Things I Learned From My Chase Purchase Protection Experience

There are a few takeaways from this experience that I think are worth keeping in mind.

1. Pay Attention to Your Credit Card Benefits

I primarily focus on sign-up bonuses and hitting minimum spend requirements when deciding which credit card to use. But insurance benefits like Purchase Protection can be very valuable.

In this case, a benefit on a no-annual-fee credit card ended up protecting me against a loss of more than $1,200.

2. Keep Documentation for Expensive Purchases

Having the original Apple receipt and my Chase credit card statement made it easy to establish when I’d purchased the laptop and how much I’d paid.

If you’re purchasing something expensive, it’s worth keeping a copy of the receipt somewhere you can easily find it. You never know when you might need it.

3. File a Police Report Right Away if Something Is Stolen

Having a police report and surveillance evidence helped document that this was an actual theft rather than a misplaced or lost item.

One important detail is that Chase may require a police report documenting the theft. For Chase, their benefit terms say that a police report needs to be filed within 48 hours of the incident or as soon as reasonably possible.

Luckily, I’d filed my police report right away, so this wasn’t an issue for me. But it’s something worth knowing if you ever need to submit a Purchase Protection claim. I’d recommend reporting any theft as soon as possible rather than risking problems with your claim.

4. Don’t Automatically Assume Your Claim Won’t Be Covered

I was genuinely unsure whether leaving my backpack on my bike would be a problem, and I could have decided not to bother filing a claim because I thought Chase might deny it.

Instead, I submitted the documentation, accurately explained what happened, and let the claims administrator decide. In the end, not only was my claim approved, but I had the full reimbursement in my checking account just nine days after submitting it.

Final Thoughts

Having my computer stolen was obviously not a great experience.

Not only did I lose a practically brand-new laptop, but I also lost my backpack and a bunch of miscellaneous accessories that were inside it.

And because computer prices had increased since my original purchase, replacing my MacBook ended up costing me an additional $184.84, even after receiving the full reimbursement from Chase.

But considering that I could have been out the entire $1,204.14 cost of my laptop, I’m pretty happy with how everything worked out.

It’s easy to focus on sign-up bonuses, points, and cashback when thinking about credit card rewards. But this experience was a good reminder that some of the less exciting credit card benefits can end up being incredibly valuable.

The funny thing is that I didn’t even intentionally use my Chase Ink Business Cash because of its Purchase Protection benefit. It was basically just luck that I happened to use the right card.

Now that I know how valuable this benefit can be, it’s definitely something I’ll consider more carefully when deciding which card to use for expensive purchases.

Hopefully, I never have to deal with something like this again. But I’m glad I remembered Purchase Protection and took the time to submit a claim. Sometimes those little credit card benefits really do pay off.