MBNA Rewards World Elite® Mastercard®

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  Mobile Device Insurance

  $1000
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  Purchase Protection

  Up to 90 days
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  Extended Warranty

  Up to a year
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  Car Rental Damage & Theft

  31 days
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  Flight Delay

  $500/person after 4 hours
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  Travel Accident

  $1,000,000
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  Emergency Out of province Medical

  $2M for 21 days
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  Lost or Stolen Baggage

  $1000/person
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  Baggage Delay

  $1000/person

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  Annual Birthday Bonus

  10% of the Points earned the 12 months prior to the primary cardholder's birthday month (up to a max 15,000 bonus points per year)
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  Car Rental Discount

  10% off base rate of Avis Rent A Car and Budget Rent A Car in Canada and US and 5% internationally
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  Trip and legal Assistance
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  Concierge Services
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  Price Protection

  $500/item, $1000/account per year

At Finly, we recognize the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard as one of the best reward credit cards in Canada. One look at the rewards program and you’ll see high points on popular spend categories like grocery and restaurant purchases – a points system to support you every time you dine out and each time you eat in.

Perks like rare price protection coverage and the unique annual birthday bonus are simply the icing on the cake.

To learn all there is to know about this amazing Mastercard, keep scrolling through this review.

How You Earn Rewards with the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard

Now that we’ve hooked you in with our intro, let’s look a little closer at the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard’s rewards. With this card, you can earn:

• 5 points on restaurant, grocery, digital media, membership, and household utility purchases (capped at $50,000 annually per category)
• 1 point on everything else

As you can see, there’s no question that this card is a true staple for common household purchases. Whether you’re a foodie who wants to collect points while trying out new restaurants, constantly shopping for food to feed the many mouths in your household, hoping to optimize those household utility bills, or looking to earn big on digital media and memberships – this card has plenty of points to pack into your pocket. Just keep an eye on those annual spending caps (which are pretty generous to begin with).

Redeeming your Rewards with the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard

Now that you’re well-versed on how to earn points, let’s scope out the best ways to redeem those points.

Here’s a breakdown of the top redemption categories offered by the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard. For your convenience, we’ve ranked each category from best to least value per point:

• Travel: when you book travel through participating platforms and redeem points towards eligible flights or vacation packages.
• Statement Credits - World Elite: when you redeem your points as cash towards your credit card statement balance.
• Gift Cards: when you use your points to buy an eligible gift card.
• Merchandise: when you redeem your points towards everyday items.

Between travel, statement credits, gift cards, and merchandise, the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard offers a balanced point redemption program fit for adventurers and everyday shoppers alike.

7 Benefits of the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard

There are plenty of benefits packed into the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard. Let’s unpack them now:

The Helpful Welcome Offer

To make signing up that much more enticing, the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard offers a welcome bonus of extra points just for going paperless – all you have to do is enrol in e-statements. Plus, you can earn even more points once you spend up to a certain amount in the first few months of membership. 

High Points on Popular Categories

We said it before, but it’s worth mentioning again. The MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard gives you the opportunity to earn points on high-spend categories, particularly grocery and restaurant purchases.

Earning lots of points on grocery purchases is important because groceries are something everyone is constantly shopping for. So why not earn rewards simply for checking off your weekly grocery list?

Additionally, collecting points at restaurants comes in handy since restaurant purchases tend to be pretty pricey most of the time. With points per every dollar spent on dining out, you can feel a bit more at ease when those expensive bills come to your table – because the bigger the restaurant bill, the better the points.

The Annual Birthday Bonus

How often does your credit card celebrate your birthday? With the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard, you can expect a gift every year with the annual birthday bonus. This bonus grants you a percentage of the points earned in the previous year leading up to your birthday month (capped at a certain amount of points per year of course). 

Price Protection

The MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard's price protection service helps you out when you purchase an eligible product with your card and see a similar model advertised in Canada within 60 days for a lower price. In cases like these, price protection will allow you to swap the items and will refund you the difference up to a maximum of $500 per product at a specified annual cap per account.

Trip and Legal Assistance

There are a few situations in which the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard has your back with trip and legal assistance. 

In some of these situations, you’ll be supported with:

• Emergency Cash Transfer
• Lost Document and Ticket Replacement
• Lost Baggage Assistance
• Pre-trip Information 
• Legal Assistance

Concierge Services

Imagine having your own personal assistant attached to your credit card. With the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard, you’ll have concierge services at your fingertips. These experts can book you travel for your next trip (including flights and hotels), snag you dinner reservations at exclusive restaurants, and find you tickets to the best concerts and performances. While you will be responsible for all charges, you won’t have to spend any time booking or planning.

Car Rental Discount

When you have an MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard, you can earn discounts with Avis Rent A Car and Budget Rent A Car. Each time you pay for your rental vehicle using your MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard, you’ll save a percentage off base rates in Canada and the US. Note to mention, a minimum percentage off the base rates internationally.

3 Downsides of the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard

We have to follow up the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard’s benefits with some drawbacks.

Here’s where the Mastercard falls short:

High Income Requirements

Some applicants may have a harder time applying for the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard because of its high annual personal and household income requirements. These requirements may make the card inaccessible to some cardholders.

Missing Some Valuable Insurance Categories

While the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard offers some decent insurance over 9 categories, it’s missing some sought-after categories like trip interruption and trip cancellation insurance. A lack of these coverages might deter travellers from opting into this card.

Gas Purchases Aren’t Optimized

With high reward rates on popular everyday spend categories like groceries and restaurants, there’s one day-to-day purchase category that’s missing from this card – gas.

If gas purchases were also optimized on this Mastercard then the card would be much more well-rounded for the everyday shopper.

Comparison to Other Top Points Credit Cards

Sometimes, the best way to determine whether a card is right for you is to compare it to similar cards to make sure it truly checks all the boxes on your wish list.

In this section, we’ll compare the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard to other top credit cards on the Canadian Market.

Apply the filter “Best for Points” on our Best Credit Card Finder Tool and you’ll see all the following cards listed there.

For the full comparison at-a-glance, check out this comparison table:

American Express Cobalt Card

The American Express Cobalt Card is often referred to as the best credit card in Canada, and rightfully so. This card offers the best balance of coverage, rewards, and benefits that provide top-tier annual value, all at a reasonable annual fee. In terms of overall rating, however, the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard is a close runner up.

Starting of course with both cards’ points programs, these two contenders offer similarly competitive points per dollar spent on dining and groceries. While the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard caps the amount of points you can earn in its top categories annually, the Cobalt Card provides monthly caps for its top categories. For a slightly lesser point value, the Cobalt Card also adds a gas and transit category – two additional everyday expenses that are missing from the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard. When redeeming your points, the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard is better for gift card and merchandise redemptions, whereas the Cobalt Card is superior for travel and statement credit redemptions. 

For a slightly lower annual fee, you’ll actually get some more comprehensive insurance categories with the MBNA Rewards world Elite Mastercard, particularly in the lost or stolen baggage, baggage delay, and car rental damage and theft coverage categories. That said, the American Express Cobalt Card adds an extra insurance category – hotel burglary insurance.

Since the Cobalt Card only sports a travel credit and the standard Amex Experiences, you’ll get more benefits with the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard.

Even though the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard is technically cheaper than the American Express Cobalt Card, its high income requirements could be a problem for some applicants (whereas the Cobalt Card has no income requirements).

Overall, if you’re looking for some gas and transit optimization, better travel redemptions, and a stellar annual value compared to all other credit cards – then the Cobalt Card is your top contender. Otherwise, if you’re a high earner that qualifies and you want to spend less for more perks, then the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard could still be the card for you.

Scotiabank Gold American Express Card

For the same annual fee (except this one is waived in the first year), the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card offers cardholders similar points per dollar on dining and groceries as the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard, but even higher points when you buy groceries at partnered grocers like Sobeys and Foodland. Other points categories with the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card include transit and streaming. Ultimately, the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card also has a more flexible redemption program.

As for coverage, while some categories like emergency out of province medical, travel accident, lost or stolen baggage, and baggage delay insurance are more comprehensive with the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard, the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card has more extensive insurance overall. Unlike the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard, the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card features valuable inclusions like emergency medical over 65, and trip interruption and trip cancellation coverage.

Both cards come with concierge services, but the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card will entice travellers or international shoppers with its rare no foreign transaction fees benefit and discount on Priority Pass membership. Still, the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard has more benefits overall.

The two cards also have income requirements, but the income requirements for the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card are much lower.

Ultimately, if you want the chance to earn even more points on groceries if you’re a frequent Sobeys or Foodland shopper, if you want some more earning and redemption categories, plus extra insurance, then the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card is a great choice. However, if you’d like more benefits and some more comprehensive coverage categories, then you might be content with the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard.

TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card

If you’re not into Mastercard or American Express, the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card is a good Visa alternative points card with plenty of perks.

First off, with this card, you’ll earn Aeroplan points per dollar spent on gas, groceries and Air Canada purchases. While the point rates don’t seem particularly high, if you redeem your points towards the right categories (particularly through Aeroplan flights, car rentals, and travel), you can collect solid annual rewards overall at a value almost as high as the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard.

As far as insurance goes, the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card includes those important categories like emergency medical over 65, hotel burglary, and trip interruption and trip cancellation insurance.

The TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card also has more benefits like status lifts, extra points through partnered brands, free first checked bags, a NEXUS program rebate, and Troon Rewards Golf benefits.

Since the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card has more insurance and benefits, it’s no surprise that it comes at a slightly higher annual cost. Thankfully though, you don’t need as high of a personal or household income to qualify.

In conclusion, if you’re looking for a top points card from the Visa network or you frequently travel with Air Canada, the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card is a great option. It offers tons of insurance, great benefits, and decent points that can bring in substantial annual value. Still, if you’re alright with pocketing a Mastercard, then the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard is still the better choice in terms of everyday value, offering more earn categories and some higher shared redemption categories at a lower annual fee.

Final Verdict

At the end of the day, the MBNA World Elite Mastercard is arguably the best points option for the Mastercard network, and one of the best points cards overall in Canada. 

While it could of course add some more coverage and benefits, if the focus is points on popular everyday categories – then you can’t really go wrong (unless you’re looking to add gas and transit into the mix).

Foodies and grocery shoppers can dine and shop with ease knowing that they’re collecting some of the highest points in Canada – all of which can be redeemed towards their next trip, statement credits, gift cards, or everyday merchandise.

There’s also something to look forward to each year with the annual birthday bonus. Not to mention, extra peace of mind during shopping sprees with price protection services.

All in all, the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard is a pretty balanced and impressive rewards card that will complement most spending habits and keep its cardholders well-protected and well-rewarded.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard worth it?

If you’re constantly dining out or shopping for groceries (which many of us are), then the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard is a great card for optimizing your top spending habits. If you take advantage of all the card’s perks and collect as many points as possible, you'll more than make up for the annual cost.

Is the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard hard to get?

Considering the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard has some steep income requirements, it might be difficult for some applicants to get their hands on it. If you find yourself in this scenario, check out some of the contenders we’ve featured in this review’s comparison section. All the listed competitors have either lower income requirements, or no income requirements at all.