$130 Annual fee The Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard is a solid choice for a one-card wallet. It’s got a mix of wide Mastercard acceptance, above average earning rates, very strong insurance coverage, and a reasonable annual fee.
Bonuses & Fees
This card has no welcome bonus, and no first year fee reduction.
Instead, the annual fee is $130. Additional cards cost $40 per year, a fee which is waived if you’re a Desjardins banking member.
Earning Rewards
This card offers a tiered rewards structure:
- 3% back on groceries
- 2% back on restaurants, entertainment, and transit
- 1.5% back on all other purchases
Rewards are denominated in Desjardins BonusDollars, which are worth a fixed value of $1.
Redeeming Rewards
BonusDollars can be redeemed 1:1 for all sorts of things, including statement credit, travel bookings, gift cards, or into your Desjardins investment accounts.
Because the points have a fixed value and are so easy to redeem, I’d treat this card like a cash back card.
Perks & Benefits
The card provides eight annual lounge passes to the Desjardins Odyssey Lounge at Montreal-Trudeau Airport, located in the international departures terminal. All primary and secondary cardholders on the account will receive eight passes.
Also, the Desjardins Odyssey cards offer car rental benefits, including no young driver surcharge, no fee for additional drivers, Hertz Five Star status, and discounts on luxury car rentals. World Elite cardholders can get a discount of up to 25% at Hertz or 10% at Dollar and Thrifty on regular car rentals.
The card comes with all of the standard Mastercard World Elite benefits, including a DragonPass membership (although without any free passes) and Boingo Wi-Fi.
Insurance Coverage
The card offers top-tier emergency medical insurance when travelling out of your home province. Cardholders are covered for up to $5,000,000 in damages, for trips up to 60 days, up to age 75.
- Age 59 and under: trips up to 60 days
- Age 60 to 64: trips up to 31 days
- Age 65 to 75: trips up to 15 days
The card can be used for insurance on award tickets. Coverage is valid for trip cancellation or trip interruption, as long as the fees were paid using the credit card. Lost or stolen baggage is covered under the emergency medical policy, which doesn’t require the trip to be paid on the card at all.
This card also extends travel insurance to the cardholder’s grandchildren, if they are travelling together.
The card’s car rental insurance grants coverage for cars valued at up to $85,000, higher than the industry standard for this type of insurance. Paired with discounts on luxury car rentals, this could make for some memorable road trips!
Finally, the card has mobile device protection. If you buy your phone or tablet with this card, you’ll be covered for up to $1,000 for two years, in the event of loss, theft, or accidental damage.