Up to 25,000 À la carte Rewards 
$307 First-year value The National Bank Platinum Mastercard is a decent card for travel insurance, especially as a mid-tier travel credit card.
This card will especially be of interest to the elderly or anyone who enjoys longer trips, due to its generous emergency medical coverage.
Bonuses & Fees
The National Bank Platinum Mastercard offers up to 25,000 À la carte Rewards upon spending $6,000 on the card within the first year, broken down as follows:
- 10,000 À la carte Rewards upon spending $2,500 within the first three months
- 10,000 À la carte Rewards upon signing up for credit card payment insurance
- 5,000 À la carte Rewards upon spending $6,000 in the first 12 months
For the credit card payment insurance, there is a minimum subscription period of three months in order to earn the bonus.
Other than credit card payment insurance, the required spending is reasonable. Since the anniversary bonus is worth only $50 for an additional $3,000 of spending, it doesn’t necessarily make the extra spending well worth your while.
Furthermore, earning the anniversary bonus requires paying the $70 annual fee, so you’ll need to weigh the costs and the benefits to see if this will be a keeper card for you.
Note that to take advantage of this welcome offer, you must not currently hold a personal National Bank Mastercard credit card or have held one in the last 24 months.
This welcome offer is available until April 16, 2023 via an affiliate link.
The card has an annual fee of $70, and National Bank is offering a reimbursement of annual fees for the first year, making it first year free.
There is a $35 fee for each authorized user added to your account.
Earning Rewards
The National Bank Platinum Mastercard has a rewards structure that varies based on the amount of money you’ve spent on the card:
- Earn 2 points per dollar spent on groceries and restaurant purchases
- Earn 1.5 points per dollar spent on gas, electric vehicle charging, recurring bills, and travel booked through À la carte Travel
- Earn 1 point per $1.50 spent on all other purchases
If your total gross monthly amount of purchases (regardless of category) are under $1,000, the 2x multiplier on groceries and restaurant purchases will apply. However, if your purchases in one month exceed $1,000, the earning rate on those food purchases will fall to 1.5 points per dollar.
Redeeming Rewards
National Bank’s points, À la carte Rewards, can be redeemed through their online travel booking portal. Through this method, points have a fixed value of 1 cent per point.
In the portal, you can book travel, or you can redeem points for a statement credit against travel expenses booked directly with vendors.
Note that offsetting the cost of travel not booked through À la carte Rewards reduces the value of the points. If you redeem fewer than 55,000 points, you’ll get 0.83 cents per point, and if you redeem more than 55,000 points, you’ll get 0.91 cents per point.
While having to book through a portal isn’t the most flexible redemption option for maximizing value, it is a far better value than the 0.83cpp that National Bank provides on using À la carte Rewards for straight cash back.
À la carte Rewards never expire as long as you remain a cardholder.
Insurance Coverage
The National Bank Platinum Mastercard provides great insurance coverage.
In particular, the card can be used for insurance on award tickets. Coverage is valid for trip cancellation, trip interruption, or flight delays, as long as the ticket was paid at least in part on the card.
The card also offers fantastic emergency medical insurance when travelling. Cardholders are covered for up to $5,000,000 in damages, for trips up to 10 days, up to age 75.
Additionally, the card has industry-leading purchase protection. The extended warranty and purchase protection periods are double what many competitors offer, with up to two additional years for extended warranty and up to 180 days of protection against stolen or damaged merchandise.