National Bank® World Elite® Mastercard®

The National Bank^® World Elite^® Mastercard^® is an excellent card for travel insurance, where it’s in a class of its own. With annual credits to offset the annual fee, it’s a great premium keeper card for paying the taxes and fees on award ticket bookings.

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^® World Elite^® Mastercard^® offers up to 70,000 rewards points upon spending $12,000 on the card within the first year, broken down as follows:

• 30,000 rewards points upon spending $5,000 within the first three months
• 10,000 rewards points upon signing up for credit card payment insurance
• 30,000 rewards points upon spending $12,000 in the first 12 months

For the credit card payment insurance, there is a minimum enrolment period of three months in order to earn the bonus.

Other than credit card payment insurance, the other spending requirements are fairly reasonable, as $12,000 in the first year averages out to just $1,000 a month. To earn the anniversary bonus, though, you’ll have to pay the $150 annual fee, so you’ll need to determine whether or not 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 June 30, 2023 through an affiliate link.

The card has an annual fee of $150, and National Bank is offering a reimbursement of annual fees for the first year, making it first year free.

There is a $50 fee for each authorized user added to your account.

Earning Rewards

The National Bank^® World Elite^® Mastercard^® has a rewards structure that varies based on the amount of money you’ve spent on the card:

• Earn 5 points per dollar spent on groceries and restaurant purchases
• Earn 2 points per dollar spent on gas, electric vehicle charging, recurring bills, and travel booked through À la carte Travel
• Earn 1 points per dollar spent on all other purchases

If your total gross monthly amount of purchases (regardless of category) are under $2,500, the 5x multiplier on groceries and restaurant purchases will apply. However, if your purchases in one month exceed $2,500, the earning rate on those food purchases will fall to 2 points per dollar.

Redeeming Rewards

National Bank’s rewards points 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 rewards points 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 rewards points for straight cash back.

Your National Bank rewards points never expire as long as you remain a cardholder.

Perks & Benefits

The card provides a $150 annual travel credit, which can be applied to a range of travel expenses:

• Airport parking
• Baggage fees
• Seat selection
• Airport lounge access
• Airline ticket upgrades

These credits renew every year on January 1, but unused credits do not carry over.

Cardholders also have unlimited access to the National Bank Lounge at Montréal Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport for themselves plus one additional guest per visit. The lounge is available for passengers departing from the international terminal.

Insurance Coverage

The National Bank^® World Elite^® Mastercard^® provides outstanding 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 60 days, up to age 75.

• Age 54 and under: trips up to 60 days
• Age 55 to 64: trips up to 31 days
• Age 65 to 75: trips up to 15 days

Likewise, the card’s car rental insurance grants coverage for longer rentals of up to 48 days, which is longer than the industry standard.

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.

As of September 1, 2022, mobile device insurance is now a benefit of the card, as long the purchase is charged to the card. You’ll get coverage up to $1,000 in the event of breakage, loss, or theft for up to two years after the purchase date.

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