National Bank has extended the all-time-high welcome bonus of up to 70,000 À la carte Rewards on its flagship National Bank World Elite Mastercard. The offer is available until June 30, 2023.
With compelling insurance coverage, including for award bookings, and a record-high signup bonus, now is as good of a time as ever to considering this card to your wallet.
National Bank World Elite Mastercard: Up to 70,000 À la carte Rewards
The offer for the National Bank World Elite Mastercard includes a $150 annual fee rebate for the first year, as well the following three-part structure for the welcome bonus:
- 30,000 À la carte Rewards upon spending $5,000 within the first three months
- 10,000 À la carte Rewards upon signing up for credit card payment insurance
- 30,000 À la carte Rewards upon spending $12,000 in the first 12 months
If you meet both minimum spending requirements, you can think of your total first-year earnings as 60,000 À la carte Rewards. However, note that the second portion of 30,000 points aren’t awarded until the cardholder anniversary date.
To receive the full welcome bonus of 70,000 points, you’ll also need to sign up for credit card payment insurance. You’ll want to compare the cost of this service against the extra 10,000 points, which is worth up to $100.
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. Furthermore, 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.
In terms of the returns on daily spending, the National Bank World Elite Mastercard allows you to earn:
- 5 points per dollar spent on groceries and restaurant purchases
- 2 points per dollar spent on gas, electric vehicle charging, recurring bills, and travel booked through the À la carte Travel Portal
- 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases
This is the highest earning rate among Mastercards in Canada. However, note that there is a monthly spending cap on categorized 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; on the other hand, if your purchases in one month exceed $2,500, the earning rate on those food purchases will be at 2 points per dollar.
If we were to add the points that you earn from meeting the initial spending threshold of $5,000 in spending, we can conclude that you’d earn at least 35,000 À la carte Rewards the first year, which is worth a cool $350. This is on top of the $150 first year primary cardholder fee rebate.
You then have the option of pursuing the remaining set of 30,000 points by spending $12,000 in the first year, which would result in a total points haul of at least 72,000 À la carte Rewards – worth $720 – if completed.
Finally, don’t forget about the $150 Annual Travel Credit that comes with this card, which is easy to redeem against a wide range of eligible travel expenses, including:
- Airport parking
- Baggage fees
- Seat selection
- Airport lounge access
- Airline ticket upgrades
In addition, the card comes with complimentary unlimited visits to the National Bank Lounge at Montréal Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport for the cardholder and one accompanying guest. This lounge is located in the international terminal, and isn’t available to passengers departing on domestic or transborder flights.
- Earn 5x À la carte Rewards points on grocery and restaurant spend†
- Get travel insurance on award travel, as well as medical coverage on longer trips for ages up to 75†
- Receive $150 in annual credits for airport parking, baggage fees, seat selection fees, lounge access, and airline ticket upgrades†
- Minimum income: $80,000 personal or $150,000 household
- Annual fee: $150
Insurance on the National Bank World Elite Mastercard
Of note, the National Bank World Elite Mastercard offers an unparalleled suite of travel and lifestyle insurance.
First off, the card’s insurance can be used on award tickets, since it only requires partial payment of the trip to the credit card.
Furthermore, the card’s emergency medical insurance stands out, as it covers trips up to 60 days in duration and $5,000,000 in damages. Even cardholders over 65 even have coverage for up to 15 days, and if you’re between 55 and 64 years old, you’ll get 31 days of emergency medical insurance.
Rental car insurance on the National Bank World Elite Mastercard is also longer than the industry standard, with coverage for up to 48 consecutive days.
Purchase protection and extended warranty coverage is also twice that of most World Elite Mastercards. You’ll get up to two years of additional warranty coverage, and 180 days of protection against stolen or damaged merchandise.
Finally, there is $1,000 of mobile device insurance, with coverage up to two years after the purchase date.
Compared to the BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard, another well-known Canadian credit card for covering award tickets, the National World Elite Mastercard has it beat on every account.
Redeeming À la carte Rewards Points
National Bank’s points, À la carte Rewards, can be redeemed through their online travel booking portal. Through this method, À la carte Rewards points have a fixed value of 1 cent per point.
In the portal, you can also redeem points for a statement credit against travel expenses not booked through the portal. However, redeeming points this way comes at a lower value of 0.83 cents per point when redeeming fewer than 55,000 points, or 0.91 cents per point when redeeming more than 55,000 points.
While booking travel through the portal isn’t the most flexible redemption option, it’s still better value than the 0.83 cents per point (cpp) that National Bank provides when using À la carte Rewards for straight cash back against any purchase.
Therefore, we can think of the first-year welcome bonus on the National Bank World Elite Mastercard as worth up to $350, with the potential to be $700 after the first-year anniversary date.
Note that À la carte Rewards never expire as long as you remain a cardholder.
Is the Anniversary Bonus Worth It?
The National Bank World Elite Mastercard offers an anniversary bonus, which is as follows:
- 30,000 À la carte Rewards upon spending $12,000 in the first year with the World Elite Mastercard
Normally, the anniversary bonus isn’t necessarily worth it unless you’re planning to hold the card for another year. In this case, the National Bank World Elite Mastercard is quite strong in terms of benefits, insurance, and earning rates, so there’s a great case to be made for keeping it around in your wallet for the long-term.
If you plan on keeping the card, you might as well spend an additional $1,000 per month and earn the full first-year anniversary bonus. Indeed, 30,000 points is worth $300 when redeemed for travel through the À la carte Rewards travel booking portal, which can easily justify paying for the $150 annual fee for the second year.
Apply Now
Until June 30, 2023, the National Bank World Elite Mastercard is offering a strong welcome bonus of 30,000 À la carte Rewards, which is worth at least $300 in value. The current offer also includes a first-year $150 annual fee waiver and a $150 travel credit.
The National Bank World Elite Mastercard requires a minimum personal annual income of $80,000, a household income of $150,000, or assets of $400,000 at any Canadian financial institution to be eligible.
You can also earn additional points by meeting an annual spending requirement. These points are awarded on the cardholder anniversary date, at which point you’ll also incur a second-year annual fee.
The combination of lengthy emergency medical insurance, coverage on award tickets, and solid everyday earn rates makes the National Bank World Elite a Mastercard product that’s quickly rising in prominence. Throw in the record-high welcome bonus we’re seeing, and now might be a great time to add the card to your wallet.