What is a Mastercard credit card?
A Mastercard credit card is an electronic payment card issued by a wide range of banks, processed by Mastercard Inc. global technology company, and accepted all over the world in more than 210 countries. Mastercard has credit, debit, and prepaid cards of three categories — Standard, World, and World Elite, which could have different features depending on the issuer: no fee, low-interest rate, rewards, cash back, travel insurance and perks, partner retail or airline bonuses, etc.
Mastercard credit cards types
- Rewards credit cards are made to earn reward points from the bank or retailer reward programs and redeem points for travel, everyday shopping, hotel stays and airline tickets, and other eligible purchases depending on the program. For example, they could be focused on travel, airline, hotel, store rewards, or allow customers to get general rewards redeemed for everyday purchases.
- Cash back credit cards are designed to gain cash back on purchases. These cards may be no fee, premium, or co-branded, but all give cash back, with rates and categories set by the credit card issuer. Although, during the promo period cash back rate may be higher, pay attention to the standard cash back rate.
- No annual fee cards allow customers not to pay any annual fees but provide a limited number of benefits. However, they usually have extended warranty and purchase protection. And no minimum income is needed to apply. In addition, some cards like MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard® credit card could provide exceptional benefits: car rental, mobile device insurance coverage, and great rewards earning rate.
- Low-interest rate cards are tailored for clients who want to save on interest charges on their purchases, cash advances, and balance transfers. These cards have other fees that should be considered and not many perks to enjoy. For example, purchase and balance transfer interest rates may be as low as 8.99%, the best deal being the MBNA True Line Gold Mastercard® and 15.99% for cash advances and balance transfers with BMO Preferred Rate Mastercard®. However, suppose you don't make the minimum payment by the due date. In that case, your Mastercard credit card account may apply the highest interest rate on purchases and cash advances (including balance transfers). Also, promotional interest rates could stay low for a set amount of time, usually for a client who wants to make a balance transfer.
- Premium credit cards are World Mastercard and World Elite Mastercard, which go with higher annual fees and allow clients to get included privileges like comprehensive travel insurance benefits, complimentary lounge access, hotel and airline benefits, free Wi-Fi, access to events, 24/7 concierge service, Zero Liability Protection, extended warranty, and purchase protection and other Mastercard benefits and extra perks. Minimum income is required.
- Student credit cards are designed to become the first credit card account for a customer who wants to build a healthy credit history. Student cards usually have no annual fee and could offer cash back, rewards, and mobile protection.
- Co-branded cards are designed for customers who tend to use a specific airline, hotel, retail chain, etc. Partnerships included: Air Miles, WestJet RBC Mastercard®, Walmart Rewards Mastercard®, PC Financial, PC Optimum® program at Loblaw, Shoppers Drug Mart and other Loblaws-owned stores, Harley-Davidson Mastercard®, Hudson’s Bay Company, Alaska Airlines World Elite Mastercard®, Amazon.ca®, Costco®, Best Western Rewards®, and others.
Mastercard credit card features
- Mastercard could be used mostly everywhere you need to purchase: at chain stores, local merchants, or online. Together with Visa, Mastercard is the most widely accepted credit card.
- Mastercard doesn't distribute its cards directly to customers. Instead, cards are issued by partner banks, credit unions, or other financial institutions and processed by the Mastercard network. The credit card issuer determines fees, interest rates, rewards, and cash back, which manages all debts, and points, so you owe money to the bank or credit union, not Mastercard.
- There are Standard, World, and Word Elite tiers. Standard cards are basic no fee or low fee, low interest, cashback cards without minim income requirements. World cards are middle-level cards; World Elite are premium cards with the highest fees and the widest variety of perks. World and World Elite cards have minimum income requirements. Benefits, perks, and insurance coverage may vary.
- Mastercard cards usually have a 21-day interest-free grace period. It is applied to new purchases and fees. Still, it does not apply to other purchases and fees on previous account statements, cash advances (including cash-like transactions) and cash advance fees, balance transfers, and balance transfer fees.
- Zero Liability Protection covers all Mastercard cards. It means that as a Mastercard cardholder, you are not responsible for unauthorized purchases made with your credit card. In addition, Mastercard Global Service provides emergency assistance virtually anytime and anywhere: report your card is lost or stolen, obtain emergency card replacement or cash advance, find an ATM and get an answer to any question.
- Extended warranty and purchase protection are common features of a credit card and Mastercard benefits. An extended warranty prolongs the original manufacturer’s or store warranty when you pay for the purchase with your eligible credit card. Purchase protection (sometimes called purchase assurance) provides a 90 days coverage for eligible purchases made with Mastercard if the items are damaged or stolen.
- One of the Mastercard benefits is an option for World Elite cards — Boingo Wi-Fi. It provides access to over 1 million hotspots without costs, fees, or roaming charges.
- With premium cards, you could enjoy complimentary membership at Mastercard Travel Pass provided by Dragon Pass. It offers access to more than 1,300 airport lounges in over 140 countries.
Mastercard reward programs
Specific financial institutions set all rewards; you may find the details of each reward program at the site or the office of your credit card issuer.
In general, rewards programs let customers make purchases and collect rewards points. The number of points and eligible categories vary from program to program. When you gain a needed amount of points, you could spend them for eligible purchases: merchandise, travel, and miles. Earning rates could be different, sometimes highly favorable for a client, especially when you book a journey with a specific airline or traveling portal.
Mastercard provides a Pay with Rewards system, designed for issuers and customers to redeem rewards for big purchases or vacations and for other purchases and a wide range of goods and services.
With Pay with Rewards, Mastercard cardholders may redeem points at millions of participating locations worldwide – online or in person, check the balance of points, and receive alerts through a mobile application or email.
Best Mastercard credit cards in Canada
- Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card® could be listed as one of the best Mastercard credit cards providing cash back with bonus categories and without annual fees. You may choose and change two bonus categories to earn cash back of 2%: groceries, gas, furniture, travel accommodations, home improvement, recurring bill payments, and pharmacy. When a cardholder sets up an automatic deposit of rewards into a Tangerine savings account, they earn cash back of 0.5% on other eligible purchases. The welcome bonus allows you to earn 15% cash back on up to $1,000 in everyday purchases within two months of account opening. If you owe a balance at another credit card account, make balance transfers within the first 30 days from account opening, and pay a promotional interest rate of 1.95% for the first six months, a balance transfer fee of 1% is applied on the balance transfers. The standard annual interest rate on purchases and cash advances (including balance transfers) is 19.95%. If the cardholder doesn't make the monthly minimum payments, interest rates on purchases, cash advances, or balance transfers could increase.
- MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard®credit card has high earning rates, a large welcome bonus, and a competitive earning rate in popular bonus categories, which is a surprise for no annual fee rewards cards. For example, you may earn up to 4 MBNA Rewards points per dollar spent on restaurant purchases, grocery, digital media, membership, and household utility purchases within the first three months, and 2 points for dollars spent for eligible purchases after the promo period. In addition, you may collect 1 point per dollar for other purchases. Also, you may earn up to 10,000 MBNA Rewards bonus points if you spend over $500 in the first three months from account opening and select electronic statements. Additionally, you get mobile device insurance.
- MBNA True Line Gold Mastercard®credit card is the best low-interest Mastercard, with an incredibly low purchase interest rate and balance transfer rate of 8.99%. Remember that the interest rate of cash advances (and other cash-like transactions) is relatively high — 24.99%. The annual fee is $39, with no annual fee charged for an authorized user added to the card account, which is an excellent deal for the only card in Canada having such a low fixed interest rate. Note: A higher interest rate will be applied after you fail to make the second minimum payment by the due date. The credit card perfectly suits customers who want to make a balance transfer from the high rate card, have problems keeping a balance, or need to pay fewer interest charges.
- HSBC World Elite Mastercard®credit card is one of the best travel cards and a rare credit card without foreign transaction fees (fx fees). So you may book hotels in non-Canadian currency and save money. It has a generous welcome bonus, which allows customers to earn up to 80,000 HSBC Rewards points and waive the first-year fee. The great rate lets you earn cash back of 1.5% for any eligible purchases and 3% cash back for travel, which makes HSBC World Elite a very attractive credit card for travelers. Cash back rewards could be used as a statement credit to cover any travel expenses on the card or seat upgrade, or they could be transferred to airline reward programs. For example, a $100 annual travel enhancement credit could almost cover a primary cardholder's $149 annual fee. The additional cardholder annual fee is $50. The annual interest rate on purchases is 19.9%, and the 22.9% interest rate is on cash advances and balance transfers. Premium travel insurance and unlimited Boingo Wi-Fi is included.
- BMO CashBack® Mastercard®credit card is the best Mastercard for students — it could assist in building credit and is ideal as a first credit card with strong everyday purchases rewards. The card comes without an annual fee and offers a welcome bonus: you could earn cash back as much as 5% over the first three months after account opening and get a promotional interest rate of 0.99% for balance transfers in the first nine months (note: 2% balance transfer fee is applied). When the promo period ends, the interest you will pay on purchases is an average of 20.99% and 22.99% interest rate on cash advances and balance transfers. The standard earning rate is the highest at 3% cash back on groceries in Canada, 1% cash back on recurring bill payments, including streaming which is highly popular among the youth — Netflix and Spotify, and 0.5% cash back on other purchases. BMO doesn't determine how much cash back you could earn — it's unlimited. Minimum income requirements are accessible at $15,000. Extended warranty and purchase protection are included. BMO rewards points never expire, and you can redeem them as you want, even for a statement credit, BMO chequing or savings account, and BMO InvestorLine.
- BMO AIR MILES® World Elite® Mastercard® credit card is tailored for those who want to collect Air Miles. The $120 annual fee is waived for the first year. A welcome bonus will allow you to earn up to 2,000 Air Miles if you spend $3,000 within the first three months from account opening. BMO World Elite credit card is a premium card with minimum income requirements, full insurance, concierge service, and a DragonPass membership. The remarkable feature is a 15% Flight Discount on all Air Miles flights in North America, designed for travelers collecting rewards for a big trip. The interest rate is 20.99% for purchases and 23.99% for cash advances and balance transfers.
- PC World Elite Mastercard® is the best Mastercard for clients shopping in Loblaws. It's a World Elite Mastercard with no annual fee, but the benefits are limited: no lounge access, only two types of travel insurance with standard World Elite income requirements. The card lets you speed up earning rewards — PC Optimum points — towards everyday purchases at drug stores, eligible grocery stores, and gas stations. You may also get a high earning rate on traveling booked through President’s Choice Travel. The card is made specifically for clients of Loblaws so that you can earn and redeem points only at Real Canadian Superstore and other Loblaw-owned stores, Shoppers Drug Mart, Pharmaprix, and Esso gas stations that are parts of Loblaw Companies Limited.
- Walmart Rewards Mastercard® is made for Walmart stores customers; it is the best Mastercard for those who want to collect Walmart rewards faster. For example, you could earn 3% at Walmart.ca, 1.25% at gas stations, 1.25% at Walmart stores in Canada, and 1% everywhere else without an annual fee. Walmart Rewards Dollars can be redeemed only at Walmart stores in Canada and online at Walmart.ca and can't be transferred to any other loyalty program. As an additional bonus, you get Boingo Wi-Fi for Mastercard, a free extended warranty and purchase assurance, Zero Liability Protection, and Mastercard Global Service.
- Neo Secured Credit Card is the best Mastercard secured credit card. It has no annual fee and allows customers to earn cash back rewards of up to 15% with eligible partners: 5% cash back is an average rate, and 0.5% is the minimum cash back for eligible purchases. In addition, a minimum deposit of $50 is accessible for many clients. Purchase and cash advances interest rates vary from 19.99% to 24.99%, depending on your credit profile and province. No extended warranty or purchase protection is included.
How do Mastercard credit cards work?
You can use your card anywhere Mastercard is accepted; these credit tools can be issued by various banks but processed worldwide.
- Depending on the terminal type, swipe the card or insert it into the slot depending on the terminal type. Also, you may use Tap & Go payment — contactless payment — if your card and terminal allow: tap your card or device on the payment reader. Participating merchants that accept contactless do not require you to sign for small purchases (under $100). However, if you make purchases over $100, a signature or PIN is usually necessary.
- When you purchase with your Mastercard credit card online, enter its info during checkout: your card number, expiration date, and 4-digit security code on the front of your card. Or you may use an easier way — Click to Pay. Find the Click to Pay icon shopping online and check out securely password free without having to reach for your card.
- You could use digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Android Pay to make payments with your Mastercard.
- Most Mastercard cards also allow you to withdraw money against the balance and obtain a cash advance at an ATM. You will need a PIN to withdraw cash. Mastercard does not determine ATM fees: they are charged by the ATM owner and disclosed at the transaction time. Also, check with the card issuer to determine their ATM fee policies.
Merchants in Canada are not permitted to apply a fee for customers using Mastercard. Contact the financial institution that issued your card if you have any problems with making a payment, billing, or fees. Use a phone number on the back of your card or your monthly billing statement. Also, you can always contact the Mastercard Assistance Center by calling toll-free at 1-800-627-8372 or collect at 1-636-722-7111.
Where to get a Mastercard credit card in Canada?
Mastercard is widely accepted all over Canada. On the Mastercard official website, you may find a list of Canadian banks that issue Mastercard credit cards. The banks included significant banks such as Big 5 banks and other financial institutions: ATB Financial, Bank of China (Canada), BMO Bank of Montreal, Brim Financial, Canadian Tire Bank, Capital One, CIBC, Collabria Financial Services Inc., Desjardins, HSBC Bank Canada, MBNA, National Bank of Canada, President’s Choice Financial, RBC Royal Bank, Rogers Bank, Scotiabank, Servus Credit Union, Tangerine, Walmart Canada Bank.
How to choose and apply for a Mastercard credit card in Canada
To choose a suitable Mastercard credit card, evaluate your lifestyle and financial goals. Mastercard partner financial institutions offer cards with different features to meet clients needs and status. You may choose a basic or premium card, according to the sides you want to focus on: low or no yearly fees, rewards, cash back or exclusive benefits, travel bonuses, and discounts. Be sure to compare credit card interest rates, annual and other fees, and welcome bonus conditions. The issuer sets all these features; you should look closely at the specific Mastercard credit card conditions and benefits. For example, Mastercard credit cards usually have 2,5% foreign transaction fees (fx fees), but some cards operate without them.
You should contact the Canadian financial institution directly to apply for a Mastercard card. You may specify where to get a card using a list of Mastercard issuers in Canada from the official website. Usually, you could apply for a Mastercard credit card online through the chosen bank's website, online banking account, by phone, or visit the bank office in person. Be ready to provide your personal contact, income, and employment information. Social Insurance Number (SIN) or another valid government-issued ID and credit score are also necessary.
During the application, a primary cardholder could decide to add an authorized user to the card account, which could be done later through online banking. Online bank account opening is essential for easy management, obtaining electronic statements, reviewing transactions, and other features that your credit card account has. Also, you may request balance transfers to pay down the balance of other credit cards.
The credit card issuer will review your information, verify your identity, check your credit history and decide if your application could be approved. Some additional information may be needed. When approved, you could get a card by mail, typically within 14 days. Then, activate your card by phone or online by logging in to your credit card account, and you are ready to make purchases.
You may use an online tool called Find a Mastercard at the official site, which is made to assist you in choosing one of the best Mastercard credit cards of your choice. Select which feature is the most important for you and select the category: rewards, cash back, travel, balance transfers, no fee, and low-interest rate. You may also browse all cards by category, credit type, and bank. You will see Mastercard offers available from Canadian banks.
Requirements
To be eligible for Mastercard in Canada, you must:
- Be a Canadian resident
- Be the age of majority in your province or territory
- For World Mastercard, you need a minimum annual income of at least $60,000 (or a combined household income of at least $100,000).
- For World Elite Mastercard, you need an individual annual income of at least $80,000 (or a combined household yearly income of $150,000).
Pros and cons
Pros
- Accepted all over the world
- One of the largest card processors
- An extensive choice of Canadian banks that issue Mastercard
- A wide range of different cards from student to premium
- Flexible rewards system
Cons
- Fix minimum income requirements for premium cards
- Don't issue cards
Visa vs. Mastercard
Visa and Mastercard are the two largest card processor networks in the world. All Mastercard and Visa cards are issued by other financial institutions which offer debit, credit, and prepaid cards directly to their customers and often issue co-branded cards in partnership with airlines, hotels, and retailers. Most banks issue both Mastercard and Visa cards. Card issuers determine fees. Usually, annual fees vary from $0 to $150.
It's convenient to use Mastercard and Visa cards in Canada, as they are widely accepted. Generally, a regular customer has no significant difference in which card to choose. Visa is accepted in over 200 countries, with cash advances available through the Plus ATM network, Mastercard — at around 210, using the Cirrus ATM network for cash advances.
A widely known retail chain in Canada that accepts only Mastercard credit payments is Costco. It offers its own co-branded Mastercard. Also, you may choose Mastercard if you regularly shop at Loblaws discount grocery stores (such as No Frills), as they only accept Mastercard.
Both Visa and Mastercard offer different levels of service: Classic, Infinite, and Infinite Privilege for Visa and Classic, World, and World Elite — Mastercard. The classic level usually goes with no minimum income required. To qualify for premium cards, you should have at least $60,000 annual income with Visa and over $80,000 for World Elite Mastercard eligibility. Premium cards usually include exclusive perks, comprehensive travel insurance coverage, extended warranty & purchase protection, concierge services, offers from airlines and hotels, and airport lounge access.
Visa and Mastercard have some exclusive features. For example, Visa provides lounge access to premium cardholders through the Priority Pass membership and Mastercard — through Mastercard Airport Experiences. Also, Mastercard premium cards go with more types of insurance — 15 vs. Visa's 12 — and give Free Wi-Fi, special Cirque du Soleil, and Mastercard Priceless Cities options. At the same time, Visa Infinite offers Dining Series, Wine Country Program, and Luxury Hotel Collection benefits.
When you decide which credit card to apply for, pay attention to the specific financial institution, and compare cards, not the processor network. Visa and Mastercard are mostly identical regarding credit card choices.