What is World Elite® Mastercard®?
World Elite® Mastercard® is a credit card by Mastercard International Incorporated that processes payments using the Mastercard network. Being a premium credit card, a World Elite® Mastercard provides a range of benefits, including everyday and travel insurance, shopping rewards and discounts, and VIP treatment privileges from Mastercard.
World Elite® Mastercard® features
Mastercard cards come with the intersecting circles mark, which is one of the registered trademarks of Mastercard International Incorporated.
World Elite® Mastercard® supports a variety of payment methods.
With the Just Tap & Go™ feature, you can make contactless payments anywhere you see the Contactless symbol at checkout. You can make contactless payments with Apple Pay, Google Pay, or other eligible mobile wallets, which is faster, safer, and more convenient than paying with cash. To find your local Tap & Go™ merchants, get the Mastercard Nearby Mobile App for your mobile device.
Mastercard-connected commerce capabilities of your World Elite® Mastercard® allow you to pay the way you want, from any device and in any digital environment. The examples are:
Fitbit Pay™ and Garmin Pay™ contactless payment solutions allowing you to pay with a flick of the wrist, without taking out your wallet
Mastercard Send® payment solution for faster and easier payments
In addition, you can enroll your World Elite® Mastercard® in Click to Pay and avoid typing in payment details when shopping online. You will just need to find the Click to Pay icon at checkout. Once your World Elite® Mastercard® is in Click to Pay, you won’t have to remember any passwords. In case of shopping from a new device, enter your email, and Click to Pay will send you a secure one-time code.
World Elite® Mastercard® cardholders can find peace of mind with the advanced security features of Mastercard.
Mastercard ID Theft Protection™ protects your personal information and privacy, detects suspicious activities early, provides you with timely alerts, and ensures assistance from resolution specialists.
With Zero Liability Protection from Mastercard, you can rest assured that you won’t be liable for unauthorized transactions.
Mastercard cardholders can count on a grace period of 21 to 25 days. Usually, during these lapses determined by the issuing bank, no credit charges are incurred. The grace period starts on the statement date end ends on the due date, the minimum payment due being 5%.
If you are traveling to the U.S. or other countries. you can count on emergency assistance from Mastercard Global Services, like reporting a lost or stolen card and requesting a replacement.
World Elite® Mastercard® benefits
A World Elite® card provides its cardholders with an extensive range of benefits granted for food, traveling, and entertainment purchases.
The everyday shopping benefits include:
Earning earn $5 in Lyft credit per month for taking three Lyft rides within a month and paying with your World Elite® Mastercard®
Getting a 3-month DashPass subscription, free delivery, and reduced service charges from DoorDash food delivery service
Free ShopRunner membership providing free 2-day shipping and free returns at participating stores
Earning a $5 Fandango Reward towards your next movie ticket purchase or at-home movie or TV show for every $20 spent on movie tickets at Fandango or at home on Vudu
Exclusive privileges from Mastercard offered by World Elite® Mastercard® include:
Priceless Experiences® providing access to experiences in culture, dining, sports, entertainment, and other areas
Mastercard Golf® providing access to exclusive PGA TOUR® experiences and various golf benefits
World Elite Concierge service providing personal assistance with restaurant bookings, locating hard-to-find items, and other requests
Along with these privileges, World Elite® Mastercard® provides a range of travel and lifestyle services:
Complimentary professional travel services providing 24/7 assistance from Mastercard Travel & Lifestyle managers
Mastercard Hotel Stay Guarantee provided upon booking a three-star or higher hotel stay through the Mastercard Travel & Lifestyle Services program
Lowest Hotel Rate Guarantee providing a refund in case you find the same hotel stay that you have booked through Mastercard Travel & Lifestyle Service but for less
Mastercard luxury hotel and resorts portfolio providing upgrades and amenities like complimentary breakfast for two daily, amenity credits up to $100 and more
Free nights, car, RV, and air at Mastercard partners
Mastercard Airport Concierge® services like assistance with baggage on departure or a chauffeured luxury vehicle upon arrival provided by dedicated agents
Insurance certificate containing provisions on available coverage
Best World Elite® Mastercard® cards in Canada
Now that you know all the benefits of World Elite® Mastercard®, let's take a look at the best cards in this category available in Canada.
National Bank’s World Elite Mastercard®
National Bank’s World Elite Mastercard® features a 20.99% interest rate on purchases and 22.49% on cash advances and balance transfers. With this premium flexible travel card, you can earn rewards points for your everyday purchases (excluding cash advances, balance transfers, interest charges, fees, travellers cheques, and gambling transactions). The reward-earning rates vary based on the category of eligible purchases.
The annual fee for National Bank’s World Elite Mastercard® credit card is $150 for the primary cardholder and $50 for authorized users. With special offers in place, new applicants can waive the annual fee for both the primary cardholder and authorized users for the first year.
There is a fee of 2.5% for transactions in foreign currency.
For grocery and restaurant purchases, you can earn 5 reward points for every $1 spent, until you reach $2,500 in gross monthly purchases charged to your credit card account. Once you reach the total gross monthly amount of $2,500 in grocery and restaurant purchases, you will continue earning 2 points for every $1 spent in these purchase categories.
For purchases in such categories as gas and electric vehicle charging, recurring bill payments, and À la carte Travel, you will earn 2 rewards points for every $1 spent.
Other eligible purchases will bring you 1 point per $1 spent.
With limited-time offers, new applicants can get a welcome bonus of extra rewards points for meeting spending requirements with their National Bank World Elite Mastercard® within a given period.
You can further redeem points you’ve earned with your National Bank World Elite Mastercard® credit card towards gift cards, merchandise, credit card balance payment, or get travel rewards from À la carte Rewards.
National Bank World Elite Mastercard® cardholders can get the advantage of free and unlimited access to the National Bank Lounge at Montreal-Trudeau Airport with a guest and two children up to 12 years old.
The National Bank World Elite Mastercard® credit card features extensive insurance coverage that includes purchase protection and extended warranty, trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance, out-of-province-of-residence medical and hospital insurance, flight delay insurance, baggage insurance, vehicle rental insurance, and mobile device insurance.
To qualify for a National Bank World Elite Mastercard® credit card, you must have a minimum personal income of $80,000 or a household income of $150,000 annually.
BMO CashBack® World Elite® Mastercard®
A BMO CashBack® World Elite® Mastercard® is a credit card with cash back earning opportunities and exclusive benefits from Mastercard. This credit card provides a 20.99% interest rate on purchases and 23.99% on cash advances (21.99% for Quebec residents). The annual fee for a BMO CashBack® World Elite® Mastercard® credit card is $120 for the primary cardholder and $50 for an authorized user. With special offers for new applicants, you can have the annual fee waived.
With a BMO CashBack® World Elite® Mastercard®, you can get the highest rewards points for grocery purchases — 5% cash back on the first $500 spent per statement cycle period and 1% unlimited cash back thereafter. Other purchase categories allowing you to earn cash back at an accelerated rate are transportation purchases, gas and electric vehicle charging purchases, and recurring bill payments.
For transportation purchases, you can earn 4% cash back on the first $300 spent per statement cycle period and 1% unlimited cash back thereafter.
For gas and electric vehicle charging purchases, you can earn 3% cash back on the first $300 spent per statement cycle period and 1% unlimited cash back thereafter.
For recurring bill payments, you can earn 2% cash back on the first $500 spent per statement cycle period and 1% unlimited cash back thereafter.
Other purchases will bring you 1% unlimited cash back.
With special offers for new applicants, BMO CashBack® World Elite® Mastercard® cardholders can earn cash back at an accelerated rate (with limits on the maximum amount of cash back earned applied).
You can further redeem your cash back dollars at any time for $1 towards a credit card account statement credit, chequing or savings account deposit, or InvestorLine payment. You can also set up automatic deposits provided your cash back balance is at least $25.
BMO CashBack® World Elite® Mastercard® cardholders can use a range of exclusive privileges from Mastercard, including:
Free Wi-Fi at Boingo hotspots
Mastercard Travel Rewards cash back offers when shopping outside of Canada
Access to a range of digital everyday services available through on-demand apps and subscription services
Discounts for car rentals at National Car Rental and Alamo Rent a Car
Access to 24/7 concierge service providing personal assistance
Membership in Mastercard Travel Pass provided by DragonPass that grants access to airport lounges (present your membership with the Mastercard Travel Pass app)
Free membership in the Dominion Automobile Association (DAA) providing access to the BMO Roadside Assistance Program
Insurance coverages included in a BMO CashBack® World Elite® Mastercard® credit card are purchase protection (up to 90 days from the purchase date), extended warranty coverage, and 8-day out-of-province or country emergency medical coverage.
Applying for a BMO CashBack® World Elite® Mastercard® requires you to have a minimum annual personal income of $80,000 or a household annual income of $150,000.
HSBC World Elite® Mastercard®
An HSBC World Elite® Mastercard® credit card features a 19.9% interest rate on purchases and 22.9% on cash advances and balance transfers.
The annual fee for an HSBC World Elite® Mastercard® is $149 for the primary cardholder and $50 for each authorized user added.
For eligible travel purchases made with your HSBC World Elite® Mastercard® credit card, you can earn 6 travel rewards points for every $1, up to $50,000 in net purchases within a calendar year. After reaching $50,000 in net purchases in the travel category, you will earn 3 travel rewards points for every $1 spent in this category.
Other purchases will bring your 3 travel rewards points for every $1 spent with your HSBC World Elite® Mastercard®.
With special offers in place, new HSBC World Elite® Mastercard® applicants can get welcome bonus points upon account opening and keeping it active for a certain period. Plus, from time to time, HSBC rewards new clients with an annual travel enhancement credit that you can use for seat upgrades, baggage fees, or airport lounge passes.
When it’s time for redeeming points, you can use them to pay for travel expenses, gift cards, and merchandise or exchange them for financial rewards or rewards for miles.
Additional benefits provided by an HSBC World Elite® Mastercard® credit card are:
Membership in Mastercard Travel Pass provided by DragonPass
Discount on select hotel bookings with Expedia and Agoda
Free Wi-Fi at Boingo hotspots
An HSBC World Elite® Mastercard® credit card features extensive travel insurance coverage, including worldwide emergency travel medical insurance, baggage delay or loss insurance, trip cancellation and trip interruption or delay insurance, and car rental insurance covering the cost of a damaged or stolen rental vehicle. Along with that, an HSBC World Elite® Mastercard® credit card provides purchase assurance and extended warranty insurance.
To qualify for an HSBC World Elite® Mastercard®, you must have an annual individual income of $80,000 or $150,000 household income, or a minimum of $400,000 in assets under management.
MBNA Rewards World Elite® Mastercard®
An MBNA Rewards World Elite® Mastercard® credit card features a 19.99% interest rate on purchases, a 24.99% interest rate on cash advances, and a 22.99% interest rate on balance transfers and access cheques. The annual fee for an MBNA Rewards World Elite® Mastercard® credit card is $120 for the primary cardholder and $50 for an additional cardholder.
With an MBNA Rewards World Elite® Mastercard® credit card, you can earn 5 MBNA Rewards points for every $1 spent on eligible restaurant, grocery, digital media, membership, and household utility purchases up to the $50,000 annual spending threshold.
Plus, you can earn Birthday Bonus MBNA Rewards points in the amount of 10% of the total number of Points earned in the 12 months before the month of your birthday.
With welcome offers for new MBNA Rewards World Elite® Mastercard® applicants, you can earn extra MBNA Rewards Points for meeting the spending requirements within a given period.
You can redeem the MBNA Rewards points you’ve earned with your MBNA Rewards World Elite® Mastercard® credit card towards cash back, merchandise, gift cards, charitable donations, and travel (including flights and vacation packages).
MBNA Rewards World Elite® Mastercard® cardholders can get discounts for car rentals at participating Avis and Budget locations.
Insurance coverages included in an MBNA Rewards World Elite® Mastercard® credit card are rental vehicle insurance, travel medical insurance, delayed and lost baggage insurance, flight or trip delay insurance, and mobile device insurance.
To qualify for an MBNA Rewards World Elite® Mastercard® credit card, make sure your personal annual income is not less than $80,000 or your household annual income is not less than $150,000.
Where to get a World Elite® Mastercard® in Canada?
You can get a World Elite® credit card from Mastercard International Incorporated in various financial institutions, such as select Canadian banks and credit unions — National Bank, BMO, HSBC, and Desjardins, to name a few.
How to apply for a World Elite® Mastercard® in Canada?
To apply for a World Elite® Mastercard® credit card, reach out to a financial institution that offers such cards. Most of them accept applications for a World Elite® Mastercard® credit card online. To apply online, you will need to fill out an application form and provide your personal information, contact details, address, social insurance number, employment information, as well as information about your financial obligations and housing expenses.
You can also apply for a World Elite® Mastercard® credit card in person by visiting a local branch of the financial institution of your choice.
Requirements
To apply for a World Elite® Mastercard® credit card at a Canadian financial institution, you must be a Canadian resident of at least the age of majority in your province or territory. Some banks may have additional eligibility requirements like not having declared bankruptcy in the last 7 years or having a Canadian credit report of at least 3 years old.
To qualify for a World Elite® Mastercard® credit card, you must have a minimum annual personal income of $80,000 or a household annual income of $150,000.
Pros and cons
Pros
Here are the advantages of a World Elite® Mastercard® credit card:
Discounts at partner merchants (Lyft, DoorDash, Fandango, and more)
Mastercard Priceless providing experiences and discounts in the cities where you live and travel
Concierge services providing personal assistance
Access to airport lounges provided by DragonPass
24/7 travel assistance from Mastercard Travel & Lifestyle managers
Upgrades and amenities for hotel stays
Airport Concierge® services from a dedicated agent
Cash back or reward-earning opportunities (varying across card issuers)
Valuable insurance coverages included
Contactless payment available through mobile wallets
Credit card protection capabilities (the Mastercard Zero Liability Protection policy and ID Theft Protection™)
Cons
The disadvantages of a World Elite® Mastercard® credit card are:
A pretty high annual fee
Steep minimum annual income requirements to apply
Additional fees that may apply (cash advance fees, balance transfer fees, foreign currency transaction fees, and more)