Rogers™ World Elite® Mastercard® Review

The Rogers World Elite Mastercard is still a relative youngster in the Canadian market having only been released in May of 2018. It is the premium version of the Rogers Platinum Mastercard that was introduced several years prior. That Platinum card underwent several changes over its short life including devaluations that essentially paved the way to release the World Elite Mastercard. The World Elite is the better of two of course seeing that it is a premium card and both of the card versions have no annual fee. So why would you even bother with the Platinum if this is the case? Well the main reason is income requirements, the World Elite has high income requirements where as the Platinum is a lot lower.

The review of the Rogers World Elite Mastercard is broken down into the following sections:

Overview

The Rogers World Elite Mastercard is a cash back credit card and a pretty good one at that! Don't be deceived by the Rogers name - the cash back earned on the card does not have to be used for Rogers services nor is the card only for Rogers customers. Anyone can get this card and you have the option to redeem for true cash back in the form of statement credits or pay with points options.

Costs & Sign up Features

The Rogers World Elite Mastercard is in a small subclass of premium World Elite Cards that are offered with no annual fee. That's right - this is a premium card and it costs $0 per year to have. You do have to note however they have a minimum spend stipulation in place for not having an annual fee. That requirement states you must spend at least $15,000 on the card annually. If you do not reach that amount you card may be downgraded to the Platinum version.

The standard welcome bonus on the card offers $25 cash back when you make your first purchase on the card within the first three months of having it.

The purchase interest rate on the card is 19.99% while cash advances are charged 22.99%. Annual income requirements are $80,000 Personal or $150,000 Household.

Earning

The card earns cash back rewards as follows:

• 1.5% unlimited cash back on all eligible purchases
• 3% unlimited cash back on all eligible purchases made in U.S. dollars
  

Redeeming

As with most cash back cards there is only one redemption option with The Roger World Elite Mastercard and that is to redeem for cash back! The Rogers card has a very simple and easy cash back redemption process. Once your cash back rewards balance reaches $10 you can redeem towards purchases you made that have a value of $10 or more. For example if your cash back balance is $10 and you had a purchase post to your account of $12 you could apply your cash back rewards balance towards that purchase.

Rogers provides several options to go about redeeming your cash back. You can choose to do it manually via the Rogers Bank Mobile App or online via your Rogers account. The manual process lets you instantly apply your cash back rewards balance towards purchases made in the previous 90 days. The second option Rogers provides is an automatic redemption whereby your cash back rewards balance is automatically applied to your next purchase once the $10 level is reached.

Features and Benefits

Seeing that the card carries no annual fee it isn't chock full of benefits like some other cards however it does provide the standard benefits that come on all Canadian World Elite Mastercards.

World Elite Mastercard benefits

• Mastercard Travel Pass provided by DragonPass Complimentary membership to Mastercard Travel Pass provided by DragonPass gives access to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide at discounted rate of $32 USD per person per visit
• Boingo Wi-Fi Boingo Wi-Fi for Mastercard Cardholders provides access to more than 1 million premium Wi-Fi hotspots worldwide at no charge. This also covers Wi-Fi on several airlines including WestJet.
  
• Apple Music Receive 4 free months of Apple Music
  
  

Insurance

The Rogers World Elite Mastercard comes with a decent insurance package for being a no fee card and that package includes the following:

• Out of Province/Country Emergency Medical Insurance (10 days under age 65, 3 days for 65-75)
• Trip Cancellation Insurance
• Trip Interruption Insurance
• Car Rental Theft and Damage Insurance
• Purchase Protection Insurance
• Extended Warranty Insurance

What is good about this card

The everyday cash back earn rate of 1.5% is very strong and is in fact one of the best for a no fee card. If you shop a lot at Costco this is definitely a card to consider as there are only a few cards that offer 1.5% to 2% returns for the warehouse giant and most of those other cards carry annual fees.

Being able to redeem anytime your cash back balance reaches $10 is great. This is a low limit and makes it very easy to realize the savings the card can provide. It's nice to not have to wait for your monthly statement to get the rewards or in the case of some cash back cards annually!

The World Elite Mastercard benefits and the insurance provided are wonderful features for this card. Again highlighting the fact the card has no annual fee, so to get this level of coverage and benefits is pretty amazing.

What is not so good about this card

The welcome bonus offer of $25 on the card isn't much to get excited about as many competing cards with and without annual fees tend to provide significantly larger bonuses.

The income requirements put this card out of reach for a lot of Canadians. These are the standard requirements for a World Elite Mastercard but $80,000 personal and $150,000 household is quite high.

The requirement to spend $15,000 annually on the card to retain it may be seen by some as deterrent to not even get the card especially if they are looking for strong no fee Mastercard to complement their existing credit card portfolio where they may have an American Express and/or Visa card as their primary card(s)

Who should get this card

• Consumers who want an easy to use and extremely rewarding no fee cash back card
• Consumers who shop a lot a Costco and want to maximize the return on their spending
• Consumers who need a Mastercard for their credit card portfolio but don't want to pay an annual fee for it
• Consumers who want an airport lounge access program and travel insurance from a no fee card
  
  

Conclusion

The Rogers World Elite Mastercard is a strong cash back credit card that should be given consideration. The no annual fee, the low redemption requirement of only $10 and the earn rates all combine to make this card one of the better cash back cards in Canada. It doesn't hurt that it even has some travel insurance coverage and Mastercard TravelPass as additional benefits. If you don't travel often and aren't concerned with travel points or travel rewards this is definitely a card to take a look at. Even if travel rewards are your goal but use other cards like a Visa or American Express as your primary card this one can really make sense to fill the Mastercard slot of your wallet. As you know Rewards Canada always advises our readers to have at least one Visa, one Mastercard and one American Express card in their credit card portfolios and this card can really make sense as a secondary or tertiary card.

Latest card details:

Rogers World Elite Mastercard · Earn $25 Cash Back Reward when you make your first purchase on this card · Annual Fee: $0 · Earn 3% in on all eligible U.S. currency purchases, 1.5% on all other eligible purchases · Extended Warranty and Purchase Protection, Rental Car Collision/Damage, Out-of-Province/Out-of-Country Emergency Medical, Trip Interruption and Trip Cancellation. · Complimentary membership in Mastercard TravelPass by DragonPass · Interest Rate: Purchases 19.9% Cash Advances 21.5% · Minimum Income: $80,000 Personal or $150,000 Household

Other cards to consider if you are looking at this card:

American Express Cobalt® Card
SimplyCash™ Preferred Card from American Express
SimplyCash™ Card from American Express
CIBC Dividend® Visa Infinite* Card
CIBC Dividend Platinum® Visa* Card
Neo Financial Mastercard
RBC Cash Back Preferred World Elite MasterCard
Scotia Momentum® VISA* Infinite card
Tangerine World Mastercard®
TD Cash Back Visa Infinite* Card

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