Changes to the National The National Bank's World Elite Mastercard®

To the point On September 1, 2022, several changes were made to the National Bank's World Elite Mastercard® .

Earning reward points Insurance Travel expenses Conclusion

National Bank has made several changes to the National Bank’s World Elite Mastercard^® effective September 1, 2022.

These changes affect three aspects of the card:

Earning reward points
Insurance
Travel expenses

Earning reward points

Until August 31, 2022, National Bank’s World Elite Mastercard^® credit cardholders could earn between 1.5 points and 2 points per dollar on all purchases.

As of September 1, 2022, the National Bank’s World Elite Mastercard^® includes purchase categories that earn up to 5 points per dollar:

Category	Points
Grocery and Restaurant	5*
Gas and electric recharge	2
Recurring bills	2
À la carte Travel	2
Other purchases	1

For the Grocery and Restaurant category, you can earn 5 points per dollar up to $2,500 in total monthly purchases charged to the card.

Once you reach $2,500 in monthly purchases, you will earn 2 points per dollar on the Grocery and Restaurant category. This is still very good compared to other cards that only offer 1 point per dollar after the threshold is reached.

The National Bank provides the following example:

If you spend $400 monthly on groceries, $200 on gas, $100 on recurring bills and $150 on other purchases, the $850 spent will generate 2,750 points, broken down as follows: 2,000 points for grocery spending (since the total gross monthly amount is $850, or less than $2,500), 400 points for gas spending, 200 points for recurring bills and 150 points for other purchases

Let’s see the difference between before and after (knowing that before, you could get 1.5 points per dollar for all purchases):

Category	Expenses	Before	After	Difference
Grocery	$400	600 points	2,000 points	+ 233 %
Gas	$200	300 points	400 points	+ 33 %
Bills	$100	150 points	200 points	+ 33 %
Other	$150	225 points	150 points	– 33 %
Total	$850	1,275 points	2,750 points	+ 115 %

As you can see, with the new structure and this volume of spending, an average of 115% more points is achieavable.

Now, let’s calculate on a higher spending budget, as shown in our credit card comparison tool (using the average spending in Canada):

Category	Expenses	Before	After	Difference
Grocery	$400	600 points	2,000 points	+ 233 %
Gas	$300	450 points	600 points	+ 33 %
Dining	$160	240 points	800 points	+ 233 %
À la carte Travel	$140	210 points	280 points	+ 33 %
Bills	$300	450 points	600 points	+ 33 %
Other	$700	1,050 points	700 points	– 33 %
Total	$2,000	3,000 points	4,980 points	+ 66 %

As you can see, with the new structure and this volume of spending, it is possible to get an average of 66% more points.

In both cases, only the “other” category is decreasing. It is up to you to make your calculations based on your spending volume to see if this card continues to be advantageous for you.

However, to take advantage of the new structure, we recommend that you make your large grocery purchases early in your billing cycle (including grocery gift cards purchases) to allow you to benefit from the 5 points per dollar earning rate!

Beginning date

The new accrual rate will take effect after your September 2022 credit card statement is issued.

Insurance

In terms of insurance offered by the National Bank’s World Elite Mastercard^®, there are two changes:

Added two-year mobile device insurance
Removal of Personal Effects Protection when renting a vehicle

Travel expenses

In terms of travel credits, the National Bank’s World Elite Mastercard^® was offering up to $250 until August 31, 2022:

$100 for airport parking
$100 for baggage fees
$50 for seat selection

Effective September 1, 2022, the National Bank’s World Elite Mastercard^® offers up to $150. If it’s $100 less than before, there are more opportunities to use that credit, with no limits per category:

Airport parking
Baggage fees
Seat selection
Access to airport lounges
Airline ticket upgrades

This will make it easier to get the full $150 credit each year. This “strangely” matches the annual fee of the National Bank’s World Elite Mastercard^®.

Beginning date

For existing cardholders, this change will be effective January 1, 2023. This means you have the old version (up to $250) until December 31, 2022.

Conclusion

As always, when changes are made to a credit card, there are losers and winners.

In terms of point earning, those who make most of their spending on the National Bank’s World Elite Mastercard^® for groceries, restaurants, gas, electric recharging and recurring payments will be the winners. They will get between 2 and 5 points per dollar (instead of 1.5 to 2 points previously).

However, those who were able to spend most of their annual Card purchases at “out of category” stores (such as Costco) will only earn 1 point per dollar (instead of 1.5 to 2 points previously).

Regarding travel credits, it may have been difficult for some travellers to get the full $250 credit. For example, some never parked at the airport (and therefore could not take advantage of the $100 credit).

We would have liked to see the National Bank offer the possibility of redeeming it on taxi or Uber purchases. However, with the new opportunities available (such as airline and airport VIP Lounges expenses), most clients will likely be able to get the full $150 credit. Each year.

Finally, the addition of Mobile Device Insurance follows the movement made by most credit cards similar to the National Bank’s World Elite Mastercard^®.

You don’t have this card yet and you are interested in these new features? At the moment, Milesopedia readers have access to an exclusive offer: