To the point
MBNA has announced that Best Western Rewards Mastercard cards will be withdrawn from the market and accounts closed as of September 12th, 2023.
End of Best Western MBNA Mastercard Platinum Plus Cards
There’s a lot going on these days with the credit card issuer MBNA in Canada. For some months now, it has no longer been possible to subscribe to the credit card Best Western Rewards® Mastercard and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan cards.
We then learned that co-branded Alaska Airlines cards would be transformed into MBNA Rewards cards, with the option of converting MBNA Rewards points into Alaska Mileage Plan miles.
Today we learn that MBNA is terminating its agreement with Best Western as of September 12th, 2023. On that date, the Best Western Rewards® Mastercard will be completely withdrawn from the market and all accounts will be closed.
If you currently hold an MBNA Best Western Rewards credit card, here are the account closure details:
- You can continue to use your card until September 12th, 2023. After this date, it will no longer be possible to make purchases, cash advance or pay invoices.
- You must destroy the card and dispose of it safely on September 12th, 2023.
- You will be required to pay any remaining balance after your account is closed. Interest will continue to accrue.
- You will no longer be able to make purchases with Apple Pay as of September 12th, 2023, and you will have to remove the card from your e-wallet.
- All Best Western Rewards points earned until September 12th, 2023 will be credited to your Best Western Rewards account as usual.
- Your Best Western account will not be affected by the closure of your credit card. The terms and conditions of the Best Western Rewards program will continue to apply.
- Insurance coverage will remain in effect until your account is closed on September 12, 2023. You will be able to make a claim after this date if the event occurs before September 12th, 2023.
With the demise of the Best Western Mastercard, the Marriott Bonvoy® American Express®* Card and the Marriott Bonvoy® Business American Express®* Card remain the only cards on the Canadian market that earn loyalty points from a hotel program.
MBNA Rewards Credit Cards
Despite the bad news about the withdrawal of Best Western cards, MBNA still offers interesting cards with their in-house program, MBNA Rewards.
Here are more details on these cards with good accumulation rates.
MBNA Rewards World Elite® Mastercard®
With the MBNA Rewards World Elite® Mastercard®, you can earn 5 points per dollar of purchases for:
- Dining purchases
- Grocery purchases
- Digital media purchases (Netflix, Spotify, etc.)
- Memberships
- Household utility purchases (electricity, etc.)
Everywhere else, you will get 1 point per dollar.
Enough to make the MBNA Rewards World Elite® Mastercard® the best MBNA credit card for restaurants, groceries, digital media, subscriptions and household utilities.
Knowing that Mastercard recognizes Walmart Supercenters as grocery stores, this is the best credit card for Walmart customers!
Plus, depending on your province of residence, you’ll get a welcome bonus of between 20,000 and 30,000 points, a value of $200 to $300!
And each year, you will receive Birthday Bonus Points equal to 10% of the total number of Points the Account earned in the 12 months before the month of your birthday, to a maximum Birthday Bonus each year of 15,000 Points.
MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus® Mastercard®
The MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus® Mastercard® is one of Canada’s best no-annual-fee credit cards.
With this card, you can earn 2 points per dollar on:
- Dining purchases
- Grocery purchases
- Digital media purchases (Netflix, Spotify, etc.)
- Memberships
- Household utility purchases (electricity, etc.)
And 1 point per dollar everywhere else. This is the best MBNA credit card with no annual fee.
For a limited time, you can get 10,000 welcome bonus points, a $100 value on travel purchases charged to your Card.
Bottom line
Unfortunately, co-branded cards are disappearing from MBNA’s Canadian wallet. However, their MBNA Rewards program is getting better, and it’s becoming worthwhile to look into cards like the MBNA Rewards World Elite® Mastercard® and the MastercardMD Platinum PlusMD rewards MBNA credit card.
Following the complete withdrawal of the card Best Western Rewards® Mastercardcard, the only remaining ways to earn Best Western Rewards points are by completing stays or by making car rentals with partner companies.
You can, however, take advantage of their current gift card promotion by staying several nights at their hotels:
Come to discuss that topic in our Facebook Group!
