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In recognition of its long-standing relationship with Milesopedia, National Bank is offering our community an exclusive promotion: the first-year annual fee is refunded on the National Bank World Elite Mastercard, voted Best Travel Credit Card in Canada in 2026.
From June 30 to November 4, 2026, take advantage of an offer exclusively available on the Milesopedia network: no annual fee for the first year (a $150 value) for the primary cardholder.
The annual fee is charged to your new card and then refunded as a statement credit within five months of account opening, provided the account remains open and in good standing.
As a bonus, you enjoy an annual $150 travel credit, unlimited access to the National Bank Lounge at Montreal-Trudeau, DragonPass lounges, comprehensive travel insurance, and up to 5 points per dollar on grocery and restaurant purchases.
With the National Bank World Elite Mastercardyou can earn up to 5 points per dollar :
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 the $2,500 monthly purchase threshold has been reached, you will earn 2 points per dollar in the Grocery and Restaurant category, which remains very good compared to other cards that offer only 1 point per dollar beyond the threshold.
This makes National Bank World Elite Mastercard one of the best Mastercard credit cards for groceries and restaurants.
This cap is worth a closer look, because it doesn’t work like most cards. The $2,500 counter adds up all your purchases for the month, not just groceries and restaurants. A large one-time expense can therefore use up your cap before you even place your first grocery order.
Let’s take a household that puts $1,200 in groceries and restaurants on the card, plus $2,000 in other purchases, each month. The order of transactions changes everything:
Here’s what a $2,500 monthly budget looks like—exactly the cap—with 60% of spending on groceries and restaurants. In this scenario, every grocery and restaurant dollar earns the 5-point rate:
Redeemed through the À la carte Travel agency, 100 points are worth $1. These 110,400 points therefore represent $1,104 in travel. Here’s the full first-year picture, including benefits:
Note that there is no welcome bonus in points on this card. All the value therefore comes from ongoing earning and credits, which makes the return more stable from one year to the next than a card with a big one-time bonus.
To redeem your NBC Rewards points, you must log on to the dedicated NBC À la carte Rewards Plan portal.
You will be able to book a trip with your NBC points (+ monetary supplement if required) via the Voyage À la Carte agency: 10,000 points per $100 increment.
This is simply the best use of your NBC Rewards points!
It is also possible to use your NBC points as an account credit for all travel expenses that you charged to your credit card (the exchange must be made within 60 days after the expense was posted to the credit card account).
Eligible purchases include:
However, for this type of exchange, the rate is different (see table below).
You can also redeem your points for a product in the À La Carte Rewards catalogue.
To see your favourite tennis players on the courts for less, simply use your National Bank World Elite Mastercard!
At the very beginning of the ticket purchasing process, click on Claim to obtain your 10% discount on National Bank Open tickets in Montreal.
You’ll see from this chart that the best use of NBC Rewards points is to book your trip with the online travel agency NBC À la carte Travel. You’ll have a discount of $100 for 10,000 points.
Additionaly, you can redeem your points for merchandise and gift cards in the à la carte Rewards store.
If you have a promotional code, you can use it at checkout.
Through the NBC Savvy Travelers program, each calendar year, holders of a National Bank World Elite Mastercard have a total amount of $150 applicable to certain travel-related expenses:
This is a great perk for those who use an airport parking lot (note that Park & Fly also works with this benefit) or who have to pay baggage or seat selection fees.
These credits are valid per calendar year. This means that if you subscribe to the National Bank World Elite Mastercard in 2026, you will benefit from these credits until December 31, 2026, and you will receive them again on January 1, 2027.
However, if you do not use those from 2026, they will be forfeited.
With National Bank World Elite Mastercard, you have unlimited free access to the National Bank Lounge at Montreal-Trudeau (YUL).
This benefit is valid for the main cardholder as well as an additional traveller. And up to two children.
Note that National Bank World Elite Mastercard additional cardholders are also eligible for unlimited access to the National Bank Lounge, along with one guest!
National Bank World Elite Mastercard offers access to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide in the DragonPass network.
For each visit, you will have to pay an entrance fee of 32 US$ per person.
Please note that since 2023, World Elite cardholders can be reimbursed for these airport lounge access fees. In fact, this is a travel expense eligible for the travel fee reimbursement, up to a maximum of $150 per year.
For most of the insurances included, National Bank World Elite Mastercard is one of the only credit cards in Canada to cover you even if you only pay part of the cost of your trip.
In the case of travel, only baggage delay and car rental insurance require the full cost to be charged to the card.
The National Bank World Elite Mastercard website offers different coverage for emergency medical care while traveling:
We’ve been tracking the National Bank World Elite Mastercard for years, and several team members carry it day to day. It was also voted Best Travel Credit Card in Canada in 2026 in our rankings.
Its most overlooked strength is the point value: 100 points = $1 with the À la carte Travel agency. That’s one cent per point—a fixed, high rate for the Canadian market. Many competing programs are closer to 0.67 cents.
The second strength is even rarer. Unlike almost all Canadian cards, the insurance applies even if you charge only part of the trip cost to the card. In practice, that lets you pay for flights with points from another program while still being covered.
On the other hand, the $2,500 monthly cap truly limits the return. And access to the National Bank lounge, as generous as it is, is really only useful if you transit through Montreal-Trudeau.
Our calculations are based on three consistent rules. First, we value NBC À la carte Rewards points at 1 cent, i.e., the À la carte Travel agency rate (10,000 points = $100). Next, we count only the benefits actually received during the first year. Finally, we always compare the value of the points to the real annual fees.
The earning table starts from a specific profile: $30,000 in annual spending, split into $2,500 per month to stay under the cap, with 60% on groceries and restaurants. If you spend more, apply the 2-points-per-dollar rate to the excess before comparing.
Also, the offer terms come from National Bank. Our analyses remain independent of the commercial agreements we have with issuers.
If you don’t meet National Bank’s income requirements, take a look at the National Bank Platinum Mastercard, which has no minimum income requirement and still offers up to 40,000 points.
To see how this offer stacks up against the rest of the market, check out our best credit cards page. Also, sign up for our newsletter to receive new welcome offers every week.
The National Bank World Elite Mastercard is a credit card to keep in your wallet year after year.
With this card, you will receive up to $150 in annual credit for certain travel purchases and will hold the Best Travel Credit Card and the Best Mastercard Credit Card in 2026.
And you’ll earn up to 5 points per dollar on purchases, including groceries!
Take advantage of this exclusive welcome offer without delay!
Here are frequently asked questions in the milesopedia community about this card.
Savings this way:
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