Maximize your rewards with Neo Mastercard

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Vincent Morin
Vincent Morin Vincent Morin
Vincent achieved financial independence and retired early (FIRE) at the age of 35. After a career in financial technologies for a large American investment bank, he founded Retraite101, a personal finance site that reaches more than 350,000 unique visitors per year and has more than 30,000 subscribers on social media. Passionate about personal finance, cycling, reading and gardening, he continues to write to inspire and motivate Quebecers to take charge of their finances.
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To the point In this article, we explain how to maximize your rewards with Neo Mastercard, which offers cash-back rates that increase according to your Neo Everyday account balance.

Neo Financial is a Canadian online bank specializing in savings and credit products. Among their products, the Neo Mastercard allows you to earn cash back on your purchases. What’s more, cash back rates increase as the balance of your Neo Everyday account increases. In this article, we explain how to maximize your rewards with the Neo Mastercard.

Neo Financial: a new digital bank

Based in Calgary, Canada, Neo Financial is an online bank specializing in savings and credit products. It stands out for its direct collaboration with merchants, in a vast network of 10,000 partners, which allows you to earn cash back in addition to day-to-day rewards. These benefits are easily tracked via the Neo mobile application (Neo App).

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Get a Neo Mastercard

The Neo Mastercard (formerly Neo Credit) is one of the many financial products offered by Neo. It has no annual fee and no income requirement (unlike the Mastercard World and World Elite cards).

Applying for a Neo Mastercard is a simple process that takes place entirely online. The conditions for application are as follows:

  • Be a Canadian resident;
  • Valid Canadian photo identification;
  • To have reached the age of majority in your province.

Credit limits range from $500 to $10,000, subject to approval. Optional coverage is available, such as Balance Protection, which can cover minimum monthly payments of your credit card’s outstanding balance.

Right now, the welcome offer is $25, with no spending requirements. Simply apply online and the bonus will be credited directly to your account when the card is activated.

Other Neo financial products

Neo Financial offers a range of financial products and services, including credit cards, secured credit cards, current accounts and savings accounts. Find out more in our other guides:

Neo Mastercard - Earn cash rewards

Neo recently changed the structure of its cash back program. From now on, customers who hold more cash in their Neo Everyday account will see their rewards enhanced.

To earn maximum cash back, you must have $10,000 in a Neo Everyday account. Here are the rebate rates based on types of spending and bank balance:

Neo Everyday account minimum balance
Type of expense $0 $1,000 $3,000 $5,000 $10,000
Groceries 1 % 1,5 % 2 % 3 % 4 %
Gas 1 % 1,5 % 2 % 3 % 4 %
Everything else 0 % 0,5 % 0,5 % 0,5 % 1 %

Here are the rewards with a balance of $5,000:

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Here are the rewards with a balance of $10,000:

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Neo partners across Canada

Neo Financial has 10,000 partners across Canada. These partners include gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, gyms, cafés and more. For example, here’s an overview of current offers from Neo partners in the Rosemont neighborhood at Montreal:

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Many independent restaurants have partnered with us, offering discounts of around 5%. Good news for those places that sometimes don’t take American Express and the Cobalt® Card!

Popular partners across the country include :

  • A&W App (up to 15%)
  • Blaze Pizza (up to 15%)
  • Second Cup Coffee Co (up to 10%)
  • aloSIM (up to 10%)
  • Harry Rosen (up to 10%)
  • Pet Value (up to 10%)
  • Oakley (up to 8%)
  • The Keg Steakhouse (up to 8%)
  • Jugo Juice (up to 8%)
  • Ray Ban (up to 7%)
  • ALDO (6%)
  • Carter’s | OshKosh B’gosh (6%)
  • JD Sports (up to 6%)
  • Endy (up to 6%)
  • Public Mobile (5%)
  • Best Western (up to 5%)
  • Boston Pizza (4%)
  • DSW / The Shoe Company (4%)
  • FlightHub (3%)
  • La Maison Simons (3%)
  • Roots Canada (3%)
  • Hudson Bay (2%)
  • Shell App (up to 2%)

The full list of partners can be found on the Neo website and on the Neo App.

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Plus, you’ll receive 1% basic cash back at grocery stores and gas stations across Canada. Costco transactions are also eligible for 1% cash back. A limit of $300 in rebates per month applies.

Personalize your rewards with plans.

Premium

Neo Financial offers a package that lets you accumulate even more rewards: Premium. For $9.99 a month, you get higher discount rates, exclusive offers and features, and :

  • Boosted Cashback
  • Credit monitoring (provided by TransUnion, directly in the Neo App)
  • Enhanced purchase protection and extended warranty
  • $2,500 group life insurance
  • 24/7 Legal assistance
  • 2% cashback on e-books from partner stores
  • Priority support from Neo (dedicated phone line)

The following table summarizes the cash back bonuses available with Premium:

Features Bonus
Grocery +2%
Gas +2%
All other purchases +0.5%
Rideshare (Average network cashback) +1%
Restaurant (Average network cashback) +1%
Food delivery (Average network cashback) +1%
Streaming (Average network cashback) +1%
Shopping (Average network cashback) +1%

Discounts with certain partners are also higher. All the details can be found on this page.

Is Premium worth it? It all depends on how much you spend and where you shop. To justify the $9.99 monthly fee, you need to spend $500 on groceries and gas every month.

Other plans

In addition to Premium, Neo offers four other monthly subscription plans:

  • Voyages ($7.99) – Not available at Quebec
  • Mind & Body ($9.99)
  • Food & Drinks ($1.99)
  • Mobile & Personal protection ($9.99)

These extras offer bonus cash rebates on certain expenses, plus special benefits such as insurance. Find out more here.

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Claiming your cash rewards

To redeem cash rewards, simply go to the mobile app and tap on the rebate total in the top left-hand corner. Then tap on “Cash out”. You can choose whether to redeem your rewards on the Neo Mastercard or in a Neo Everyday account.

You can claim your rewards at any time. No need to wait until the end of the month or for a particular statement during the year.

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Pay your Neo Mastercard

There are two ways to pay for your Neo Mastercard:

If you don’t have a Neo Everyday account, go to your bank’s website. Then add Neo as a supplier and make the payment as if it were a bill.

Neo Mastercard abroad

As Mastercard Neo is a partner of the Mastercard network, it works almost anywhere in the world. Just use it like any other credit card, where Mastercard is accepted.

However, Neo has no partners abroad. As a result, it will not be possible to accumulate cashback (unless you subscribe to the Travel Perks).

Finally, Neo charges a 2.5% fee on foreign currency transactions. This is also the case for the vast majority of credit cards in Canada, except for a few. Read our guide to the best no-conversion-fee credit cards, our top tips for saving on foreign currency transactions, and our tips for saving on ATM withdrawals.

Bottom Line

In short, Neo Financial is an attractive option for earning cash back, especially with their network of 10,000 partners across Canada. Among their products, the Neo Mastercard offers instant cash back on your daily spending. What’s more, get enhanced rewards with a Neo Everyday account or by adding one or more packages such as Premium or Travel Perks.

If you would like to learn more about Neo’s other financial products, please consult our guides :

Frequently asked questions about Neo Mastercard

What is the Neo Mastercard?

The Neo Mastercard is one of the cards offered by Neo Financial. It’s a no-annual-fee, no-minimum-income card that earns you cash back on your purchases. To accumulate even more rewards, you can subscribe to plans such as Premium or Travel Perks.

Is Neo Financial available in Quebec?

Yes, the Mastercard Neo is available in Quebec. However, the Travel Perks is not available in Quebec.

Can I use my Neo Mastercard anywhere?

Neo Mastercard is a partner of the Mastercard network, so you can use it anywhere Mastercard is accepted.

Which is Neo's best Mastercard?

Neo Financial offers several Mastercard cards: Neo Mastercard (no annual fee or income requirement), Neo World Mastercard (no annual fee) and Neo World Elite Mastercard ($125 annual fee). The best Neo Mastercard is the one that matches your financial situation and needs.

How can I contact Neo customer service?

You can chat with our support team every day, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. You must be logged in to your account to chat.

Come to discuss that topic in our Facebook Group!
Alexandrine Bertrand
Alexandrine Bertrand
An avid solo traveller, Alexandrine is an expert on loyalty programmes such as Aeroplan, Avios, AIR MILES, Flying Blue and Marriott Bonvoy. With a budget-conscious approach, she helps travellers make the most of their points and miles to experience affordable, off-the-beaten-path getaways. She also shares a love of gastronomy and enjoys exploring local flavours and culinary traditions.
All posts by Alexandrine Bertrand
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