The Rogers World Elite Mastercard is often overlooked, but it’s often rated as one of the best cash back credit cards in Canada. This no fee card gives you a straight 1.5% in cash back on all purchases. However, any U.S. dollar purchases earn you 3% cash back.

If this card didn’t have a high personal income requirement and a minimum yearly spending requirement to maintain the card, it would likely be much more popular. Despite the drawbacks, the cash back you earn is easy to redeem. Read my Rogers World Elite Mastercard now for the full details.

Rogers World Elite Mastercard

Welcome bonus and earn rate

The welcome bonus is typically $25 in cash back when you make any purchase within the first three months of receiving your card. Although that may not seem like a lot, it’s decent since this is a no fee card.

As for the earning rate, it’s pretty straightforward. You’ll earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases. For any purchases made in U.S. dollars, you’ll get 3% cash back. That said, a foreign transaction fee of 2.5% applies, so your real return is .5% cash back on USD purchases.

Rogers World Elite Mastercard benefits

For a no fee card, the Rogers World Elite Mastercard has a decent amount of benefits. Admittedly, some of these perks only give you basic coverage, but this is a no fee card, so any additional benefits should be considered a win.

Travel insurance

• Emergency medical – $1,000,000 / 10 days for those 64 and under, 3 days for those aged 65 – 75
• Trip interruption – $1,000 per person, up to $5,000 total
• Trip cancellation – $1,000 per person, up to $5,000 total
• Rental car collision/damage – $65,000 / 31 days

The included travel insurance is surprisingly good for a no fee card. You get travel medical, trip interruption/cancellation and rental car collision/damage insurance. The only extended insurance you’re missing is delayed/lost bags and hotel/motel burglary insurance. Although you only get up to 10 days of emergency medical insurance, you can extend that by calling the insurance provider and paying for the additional days.

Airport lounge access

Cardholders get a complimentary membership to Mastercard Travel Pass provided by DragonPass. This gives you access to more than 1,300 airport lounges worldwide. However, this is just the membership (regular value $99 USD). You still need to pay for individual lounge visits, which are $32 USD.

Purchase insurance

• Purchase assurance – 90 days
• Extended warranty – Up to one additional year

As a World Elite Mastercard holder, you get some excellent purchase insurance. Any purchases charged to your card are covered for 90 days from theft, loss, or damage. In addition, the manufacturer’s warranty is doubled up to one additional year. If you ever need to make a claim, you must provide your original receipt and the statement when you made the purchase.

Free Boingo Wi-Fi

Although it’s not advertised on the website, cardholders get a free Boingo Wi-Fi account since it’s a standard benefit for World Elite cardholders. With this perk, you’ll get access to 1,000,000+ Wi-Fi hotspots with no additional fees.

When your cash back is paid out

As part of this Rogers World Elite Mastercard review, it’s vital to understand how your cash back is paid out. Once you’ve accumulated at least $10 in rewards, you can apply the balance to any purchase made in the last 90 days with the Rogers Bank app or through your online banking. Alternatively, you can set your cash back to be redeemed automatically toward your next purchase. This is a great feature since many other cash back programs pay out only once a year.

Rogers World Elite Mastercard eligibility

• You’re a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
• You’re at least the age of majority in your province or territory.
• You have a minimum annual personal gross income of $80,000 or a household income of $150,000.

In addition, a credit check will be performed to determine your eligibility. Although Rogers doesn’t state a minimum credit score requirement, you’ll want yours to be at least 700 before applying. Also, Rogers requires you to spend a minimum of $15,000 on this card each year, or you’ll be downgraded to a different card.

How the Rogers World Elite Mastercard compares

The Rogers World Elite Mastercard is often considered one of the best cash back credit cards in Canada, so it has a lot of competition. Generally, you’ll want to compare it to a few different cards to see what’s best for you.

Rogers World Elite Mastercard vs. Rogers Mastercard

Oddly enough, the Rogers Mastercard is arguably a better card. Even though it’s an entry level card, you’ll earn 2% cash back on all your purchases. The catch is that you must have at least one Rogers, Fido, or Shaw service to get that earning rate. Rogers will also give you a 30% cash back boost if you redeem your rewards on their services. This effectively gives you a 2.6% earning rate. In addition, you get five free annual Roam Like Home Days. This card is also appealing since it has no annual fee and no formal income requirement.

Rogers World Elite Mastercard vs. Tangerine Money-Back Card

The Tangerine Money-Back Card is a popular cash back card since you can earn 2% cash back on up to three categories of your choice. All other purchases earn you 0.5%. Although the base earning rate is lower than the Rogers World Elite Mastercard, the Tangerine Money-Back card only requires a minimum personal income of $12,000 to be considered.

Rogers World Elite Mastercard vs. American Express Cobalt Card

If your goal is to earn as many rewards as possible, and you’re not worried about an annual fee, then the American Express Cobalt Card is a good choice. You’ll earn 5 American Express Membership Rewards points on eats and drinks (including groceries) per $1 spent, 3 points on streaming services, 2 points on travel and transit, and 1 point on all other purchases. With American Express Membership Rewards you can redeem 1,000 points for a $10 statement credit. This makes the card a hybrid cash back/travel program. The monthly fee for this card is $12.99, so that’s $155.88 you’d be spending each year.

Final thoughts

My Rogers World Elite Mastercard review is positive. The card is ideal for anyone in the following situations:

• You make a lot of U.S. dollar purchases – Although you’ll pay a foreign exchange fee of 2.5%, the 3% cash back earned on U.S. dollar purchases will offset your costs.
• You don’t want to pay an annual fee – There’s no monthly or yearly fee to worry about.
• You want easy cash back – The base earn rate is 1.25% in cash back, which can be redeemed instantly on almost any purchase.

Overall, this card is impressive, but it has a high minimum personal income requirement for you to be approved. Additionally, some people will also be annoyed that the extra cash back doesn’t apply to all foreign transactions. That said, the card has no annual fee, and any cash back earned is easy to redeem.