MBNA Mastercard Insurance Changes And Your Alternatives

creditcardGenius Team
updated on Jul 8, 2021
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Accuracy is important to us so this article has gone through a thorough 3-stage review process and fact-checked by our team.

MBNA Rewards Mastercards have recently undergone some major changes.

And one of those areas is in the insurance department. Insurance isn’t talked about much with credit cards, but can be an extremely valuable perk to have.

So let’s dive into what has changed in this department with both of these credit cards.

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Overview analysis of the MBNA Mastercard insurance changes

There are 2 credit cards that saw big changes in the insurance department – both MBNA Rewards Mastercards.

Here’s a summary of what has changed.

Credit Card Summary of insurance changes Annual Fee, Income Requirements Apply Now
MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard * Removed all 3 car rental insurances, trip cancellation, and travel accident
* Added mobile device insurance
* $0
* No income requirements
Apply Now
MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard * Added mobile device insurance, flight delay, baggage delay, and lost/stolen baggage * $120
* $80K personal/$150K household
Apply Now

So were these changes for the better?

Of course, it depends on the card. Here’s an estimated look at how the value of each insurance package changed.

Comparing Estimated Insurance Value of MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Vs MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard

The good

There’s plenty to like about the changes.

For the Platinum Plus Mastercard, you’ve gained valuable mobile device coverage. It provides coverage for a piece of gear you take almost everywhere with you, which can get easily damaged.

With the World Elite Mastercard, it’s also gaining mobile device coverage, but that’s on top of getting flight delay, delayed baggage, and lost/stolen baggage added too.

The bad

The only negative was to the MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard. It lost all 3 rental coverages, trip interruption, and travel accident coverages.

There is no downside for the World Elite card – it just added new coverage to what was already there, with no change to the annual fee.

Detailed look at MBNA Mastercards with insurance changes

So, let’s look into the details for each card. You can learn more about MBNA Mastercards and what they have to offer here.

One of the best no fee travel cards

4.1 Genius Rating
3.3 (11) User reviews
Annual fee
$0.00
Learn more
Welcome bonus
$118
11,800 points
Annual rewards
$370
Learn more
MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus® Mastercard®
4.1 Genius Rating
3.3 (11) User reviews
Annual fee
$0.00
Learn more
Welcome bonus
$118
11,800 points
Annual rewards
$370
Learn more
Credit estimate:
 (725 - 759)
Instant approval: Yes

First, let’s start with the card that lost quite a bit in insurance – the MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus® Mastercard®.

First, here is the current coverage being offered.

MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus® Mastercard®

Extended Warranty1 year
Purchase Protection90 days
Mobile Device$1,000

Please review your insurance certificate for details, exclusions and limitations of your coverage.

The big addition was the mobile device coverage. Let’s be honest – your phone goes almost everywhere you do. And they’re not exactly the toughest devices out there…all it takes is one bad fall.

So rather than worrying about paying for protection plans, getting a new phone before you’re ready, or being on the hook for a costly repair – mobile device protection will take care of the costs of either getting your device repaired or replaced.

(You can get an idea of what goes into a claim here.)

But on the flip side, this card lost some coverage, the big one being rental car coverage. Before, it was a rare credit card that offered all 3 types of rental car coverage – and all 3 are now gone.

Trip interruption coverage has also disappeared. This was helpful for when you have to get home in the middle of a trip, which can be an expensive change to make. Having trip interruption insurance can take the sting out of that if you need to leave for emergency reasons.

It has also lost travel accident insurance, which provides coverage in case you get injured when travelling on a common carrier (like an air or rail line).

So how does this affect the value of the insurance package? Based on our study of the value of credit card insurance, before the changes we valued the insurance package at $307.

But now, it’s down to $158, with most of the lost value coming from the rental car coverages, buffered by the addition from the mobile device coverage.

Your main alternative

3.8 Genius Rating
2.7 (11) User reviews
Annual fee
$0.00
Learn more
Welcome bonus
$81
Learn more
Annual rewards
$210
Learn more
MBNA Smart Cash Platinum Plus® Mastercard®
3.8 Genius Rating
2.7 (11) User reviews
Annual fee
$0.00
Learn more
Welcome bonus
$81
Learn more
Annual rewards
$210
Learn more
Credit estimate:
 (660 - 724)
Instant approval: Yes

So if you want the old insurance package, it’s actually quite easy to get. Other MBNA Platinum Plus Mastercards still offer the older package with the 3 rental car coverages and trip cancellation.

So we’ll highlight the no fee MBNA Smart Cash Platinum Plus® Mastercard®.

It has all the same insurance coverage as the Rewards Platinum Plus, save for the mobile device coverage.

MBNA Smart Cash Platinum Plus® Mastercard®

Extended Warranty1 year
Purchase Protection90 days
Travel Accident$1,000,000
Trip Interruption$2,000
Rental Car Theft & DamageYes
Rental Car Accident$200,000
Rental Car Personal Effects$1,000

Please review your insurance certificate for details, exclusions and limitations of your coverage.

And with this card, you’ll be earning up to 2% cash back on your purchases.

Want to learn more about how credit card rental car insurance works? Here are the full details.

Rental Car Insurance in Canada

Another alternative to consider

2.6 Genius Rating
2.0 (84) User reviews
Annual fee
$0.00
Learn more
Welcome bonus
$0
Learn more
Annual rewards
$198
Learn more
Brim Mastercard
2.6 Genius Rating
2.0 (84) User reviews
Annual fee
$0.00
Learn more
Welcome bonus
$0
Learn more
Annual rewards
$198
Learn more
Credit estimate:
 (760 - 900)
Instant approval: No

There’s one other credit card we’ll spotlight that has both decent insurance and no annual fee – the Brim Mastercard.

It has its own decent insurance package, with 4 different types, which includes mobile device coverage.

Brim Mastercard

Extended Warranty1 year
Purchase Protection90 days
Mobile Device$500
Travel Accident$300,000

Please review your insurance certificate for details, exclusions and limitations of your coverage.

And on your purchases, you’ll earn 1% cash back on everything.

Only good news for the premium flex travel card option

5.0 Genius Rating
3.3 (81) User reviews
award seal ×4 Award winner
Annual fee
$120.00
Learn more
Welcome bonus
$300
30,000 points
Annual rewards
$686
GC Ends: Oct 31, 2025
Credit Card Genius Cash IconGC: $125 + $25
MBNA Rewards World Elite® Mastercard®
Instant approval: Yes
Credit estimate:
5.0 Genius Rating
3.3 (81) User reviews
award seal 4x Award winner
Annual fee
$120.00
Learn more
Welcome bonus
$300
30,000 points
Annual rewards
$686
GC Ends:
Oct 31, 2025
Credit estimate:
 (725 - 759)
Instant approval: Yes

On the other side of the insurance changes, we have the MBNA Rewards World Elite® Mastercard®.

And there is nothing but positive changes this time. Nothing was lost (including the rare price protection coverage), and it even gained several different types of coverage.

Here are the full details of what is now included:

MBNA Rewards World Elite® Mastercard®

Extended Warranty1 year
Purchase Protection90 days
Price ProtectionYes
Mobile Device$1,000
Travel Accident$1,000,000
Trip Interruption$2,000
Flight Delay$500
Baggage Delay$500
Lost or Stolen Baggage$500
Rental Car Theft & DamageYes
Rental Car Accident$200,000
Rental Car Personal Effects$1,000

Please review your insurance certificate for details, exclusions and limitations of your coverage.

So here, there are really no alternatives to consider – it’s much better than before. Our previous value for the value of the insurance coverage was $374, which has now increased to $449.

The best part? The annual fee didn’t increase either.

Comparison to other World Elite Mastercards

With these changes, the MBNA card is much more competitive against other World Elite Mastercards. The best World Elite Mastercards have up to 15 types of coverage, and this one is now much closer to that, having 12 types instead of the previous 8.

So, we’ll look over what these 2 Mastercards offer for insurance for comparison:

The Brim World Elite Mastercard comes with a stunning 12 types of insurance, the highest amount among Canadian credit cards.

Brim World Elite Mastercard

Extended Warranty1 year
Purchase Protection90 days
Mobile Device$1,500
Travel Accident$500,000
Emergency Medical Term15 days
Emergency Medical over 653 days
Trip Cancellation$2,000
Trip Interruption$5,000
Flight Delay$500
Baggage Delay$500
Lost or Stolen Baggage$1,000
Hotel Burglary$2,500
Rental Car Theft & DamageYes

Please review your insurance certificate for details, exclusions and limitations of your coverage.

And another top card for insurance is the BMO Air Miles World Elite Mastercard, which has 14 types of coverage.

BMO AIR MILES® World Elite®* Mastercard®*

Extended Warranty1 year
Purchase Protection90 days
Travel Accident$500,000
Emergency Medical Term15 days
Trip Cancellation$1,500
Trip Interruption$2,000
Flight Delay$500
Baggage Delay$200
Lost or Stolen Baggage$750
Personal Effects$750
Hotel Burglary$500
Rental Car Theft & DamageYes
Rental Car Accident$200,000
Rental Car Personal Effects$1,000

Please review your insurance certificate for details, exclusions and limitations of your coverage.

But how do all 3 cards compare? Well, here’s our estimated value for the insurance packages of all 3 cards.

Comparing the Estimated Insurance Package Values of MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard Vs BRIM and BMO Air Miles World Elite Mastercard

The MBNA card is still not quite as good, but it’s definitely much improved. And it has one coverage neither of these other cards has – price protection. If something you bought goes on sale within 60 days, you can get a refund on the difference. It takes the guesswork out of wondering when to buy something.

Want to learn more about all 17 types of insurance coverage? Here are the details on all of them.

17 Types of Credit Card Insurance (You May Not Know About)

Your thoughts

Depending on the card this is either great news, or may leave you wanting a little more.

But, there are other alternatives if you don’t like what you see.

What are your thoughts on what MBNA has done with their insurance?

Let us know in the comments below.

FAQ

What insurance changes are there to MBNA Platinum Plus Mastercards?

The MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard has made some big changes. It now offers mobile device insurance, but lost 3 types of rental car insurance, travel accident, and trip interruption insurance.

What is the best alternative for the MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard for insurance?

The best alternative to the MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard for insurance is the MBNA Smart Cash Platinum Plus Mastercard, which has the exact same insurance package the Rewards card used to have, with 7 types total, including all 3 rental car insurance.

Are there changes to the insurance packages for MBNA World and World Elite Mastercards?

The MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard has gotten several new types of insurance. They include mobile device protection, flight delay, delayed baggage, and lost/stolen baggage.

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Michael Cherney
Michael Cherney
November 5, 2021
new mbna world elite rewards not as advertised, no bonus points for restaurant or digital media.....
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