Credit card overhauls have been plentiful so far this year. Between BMO and Scotiabank, there’s been no shortage of major changes to force everyone to think about what they’re carrying.
And another bank is getting in on the action. National Bank Mastercards are facing a major revamp of their 2 travel credit cards.
Never miss an amazing deal again + get our bonus 250+ page eBook for FREE. Join 50,000 other Canadians who receive our weekly newsletter – learn more.
Summary of National Bank Mastercard changes
Here’s a summary of the National Bank Mastercards getting changed, as well as what changes to expect. Most of these changes will take effect on September 1, 2023 unless otherwise noted.
| Credit Card | What’s Changing |
|---|---|
| National Bank World Elite Mastercard | * New and improved rewards structure * Changes to the annual travel reimbursements (taking effect January 1, 2023) * Updated insurance coverage |
| National Bank Platinum Mastercard | * New and improved rewards structure * Updated insurance coverage * Lower annual fee |
National Bank World Elite Mastercard
The
Let’s start with the rewards. It currently has a tiered structure as follows:
- 1.5 points per $1 spent on your first $40,000 in annual spend,
- 2 points per $1 spent on the next $40,000 in annual spend, and
- 1.5 points per $1 spent after that.
You also earn double points on travel booked through NBC Rewards.
It’s going to be completely different moving forward:
- 5 points per $1 spent on groceries and restaurants,
- 2 points per $1 spent on gas, electric vehicle charging, recurring bills, and travel booked through NBC Rewards, and
- 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
This represents a big change in rewards. In fact, based on a typical $2,000 monthly spend, you’re going from an average earn rate of 1.5% to 2.3%.
Pretty sweet, right? But here’s something to keep in mind.
If you spend more than $2,500 per month on your credit card, your earn rate on groceries and restaurants drops to 2 points per $1 spent. If that does happen, your average earn rate drops to 1.55%
So if you spend over the monthly caps, you’ll net fewer points per dollar.
There are more changes in store. The other big change is to the travel expenses reimbursement. However, this change won’t be taking effect until January 1, 2023.
Right now, you can get up to $250 reimbursed per year. There are 3 things you can get reimbursed for, with a cap on each one:
- $100 for airport parking,
- $100 for baggage fees, and
- $50 for seat selection.
Moving forward, the total amount will be reduced to $150. However, the individual caps will be removed, and you’ll also be able to use the credit to pay for airport lounge access and airline ticket upgrades.
So while the amount is decreasing, it may also be easier to use the full amount.
The last area seeing changes is insurance. Personal effects rental car insurance is being dropped.
In its place comes mobile device insurance. It’s an insurance that’s becoming more and more popular, to the point where we can no longer say it’s rare. But it can be an important insurance – it protects your important device that you take almost everywhere.
No other changes are coming – the annual fee will be staying at $150, and it will still offer unlimited access to the National Bank lounge in Montreal-Trudeau airport.
You’ll also have access to Mastercard Travel Pass, where you can access lounges from around the world, but won’t get any free visits (each one will cost US$32). However, you can use your $150 travel reimbursement credit to help pay for any visits.
Are these changes good or bad?
Overall, these are good changes, provided you spend less than $2,500 per month.
Based on a typical spend of $2,000 per month, your annual rewards are being increased from $360 to $552. That more than offsets the $100 that’s being lost with the travel reimbursement.
And speaking of the travel reimbursements, while you won’t be able to claim as much, you’ll now be offered more ways to use it, and there won’t be caps on individual categories.
If you consistently spend more than $2,500 per month, this update probably won’t be helpful for you. You’ll be getting similar rewards but losing out on $100 in annual travel reimbursements.
National Bank Platinum Mastercard
The other National Bank credit card with big changes coming is the
The major change with this card is in the rewards. Right now you earn 1 point per $1 spent on all purchases.
Moving forward, here’s what it will offer:
- 2 points per $1 spent on groceries and restaurants,
- 1.5 points per $1 spent on gas, electric vehicle charging, recurring bills, and travel booked through NBC Rewards, and
- 1 point per $1.50 spent on all other purchases.
If you spend more than $1,000 per month on your Mastercard, the grocery and restaurant rate drops from 2 to 1.5 points per $1 spent.
So what’s the new average earn rate for this card? It was previously 1%, but with the changes, it will be 1.25%. However, if you spend more than $1,000 per month, the earn rate will be 1.13%.
There are quite a few changes coming to the insurance package. First, these insurance coverages are getting reduced coverage amounts.
| Insurance Coverage | Current Coverage Per Insured Person | New Coverage Per Insured Person |
|---|---|---|
| Trip Cancellation | $1,250 | $1,000 |
| Trip Interruption | $2,500 | $1,500 |
The card will also be losing rental car personal effects coverage. But like the World Elite card, it’s also getting mobile device insurance.
One last big change – the annual fee. It’s actually getting decreased – from $89 to $70. A welcome relief from fees.
Our thoughts on these changes
Overall, this is an improvement over the old card.
No matter what you spend per month, this is an improvement on your rewards, unless you solely make purchases that aren’t a part of any of the new categories.
Sure there is a slight loss in insurance coverage, but you’re also getting a lower annual fee in return.
What do you think of National Bank’s changes?
There’s a lot to unpack here, and these are our thoughts on what National Bank’s upcoming changes to their Mastercards.
If you have one of these cards, do you like what you see?
If not, are you more interested?
Let us know in the comments below.
creditcardGenius is the only tool that compares 126+ features of 229 Canadian credit cards using math-based ratings and rankings that respond to your needs, instantly. Take our quiz and see which of Canada's 229 cards is for you.
GC: 
Comments
Leave a comment
Required fields are marked with *. Your email address will not be published.
Showing 3 comments