Rogers World Elite Mastercard Review
In this Rogers World Elite Mastercard review, I’m going to go over why the card often gets overlooked. Admittedly, there’s a lot of hate for Rogers in Canada, but ignoring this card just because you don’t like the parent company would be silly.
Truth be told, this card easily qualify for the list of the best cash back credit cards in Canada, the best credit cards with no annual fee, and the best no foreign transaction fee credit cards in Canada. That said, the car does come with a few quirks that will likely annoy many people. Read my Rogers World Elite Mastercard review now for the full details.
Rogers World Elite Mastercard
- No annual fee
- $25 in cash back welcome bonus
- 1.5% cash back on all purchases
- 3% cash back on purchases made in U.S. dollars
- Free Boingo Wi-Fi
To qualify for this card you need to have a personal income of $80,000 or a household income of $150,000. In addition, there’s a minimum annual spend requirement of $15,000 or your card will be downgraded to the Rogers Platinum Mastercard. Many people will hate this rule, but it was implemented by Mastercard, so many other World Elite credit cards have a similar policy.
If you can reach that minimum annual spend requirement, then you can reap the benefits. As a no fee card, it’s impressive that you get 1.5% in cash back on all purchases. Most no fee credit cards have a much lower earn rate. In addition, since this is a Mastercard, it’s an ideal Costco credit card. The base earn rate you would get with the Rogers World Elite Mastercard at Costco warehouses is higher than the CIBC Costco credit card.
As an added bonus, you’ll earn 3% cash back on purchases made in U.S. dollars. Since you’ll still pay the 2.5% foreign transaction fee, you’re effectively coming ahead by 0.5%. There are arguably better credit cards with no foreign transaction fees, but as a no fee card, this isn’t bad.
One benefit that some people will like is the free Global WiFi for the primary cardholder. Boingo has thousands of WiFi spots around the world with many of them being in airports on airplanes. This is obviously handy for people who travel a lot but don’t always have access to a data plan.
You also get Mastercard Airport Experiences membership provided by LoungeKey. Think of this as airport lounge access but without the free passes. The membership itself is normally U.S. $99 per year and then each visit is U.S. $32. This is not a huge benefit by any means, but it could come in handy.
The nice thing about the Rogers World Elite Mastercard is that you can use your cash back earned on any purchase. To make a redemption you need to go into your Mastercard Pay with Rewards app and select ‘redeem’. As long as you have a minimum of $20 in cash back, you can use it on all or some of your purchases. You can even set the app to automatically redeem your cash back earned. Alternatively, you redeem your cash back for an annual statement credit by calling 1-855-775-2265.
Rogers World Elite Mastercard insurance
In this Rogers World Elite Mastercard review, I’ll be going over the insurance details. Since this is a no fee card, you shouldn’t expect much. That said, the travel insurance included is better than many other no fee credit cards.
- Travel medical insurance – $1,000,000 for 10 days (3 days for those aged 65+)
- Trip cancellation – $1,000
- Trip interruption – $1,000
- Rental car collision/damage insurance – 31 days / $65,000
- Purchase protection
- Extended warranty
If the card didn’t impress you already, the insurance benefits should convince you. For those aged 64 and under, you get 10 days of travel medical insurance while those 65+ are covered for just three days. Remember, with travel medical, you don’t need to put your transportation or accommodation purchases on your card for it to apply.
When it comes to trip cancellation, trip interruption and rental car collision/damage insurance, you do need to charge the full amount of those purchases to your card for it to apply, but that’s worth it since you may not need to purchase any additional travel insurance.
The travel insurance offered by the Rogers World Elite Mastercard is not bad for a credit card with no annual fee, but note that it does not include lost or delayed luggage insurance. If travel insurance is something you need, I’d recommend looking at one of the best credit cards with travel insurance.
Purchase protection covers you in the event of loss, damage or theft of your goods for 90 days while extended warranty doubles your manufacturer’s warranty up to an additional year.
How it compares to other cards
The Rogers World Elite Mastercard is one of the best cash back credit cards in Canada so it has a lot of competition.
There’s the Tangerine Money-Back Card and the Tangerine World Mastercard that both allow you to earn 2% cash back on up to three categories of your choice at 0.5% cash back on all other purchases. The World version gives you mobile device insurance which the Rogers World Elite Mastercard does not come with.
I also want to mention the Scotia Momentum VISA Infinite card as it has a higher earn rate of 4% cash back on groceries and recurring bill payments; and 2% cash back on gas and transit purchases. You also get better travel insurance, but there’s an annual fee of $120.
Finally, you could also compare this card to the PC Financial World Elite Mastercard since they are the only two World Elite Mastercards with no annual fee. The PC Financial card gives you 4.5% cash equivalent in PC Optimum points at Shoppers Drug Mart and 3% where PC products are sold, but all other purchases only give you a 1% return.
I wouldn’t say one card is better than the other since they’re different. Heck, if you’re a Rogers customer and you shop at Shoppers Drug Mart and Loblaws owned stores, you should probably get both to maximize your rewards. If you’re looking for a card that just gives you good cash back rewards, then the Rogers World Elite Mastercard is an excellent choice.
Final thoughts
My Rogers World Elite Mastercard review is positive. Although the cash back earned on foreign purchases could be better, the overall earn rate and benefits are good for a no fee card.
Should be noted that the “cash back” rewards can only be used on Rogers or Fido related expenses like your phone or cable bill.
If you don’t use any rogers products you can use the rewards.
Hi Greg,
You can request a statement credit once a year so this card is still a good fit for people who don’t use Rogers product if they don’t mind waiting. I personally would only use this credit card for foreign transactions, so that once a year credit would be perfectly fine for me.
Thanks!
I did not know about the statement credit, that does make it more valuable if I ever decide to ditch my Fido services. Rogers is pretty misleading where you can the cashback.
I find that most credit card reviews don’t focus on how the rewards can be used very much, which makes a huge difference in the value of the card.
the 80k 150k isn’t a deal breaker if you have the lower tier Mastercard and spend more then $2500 a month for 6 months or so they will upgrade you the world elite no matter how much you make. I got my PC world elite on only 60K income and now I am upgraded to the Rogers world elite on far less than 150k family income I would need.
Hey Greg,
Yeah when you do a deeper dive, it’s a decent card considering it has no fee and offers no foreign transaction fees. Although the insurance details haven’t been released yet, but I imagine 10 days of travel medical insurance will be included is a nice bonus.
Good point about reviews talking about how the rewards can be used. Generally speaking, I tend to compare cards to other cards, but moving forward, I should include a section on how the points can be used.
Not a good choice for foreign purchases. In my recent US$ transactions Rogers tagged on 10% Approx on top of Mastercard foreign exchange rate + 2.5% Foreign Transaction Fee. Talked to Customer support for almost 3 hours without any explanation. Tried to submit an online message through my account but that feature actually appears to have been disabled. Worst customer service and worst card to use for foreign purchases
Hi Sumar,
This is the first I’ve heard of this. Did all your $US transactions have that 10% mark up?
I would stay away from this card considering i have used three times and every time i had to call rogers to verify transaction. Today they have blocked my card and is under review. Apparently someone from rogers will call me to discuss.
I Agree with Mr. Ali about the card. They have also blocked my card without informing me and the account is under review. I do not know what type of review it is as i earn more than double there threshold income. Someone from rogers will call me with no time limit for review mentioned. This is totally ridiculous.
[…] Home Trust Preferred Visa has no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees. There’s also the Rogers World Elite Mastercard that technically charges the 2.5% fee, but you earn 4% in cash-back on all purchases made in a […]
I’m retired was using a Rogers card, they upgraded me to the world elite and I make a lot less than 80k
have never been blocked, my transactions always go through no problem.
I love my Rogers World Elite Mastercard! I do not make $80k annual income but I qualify for the average monthly spending so they upgraded my card. Downloaded the Pay with rewards app to use cashback to redeem for my Rogers statement
Does this card give you cash back on all purchase or are some excluded? I am trying to get clarification
Natasha,
Yes, you get cash back on all your purchases. Things that aren’t eligible are say interest charges on your credit card.
[…] no fee credit card to look at is the Rogers World Elite Mastercard which gives you 1.75% cash back on all purchases and 4% cash back on purchases made in a foreign […]
We applied for the Rogers Elite Mastercard as well. After qualifying and receiving our new card we went to make a purchase and discovered our card had been blocked. (Very embarrassing when standing in a lineup). We spent over a hour on the phone with several people from Rogers including a manager. No one would tell us why the card was blocked, only that it was under investigation. NOT GOOD ENOUGH. We would definitely not recommend this card to anyone after our experience.
Regarding the Rogers Elite Master Card there are a lot of people saying you can only redeem the cash back on Rogers products this is not true. You are able to redeem on any purchase made with this card.
Customer service subpar for a premium credit card. Archaic process with no communication to set up preauthorized automatic payments (3 billing cycles still no luck).
Also does not support Apple Pay.
The card is going to be massively downgraded by Rogers come June 202. How true is this? If true, do you recommend a similarly generous no fee card or with annual fee card? I may be looking to ditch my Rogers WE MC soon because of the 15,000 spending requirement.
Scottie,
If you’re looking for a no fee, no foreign transaction fees card, check out this list – https://www.moneywehave.com/canadian-credit-cards-without-foreign-transaction-fees/
Hi Barry,
The list is okay but they do not provide the same flat rate and insurance as Rogers WE come June 2020.
The “best” alternative for flat fee cash back is the Tangerine Money Back card but you only get 2% on three categories of your choice. All other categories earn you .5%
Hi Barry, has Rogers restricted the purchases in which the cash back can be implemented? For a while these were almost any purchases and lately it seems to be just a handful of them. Thanks!
Oswaldo,
As far as I know, there hasn’t been any change to what you can claim cash back on. you just need to have a minimum of $20 in cash back to make said claim.
Hi Barry,
Have you tried using the Mastercard Airport Experiences membership? Is there a limit as to how many times w can use it? No passes means we can’t bring a guest in with us?
Thanks!
Martie,
You need to register with Mastercard for your Loungekey access. No passes means you’re paying for every visit including your own.
Hi Barry,
I have used this card without any difficulty for several years. However, I recently noticed a serious deterioration in customer service. A simple activation of a replacement card required four calls.
I also draw your attention to the fact that starting June 2020, ONLY transactions in US$ will be exempt from the 2.5% conversion fee. Purchases in any other currency than US$ (Euros for example) will not benefit from that feature. Much less attractive for those who travel elsewhere than the US …
Hey Gilbert,
This was one of the most underrated credit cards out there but with these new changes coming on June 2nd, it’s now just average. Adding the $15,000 annual minimum spend requirement was also ridiculous.