Tangerine World Mastercard Review

The first thing you need to know about my Tangerine World Mastercard® review is that this card is great. It’s one of the few credit cards where you can pick your cash back categories and has no annual fee. While this card is very similar to Tangerine’s Money-Back card, there are enough differences that you’ll want to know about before applying. Keep reading my Tangerine World Mastercard review for the full details.

Tangerine World Mastercard

  • No annual fee
  • 10% cash back up to $1,000 in spending ($100 cash back) for the first 2 months.
  • 2% cash back on up to 3 categories
  • 0.5% cash back on all other purchases
  • Mobile device insurance
  • Rental car insurance

Welcome bonus and earn rate

The Tangerine World Mastercard® consistently offers a welcome bonus of 10% cash back up to $1,000 – $2,000 in spending. That means your welcome bonus works out to $100 – $200. What’s great about this offer is that it applies to all purchases, not just specific categories.

As for the earn rate, the Tangerine World Mastercard® is one of the best cash back credit cards in Canada since you get to choose up to three categories where you’ll earn 2% cash back. All other purchases earn you 0.5% cash back. You get to choose two categories right away and the third one becomes available when you set your cash back to be applied directly to your Tangerine Savings account.

Tangerine cash back categories

  • Groceries
  • Restaurants
  • Drug store
  • Entertainment
  • Furniture
  • Gas
  • Hotel-Motel
  • Home improvement
  • Parking
  • Recurring bills

That’s a lot of choices, but, unfortunately, there’s no general travel category. You only have a hotel-motel category. That means flights, cruises, and vacation packages would only earn you the base rate of 0.5% cash back.

Benefits and perks

It’s important to go over the benefits in my Tangerine World Mastercard® review since some of the included perks may determine if you sign up for this card or not. For a no fee card, you get a surprising amount of perks.

Mobile device insurance

You get mobile device insurance up to $1,000. This applies to both cellular phones and tablets. For your insurance to be valid, you must charge the entire cost of your device to your Tangerine World Mastercard®. If you’re getting a phone that’s subsidized, you must charge your monthly bill to your card.

Rental car insurance

The only type of travel insurance you get is rental car collision/loss damage insurance. You’ll be covered for 31 days, but the vehicle can’t have an MSRP of more than $65,000. You must charge the entire amount of your rental card to your credit card and decline any damage insurance from your car rental agency for your insurance to apply.

Purchase insurance

  • Purchase assurance
  • Extended warranty

Purchase assurance and extended warranty are pretty standard benefits, but they can be incredibly handy if you ever need to make a claim. With purchase assurance, your purchases are protected from theft, loss, and damage for 90 days. As for the extended warranty, your manufacturer’s warranty is doubled for up to one additional year.

Balance transfer

One overlooked benefit is that new cardholders can perform a balance transfer with a promotional interest rate of 1.95% for six months. You must complete the balance transfer within 30 days of account approval, and a 1% fee applies. This balance transfer can help you reduce debt, as most credit cards charge an interest rate of 20%+.

Mastercard World benefits

What many people don’t realize is that all Mastercard World cardholders get the following benefits directly from Mastercard:

  • Boingo Wi-Fi – With your Mastercard credentials, you can sign up for a free Boingo Wi-Fi account. This will give you access to more than one million hotspots worldwide. This includes many Wi-Fi hotspots found in airports and on planes.
  • Travel Rewards – The Mastercard travel rewards site allows registered cardholders to earn additional cash back at select merchants and travel partners
  • Travel Pass provided by DragonPass – When you download the Mastercard Travel Pass app and register, you’ll get access to 1,300+ airport lounges in more than 140 countries. DragonPass provides this service. Note that you still need to pay for individual visits.

Tangerine World Mastercard eligibility

To qualify for the Tangerine Money-Back Card, you must meet the following conditions:

  • The age of majority in the province or territory where you live
  • Be a permanent resident of Canada
  • Have a gross annual personal income of $60,000, a household income of $100,000 or $250,000 invested or saved with Tangerine.
  • Have not declared bankruptcy over the past seven years

Like all other banks, Tangerine doesn’t have a formal credit score requirement listed, but you likely want yours to be at least 670 before applying since that would put you in good standing.

How the Tangerine World Mastercard® compares

Cash back credit cards in Canada are very popular, so many similar rewards cards are available on the market. When comparing cards, consider the earning rate, ease of redeeming your cash back and any benefits you get by holding the card.

Tangerine World Mastercard vs. Tangerine Money-Back Credit card

The Tangerine World Mastercard® is an enhanced version of the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card. In other words, if you want a Tangerine credit card and meet the minimum income requirement, you should apply for the Tangerine World Mastercard® since it gives you additional benefits.

Tangerine World Mastercard vs. American Express SimplyCash Card

Another no fee credit card to look at is the American Express SimplyCash Card, which also has no annual fee. You don’t get any enhanced earn rates on specific categories, but you get 1.25% cash back on all purchases.

Tangerine World Mastercard vs. BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard

If you’re willing to pay a fee, the BMO CashBack® World Elite®* Mastercard®* is worth considering. You get 5% cash back on grocery purchases, 3% cash back on gas and electric vehicle charging, 2% cash back on recurring bill payments, and 1% cash back on all other purchases. The annual fee is $120, but the first year is usually waived.

Final thoughts

My Tangerine World Mastercard® review is positive. Although it has a higher minimum income requirement, it will appeal to people in the following situations:

  • You want to pick your cash back – You get to choose up to three categories where you’ll earn 2% cash back.
  • You want free mobile device insurance – This is one of the few cards with no annual fee and offers mobile device insurance.
  • You don’t want to pay an annual fee – There’s no yearly fee to worry about with this card.

The card is nearly identical to the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card, but it comes with more benefits that will appeal to many people. With no annual fee and the ability to choose your categories where you’ll earn more cash back, this card is a winner.

About Barry Choi

Barry Choi is a Toronto-based personal finance and travel expert who frequently makes media appearances. His blog Money We Have is one of Canada’s most trusted sources when it comes to money and travel. You can find him on Twitter:@barrychoi

8 Comments

  1. Virna on November 28, 2019 at 7:25 PM

    Hi Barry,

    You mentioned that the new Tangerine credit card has the MC Airport Experiences by LoungeKey but no free annual passes. Does this mean you have access but you have to pay to use the lounge?

    Thanks,
    Virna

    • Barry Choi on November 28, 2019 at 7:51 PM

      Hi Virna,

      That’s correct. You still need to pay for individual visits.

  2. GM on November 29, 2019 at 11:31 PM

    Hi!

    Thanks for the info, do you know whether existing Tangerine Money-Back customers will get the 4% bonus?

    And,, If I keep the Mone-Backalong with the world, can I have 6 categories?, i.e 3 on World and 3 different on Money-Back..
    .
    Thanks

    • Barry Choi on November 30, 2019 at 10:00 AM

      GM,

      The enhanced earn only applies to new customers. I don’t think you can have two Tangerine cards so you wouldn’t be able to get six categories at 2%

      • BL on December 1, 2019 at 4:46 AM

        In that case, can existing customers ask for an upgrade rather than applying for a new one?

        • Barry Choi on December 1, 2019 at 12:20 PM

          BL,

          You could ask, but there’s no guaranteed they’ll upgrade you. That said, I know they’ve upgraded a lot of current cardholders already.

        • Willy Van on December 2, 2019 at 11:07 AM

          I have an upgrade offer when logging in so yes.

  3. jezmi yilmaz on July 26, 2021 at 4:08 PM

    never seen such a poor, custumer service…wait time 30 minutes.
    I purchased my grocery at Costco cashback was 0.5 %, not 2.0 % stop using this card……
    Be aware. all they know is to say sorry……

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