Desjardins Cash Back World Elite® Mastercard® Review

For solid cashback rates, admirable annual value, and commendable insurance coverage, all at a reasonable cost – the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard is a great cashback credit card contender. In fact, this card earns the highest cashback rate among all credit cards in Canada for average spenders.

In this quick review, we’ll go over the card’s benefits, shortcomings, and how it stacks up against other competing cashback credit cards.

How You Earn Rewards with the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard

Here's what you can expect in terms of rewards with your Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard:

• • 4% cash back on grocery purchases (up to $400 cash back annually)
  • 3% cash back on restaurant purchases (up to $180 cash back annually)
  • 3% cash back on entertainment and alternative transportation purchases
  • 1% cash back on all other purchases

With the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard, earn money back on your everyday purchases. For example, when you buy groceries, enjoy a substantial cashback rate up to a specified cap. After this cap, you’ll earn the standard base rate of all other purchases for this card. Similarly, get paid to go out, accumulating a significant cashback rate for restaurant purchases up to a certain spending point. That said, you can always cash in generous entertainment and transportation cashback rates at no cap.

Redeeming Your Rewards with the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard

When you use the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard, your account is automatically credited when you collect at least $100 in cashback.

3 Benefits of the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard

There are a few benefits to selecting the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard as your cashback card of choice. Here are some reasons this card might be worth your consideration:

Earn High Rewards Rates

Savvy spenders can make the most of the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard by tapping their card for purchases in popular categories like groceries, restaurants, entertainment, and transit. Even after caps in the grocery and restaurant categories are met, the base earn rate for this card is pretty standard amongst other cashback credit cards in Canada. Plus, for average spenders, these caps aren't necessarily quick and easy to meet, especially in the groceries category. So, if you spend a moderate amount of money, you can enjoy generous cashback rates that not only last, but also earn you the highest cashback rate in Canada compared to other competing credit cards.

Go World Elite for a Lower Fee

World Elite credit cards are premium cards that typically come with higher annual fees than other Mastercards. What’s great about the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard is that its annual fee ranks below average in the World Elite category. This means that you can get some World Elite Mastercard perks for a fraction of the price.

Take Part in Elite Perks

As mentioned above, World Elite Mastercards are often equipped with added perks. These perks include insurance coverage, global Dragon Pass airport lounge visits, Boingo Wi-Fi hotspots, and discounts on rental cars. Keep in mind though that some World Elite Mastercards may offer more perks, but this usually comes with higher annual fees. We’ll explore these other options later on in this post.

2 Downsides of the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard

For a balanced review, we’ve also included a couple of the cons that come with being a Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard cardholder:

Trip Coverage Cut Short

A lot of times, cardholders will invest in a credit card for its travel benefits. While the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard does have some travel coverage, its trip insurance only extends to up to 3 days while other cards cover closer to 20. Most trips, especially by airplane, last longer than 3 days and will require more extensive insurance policies for peace of mind.

Goodbye Welcome Bonus, Hello Exclusivity

A lot of credit card applicants get pulled in with some type of welcome bonus incentive. Unfortunately, you’re not going to find an explicit welcome bonus here, but you will find exclusive income requirements and higher credit score recommendations, which may make it tough for some applicants to qualify for the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard.

Comparison to Other Cashback Credit Cards

Before deciding to apply for the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard, you’ll want to explore other options in the cashback credit card category. We’ll make it easy for you by breaking down some side-by-side comparisons between the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard and its top competitors.

BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard

There are a handful of features the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard and the BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard have in common. The first is the obvious, they’re both World Elite Mastercards that come with World Elite Mastercard perks.

Both cards also offer car rental discounts, Dragon Pass airport lounge access, and data roaming or Wi-Fi hotspots, but the BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard adds a gas discount, roadside assistance, and a hotel booking discount to its benefits list.

Still, it's worth noting that the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard has more extensive insurance coverage, adding valuable benefits that the BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard lacks, like trip interruption and trip cancellation insurance, emergency medical over 65 insurance, and mobile device insurance.

The two Mastercards also share the same income requirements.

With the BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard, you’ll get a welcome bonus in the first few months of membership (something the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard lacks). 

While we’re talking about lacking though, it’s important to note that the BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard doesn’t include restaurant purchases as a reward category, which is a category with high cashback earning potential with the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard. Still, the BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard does offer a higher cashback rate on groceries and daily transit (though keep in mind these rates still come with caps). 

In terms of fees, even though the BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard’s annual fee is slightly higher than the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard, the cost is completely waived in the first year, contributing to the BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard’s higher first-year value.

Ultimately though, in the long run, you can get more net annual value from the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard depending on your spending habits in each category.

So, if you don’t mind paying a little more after the first year, and if you’re looking for more (and in some cases better) benefits, some of the highest cashback rates in popular categories, and a welcome bonus, then you might be leaning more towards the BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard. But, if you’re looking to earn the most value overall, are an average spender, and don’t need all the extra benefits from the BMO alternative, you’ll probably still be satisfied with the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard.

SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express

The SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express is one of the best cashback cards in Canada, with the highest cashback rate on groceries and gas, and a competitive base cashback rate for all purchases. 

When compared closely to the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard, you’ll notice that the SimplyCash Preferred Card has similar but slightly more comprehensive insurance coverage (like the BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard), a generous welcome bonus (even more extensive than the BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard), and exclusive American Express Experiences.

Keep in mind though that while the SimplyCash Preferred Card could get you more value in the first year of use (almost as much as the BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard), the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard still offers the potential for the most annual value in the years that follow. Another drawback to the SimplyCash Preferred Card is since it’s affiliated with American Express, it may not be as widely accepted as other credit cards under the Mastercard network. As always, you’ll also want to consider the annual cost, which is a bit higher for the SimplyCash Preferred Card (and not waived in the first year like it is for the BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard).

Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard

Are you getting fed up with these annual fees? If so, don’t worry. The Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard is our next contender specifically because we’ve voted it as the best no-annual-fee credit card in Canada (especially for Rogers, Fido and Shaw customers).

For no annual fee, earn competitive (and when we say competitive, we mean some of the best) cashback rewards rates, especially when you’re the account owner of 1 qualifying Rogers, Fido or Shaw service.

You’ll also find an exceptional list of benefits, with notable trip interruption and cancellation insurance (a rarity among no-annual-fee cards), Dragon Pass airport lounge access, and the card's unique no-cost roaming benefit.

Despite not having a welcome bonus (like the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard), with its high rewards and lack of annual fee, the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard boasts the highest first-year value in this list for Rogers, Fido and Shaw customers.

For the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard, you can expect the same income requirements and credit score recommendations as the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard, but with no annual fee, the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard might be more enticing. Unless of course, you plan on spending enough with the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard to offset the cost of the annual fee, then it might be the better investment over time. 

To make your final decision, check out the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard review.

The Final Verdict

The Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard is a great choice for those who don’t mind spending a lower-by-comparison annual fee for helpful coverage, the highest cashback rewards rates for average spenders in Canada, and the potential for continual high value as the years go by.