Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard Review

The Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard is great for everyday shoppers and frequent travellers alike. The card includes strong rewards on groceries, followed by solid rewards on other popular spend categories, not to mention respectable travel insurance and benefits.

To learn even more about what this Mastercard has to offer, plus a comparison to its close competitors, keep reading.

How You Earn Rewards with the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard

Here’s a closer look at how you can earn rewards with the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard.

With this card, cardholders will receive:

• 3% cashback on groceries
• 2% cashback on restaurant, entertainment, and public transit
• 1.5% cashback on all other purchases

Based on the above breakdown, the best way to earn your rewards with the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard is by shopping for groceries. That said, you can still earn decent BONUSDOLLARS on other popular spend categories like restaurant, entertainment, and public transit purchases.

Redeeming your Rewards with the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard

At first glance, the Desjardins World Elite Mastercard’s redemption program might look a little confusing.

While the rewards are stated as cashback, the cashback itself is received as Desjardins BONUSDOLLARS, which are a type of reward point. So, instead of your cashback being standard cash, it’s actually BONUSDOLLARS.

Essentially, you can redeem your Desjardins BONUSDOLLARS towards the following redemption categories, ranked from most valuable to least valuable:

• Travel: when you redeem your points towards eligible flights or vacation packages
• Financial products: using points towards things like loan repayments or mortgage repayments
• Entertainment: redeeming points toward entertainment activities such as eligible movies, shows, and concerts
• Gift cards: using points to purchase eligible gift cards
• Merchandise: when your points are used to get eligible merchandise like household supplies
  

4 Benefits of the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard

Sometimes, the best way to decide whether a credit card is right for you is to go over its benefits.

Here are the perks you can expect from the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard:

Comprehensive Coverage + Unlimited Trip Interruption Insurance

To complement its impressive rewards program, the Desjardins World Elite Mastercard comes with some comprehensive coverage, most of which supports travel.

As a cardholder, you can expect protections like trip interruption and trip cancellation insurance, car rental damage and theft insurance, and emergency medical coverages.

An important perk about this card is that it actually offers unlimited trip interruption insurance!

Complimentary Lounge Access

One of the most prestigious perks a credit card can offer is complimentary airport lounge access in some capacity.

With the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard, you’ll receive 8 free entry passes per year that you can use at any two Desjardins Odyssey lounges in Montréal-Trudeau International Airport.

This access unlocks unlimited snacks and beverages, a selection of newspapers and magazines, plus free Wi-Fi.

Car Rental Discounts

Maybe you travel by car just as much as you travel by plane. If so, you’ll be pleased to know that the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard also offers car rental discounts at Hertz, Thrifty, and Dollar rental car locations.

Internet Access from Anywhere

Let’s face it, it’s nice to be able to stay connected – no matter where we are. To keep you online while abroad, the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard also features access to over 1 million Boingo Wi-Fi hotspots worldwide.

4 Downsides of the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard

Knowing the downsides of a credit card is just as important as familiarizing yourself with its benefits. How else would you make an informed decision on whether or not to apply?

Here are a couple of downsides that come with the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard:

No Welcome Offer

It’s not the worst thing, but considering the fact that many other premium credit cards have a welcome bonus, it’s pretty disappointing that the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard lacks one.

Oftentimes, a sign-up offer is the perfect incentive to get you ready to start spending.

High Income Requirements

Another obstacle that presents itself with the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard is its high annual income requirements.

As of now, applicants are required to have either a personal annual income of $80,000 or a household annual income of $150,000.

Below-Average Reward Rates

Compared to other credit cards that optimize everyday earn categories like groceries, dining, entertainment, and transit, the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard doesn't offer the best reward rates.

Limited Lounge Access

While it's impressive that the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard offers a handful of complimentary access to Desjardins Odyssey lounges, these lounges are only accessible in Montreal.

In other words, this exclusive perk becomes a little too exclusive since you'll only be able to take advantage of it if you're frequently flying out of Montreal.

Comparison to Other Desjardins BONUSDOLLAR Cards Plus Another Cashback Alternative

In the following section, we're going to compare the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard to other Desjardins BONUSDOLLAR contenders with similar categories overall, as well as an alternative cashback card from another issuer with better value.

Here’s a quick look at the comparisons we’ll be making:

Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard vs Desjardins Odyssey Visa Infinite Privilege Card

If you’re an even higher-earner who’s looking for more premium opportunities through their Desjardins BONUSDOLLARS credit card, consider applying for the Desjardins Odyssey Visa Infinite Privilege Card instead.

This card will earn you the same amount of Desjardins BONUSDOLLARS cashback on groceries as the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard, plus a similar additional rate on travel purchases. On top of that, cardholders will receive an even better cashback rate on restaurant, entertainment, and transit purchases, not to mention a slightly higher base rate on all other expenses.

Both cards come with the same insurance categories, but there are a few categories on the Desjardins Odyssey Visa Infinite Privilege Card that come with even higher coverage, specifically categories like trip cancellation insurance, lost or stolen baggage insurance, plus extended warranty and purchase protection insurance.

The two cards also boast some of the same benefits like car rental discounts and access to Boingo Wi-Fi hotspots. When it comes to airport lounge access, the Desjardins Odyssey Visa Infinite Card offers even more complimentary visits to Desjardins Odyssey lounges at the Montréal-Trudeau International Airport. The Desjardins Odyssey Visa Infinite Card also adds more benefits like concierge services, Visa Infinite Exclusive Benefits, and even more complimentary airport lounge entry passes through Priority Pass.

Of course, you’ll want to keep in mind that the Desjardins Odyssey Visa Infinite Privilege Card has higher income requirements and a higher annual fee than the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard, but it also has plenty more perks.

Ultimately, you’d likely opt for the Desjardins Odyssey Visa Infinite Privilege Card over the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard if you meet the card’s high income requirements, if you don’t mind paying a higher annual fee, and you want better travel perks like extra airport lounge complimentary access.

Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard vs Desjardins Odyssey Gold Visa Card

Maybe you’re looking to spend less on your Desjardins BONUSDOLLARS cashback credit card instead of more. In that case, take a look at the Desjardins Odyssey Gold Visa Card.

While this card’s annual fee is lower, its income requirements are the same as the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard.

Considering its lower annual cost, the Desjardins Odyssey Gold Visa Card offers less cashback on restaurant, entertainment, and transit purchases. The card also lacks a grocery category, but adds a specialized earn category for pre-authorized payments. You’ll also notice that the base rate on the Desjardins Odyssey Gold Visa Card is lower than the base rate on the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard.

The coverage on the two cards is almost the same, but the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard has better coverage on mobile device insurance.

As for benefits, the Desjardins Odyssey Gold Visa Card only includes the car rental discounts at Hertz, Thrifty, and Dollar rental locations, whereas the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard goes on to include airport lounge access and access to the Boingo Wi-Fi hotspot.

Overall, the Desjardins Odyssey Gold Visa Card only becomes the better choice over the Desjardins World Elite Mastercard if you want to spend a little less on an annual fee, if you want to optimize pre-authorized payments over groceries, and if you don’t mind a weaker rewards program and benefits list for the lower fee. That said, for the average spender, the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard is better since it provides higher reward rates.

Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard vs Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard

For a slightly lower annual fee, you can switch from the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard to the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard instead.

This card effectively earns cardholders more cashback on groceries, dining, entertainment, and transportation. These earn categories come with annual cashback caps that, once met, turn optimization into a standard cashback base rate (one that's lower than the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard). Since the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard is strictly a cashback card instead of a cashback-rewards hybrid like the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard, it doesn't adhere to a redemption program, meaning you can use your cashback towards anything you'd like instead of set redemption categories.

The insurance on these two cards is pretty much the same, except the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard tends to have better coverage values in certain categories like lost or stolen baggage insurance, baggage delay insurance, mobile device insurance, and, of course, trip interruption insurance.

The benefits lists on both cards are also almost identical, the only difference is that while the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard offers a Dragon Pass membership, the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard provides a Dragon Pass membership and a handful of complementary visits.

Thus, the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard offers a bit more cashback-potential and redemption flexibility than the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard for a lower annual fee. However, the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard provides better coverage and more exclusive perks like complimentary airport lounge access.

Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard vs Neo World Elite Mastercard

In reality, the best cashback credit cards on the Canadian market actually come from other credit card issuers. One of the best candidates is the Neo World Elite Mastercard on account of its unique rewards program.

Initially, the Neo World Elite Mastercard earns cardholders better cashback rates on groceries, it also offers specialized earn categories on recurring purchases and gas. To cover categories like dining and entertainment (the two additional earn categories on the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard), the Neo World Elite Mastercard offers bonus cashback on purchases made at Neo Partners, which includes restaurant partners and subscription partners for digital media entertainment. With these bonus rates, you can surpass the dining optimization of the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard and nearly match the entertainment optimization. As for groceries, recurring payments, and gas, the Neo World Elite Mastercard also provides boosted rates when members keep $5k-$10k in a Neo everyday savings account, adding even more value to its rewards program.

In addition, since the Neo World Elite Mastercard uses a regular cashback program instead of cashback in a specific loyalty currency (like BONUSDOLLARS), it's cashback isn't subject to set redemption categories and can be used towards any purchase you'd like.

When it comes to shared insurance categories, the Neo World Elite Mastercard comes with better coverage on things like trip cancellation insurance, but other categories like trip interruption insurance are pretty unbeatable by the unlimited coverage rate offered by the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard. Overall though, the Neo World Elite Mastercard includes more insurance, including car rental accident insurance, hotel burglary insurance, car rental personal effects insurance, and flight delay insurance.

In terms of benefits, the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard also has the Neo World Elite Mastercard beat. While the Neo World Elite Mastercard offers a Dragon Pass membership, this membership comes with no complimentary visits and the benefits list ends there.

At the end of the day, if you're looking for superior cashback value on a credit card, the Neo World Elite Mastercard – with its boosted rates and partner bonuses – is simply the better option. That said, if you're looking for a decent cashback card with rare coverage inclusions and good benefits, and you want your cashback in the form of BONUSDOLLARS, then the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard could still be the card for you.

Final Verdict

All things considered, the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard is a decent and reasonably-priced Desjardins BONUSDOLLARS-cashback credit card. This card successfully balances a strong everyday-spend reward program with solid insurance coverage and helpful travel benefits.

That said, this card certainly isn't a top-option. If you're in search of a more flexible cashback credit card, like the Neo World Elite Mastercard, there are still plenty of other options to consider with better overall value. Simply click the previous link to see what we mean!