Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard® Review

The Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard is the ticket to an Amazon shopper's paradise, probably because it's the best credit card for those with a Prime membership.

This card allows you to collect cashback on Amazon.ca purchases and a couple of additional expenses, all applicable toward future Amazon.ca purchases.

Even if you’re not an Amazon Prime member, you can still earn decent rates on the same categories.

To learn more about what this online retail contender has to offer, keep reading.

How You Earn Rewards with the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard

Let’s break down exactly how you can collect cashback using the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard.

With this card, cardholders will receive:

• 2.5% cashback on Amazon.ca, Whole Foods, and foreign currency transactions if they’re an Amazon Prime member
• Only 1.5% cashback on Amazon.ca and Whole Foods purchases, plus 1% cashback on foreign currency transactions if they’re not an Amazon Prime member
• 1% cashback on everything else

As you can see then, while it’s completely possible to optimize eligible purchases without being an Amazon Prime member, it truly pays to be a member.

So, if you want to optimize your cart, your groceries, and your payments abroad – consider signing up for a subscription along with your credit card application.

Redeeming your Rewards with the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard

To keep things convenient, once you’ve collected $20 worth of cashback, your earnings are automatically applied to your Amazon account. 

This cashback can then be used exclusively to cover your Amazon cart in part or in full.

4 Benefits of the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard

There are a few benefits to the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard that might make it even more appealing to the right applicant.

Here are the perks you can expect:

No Annual Fee

For starters, the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard comes with no annual fee, making it an affordable and budget-friendly option for frequent Amazon shoppers.

That said, to squeeze the most value out of this card, you’ll want to become an Amazon Prime member, which comes with its own subscription fees.

A Cashback-Boosting Welcome Bonus

Planning on making some big purchases on Amazon in the next 6 months? Or perhaps you’re looking to optimize grocery or restaurant bills? Either way, now is a good time to apply for the Amazon.ca Reward Mastercard.

Why? This card provides an impressive cashback welcome bonus for the first 6 months of membership on Amazon.ca and Whole Foods purchases, plus grocery store and restaurant purchases in Canada.

Prime Cashback Rates

For a no-fee cashback card, the cashback rate cardholders can receive on specialized categories as an Amazon Prime member is definitely notable.

Additionally, if you happen to shop internationally, the cashback rate you receive as a Prime member on all foreign currency transactions also helps to offset foreign transaction fees of 2.5% – which almost kind of qualifies this card as a no-foreign-transaction-fee contender.

Basic Travel Benefits

Sure, the benefits on this card aren’t the best, but for casual travellers, they’re still worth noting.

The Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard comes equipped with car rental discounts at Avis Rent A Car and Budget Rent A Car locations, plus trip and legal assistance.

2 Downsides to the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard

In these reviews, we aim to bring just as much attention to the downsides of a credit card as we do the benefits.

Here are a couple of places where the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard falls short:

Limited Cashback Program

Sure, if you’re a frequent Amazon shopper and an Amazon Prime member, the cashback rates on this card are pretty exciting, but not so much if you aren’t a member.

On top of this, the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard offers very little optimization opportunities for non-specialized categories, especially after the welcome bonus expires.

Similarly, since the cashback you earn can only be redeemed towards future Amazon.ca purchases, the cashback redemption opportunities are also limited.

Overall, there are better, more well-rounded, and more flexible no-fee cashback credit cards on the Canadian market to consider.

Insignificant Insurance

When it comes to insurance coverage, the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard only covers the basics, specifically purchase protection and extended warranty insurance.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with these inclusions, there are simply other no-fee cashback contenders with more extensive coverage.

Comparison to Other No-Fee Cashback Credit Cards

To both highlight the benefits of the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard and to fill in the gaps for the things it lacks, in this section, we’re going to compare this featured card to a couple of other no-fee cashback credit cards on the Canadian market.

Here’s a quick overview of the comparisons we’ll be making:

Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard vs Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard

Also for no annual fee, the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard offers strong cashback rates on specialized categories – specifically for those with a Rogers, Fido or Shaw account.

This card earns you the most cashback on eligible U.S. dollar purchases, a category that’s similar to the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard’s foreign currency optimization category, at least if you intend on keeping your international payments within the U.S. Like the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard and an Amazon Prime membership, having a Rogers, Fido or Shaw account and the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard unlocks higher cashback rates, particularly on eligible non-U.S. dollar purchases. Without a Rogers, Fido or Shaw account, cardholders are subject to a similar earn rate on all eligible non-U.S. dollar purchases as they are on Amazon.ca and Whole Foods purchases without an Amazon Prime membership with the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard.

With the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard, you don’t have to redeem your cashback towards Rogers, Fido or Shaw purchases (as you have to redeem your cashback on Amazon.ca purchases with the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard), but if you do, you can receive even more cashback on this type of redemption alone.

On top of extended warranty and purchase protection insurance, the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard offers extensive travel insurance (unlike the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard). Expect additional inclusions like trip interruption and trip cancellation insurance, car rental damage and theft insurance, and emergency medical coverages.

Technically, the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard offers the same amount of benefits as the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard. However, the benefits on the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard are a bit more exclusive. These benefits include an annual 5-day no-cost roaming perk with an eligible Rogers mobile plan and an airport lounge Dragon Pass membership (excluding complimentary visits).

All things considered, the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard unfortunately comes with high annual income requirements – whereas the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard has no annual income requirements.

Ultimately, if you’re not looking for a cashback program that’s exclusively aligned with Amazon.ca and you want a no-fee cashback card that optimizes U.S. dollar purchases plus non-U.S. dollar purchases at a higher base rate, all in addition to extensive insurance coverage and superior perks, consider the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard instead – especially if you have a Rogers, Fido or Shaw account. Alternatively, if you can’t quite meet the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard’s annual income requirements and you have an Amazon Prime membership (and shopping addiction) rather than a Rogers, Fido or Shaw account, the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard will complement both your Amazon.ca purchases and international expenses (within the U.S. and beyond) even more.

Need more information? Add our Rogers World Elite Mastercard review to your reading list.

Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard vs Neo World Mastercard 

Another no-fee cashback close competitor to the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard is the Neo World Mastercard.

This Mastercard has a unique rewards program that initially optimizes grocery, gas, and recurring purchases at solid rates, it then takes its cashback rewards even further by boosting these rates if you save $5k - $10k in a Neo everyday savings account. 

Prior to these potential boosts, you’ll earn less cashback on groceries than you would on Whole Foods purchases as an Amazon Prime member with an Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard. If you’re not an Amazon Prime member, you’ll earn slightly more on groceries with the Neo World Mastercard than you would at Whole Foods with the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard. After the potential boosts, you’d earn more on groceries than you would on Whole Foods purchases with the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard whether you’re an Amazon Prime member or not. 

Aside from boosts from savings, the Neo World Mastercard also earns cardholders bonus cashback on purchases made at participating Neo Partners. Why is this relevant to a comparison against the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard? Simple. One of the top subscription brands partnered with Neo Financial is Amazon Prime, earning cardholders a bonus of 2% cashback on every $30 spent.

Unfortunately though, the Neo World Mastercard has nothing to offer when it comes to foreign currency purchases.

Still, an important distinction between the two cards is that the Neo World Mastercard’s cashback can be used towards any purchase, whereas the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard’s cashback must be used towards future Amazon.ca purchases.

When it comes to coverage, both cards include the basics: extended warranty insurance and purchase protection insurance.

Unlike the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard, the Neo World Mastercard has no extra benefits.

You’ll also want to note that the Neo World Mastercard comes with annual income requirements, while the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard does not.

Overall, you’d likely choose the Neo World Mastercard over the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard if you want a more valuable and flexible cashback rewards program – especially if you boost your cashback with savings or purchase groceries from Neo partnered grocers or make eligible Amazon Prime purchases (since Amazon Prime is a subscription partner of Neo). Still, if you’re an Amazon Prime member who wants cashback they can use exclusively on future Amazon purchases and a couple of extra benefits (like car rental discounts and trip and legal assistance) then the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard is the better option (it’s also more accessible with no annual income requirements!).

How to apply for the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard

Let’s say you’re still set on applying for the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard.

In that case, follow these steps:

1. Visit the MBNA official website and select “Credit Cards” from the main menu.
2. Under the “Credit Cards” drop-down menu, click “No Annual Fee” to narrow your search.
3. Scroll down until you see the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard and hit “Apply Now.”
4. This button will send you to Amazon.ca where you’ll be prompted to sign-in to sign-up.
5. From here, you’ll be taken through the application process with online prompts that ask for personal and financial information.

To fast track the process, simply tap the “Apply Now” button under the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard banner at the top of this review.

Final Verdict

If you’re a frequent Amazon.ca, Whole Foods, or international shopper that wants to collect cashback to use towards future Amazon.ca purchases, then the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard was literally made for you.

To fully optimize this card’s potential cashback rates, you’ll want to make sure you’re an Amazon Prime member – which comes with its own subscription fees.

If you’re looking for a no-fee cashback card with better insurance, perks, and some impressive U.S. dollar purchase optimization, check out the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard – especially if you have a Rogers, Fido or Shaw account.

If you want better cashback opportunities on groceries and Amazon Prime purchases, you can also check out the unique Neo World Mastercard – as long as you’re not necessarily looking to optimize foreign currency purchases!

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a catch to the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard?

There are a couple of aspects of the Amazon.ca Rewards Mastercard that some might consider as “catches.” 

For one, while the card is technically a no-fee cashback contender, to fully optimize its rewards program, you’ll want to have an Amazon Prime membership – which comes with its own cost.

Secondly, while this card is also considered a cashback card, it’s not a flexible cashback card, meaning that any cashback you collect must be used towards other Amazon.ca purchases.