The Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard offers up to 3% cash back and ranks as one of the best cash back credit cards in Canada.
Competitive cash back rates on all purchases, zero-foreign transaction fees on US dollar purchases, and travel insurance are some benefits offered by this card.
This Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard review covers all you need to know if you consider adding it to your wallet.
Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard Summary
Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard
Best credit card for USD cash back
Annual fee: $0
Rewards: 3% unlimited cash back in U.S. dollars, 1.5% unlimited cashback on other eligible purchases (2% if you have 1 qualifying service with Rogers, Fido or Shaw).
Standard interest rates: Standard rate on Purchases and Fees: 20.99%; Standard rate on Cash Advances, Cash-like Transactions and Balance Transfers: 22.99%.
If you are not approved for an Account at the above rates and you reside outside Quebec, we may still issue you an Account at our alternate interest rates, as follows: Rate for Purchases and Fees: 25.99% Rate for Cash Advances, Cash like Transactions and Balance Transfers: 27.99%
Minimum income requirement: $80,000 minimum income or $150,000 household income.
Recommended credit score:
Very Good
On Rogers’s website
Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard Benefits
1. No annual fee: For a card that offers up to 3% unlimited cash back and premium travel perks, it is remarkable that no annual fees apply.
2. Generous cash back Rewards: The cash back rewards for cardholders are:
- 3% unlimited cash back on eligible purchases in US dollars
- 1.50% unlimited cash back on all other eligible non-US dollar purchases (2% if you have one qualifying service with Rogers, Fido or Shaw)
3. Travel insurance benefits including:
- Out-of-Province/Out-of-Country emergency medical coverage
- Trip cancellation
- Trip interruption and trip delay
- Rental car collision/damage insurance
4. Purchase protection and extended warranty.
5. Access to Mastercard Airport Experiences through Lounge key.
The cashback rate of 1.50% offered by the Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard on all general eligible purchases is much better than the 0.5% to 1% available on most no-fee cards. An alternative card is the Neo Mastercard, which offers up to 5% cash back on purchases.
The Tangerine World Mastercard is another excellent alternative. It offers a 2% regular cash back on up to 3 categories of spending, plus mobile device insurance, Mastercard Airport Experiences provided by Loungekey, rental car collision insurance, global Wi-Fi, and more. It also has no annual fees.
No fee, no foreign transaction fee cards like the Home Trust Preferred Visa are scarce in Canada.
While the Rogers World Elite Mastercard charges the general 2.5% foreign transaction fee, you get 3% in cash back on all your eligible spending in the U.S. This leaves you with 0.5% cash back in gains when you spend US dollars.
However, for other foreign currencies, many of the cards on our no-foreign currency transaction fee credit card list are way better.
How To Redeem Your Rewards
There are many options to redeem cash back earned with this card.
1. Redeem cash back using the Rogers Bank mobile app (or online).
You can automatically (or manually) apply your cash back rewards toward any eligible purchases you have made using your cards. The minimum redemption amount is $10.
The Rogers Bank mobile app is available on the App Store and Google Play.
2. You can choose to wait till the end of the year and request that an annual statement credit be applied to your card balance. Give them a call to set this up at 1-855-775-2265. You can also use the online customer support service.
Downsides of the Rogers World Elite MasterCard
The main downside of the Rogers World Elite Mastercard is that it has a high income requirement.
To apply for this card, you must have a personal income of $80,000 per year or $150,000 for household income. This income requirement puts the card outside the reach of many Canadians.
No-fee cash back cards with a less stringent income requirement include the Tangerine Credit Card and SimplyCash Card from American Express.
Is The Rogers World Elite Mastercard For You?
If you travel a lot to the U.S., the Rogers World Elite Mastercard can save you some money. While it charges the standard 2.5% foreign transaction fee, you get 3% cash back on eligible US dollar purchases that pay the FX fees plus a gain of 0.5% in rewards.
After downgrading the card to offer cashback on only US dollar purchases, frequent travellers who need a no-FX credit card will have to look elsewhere.
The 1.50% cash back rewards on all other eligible purchases remain competitive for a no-fee card (increases to 2% if you have a qualifying service with Rogers, Fido or Shaw).
Other cash back card options include the EQ Bank Mastercard and Neo Mastercard.
EQ Bank Card
Rewards: Earn 0.50% cash back on all purchases and up to 3.50% savings interest on your entire balance.
Perks: Free ATM transactions in Canada, no foreign currency transaction fees abroad, and unlimited transactions.
Interest rate fee: 0%
Annual fee: $0
KOHO Prepaid Mastercard
$40 welcome bonus after first purchase (use GETCASH promo code during sign-up)
$0 monthly fee*
Earn up to 5% unlimited cash back
Get up to 4% savings interest on your balance
Unlimited Interac e-Transfers and debit transactions
Low cost international money transfers
Free budgeting app and access to credit building
Related:
I do my M/C review and payment online. I have been a customer since 2016 but haven’t been able to get on to the website for a month. This is the third such incident in 18 months. There system wont send MFA to either of my emails and they dont have an SMS text option. No success with Help desk. Can’t collect cashback rewards. Can’t see my bills unless I revert to paper? Not cool.
My CURRENT (May 1, 2020) actual cash back rewards are:
USD transactions – .5% (3% minus 2.5% foreign currency fee!)
CAD transaction – 1.25 %
The 4% and 1.75% is OLD news!
@Barry: That is quite interesting given that their website still carries the 4% and 1.75% rates?
Rogers still advertises its rebates as 4% on all foreign purchases and 2% for Rogers products and 1.75% for all else. In fact as soon as I signed up, I received notice that the rebates are dropping to 3% for U.S. only – no other foreign purchases qualify. The other two rebates are reduced to 1.5%. Very misleading even as of today Mar 30 2020.
Redemption of cash back as a credit to the account can only be by calling into them, which is not convenient. they want you to download an app and then apply your rebate towards a purchase from the past 90 days. Not convenient.