The MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard is a no-fee rewards card with flexible points redemption and excellent travel rewards value. Featured on our Best Travel Credit Cards in Canada list as the Best No-Fee Travel Rewards card for 2023, the MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard is a great choice for people looking to earn rewards points without paying an annual fee or worrying about a minimum income requirement.
In our MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard review, we give you all the details on this excellent no-fee rewards card. We look at MBNA’s flexible points redemption options, show you how this free card compares to MBNA’s premium card, and finally, put the MBNA Platinum Plus Rewards Mastercard head to head against BMO’s Air Miles Mastercard.
Pros
Cons
If you’re on the hunt for a new rewards credit card, it pays to pick one that’s recognized as one of the best in Canada. Our MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus review gives you the all-details look at our favourite No-Fee Travel Card from our Best Travel Credit Cards round-up. It also looks at the differences between MBNA’s no-fee option and the $120/year MBNA Rewards World Elite Card so you can have a full picture of MBNA’s reward card offerings. And finally, it sets out to see just how the MBNA Platinum Plus Rewards Mastercard stacks up against a close competitor: the BMO Air Miles Mastercard.
The MBNA Platinum Plus Rewards Card is a flexible rewards card that allows cardholders to choose how they want to redeem their points (travel rewards are popular, as are statement credits). It has a decent earn rate for a no-fee card, with accelerated earning in multiple categories. It also has a generous welcome bonus (never a guarantee for a no-fee card).
MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus doesn’t offer any travel insurance sadly.
One of the best things about MBNA’s rewards points is the flexibility, and it’s won this card a spot on multiple lists of the top no-fee cards in Canada.
You can redeem your MBNA Rewards Points for a wide range of rewards including:
We appreciate a card that lets us choose how to redeem our points and gives us great value when we do it!
MBNA has two tiers of Rewards cards: the no-fee Platinum Plus Mastercard and the World Elite Mastercard, which has an annual fee of $120. To put our MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard review in context, our editorial team looked at the two tiers of cards side by side to see how they compare.
| Card Name: | MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus | MBNA Rewards World Elite |
| Fee | $0 | $120 |
| Interest rate | 19.99%/24.99% | 19.99%/24.99% |
| Minimum Income | None | $80,000 personal/$150,000 household |
| Welcome bonus | Up to 10,000 MBNA Rewards Points4 points per $1 on bonus earning categories for 3 months | Up to 30,000 MBNA Rewards Points |
| Earn rate | 2 points per $1 spent on restaurants, groceries, digital media, membership, and household utilities ($10,000 max annual spend per category)1 point per $1 spent on all other eligible purchases | 5 points per $1 spent on restaurants, groceries, digital media, membership, and household utilities ($50,000 max annual spend per category)1 point per $1 spent on all other eligible purchases |
| Perks | Birthday bonus (10% of earnings to a max of 10,000 points)Avis and Budget Rent A Car discounts1 year extended warranty90 days purchase protection | Birthday bonus (10% of earnings to a max of 15,000 points)Avis and Budget Rent A Car discounts90 days price protection1 year extended warranty90 days purchase protection |
| Insurance | $1000 mobile device insurance | $1000 mobile device insuranceTravel medical insurance (under 65, $2 million for 21 days)Delayed/lost baggage insurance (up to $1,000 per insured person)Flight/trip delay insurance (up to $500 per person)Rental car insurance (21 days)Common carrier accident insurance (up to $1 million)Unexpected return home (up to $2,000 per person, $25,000 per trip) |
As expected, the World Elite Mastercard offers a higher earn rate, a better welcome bonus, and more perks. It also offers comprehensive travel insurance, which is standard with a card at a $120-139 price point.
The Platinum Plus card’s lack of travel insurance isn’t particularly surprising, though—when it comes to no-fee cards, it’s more surprising when they do have travel insurance. For a no-fee rewards card, MBNA’s offering is solid.
Apply For MBNA Rewards Platinum PlusOur editorial team also put MBNA’s no-fee rewards Mastercard up against a close competitor: the BMO Air Miles Mastercard. BMO’s no-fee Air Miles Mastercard is also a no-fee card and it features a points system with flexible redemption: Air Miles can be redeemed for travel, cashback, or merchandise. Here’s what we found:
MBNA Rewards Mastercards Compared
| Card Name: | MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus | BMO Air Miles Mastercard |
| Fee | $0 | $0 |
| Interest rate | 19.99%/24.99% | 19.99%/22.99% |
| Minimum Income | None | $15,000 |
| Welcome bonus | Up to 10,000 MBNA Rewards Points:4 points per $1 on bonus earning categories for 3 months | 800 Air Miles plus an introductory balance transfer rate of 1.99% for 9 months with a 1% balance transfer fee. |
| Earn rate | 2 points per $1 spent on restaurants, groceries, digital media, membership, and household utilities ($10,000 max annual spend per category)1 point per $1 spent on all other eligible purchases | 3 Miles per $25 spent at Air Miles partners1 Mile per $25 spent everywhere elseEarn points twice by showing your Air Miles card at partner locations |
| Perks | Birthday bonus (10% of earnings to a max of 10,000 points)10% off Avis and Budget Rent A Car rentals1 year extended warranty90 days purchase protection | 25% off National Car Rental and Alamo Rent a Car rentals1 year extended warranty90 days purchase protection |
| Insurance | $1000 mobile device insurance | $1000 mobile device insurance |
Both cards feature flexible points redemption and acceptable earn rates. The BMO Air Miles Mastercard offers bonus earnings at Air Miles partners, which can be an advantage if you happen to shop at Air Miles partners frequently.
If you don’t shop at Air Miles partners often, or if you like to shop at a wider variety of stores, you might prefer the MBNA Platinum Plus Mastercard’s category system, which doesn’t limit where you shop, just which general categories earn you more points.
Both cards offer a welcome bonus, although the BMO Air Miles Mastercard has a slightly better value when points are redeemed for travel. They also offer similar perks—the MBNA Platinum Plus Mastercard gives cardholders less of a discount on car rentals, but they do have an annual birthday gift of 10% of that year’s earned points. The winner here will depend entirely on whether you rent cars frequently (or at all).
And finally, as far as insurance goes, neither the MBNA Platinum Plus Rewards Mastercard nor the BMO Air Miles Mastercard offer any travel insurance…but they do both offer $1000 mobile device insurance, which is honestly not bad for a free credit card.
Conclusion: we don’t have a clear winner here. Both cards are good, and it depends both on your shopping habits and on what works best for you perks-wise.
Does the MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard offer insurance?
The MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard does not offer travel insurance, but it does offer mobile device insurance coverage.
What are the MBNA Platinum Plus card’s benefits?
The MBNA Platinum Plus Mastercard’s benefits include:
* Annual birthday bonus to a max of 10,000 points
* Discounts at participating Avis Rent A Car and Budget Rent A Car locations
* 1 year extended warranty
* 90 days purchase protection
* $1000 mobile device insurance
Is the MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard a travel rewards Mastercard?
Because MBNA Rewards Points are flexible, they can be redeemed for travel. The MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard is recognized as one of the best no-fee travel rewards cards.
What can I use my MBNA rewards for?
MBNA Rewards Points can be redeemed for merchandise, gift cards, travel rewards, cash back, or statement credits.
Personal Requirements: You can apply for this card if you are a Canadian resident who has reached the age of majority in your province/territory of residence.
Required Minimum Income: None
Predicted Credit Score Requirement: 725-759 (Good to Very Good)
The MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard is an excellent no-fee rewards card that offers flexible points redemption. It can be a loyalty card, a cash-back card, and a travel card, all under the same umbrella.
While the MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard doesn’t earn points as quickly as a card with an annual fee, it has a generous earn rate and some solid perks as well as a welcome bonus, none of which are guaranteed when it comes to a no-fee card.
The official verdict of our MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard review is that it’s absolutely a card worth considering if you’re looking at no-fee options, particularly a no-fee travel card.