Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard
Desjardins' strongest everyday earner: 4% on groceries and 3% on restaurants for $100 a year, paid in cash rather than BONUSDOLLARS. The caps are high enough for most households; the catches are the income bar and travel insurance that stops at 3 days.
- Annual fee
- $100 ($30 per additional card)
- Welcome bonus value (full offer)
- ≈ $0 None: Desjardins publishes no welcome offer on this card
- First-year net value
- ≈ $320
- Interest rates
- 20.9% purchases · 21.9% cash advances
Direct issuer link · details verified Sep 27, 2026
Rewards math assumes you pay your balance in full every month — interest charges quickly exceed any rewards value.
Standard Score breakdown
SituationalSix weighted components, each rated 0–10. “Contributes” is the rating × weight: add all six and you get a raw 6.40/10, published as 6.4/10.
Evidence behind each input
The facts are structured; the rating remains an editorial judgment. Open any component to audit what was considered without mistaking the evidence for an automatic formula.
First-year value5.5/10
The anchor fixes the starting point; the 0.5-point reduction is within the published maximum and makes the reachability judgment visible.
- $320 first-year net value maps to a 6.0/10 baseline.
- Published first-year input: 5.5/10 (-0.5 versus baseline).
- Adjustment context: No welcome offer, and a 2.5% foreign transaction fee
Ongoing value7.0/10
This input judges recurring earn and cash-like credits after the annual fee; the welcome offer and non-cash perks are excluded.
- $100 annual fee.
- Fee condition: $30 per additional card
- Published earn: 4%: Groceries (first $10,000/year); 3%: Restaurants (first $6,000/year); 3%: Entertainment and alternative transportation.
- 2 earn rows carry an explicit spend cap or threshold.
Flexibility7.0/10
This input judges how easily Cash back can become useful value without forcing one narrow redemption path.
- Reward currency: Cash back.
Perk usability6.0/10
This input credits non-cash benefits at realistic use, separate from cash-like credits already counted in ongoing value.
- No airport lounge access.
- 7 published insurance benefits: Travel medical $5M (trips ≤ 3 days); Trip cancellation/interruption; Baggage ($500).
- Other published benefit: Mobile device insurance up to $1,500, rental car collision and loss damage cover, purchase protection (120 days) and extended warranty (up to 2 extra years)
Low friction7.5/10
This input combines network acceptance, caps, conditions, eligibility, and operational effort; a higher rating means less friction.
- Mastercard acceptance; 2.5% foreign-transaction fee.
- Eligibility: $80,000 personal-income minimum; $150,000 household-income alternative.
- Eligibility note: Desjardins also accepts more than $400,000 in assets under management (RRSPs, TFSAs, investments and property other than your home)
- Practical constraint: Needs $80,000 personal or $150,000 household income, or more than $400,000 in assets
Strategic fit6.5/10
This input asks whether the card fills a distinct role in a small wallet rather than duplicating another card; redemption quality is not counted again here.
- Ranking roles: cash-back.
- Fit case: Households with a big grocery bill that clear $80,000 personal or $150,000 household income and want plain cash back.
- Main conflict: You don't clear the income bar, or you take trips longer than 3 days: the Odyssey World Elite includes travel insurance for trips of up to 60 days (depending on your age) and Montréal-Trudeau lounge passes, for $30 more.
See how the Standard Score works or re-weight it to your priorities.
Earn rates
| Category | Rate |
|---|---|
| Groceries (first $10,000/year) | 4% |
| Restaurants (first $6,000/year) | 3% |
| Entertainment and alternative transportation | 3% |
| Everything else | 1% |
Included insurance
Travel medical $5M (trips ≤ 3 days) · Trip cancellation/interruption · Baggage ($500) · Rental car coverage · Mobile device insurance ($1,500) · Purchase protection (120 days) · Extended warranty (up to 2 years)
02 / The case
What it does well, and what it costs you
Both sides of the ledger. A card that suits one wallet can be the wrong call in another, so the drawbacks are named as plainly as the benefits.
Why it earns its score
- 4% cash back on groceries (first $10,000 a year) and 3% on restaurants (first $6,000 a year), entertainment and alternative transportation
- Mobile device insurance up to $1,500, rental car collision and loss damage cover, purchase protection (120 days) and extended warranty (up to 2 extra years)
- Mastercard Travel Pass membership: pay-per-visit entry to 1,300+ airport lounges (US$32 a visit)
Where it loses points
- Travel medical, trip cancellation and baggage cover apply only to trips of up to 3 days; longer trips need a paid extension
- Needs $80,000 personal or $150,000 household income, or more than $400,000 in assets
- Cash back is credited to your account only once you've built up $100
- No welcome offer, and a 2.5% foreign transaction fee
Who it’s for
Households with a big grocery bill that clear $80,000 personal or $150,000 household income and want plain cash back.
Who should skip it
You don't clear the income bar, or you take trips longer than 3 days: the Odyssey World Elite includes travel insurance for trips of up to 60 days (depending on your age) and Montréal-Trudeau lounge passes, for $30 more.
The bottom line
Standard Score 6.4/10 · Situational. We estimate ≈ $320 in first-year net value after the $100 fee.
Direct issuer link · no commission shapes this review
Rewards math assumes you pay your balance in full every month — interest charges quickly exceed any rewards value.
Renewal math
Should you keep this card?
The welcome offer only lands once, so the keep-or-cancel question is whether the $100 fee still pays for itself on earn alone. Enter your monthly spend to see the recurring math.
Count credits, certificates, bags or lounge visits only at what they replaced for you, not brochure value.
~$390/year in rewards at this spend − $100 fee + $0 personally used recurring benefits = $290/year ongoing
Recurring rewards and benefits clear the fee; keeping it is defensibleAt this spending mix, the card breaks even around $350/month on the card after your recurring benefit value. Below that, the fee stops earning its keep.
Estimates price your spend at the card’s published earn rates and our Points Standard Index valuations; structured category caps are applied. Benefits and retention offers enter the math only through your inputs above. Eligibility, downgrade paths, credit-score effects, tax consequences, and benefit-certificate restrictions are not assessed; confirm options with the issuer before changing the account.
Source: issuer card page · Last reviewed Sep 27, 2026. Details change often: confirm current terms with the issuer before applying.
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