Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard Review: Is It Worth It in Canada?

Q: "What does the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard earn?"

"It earns 4% cash back on groceries (first $10,000 a year) and 3% on restaurants (first $6,000 a year), 3% on entertainment, transit and EV charging, 1% on everything else."

Q: "How is Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard cash back paid?"

"Cash back goes to the primary cardholder's credit card account, credited automatically each time $100 has been earned. Within 60 days of a credit, the cardholder can ask to receive it as a cheque instead."

Q: "What is the annual fee for the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard?"

"$100 a year, and $30 for each additional card."

Q: "What income do you need for the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard?"

"$80,000 personal or $150,000 household. Applicants with more than $400,000 in assets under management are also eligible."

What you earn

4%cash back Groceries
3%cash back Dining Entertainment Transit EV charging
1%cash back Everything else

This card's earn rates have limits; see "Good to know" below.

What this card gives back for your spending

For a typical household's card spending ($3,245 a month), this card gives about $637 a year back after fees: $737 cash back, less $100 in fees.

Rewards at this card's earn rates for that spending, minus the annual fee. Insurance, lounge access and welcome offers are not counted in dollars. Spending is Statistics Canada's average household (Survey of Household Spending, 2023), split into card categories by CardNorth.

Enter your own spending, or compare every Desjardins card

Compare it with all 162 cards we've checked, from 24 banks, in the card finder

Fees and interest

Annual fee	$100
Additional card	$30
Purchases	20.9%
Cash advances	21.9%
Balance transfers	21.9%
Foreign transactions	2.5%

Who can apply

Income	$80,000 personal or $150,000 household
Or	assets under management of more than $400,000
Quebec	Offered
Card type	Personal, Mastercard World Elite

Perks and coverage

Travel medical insurance3 days a trip, to age 75, up to $5,000,000
Trip cancellation insuranceup to $500 a person a trip
Trip interruption insuranceup to $1,000 a person a trip
Baggage insurancedelayed and lost baggage, up to $500 a person
Travel accident insuranceup to $10,000
Rental car collision and loss damagerentals up to 48 days, cars worth up to $85,000
Mobile device insuranceup to $1,500, for 2 years
Purchase protection120 days from purchase
Extended warrantyadds 2 years to the warranty
Airport lounge membership
Hertz discount
Hertz five star status
Flexiroam esim

Coverage has conditions and limits. Read Desjardins's certificate of insurance or benefit terms before relying on it.

Good to know

How cash back is paid

Cash back goes to the primary cardholder’s credit card account, and a credit is applied automatically each time $100 has been earned. Within 60 days of an automatic credit, the cardholder can ask to receive it as a cheque instead, unless removing it would put the balance over the credit limit. Cash back can’t be moved to another Desjardins cardholder’s account. After closing the account, the cardholder has 90 days to redeem cash back already earned, by applying for another Desjardins card with a Cash Back program.

What counts in each category

Categories follow the merchant category code that Visa and Mastercard assign, so a purchase at a merchant outside these categories earns the All other purchases rate. Each purchase counts in one category, at the higher rate if more than one applies. Alternative transportation covers commuter transit, taxis, limousines, buses and public charging stations; entertainment covers theatre, concerts, ticket agencies, attractions, movie theatres, amusement parks, zoos and aquariums. Pre-authorized payments to service providers have their own category in the program rules but earn 1%, the same as other purchases.

The $10,000 grocery cap and the $6,000 restaurant cap each count only their own category’s purchases from January 1 to December 31; after a cap, that category earns the Other purchases rate for the rest of the year. Returns, cash advances, fees, foreign currency purchases, electronic funds transfers, money orders and casino purchases don’t earn cash back, and a refund removes the cash back it earned.

The card it replaced

In 2020 Desjardins stopped offering the Cash Back World Mastercard and pointed applicants to this card, which it called new.

Questions

What does the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard earn?

It earns 4% cash back on groceries (first $10,000 a year) and 3% on restaurants (first $6,000 a year), 3% on entertainment, transit and EV charging, 1% on everything else.

How is Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard cash back paid?

Cash back goes to the primary cardholder’s credit card account, credited automatically each time $100 has been earned. Within 60 days of a credit, the cardholder can ask to receive it as a cheque instead.

What is the annual fee for the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard?

$100 a year, and $30 for each additional card.

What income do you need for the Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard?

$80,000 personal or $150,000 household. Applicants with more than $400,000 in assets under management are also eligible.

Sources

The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them on November 12, 2026. About CardNorth.

Desjardins: Cash back world elite mastercard

All Desjardins cards · Compare cards for your spending