MBNA Smart Cash Platinum Plus Mastercard
Annual Fee
$0.00
Interest Rate
19.99%
Balance Transfer
22.99%
Cash Advance
24.99%
Credit Score
Good
Rewards
5.00%*
- Welcome offer: Earn 5% Cash Back on gas and groceries for the first 6 months ($500 monthly spend cap)
- Earn 2% on gas and groceries thereafter ($500 monthly spend cap)
- Earn 0.5% Cash Back on all other eligible purchases.
- Add up to 9 authorized users with no additional annual fee for each added authorized user.
- Price Protection: if you make a qualifying purchase with your card and find the same product advertised in Canada at a lower price within 60 days after purchase, the difference will be refunded, up to $500, subject to a calendar year maximum of $1,000 per account.
- Extended Warranty Benefits: doubles the written warranties for up to one additional year on most new purchases made with your MBNA credit card.
- Purchase Assurance: covers most items purchased with your MBNA credit card for the first 90 days from the date of purchase. Lifetime total accumulative limit of $60,000 per account.
Open to Canadian residents who are of the age of majority in their province/territory of residence.
Summary
The MBNA Smart Cash Platinum Plus Mastercard allows you to earn cash back for no annual fee. You can also add up to 9 authorized users with no additional annual fee for each added authorized user.
Earn 5% Cash Back on eligible gas and groceries purchases for the first 6 months ($500 monthly spend cap), and 2% on gas and groceries thereafter ($500 monthly spend cap).
Our Review
MBNA Smart Cash Platinum Plus Mastercard
The MBNA Smart Cash Platinum Plus Mastercard allows cardholders to earn cash back for no annual fee. A welcome bonus of 5% cash back on gas and groceries for the first 6 months is attractive, but after exceeding the monthly spend cap of $500 the cash back rate goes down to 0.5%. After the first 6 months, the cash back rate of 2% on gas and groceries is also limited to a spend cap of $500, dropping to 0.5% once that limit is exceeded.
Therefore, if the $500 spend cap is exceeded you will earn only 0.5% cash back on all purchases for the remainder of each month, which clearly limits the potential of this card to earn serious cash back. However, you can spend that cash back in any way you like, and along with the price protection, purchase assurance and extended warranty that this card offers, that makes this card a fairly interesting option for no annual fee.
As per our rating system, this card scored 18/25 on rewards, 15/25 on interest rates and balance transfers, 8/25 on perks and insurance, and 25/25 on annual fees. Therefore, the total smart score of this card is 66/100.
Pros
- No annual fee
- Welcome rate of 5% Cash Back on gas and groceries for the first 6 months ($500 monthly spend cap)
- Earn 2% on gas and groceries thereafter ($500 monthly spend cap)
- Earn 0.5% Cash Back on all other eligible purchases.
- Add up to 9 authorized users with no additional annual fee for each added authorized user.
- Price Protection: if you make a qualifying purchase with your card and find the same product advertised in Canada at a lower price within 60 days after purchase, the difference will be refunded, up to $500, subject to a calendar year maximum of $1,000 per account.
- Purchase Assurance and Extended Warranty.
Cons
- Somewhat low rewards potential as the spend cap for the 2% cash back rate is it a low $500 dollars before the rate drops to only 0.5%