How to Earn Up to 100,000 Rewards Points Quickly

You don’t need to be a points expert to see how much value a well-timed credit card promotion can deliver. The National Bank World Elite Mastercard limited-time offer can add up to 100,000 rewards points in your first year—points you can redeem for gift cards, travel, merchandise or investment options in the National Bank online rewards boutique. Note that this promotion was listed as ending June 30, 2023.

This card carries a $150 annual fee and interest rates of 20.99% on purchases and 22.49% for cash advances and balance transfers. To help you evaluate whether the bonus is worth it, this article breaks down how the points can stack up and how they are awarded.

Welcome bonus: 30,000 points

New cardholders receive 30,000 bonus reward points after charging a net purchase amount of $5,000 to the card within the first three months of account opening. “Net purchases” means purchases minus returns and refunds; they do not include the annual fee, interest, balance transfers, cash advances or other account fees.

Spending $5,000 over three months translates to roughly $1,666 in net purchases per month. Once you meet the requirement, the 30,000 welcome points will be credited to your account and should appear on your statement within five months of opening your account.

Credit card payment insurance: 10,000 points

The card offers an optional credit card payment insurance that can cover minimum payments or provide a lump-sum benefit in case of job loss, disability, critical illness or a first cancer diagnosis. Coverage terms and premiums vary according to the options you choose.

If you opt in to the payment protection for at least three months when you open the account, you’ll receive 10,000 bonus reward points. These points are credited no later than five months after account opening. The insurance option is available on the card application form.

First-year anniversary: 30,000 points

A further milestone bonus of 30,000 points is available if you charge a net purchase amount of $12,000 within 12 months of opening the account. These anniversary points will be added by the second statement after your first-year anniversary date.

Reward points: Up to 30,000 points

Everyday spending on the National Bank World Elite Mastercard earns points according to category:

• 5 points per $1 on restaurants and groceries (capped at the first $2,500 in gross monthly purchases charged to the account; after that threshold those purchases earn 2 points per $1)
• 2 points per $1 on gas and electric vehicle (EV) charging, recurring bill payments and National Bank of Canada’s À la carte Travel Agency service (no monthly cap for these categories)
• 1 point per $1 on all other purchases

With these earning rates, reaching 30,000 points from regular spending is achievable in many ways. Generally, you’d want to average roughly 2,500 points per month to reach 30,000 over a year. The examples below illustrate how typical monthly spending patterns can add up.

5x points	2x points	1x points
$400 groceries and restaurant	$200 gas $100 recurring bill payments	$150 other purchases
2,000 points	600 points	150 points
		Total: 2,750 points

In this first example, total monthly spending is under the $2,500 gross cap, so groceries and restaurant purchases earn the full 5x points, producing a total of 2,750 monthly points.

5x points	2x points	1x points
$650 groceries and restaurant	$200 gas $400 recurring bill payments	$2,000 other purchases
1,300 points1	1,200 points	2,000 points
		Total: 4,500 points

¹ Because the monthly gross purchases exceeded $2,500 in this example, the portion of groceries and restaurant spending that fell after that threshold earns 2x instead of 5x points, reflecting how the monthly cap applies.

Grand total: Up to 100,000 points

Combine the welcome bonus (30,000), the optional insurance opt-in (10,000), the milestone first-year anniversary bonus (30,000) and typical ongoing rewards (up to 30,000), and you can reach a total of 100,000 rewards points in your first year under the promotion’s terms.

How much are those points worth? As an example, 7,250 points can be redeemed for a $50 gift card. Merchandise rewards begin at 6,000 points. For travel booked through the À la carte Travel Agency, you can apply points toward savings—for example, $100 off for every 10,000 points redeemed through that service. Redemption options, values and availability can vary in the National Bank rewards boutique.

See the full terms and conditions that apply to this credit card offer for complete details on eligibility, timing and redemption rules.

Additional reading on credit cards

• Best travel credit cards in Canada
• Canada’s best low-interest credit cards
• Applying for a credit card: What you need to know
• How to manage money as a student