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ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard® Review

ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard®

3.0

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19.99% - 19.99% Variable APR

22.99% Balance Transfer Rate

22.99% - 22.99% Cash Advance APR

$0 Annual Fee No annual fee

2.9% Foreign Transaction Fee 2.9%

Good Recommended Credit Score

3.0

ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard®

Quick overview

Quick overview of the ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard®

While some cards go out of their way to bamboozle you with complex offerings and titillating tiering options, the ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard® goes in exactly the opposite direction – it’s a no frills cash back card offering residents of Alberta 1% cash back on all purchases.

For fans of a no annual fee card, I can see the appeal. But it doesn’t exactly get your blood pumping. On top of that, you only receive your cash back rewards once a year in January, as a statement credit. So is the ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard® worth your consideration?

Who's it for?

Who’s the ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard® for?

This card is for someone who is profoundly disinterested in playing the credit card game. Picture this – you’ve got a friend who lives in Alberta who’s afraid of credit cards and the debt risk they pose, so they stick to their debit card, which nets them no rewards. As an act of benevolence, you insist they get a card that at least gives them something. The ATB Gold Cash Rewards card may be the single least intimidating card I can conceive of, and it’s not a bad place to dip your toes in.

Pros and cons

Pros and cons

Pros

Pros

  • No annual fee

  • Unlimited 1% cash back on all purchases

  • Essential insurance protections

Cons

Cons

  • Limited eligibility: only available to Alberta residents

Welcome bonus

ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard® welcome bonus

No welcome bonus here – that would be a frill! And there are no frills to be found on this card.

How to earn cash back

How to earn cash back with the ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard®

Writing about this card is fun, because it’s so easy to describe. There’s no tricks to it – spend however you want, wherever you want and you’ll earn 1% cash back on all purchases. As an added bonus, there’s no limit to the cash back, so feel free to spend with wild abandon (okay, some financial prudence is advisable – it is, after all, only 1% cash back.)

How to redeem

How to redeem cash back

Luckily, there’s nothing you have to do to redeem cash back – it’s automatically applied to your statement every year in January. That’s a bummer if you wanted that cash back sooner (or, as you know, cash) but at least it’s a no-brainer.

Key benefits

ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard® key benefits

  • Straightforward cash back card with 1% cash back on all purchases regardless of category
  • Decent insurance protection for a no-annual-fee card
Insurance

ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard® insurance coverage

Here are the current insurance limits:

Insurance type
Coverage
Purchase protection
90 days
Extended warranty
1 year
Travel accident
$50,000
Rental car
$65,000
Extra benefits

Extra benefits of the ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard®

There’s not much in the way of “extra” to this card, but one additional perk is a 25% discount at participating Avis and Budget car rental locations.

How the ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard® compares

ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard® vs. BMO CashBack® MasterCard®

BMO CashBack® Mastercard®*

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3.4

5% cash back

Welcome offer

Good

Suggested credit score

Get 5% cash back in your first 3 months*

Expires

Nov 30, 2024

Apply now

Pros

  • No Annual Fee: A rare find in Canada for a cash back card

  • A generous 3% cash back on groceries (up to $500 monthly)

  • Easily redeem from $1, set up automatic redemptions, or use as a statement credit

  • Additional perks include discounts on rentals, free supplementary cards and show discounts

Cons

  • Outside of groceries and recurring payments, the standard earn rate drops to 0.5%

  • Monthly caps on top earn rates for groceries and recurring payments

  • A 2% balance transfer fee applies

  • The interest rate on the remaining balance transfer amount increases after the introductory period

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Good

Required Annual Personal Income

$15,000

Pros

  • No Annual Fee: A rare find in Canada for a cash back card

  • A generous 3% cash back on groceries (up to $500 monthly)

  • Easily redeem from $1, set up automatic redemptions, or use as a statement credit

  • Additional perks include discounts on rentals, free supplementary cards and show discounts

Cons

  • Outside of groceries and recurring payments, the standard earn rate drops to 0.5%

  • Monthly caps on top earn rates for groceries and recurring payments

  • A 2% balance transfer fee applies

  • The interest rate on the remaining balance transfer amount increases after the introductory period

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Good

Required Annual Personal Income

$15,000

Cardholders earn 3% (up to a monthly max of $500) cash back on groceries

3%

Cardholders can earn 1% (up to $500 per month) on any recurring bill payments*

1%

Cardholders can earn 0.5% (no monthly max) on all other eligible purchases*

0.5%

Purchase APR

20.99%

Cash Advance APR

22.99%

Annual Fee

$0

This is a great example of how a better card may not be better for everyone. Because the BMO CashBack® Mastercard® is better than the ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard®, in my opinion. With 3% (up to a monthly max of $500) cash back on groceries, 1% cash back on recurring bill payments such as streaming services, subscriptions or monthly utilities and 0.5% on everything else, it means there’s much higher earning potential for the BMO than the ATB card.

That said, maybe you don’t buy groceries (you’d be an oddity for sure, but with the price of produce these days, I can hardly blame you). Maybe you don’t have recurring bills. Maybe 0.5% cash back on all other purchases doesn’t inspire you. More than likely though, you’re just someone who doesn’t want to minimize-maximize their spending habits, and in that case the ATB Gold may appeal more than the BMO CashBack.

Disclosures:

  • *Terms and conditions apply.
  • BMO is not responsible for maintaining the content on this site. Please click on the Apply now link for the most up to date information.

ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard® vs.Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card

Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card

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4.0

Good

Suggested credit score

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Pros

  • No annual fee

  • Choose the spending categories where you want to earn the most cash back

  • Unlimited cash back—no maximum spending limit for any purchase category

  • Cash back is paid out monthly rather than annually

  • Periodically includes a special welcome offer where you can get extra cash back

  • 1.95% interest on balance transfers for the first 6 months (1% transfer fee applies)*

Cons

  • Regular cash back rates are still lower than what you can get from a card with an annual fee

  • Limited extra perks or benefits beyond the cash back and balance transfer promotion

  • Generally not a good fit for shopping at warehouse clubs or wholesale grocers like Costco or Walmart

  • Tangerine does not have any physical bank branches

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Good

Required Annual Personal Income

$12,000

Pros

  • No annual fee

  • Choose the spending categories where you want to earn the most cash back

  • Unlimited cash back—no maximum spending limit for any purchase category

  • Cash back is paid out monthly rather than annually

  • Periodically includes a special welcome offer where you can get extra cash back

  • 1.95% interest on balance transfers for the first 6 months (1% transfer fee applies)*

Cons

  • Regular cash back rates are still lower than what you can get from a card with an annual fee

  • Limited extra perks or benefits beyond the cash back and balance transfer promotion

  • Generally not a good fit for shopping at warehouse clubs or wholesale grocers like Costco or Walmart

  • Tangerine does not have any physical bank branches

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Good

Required Annual Personal Income

$12,000

Earn 2% cash back on 2 categories of your choice (e.g. groceries, recurring bills, gas, drug stores, etc.)

2%

Get a Tangerine Savings account and add a 3rd 2% cash back category.

3

Earn 0.50% on all your other everyday purchases.

0.5%

Variable APR

19.95% - 24.95%

Balance Transfer Rate

1.95%

Cash Advance APR

19.95%

Annual Fee

$0

Foreign Transaction Fee

2.5%

The Tangerine Money-Back card is not only one of my conceptually favourite cash back cards, it’s also my daily spender. The flexible categories means you can choose what nets you 2% cash back, and you can have three of them if your cash back gets deposited monthly into a (free) Tangerine savings account – another bonus in my opinion.

This is clearly superior to the ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard®. But again, if you don’t want to think about categories, the ATB card takes all the guesswork out of the equation.

Is it worth it?

Is the ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard® worth it?

This card isn’t for me. Literally – as a credit card reviewer, I’m into the nitty gritty, and always looking for new ways to maximize my rewards. A straightforward, no-thinking-required 1% cash back card just doesn’t hold much appeal.

But if you’re looking for a card that you can keep as a free back up, or a daily driver you don’t want to consider at all (and you live in Alberta), I can see why you’d give the ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard® your consideration.

Eligibility

ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard® eligibility criteria

So long as you’re a resident of Alberta, the eligibility requirements of the ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard® are straightforward. You must be 18 years old, use the card only for personal use and not have declared bankruptcy in the last five year

Disclosures:

  • Terms and Conditions Apply

FAQs

FAQs

  • Who is eligible for an ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard®?

    +

    You must be a resident of Alberta, 18 years old, have not declared bankruptcy in the last five years and use this card for personal use only to be eligible for the ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard®.

  • Can I apply for the ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard® with another person?

    +

    Yes, a co-applicant is allowed to apply for this card with you and use it as well. Both people who apply for this card will need to meet the eligibility requirements.

  • What is the limit on the ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard®?

    +

    Cash back from this card is unlimited. There is a cash advance limit of $1,000 and a variable credit limit with a ceiling as high as $50,000.

Cameron Smonk Freelance Writer

Cam is a content marketer with a passion for saving, financial independence, and pulling off elaborate credit card point schemes. He has worked in Fintech and Finserve (specifically Group Retirement) and loves researching and writing about finance.

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