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Brim World Elite Mastercard review

Brim World Elite Mastercard review

3.0

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1 Brim point for every $1 spent

19.99% - 24.99% Variable APR

21.5% - 24.99% Cash Advance APR

$89 Annual Fee Additional card fee $50

1.5% Foreign Transaction Fee

Good Recommended Credit Score

$80,000 Required Annual Personal Income

$150,000 Required Annual Household Income

3.0

Brim World Elite Mastercard review

Quick overview

Quick overview of Brim Financial World Elite Mastercard

The Brim World Elite Mastercard is the classic story of the travel credit card that flew too close to the sun. When it first launched, it offered a competitive set of features for travellers — no fx fees, comprehensive insurance and decent cash back rewards. But its recent devaluation has melted its wings, sending it hurling down into the “meh” category of credit cards.

Post-descent, the Brim World Elite Mastercard offers a discounted 1.5% foreign transaction (FX) fee. Its annual fee is a reasonable $89 and you get 1 point for every $1 spent on purchases.

The card’s biggest remaining draw is its insurance offering. It offers excellent travel insurance for its price point. Plus, it has some other insurance perks like mobile device protection and event ticket protector insurance.

Who's it for?

Who’s the Brim World Elite Mastercard for?

This card is for the person who wants a comprehensive insurance package without spending more than $100 on an annual fee. Whether you’re booking your annual escape the Canadian winter vacation or buying the latest Pixel phone, the Brim World Elite Mastercard has you covered. 

The 1.5% foreign transaction fee could also be appealing to travellers or online shoppers. However, most people would probably be better off either getting this feature with the Brim Mastercard (the free counterpart of the World Elite) or opting for the no-FX fees Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite. 

Pros and cons

Pros and cons

Pros

Pros

  • Comprehensive travel and purchase insurance

  • Low 1.5% foreign transaction fee

Cons

Cons

  • Low cash back rate considering $89 annual fee

  • High income requirement

Welcome bonus

Brim World Elite Mastercard welcome bonus

The Brim Financial World Elite Mastercard comes with a straightforward welcome bonus for new applicants:

  • Earn up to $500 in Brim points after your first purchases with participating merchants
How to earn points

How to earn points with the Brim Financial World Elite Mastercard

One benefit of this card is that earning points is straightforward — no math skills required. It's simply 1 point for every $1 spent. In some ways, it’s refreshing to see a card that doesn’t force us to get out a calculator every single time we try to calculate the points redemption.

The Brim World Elite Mastercard also offers ways to earn bonus points with their partner merchants. These elevated rates vary per merchant and change over time. However, notable partners include Indigo, Lululemon and Nike — so if you’re a fan of one of these brands, you have an additional reason to go for this card. 

How to redeem points

How to redeem points on the Brim World Elite Mastercard

Your Brim points can be redeemed for cash, either applied to a transaction or your credit card balance. Simply use the Brim mobile app or the online site to redeem your accumulated points. You will need at least 100 points (equal to one dollar) to claim your points — not bad, considering that some competitor cards require a minimum of $25 to redeem the value.

Key benefits

Brim World Elite Mastercard key benefits

The Brim Financial World Elite Mastercard offers a few key benefits that make it an attractive offer to consider:

  • Reduced foreign transaction fee: The card provides a reduced foreign transaction fee of 1.5% of the transaction in Canadian dollars. Most other credit cards charge a foreign transaction fee of around 3%, making the Brim Card an attractive option for the occasional traveller who wants unlimited cash back. 
  • Good insurance coverage for annual fee: The card offers a nice mixture of insurance benefits, including some lesser-known protections like $1,000 worth of coverage of event ticket insurance. 
Insurance coverage

Brim World Elite Mastercard insurance coverage

  • Event ticket protector insurance: Reimbursement up to $1,000 for expense of ticket charged to card, if you cannot attend for one of the covered reasons (e.g. medical emergency, common carrier delay)
  • Purchase security insurance: Provides coverages for items bought with the card, if they are lost, stolen or damaged for up to 90 days from date of purchase 
  • Mobile device insurance: Provides coverage for mobile devices that are lost, stolen or accidentally damaged up to $1,500, if the device was charged to this card
  • Out-of-province emergency travel medical insurance: Up to $5 million of coverage for emergency medical expenses for 15 consecutive days, for cardholders under 65 
  • Flight delay insurance: Provides coverage for reasonable living expenses, if the full passenger fare was charged to the card. Expenses are covered $500 
  • Baggage delay insurance: Provides coverage for necessary clothing and toiletries when baggage is delayed during a flight, if the full passenger fare was charged to the card. Expenses are covered up to $1,000 for all insured 
  • Lost or stolen baggage insurance: Provides coverage for loss or damage to baggage while in custody of an airline, when full passenger fare is charged to the card. Expenses are covered up to $2,000 total for all insured 
  • Hotel burglary insurance: Provides coverage for loss or damage if accommodation is burglarized while registered as a guest up to $2,500 per occurrence
  • Car rental collision/Loss damage insurance: Rental cars charged to this card will be covered for a rental period of 48 days (for rental cars up to $85,000 in value) 
  • Trip interruption insurance: Provides reimbursement of the non-refundable and non-transferable unused portion of prepaid travel arrangements, up to $1,000
  • Common carrier accident insurance: Coverage for accidental death or dismemberment, resulting from riding as a passenger on a common carrier are covered up to $500,000 per accident
Other benefits

Extra benefits of the Brim World Elite Mastercard

Other features of the Brim Financial World Elite Mastercard include:

  • Instalment plans for purchases
  • Access to over one million Boingo Wi-Fi hotspots on planes, airports, hotels and more
  • Budgeting tools and spending monitoring
  • Contactless payment through Fitbit Pay, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and more
What users have to say

What do people have to say about the Brim World Elite Mastercard?

Here's what real cardholders have to say about the Brim World Elite Mastercard:

First they removed the 2x pts multiplier for Amazon, now this. Was a good year of returns, but for my needs, I'll just go back to a $0 fee cash back card.

u/Exallium

Similar opinions echo across the internet following the Brim World Elite Mastercard’s 2024 devaluation. The no foreign transaction fees feature was the top reason many people had this card in the first place. With it gone, most people are looking for a new go-to travel card. 

It's also easy to find complaints online about Brim’s customer service. As a smaller company, they do not have the resources of a bank — thus problem resolution can be an issue. In this thread, for example, there are even complaints of users having trouble reversing fraudulent transactions. 

How it compares

How Brim World Elite Mastercard compares

Brim World Elite Mastercard vs. Red World Elite Mastercard

Rogers Red World Elite® Mastercard®

Apply now

4.2

Excellent

Suggested credit score

to receive the latest news, tips and offers by email

Apply now

Pros

  • Lucrative cash back rates on USD and CAD purchases, especially for Rogers, Fido or Shaw customers

  • No annual fee with valuable insurance benefits

  • Competitive against foreign transaction fee cards

  • Convenient cash back redemption options

  • Redemption bonus of 1.5x more cash back every time you redeem for Rogers, Fido or Shaw purchases

  • Travel insurance perks and airport lounge access

Cons

  • High income requirement: $80,000 personal or $150,000 household

  • Foreign transaction fee applies

  • Limited redemption options for statement credits

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Excellent

Required Annual Personal Income

$80,000

Required Annual Household Income

$150,000

Pros

  • Lucrative cash back rates on USD and CAD purchases, especially for Rogers, Fido or Shaw customers

  • No annual fee with valuable insurance benefits

  • Competitive against foreign transaction fee cards

  • Convenient cash back redemption options

  • Redemption bonus of 1.5x more cash back every time you redeem for Rogers, Fido or Shaw purchases

  • Travel insurance perks and airport lounge access

Cons

  • High income requirement: $80,000 personal or $150,000 household

  • Foreign transaction fee applies

  • Limited redemption options for statement credits

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Excellent

Required Annual Personal Income

$80,000

Required Annual Household Income

$150,000

Earn 3% unlimited cash back on purchases made in US dollars

3%

Earn 2% unlimited cash back on all eligible non-US dollar purchases if you have 1 qualifying service with Rogers, Fido or Shaw

2%

Earn 1.5% unlimited cash back on everything else

1.5%

Get 1.5x more cash back every time you redeem for Rogers, Fido or Shaw purchases

1.5x Cash Back

Purchase APR

20.99%

Balance Transfer Rate

22.99%

Cash Advance APR

22.99%

Annual Fee

$0

Foreign Transaction Fee

2.5%

The Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard is hands down the superior card when put up against the Brim World Elite Mastercard. It has $0 annual fee and 1.5% cash back rewards on most purchases (more if you have any Rogers services). 

While there’s no foreign transaction fee discount, with the Rogers card you get 3% back on all eligible purchases made in U.S. dollars. — making it a great travel companion for US trips. 

The insurance on the Rogers card is pretty great too, especially for a no-fee card. It comes with have emergency medical insurance, plus trip cancellation and interruption insurance. You're missing the mobile device and event ticket protection — so if these are features you really care about, then go with the Brim World Elite.

Brim World Elite Mastercard vs. BMO Cash Back World Elite Mastercard

BMO CashBack® World Elite®* Mastercard®*

Apply now

4.9

up to 10%

Welcome offer

Excellent

Suggested credit score

Get up to 10% cash back in your first 3 months and the $120 annual fee waived in the first anniversary*.

Expires

Nov 30, 2024

Apply now

Pros

  • Valuable sign-up bonus

  • High 5% cash back rate on groceries

  • Free roadside assistance

  • Excellent extended warranty and purchase protection terms

Cons

  • Restrictive spending limits for most cash back categories

  • Sign-up bonus structure is head-scratchingly complicated

  • High minimum income requirements

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Excellent

Required Annual Personal Income

$80,000

Required Annual Household Income

$150,000

Pros

  • Valuable sign-up bonus

  • High 5% cash back rate on groceries

  • Free roadside assistance

  • Excellent extended warranty and purchase protection terms

Cons

  • Restrictive spending limits for most cash back categories

  • Sign-up bonus structure is head-scratchingly complicated

  • High minimum income requirements

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Excellent

Required Annual Personal Income

$80,000

Required Annual Household Income

$150,000

Groceries: 5% cash back up to $500 spent per month ($25 in cash back)*

5%

Transit: 4% cash back up to $300 spent per month ($12 in cash back)*

4%

Gas: 3% cash back up to $300 spent per month ($9 in cash back)*

3%

Recurring Bills: 2% cash back up to $500 spent per month ($10 in cash back)*

2%

Everything Else: 1% cash back, unlimited*

1%

Purchase APR

20.99%

Balance Transfer Rate

23.99%

Cash Advance APR

23.99%

Annual Fee

$120

Foreign Transaction Fee

2.5%

The BMO Cash Back World Elite comes with a higher price tag ($120 annual fee) and higher cash back incentives to justify the cost. Like most cash back cards from a Big 6 bank, it offers its elevated earn rates based on spending categories (like groceries and gas), as opposed to partnerships with specific merchants.

If you’re looking for a daily driver card, the BMO Cash Back World Elite is the winner. But, I wouldn’t recommend it for a travel card. You’re only getting limited emergency travel medical benefits and you receive no trip cancellation insurance. Plus, you’ll be paying foreign transaction fees if you travel abroad. 

Therefore, the Brim World Elite Mastercard wins as the best travel card between the two.

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.

Brim World Elite Mastercard vs. Brim Mastercard

Brim Financial Mastercard®

3.0

Good

Suggested credit score

to receive the latest news, tips and offers by email

Pros

  • No annual fee

  • Access Boingo wifi for free and stay always connected

  • Enjoy basic insurance coverage

  • Take advantage of flexible payment plans

  • Lower foreign exchange fee of only 1.5%

Cons

  • Low earn rates when compared to other no-fee cards

  • Poor customer service for card holders

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Good

Pros

  • No annual fee

  • Access Boingo wifi for free and stay always connected

  • Enjoy basic insurance coverage

  • Take advantage of flexible payment plans

  • Lower foreign exchange fee of only 1.5%

Cons

  • Low earn rates when compared to other no-fee cards

  • Poor customer service for card holders

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Good

per $2 spent

1 point

Variable APR

19.99% - 24.99%

Balance Transfer Rate

19.99%

Cash Advance APR

21.5% - 24.99%

Annual Fee

$0

Foreign Transaction Fee

1.5%

The Brim Mastercard is the no-fee counterpart of the Brim World Elite Mastercard. I would recommend this card if you’re looking to get the 1.5% foreign transaction fee, without having to pay an annual fee.

However, nearly every other feature on the base Brim is inferior. You don’t get any travel insurance and the cash back rate is even lower than the World Elite. So if you’re looking for a card with comprehensive insurance, stick with the Brim World Elite Mastercard. 

Brim World Elite Mastercard
Brim Mastercard
Annual fee
$89 (Additional card fee $50)
$0
Welcome bonus
Earn up to $500 in Brim points after your first purchases with participating merchants
N/A
Insurance
Common carrier accident insurance, mobile device insurance, event ticket protector insurance, purchase security insurance, emergency travel medical insurance, trip cancellation and interruption insurance
Common carrier accident insurance, mobile device insurance, event ticket protector insurance and purchase security insurance
Rewards
Earn 1 point for every $1 spent
Earn 1 point for every $2 spent
Is it worth it?

Is the Brim World Elite Mastercard worth it?

After its recent devaluation, I struggle to think of the person who would get value out of this card. There are better cards with higher cash back rates and no annual fee, such as Simplii Financial Cash Back Visa. And there are cards with excellent insurance no foreign transaction fees, such as the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite.

But while it's not for me, if you’re looking for comprehensive insurance at a reasonable annual fee, the Brim World Elite Mastercard may be the right choice for you.

Eligibility

Brim World Elite Mastercard eligibility criteria

  • $80,000 personal or $150,000 household income
  • Good (760+) credit score
FAQs

FAQs

  • Does Brim World Elite Mastercard charge no foreign transaction fees?

    +

    No, the Brim World Elite credit card has removed its no foreign transaction fees feature. They now charge a reduced 1.5% foreign transaction fee, whereas most credit cards charge 2.5%.

  • How do I redeem points on the Brim World Elite Mastercard?

    +

    You can redeem points either through Brim online banking or Brim mobile app. Simply log into your account to redeem your points, either applied to a transaction or your credit card balance.

  • What credit score do I need for the Brim World Elite Mastercard?

    +

    We recommend you have a credit score of over 760 points for the Brim World Elite Mastercard.

  • Is Brim World Elite Mastercard a good travel card?

    +

    The Brim World Elite Mastercard is a decent credit card due to its low foreign transaction fee and extensive travel insurance. It offers emergency medical travel insurance, and trip interruption and cancellation insurance.

Christine Smonk Freelance writer

After years as a product manager at TD Bank and Ratehub.ca, Christine now expresses herself with words, especially in credit cards and personal finance.

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