Which Mastercard is the best?

The World Elite Mastercard offers the best collection of Mastercard benefits. Examples of World Elite Mastercard cards include the Citi Premier card, Freedom Flex card, and Bilt card.

Is it hard to get a Mastercard?

For the best Mastercards, you will need to have good to excellent credit, which means you’ll want to have a score from 670 to 850. You can however qualify for a secured Mastercard or Platinum Mastercard if your credit score is fair (580 to 689).

Does the Citi Premier card have cell phone protection?

No, the Citi Premier card does not come with cell phone protection. The Freedom Flex card and the Bilt card are examples of World Elite Mastercard cards that do offer cell phone protection.

Is the Mastercard Luxury Hotels & Resorts program worth it?

It can be. Benefits include daily breakfast for 2, an upgraded room (when available), early check-in and late checkout (when available), an onsite amenity worth up to $100, and even special discounted offers.

Which is more accepted worldwide, Visa or Mastercard?

You’ll find that both Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted domestically and worldwide.

Top 10 World Elite Mastercard Benefits and Best Cards [2023]

The Mastercard credit card payment processing network is one of the largest and most widely-accepted worldwide. Payment processing networks such as American Express, Visa, and Mastercard are important links that facilitate charges made to merchants with your credit card and then onward through the associated financial institution that issued your card.

While serving as a payment processor is its primary function, Mastercard also provides a long list of valuable benefit options. The bank that issues your credit card can select from the Mastercard benefit menu to decide which benefits it will add to each individual credit card.

In addition to the selected Mastercard benefits, a bank will also add its own benefits to the cards it issues. The result is a card that has a mix of both Mastercard and bank perks that can be unique to each card.

Today, we’re going to take a closer look specifically at the collection of World Elite Mastercard benefits, the highest level of benefits you’ll find on a Mastercard.

Here are some of the top benefits and examples of the best World Elite Mastercard credit cards available.

Table of Contents

Top 10 World Elite Mastercard Benefits
Top World Elite Mastercard Cards — Overview
Mastercard Benefit Levels Overview
The Best World Elite Mastercard Cards
Best Airline and Hotel Program World Elite Mastercard Credit Cards
Final Thoughts

Top 10 World Elite Mastercard Benefits

World Elite Mastercard cardholders can count on access to a long list of benefits and protections that come complimentary with the card. Here are some of the top benefits you may find on a World Elite Mastercard credit card:

Cell phone protection
Car rental insurance
Trip cancellation/trip interruption insurance
Baggage insurance
Purchase protection, price protection, and extended warranty protection
Mastercard Luxury Hotels & Resorts Portfolio benefits
Priceless Experiences
World Elite Concierge
Shopping discounts and services
Car rental program perks

Note that most of these benefits you’ll also find on World Mastercard credit cards and even 1 or 2 on a Platinum Mastercard.

Also, note that any list of “top” benefits is subjective, as the best benefits for you will ultimately be the ones you can actually use.

Now let’s look at a high-level overview of some of the best World Elite Mastercards, then we’ll dig deeper into the details of how Mastercard benefits work.

Bottom Line: The Mastercard network offers a menu of available benefits from which card issuers can select. World Elite Mastercard cards offer the highest level of benefits but you’ll also find Mastercard benefits on World Mastercard cards and Platinum Mastercard cards.

Top World Elite Mastercard Cards — Overview

Before we expand on some of the benefits that come with the top World Elite Mastercard credit cards, let’s look at an overview of cards that have World Elite Mastercard benefits, including their current welcome offers and some of the key World Elite Mastercard benefits you’ll find on each card.

Card	Welcome Offer	Key World Elite Mastercard Benefits
Citi Premier® Card	Earn 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. Plus, for a limited time, earn a total of 10 points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel portal through June 30, 2024.	Purchase protection, extended warranty
Chase Freedom Flex℠	Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months.	Trip cancellation, trip interruption Secondary car rental insurance Cell phone protection Purchase protection, extended warranty
Citi® Double Cash Card	No welcome offer available.	Purchase protection, extended warranty
Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card	Earn $300 after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.	Trip cancellation, trip interruption Secondary car rental insurance Purchase protection, price protection, extended warranty
Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card	No welcome offer available.	Primary car rental insurance Trip cancellation, trip interruption Cell phone protection Purchase protection, extended warranty
CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®	Earn 65,000 miles after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first 4 months	Purchase protection, extended warranty
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®	Earn 50,000 miles after spending $2,500 in purchases within the first 3 months.	Purchase protection, extended warranty
IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card	Earn 140,000 points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months	Trip cancellation, trip interruption Secondary car rental insurance Cell phone protection Purchase protection, extended warranty

Bottom Line: World Elite Mastercard credit cards are issued by several financial institutions including Chase, Citi, Capital One, Bank of America, and more. The card issuer determines the package of benefits for each specific card.

Mastercard Benefit Levels Overview

Mastercard Lifestyle Services — Access a host of travel discounts and benefits via Mastercard Travel & Lifestyle benefits. Image Credit: Mastercard

The Mastercard network offers several levels of card benefits — Standard Mastercard, Platinum Mastercard, World Mastercard, and World Elite Mastercard, with the World Elite Mastercard having the highest level of benefits.

Let’s look at each level and the associated individual services and perks you may expect to receive.

Standard Mastercard Benefits

Each Mastercard comes with basic protections such as theft and liability protection, digital access, and services that can help you get your life back in order when your card is lost:

Mastercard ID Theft Protection — Monitor fraud, receive alerts for suspicious activity, and receive assistance should you experience ID theft.
Mastercard Zero Liability Protection — You are not responsible for unauthorized activity on your card. Terms apply.
Mastercard Global Service — Receive help if you lose your card anywhere in the world. Plus, you can receive an emergency card replacement and emergency cash.
McAfee Free Trial — Receive a free 30-day trial and a discounted 1-year membership for $29.95. The virus protection software can be used with 5 devices.

Example of a Standard Mastercard: BankAmericard® Credit Card

Platinum Mastercard Benefits

On a Platinum Mastercard, you’ll find all the standard benefits mentioned above plus access to the Priceless collection of benefits:

Platinum Mastercard Priceless Rewards and Experiences — Enjoy Priceless Experiences such as a helicopter ride over Paris, dining with a Michelin chef, playing a bucket-list golf course, or booking a photographic excursion in Turkey. These, and more, are all possible with access to Priceless Experiences. Note that you still have to pay for these experiences.

Example of a Platinum Mastercard: Capital One Platinum Credit Card

Bottom Line: A basic Mastercard comes with ID theft protection, zero liability, Mastercard Global Service assistance, and a McAfee virus protection discounted membership. A Platinum Mastercard comes with all of these benefits plus Mastercard Priceless Rewards and Experiences.

World Mastercard Benefits

Mastercard Travel Benefits — World Mastercards can offer valuable travel benefits and shopping discounts. Image Credit: Mastercard

The World Mastercard level is where the majority of lifestyle benefits, travel benefits and protections, and shopping benefits and protections kick in.

In addition to Standard and Platinum benefits, World Mastercard cardholders enjoy a selection of these additional benefits:

Mastercard Hotels & Resorts Collection Benefits — Enjoy onsite benefits including daily breakfast for 2, an onsite amenity worth up to $100, a room upgrade, and early check-in and late checkout, when available.
Mastercard Airport Concierge — Save 15% on airport meet and greet services when using your Mastercard World card.
Mastercard Travel & Lifestyle Services — These services are provided by the travel company Ten Lifestyle Management USA and include booking flights, hotels, rental cars, event tickets, golf experiences, and more. You’ll have access to special hotel offers, car rental upgrades/status, and discounted private jets.
Lowest Hotel Rate Guarantee — If you book your prepaid stay via Mastercard Travel & Lifestyle Services and find the same hotel stay for less, you could receive a refund of the difference in rates.
Mastercard Hotel Stay Guarantee — Book a 3-star or better hotel stay via Mastercard Travel & Lifestyle Services and if you have a problem with your stay, a Lifestyle manager will be assigned to make it right.
Lyft Credits — Use your card just 3 times each month for Lyft rides and receive $5 off your next ride purchase.
DoorDash DashPass Membership — Your Mastercard may come with a 3-month DoorDash DashPass membership that offers free delivery, reduced fees, special offers, and $5 off your first order.
ShopRunner Membership — Enjoy discounts at nearly 100 retailers and free 2-day shipping and returns with the complimentary membership that comes with your World Mastercard.
Car Rental Insurance — Reserve and pay for your entire car rental with your card, decline the rental agency’s CDW/LDW coverage, and receive secondary or primary car rental coverage for damage and theft. Secondary coverage means that you must first file a claim with any other applicable insurance. Primary coverage means that you do not need to do this as card coverage will kick in immediately.
Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption Insurance — Purchase your trip with your card (and/or points accumulated with your card) and if your trip needs to be canceled or is disrupted due to a covered reason, you will receive reimbursement for eligible non-refundable expenses.
Baggage Insurance — Pay for your entire common carrier ticket with your card and if your baggage is lost or stolen, you could receive compensation up to the coverage limit stated in your Guide to Benefits.
Cell Phone Protection — Pay for your monthly bill with your World Elite Mastercard and receive protection for damage and theft, up to $800 per claim, with a limit of $1,000 or 2 claims per year. Coverage limits can vary by card.
Purchase Protection — Purchase an eligible item with your card and receive coverage for damage or theft for up to 90 days from the purchase date.
Extended Warranty — Eligible items will receive double the manufacturer’s warranty, up to a maximum of 24 total months.
Price Protection — While it’s rare to find price protection, the coverage will reimburse you if you find that an eligible item purchased with your card, within 60 days from the purchase date, is advertised as lower in price.

It can be a bit daunting to navigate all the benefits, sub-benefits, and information available with World Mastercard Travel & Lifestyle services, but it can be worth registering your card and exploring the offers available to you.

Note that this is not an all-encompassing list of benefits and descriptions have been abbreviated. The actual terms and conditions and limits on coverages will be listed in each card’s Guide to Benefits.

Examples of World Mastercard Credit Cards: The JetBlue Card and the Amtrak Guest Rewards® Preferred Mastercard® (could be issued as a Platinum or World Mastercard)

World Elite Mastercard Benefits

World Elite Mastercard benefits are in addition to basic Mastercard, Platinum, and World Mastercard benefits.

World Elite Concierge — Receive 24/7 assistance with reserving that special restaurant, finding a gift for a special occasion, securing tickets to a special event, and more, with access to your own concierge.
Car Rental Perks — World Elite Mastercard cardholders receive up to 35% off Avis car rentals, President’s Circle Status and discounts at Hertz, perks and discounts at SIXT, and more.
Fandango Discounts — Each time you spend $20 on movie tickets at Fandango you’ll receive $5 toward a future purchase.

Now that you have an overall idea of some of the benefits you can expect when holding a World Elite Mastercard, let’s look at some of the best cards available.

Bottom Line: The actual collection of benefits on any given Mastercard will depend on which perks the card issuer (i.e. financial institution) has selected to include from the Mastercard menu of benefits. The card issuer will also add its own collection of proprietary benefits to the card, in addition to Mastercard benefits.

The Best World Elite Mastercard Cards

Enjoy onsite amenities and a discounted stay with Mastercard benefits at The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach. Image Credit: The Ritz-Carlton

If you want to take advantage of the highest level of Mastercard benefits, you’ll want to select a World Elite Mastercard.

Here are some of the best World Elite Mastercard credit cards:

Citi Premier® Card

Receive elevated points-earning on everyday purchases and travel plus enjoy flexible redemption options with the Citi Premier card.

Here are just a few reasons the card is a favorite World Elite Mastercard:

Modest annual fee
Elevated points-earnings in everyday purchase categories
Redeem ThankYou Points earned on the card via the Citi Travel With Booking.com portal for 1 cent each in value
Transfer ThankYou Points to Citi’s airline and hotel partners for greater potential value
Receive onsite benefits with Mastercard Luxury Hotels & Resorts
$100 annual hotel credit when booking a prepaid hotel of $500 or more via the Citi Travel With Booking.com portal
Purchase protection and extended warranty
No foreign transaction fees

Hot Tip: Explore transferring Citi ThankYou Points to partners such as Choice Privileges, the rewards loyalty program for Choice Hotels, at the rate of 1:2. Citi also has several airline transfer partners with transfer ratios of 1:1 that can offer you elevated value for your ThankYou Points.

Chase Freedom Flex℠

The no-annual-fee Freedom Flex card is packed with earning potential, flexible redemption options, and travel and shopping benefits and protections you can actually use.

Here are some of the top reasons you’d want to consider the Freedom Flex card:

$0 annual fee
Elevated earnings via the Chase travel portal, drugstores, dining
Quarterly 5% bonus-earning categories, up to $1,500 in purchases each quarter
Redeem points for statement credits or redeem via the Chase travel portal for 1 cent each
Transfer points to premium Chase cards such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® for even greater potential value
Cell phone protection
Purchase protection and extended warranty
0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 19.74% - 28.49%

Citi® Double Cash Card

When simplicity is your priority, the Double Cash card can fit that objective. The card also serves the purpose of making sure every purchase you make earns a solid amount of rewards.

Here’s why consumers who pay off their cards each statement period like this World Elite Mastercard:

$0 annual fee
2% cash-back on all purchases (1% cash-back when you make the purchase, and an additional 1% when you pay your bill)
0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months. After that, the variable APR will be 18.99% - 28.99%
Redeem points for cash-back, travel, shopping, charitable contributions, or select loan payments

Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card

If you’re a foodie, the Capital One Savor card will never leave your wallet. Here are some of the additional reasons foodies will love this World Elite Mastercard:

Elevated cash-back earnings on dining, entertainment, select streaming services, grocery stores, hotels/rental cars via Capital One Travel, Uber/Uber Eats
Redeem rewards for cash, statement credits, gift cards, shop with Amazon, or PayPal

Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card

The Bilt card was introduced especially for renters, but it has so much more to offer than just being able to earn rewards when paying rent.

This World Elite Mastercard has some excellent benefits for cardholders:

Earn up to 50,000 points each calendar year by paying rent with the card
Double points can be earned on Bilt Rent Day for dining, travel, and other purchases made with the Bilt card
Redeem points via the Bilt Rewards Travel portal for 1.25 cents each or transfer to travel partners for even greater potential value
Cell phone protection
Primary car rental insurance
Trip cancellation, trip interruption, and trip delay
Purchase protection
No foreign transaction fees

Best Airline and Hotel Program World Elite Mastercard Credit Cards

Man in Business Class American Airlines — Airline or hotel program branded Mastercards can come with complimentary associated travel benefits. Image Credit: American Airlines

Several airlines and hotel loyalty programs have co-branded World Elite Mastercard credit cards that offer additional benefits specific to that brand.

Here are some of the best airline and hotel programs World Elite Mastercard cards:

CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®

Business owners who fly American Airlines often will benefit significantly from having an AAdvantage-branded credit card.

Here are the top benefits of having the CitiBusiness Platinum Select card for business travelers who frequent American Airlines:

2x miles on American Airlines, cable and satellite providers, gas stations, car rentals, and select telecommunications
Free checked bag on domestic flights for the cardholder and up to 4 traveling companions
Priority boarding on American Airlines
25% statement credit for inflight purchases
Companion certificate for $99 (+taxes/fees) good for domestic travel after spending $30,000 on the card in a card anniversary year

Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ Mastercard®

If American Airlines is your airline of choice, you’ll find plenty of flight benefits just for having the card. Here are some of the top benefits of the card:

2x miles on American Airlines purchases
Free checked bag on domestic flights for the cardholder and up to 4 traveling companions
Preferred boarding on American Airlines
25% statement credit for inflight purchases
$125 flight certificate after spending $20,000 on the card in a card anniversary year

If having complimentary Admirals Club access is important to you and you don’t mind paying a higher annual fee, you’ll want to consider the Citi®/AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®.

To learn more about the best credit cards for American Airlines loyalists, you’ll also want to read about our top picks for cards that deliver the best airline-related benefits, including additional World Elite Mastercard options.

Hot Tip: It’s worth noting that although Citi co-branded AAdvantage credit cards come with American Airlines benefits, many of the top World Elite Mastercard travel protections are not included on the cards.

IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card

If you are a regular guest at IHG Properties, the IHG Premier card is a great card to consider and includes these benefits:

Earn up to 26x points per dollar spent at IHG
5x points per dollar spent on travel, dining, and gas stations
Receive a free reward night certificate, worth up to 40,000 points, each card anniversary year
Receive a 10,000-point bonus after spending $20,000 in a calendar year on the card
Complimentary Platinum Elite status
Spend $40,000 in a calendar year and receive Diamond Elite status
$50 United Travel Bank credit
Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS fee reimbursement
Travel and shopping benefits and protections

Learn more about the best card options for IHG loyalists.

Bottom Line: If you frequently fly a specific airline or stay often at 1 hotel chain, securing that brand’s credit card can deliver benefits that can make your trip more comfortable, provide travel and shopping benefits/protections, and make it easier to earn rewards quickly.

Final Thoughts

It can be confusing as to which benefits come with each Mastercard, but there’s no doubt a World Elite Mastercard has the highest levels of Mastercard benefits.

The bottom line is that you probably wouldn’t select a credit card based solely on a list of ancillary benefits. Elevated earnings on the purchases you make most, flexible redemption options, and an annual fee you’re comfortable paying should likely play a much larger role in your decision.

You can find more information on some of the best overall Mastercard credit cards in our article on the topic.

The information regarding the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Capital One Platinum Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Chase Freedom Flex℠ was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ Mastercard® was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding The JetBlue Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the BankAmericard® Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Amtrak Guest Rewards® Preferred Mastercard® was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

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Top 10 World Elite Mastercard Benefits & Best World Elite Mastercard Cards [2023]

Top 10 World Elite Mastercard Benefits

Top World Elite Mastercard Cards — Overview