MBNA Rewards is MBNA’s in-house loyalty and rewards program that gives cardholders the opportunity to earn MBNA Rewards points and redeem them for travel and a variety of other options.
MBNA offers two personal credit cards that earn MBNA Rewards points:
| Credit Card | ||
|---|---|---|
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30,000 MBNA Rewards and $125 FlyerFunds Estimated value: $425 |
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10,000 MBNA Rewards and $75 FlyerFunds Estimated value: $175 |
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Let’s take a look at how to best accumulate MBNA Rewards points and explore all the different redemption options available to maximize their value when redeeming MBNA Rewards points towards your next vacation.
Earning MBNA Rewards Points
Earning MBNA Rewards Points via Welcome Bonuses
Like many bank loyalty programs in Canada, the quickest way to earn MBNA Rewards points is through credit card welcome bonuses.
The MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard offers the highest welcome bonus of all credit cards that earn MBNA Rewards oints, with a current welcome bonus of up to 30,000 MBNA Rewards points and an annual fee of $120.
However, it has a higher barrier to entry, as it has a minimum personal income requirement of $80,000 or a minimum household income requirement of $150,000.
The MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard earns 5x MBNA Rewards points on restaurant, grocery, digital media, memberships, and household utility purchases.
Check out our MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard review for more details.
30,000 MBNA Rewards
$2,000
$425+
$120
Yes
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The MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard has a lower welcome bonus of up to 10,000 MBNA Rewards points, but also has no personal or household income requirements in addition to no annual fee, making it a much more accessible card.
The MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard earns 2x MBNA Rewards points on restaurant, grocery, digital media, memberships, and household utility purchases.
In 2025, we awarded this card as the Best Fixed Value Points Credit Card (No Annual Fee).
10,000 MBNA Rewards
$500
$175+
$0
Yes
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Either of these two credit cards presents a great opportunity for starting to build your MBNA Rewards points balance through the large amount of points earned via a welcome bonus.
Earning MBNA Rewards Points via Daily Spending
Both of the MBNA Rewards earning credit cards have excellent spending category multipliers, making it very easy to earn even more MBNA Rewards points on top of the welcome bonus. These multipliers also have a generous total annual spending cap.
We’ve summarized the MBNA Rewards points earning rate for all eligible credit cards below:
- MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard
- Earn 5 MBNA Rewards points for every dollar spent on restaurant, grocery, digital media, memberships, and household utility purchases (up to $50,000 in annual purchases per category)
- Earn 1 MBNA Rewards point for every dollar spent on all other purchases
- MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard
- Earn 2 MBNA Rewards points for every dollar spent on restaurant, grocery, digital media, memberships, and household utility purchases (up to $10,000 in annual purchases per category)
- Earn 1 MBNA Rewards point for every dollar spent on all other purchases
If you are a big spender, the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard is excellent since it separates the $50,000 maximum bonus earning rate per category. This means you could earn a significant amount of MBNA Rewards points per calendar year if you make a large amount of purchases in the bonused categories.
For its earning rates alone, the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard is also one of the best grocery credit cards and one of the best credit cards for restaurants. If you spend a lot in those two categories, this is a card that is worth adding to your wallet.
MBNA Rewards Birthday Bonus
Both MBNA Rewards Mastercards provide a birthday bonus of MBNA Rewards based on how many points were earned in the previous 12 months.
On their birthday, MBNA Rewards World Elite cardholders will receive a bonus of MBNA Rewards points that is equal to 10% of the total number of points earned in the 12 months leading up to the cardholder’s birthday. This bonus has a limit of 15,000 MBNA Rewards points.
Similarly, on their birthday, MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard cardholders will receive a bonus of MBNA Rewards points that is equal to 10% of the total number of points earned in the 12 months leading up to the cardholder’s birthday. This bonus has a limit of 10,000 MBNA Rewards points.
Redeeming MBNA Rewards Points
If you are looking to get the most out of your MBNA Rewards points, we suggest focusing exclusively on using them for travel redemptions. MBNA Rewards points are worth a maximum of 1 cent per point when redeemed for travel, so that value should be your benchmark when making an MBNA Rewards points redemption.
Opting to redeem your MBNA Rewards points for alternatives such as statement credits, merchandise, or gift cards will significantly diminish the value of your points by comparison and, as a result, should be avoided unless you have no interest in travel.
MBNA Rewards Travel Portal Redemption
If you want to get the best value out of your MBNA Rewards points, redeeming for travel purchases is the way to go. For travel, you can redeem at a rate of 100 MBNA Rewards points = $1 CAD. This redemption results in an MBNA Rewards valuation of 1 cent per point.
In order to redeem for a travel purchase, travel bookings must be made through the MBNA Rewards travel portal. MBNA Rewards can be redeemed for flights, hotels, vacation packages, car rentals, and cruises. Cardholders can enter the details of their desired travel booking, select the number of points they are looking to redeem, and click search to be presented with available options.
Cardholders will then go through the booking process and finalize the booking. There is no minimum or maximum number of points per redemption, however, any outstanding balance that points aren’t redeemed for will need to be paid with a credit card at the time of booking.
Statement Credits & Charitable Donations
MBNA Rewards points can be redeemed for a statement credit on your credit card account, a deposit to a chequing or savings account, or a charitable donation.
A minimum of 6,000 MBNA Rewards points worth $50 must be redeemed when cashing out for any of the above options.
This means that cardholders will receive 0.83 cents per point when redeeming this method, which is lower than the previously stated 1 cent per point value that should be aimed for when redeeming MBNA Rewards points. As a result, we would not recommend redeeming your MBNA Rewards points for any of the above cash equivalents.
Gift Cards & Merchandise
As with many bank loyalty programs, you can also redeem MBNA Rewards points for gift cards and merchandise.
MBNA Rewards points can be redeemed at a rate hovering around 0.88-0.89 cents per point when redeeming towards gift cards for your favorite merchants. Points can also be redeemed for various pieces of merchandise at a similar cent per point value.
Similar to the cash equivalent redemptions mentioned above, redeeming for gift cards or merchandise will result in an MBNA Rewards points value below the stated 1 cent per point value that should be aimed for when making a redemption. As a result, we would not recommend redeeming your MBNA Rewards points for any merchandise or gift cards if you want to get the most out of your points.
Frequently Asked Questions
MBNA Rewards points are worth a maximum of 1 cent per point.
Yes, MBNA Rewards points are best when redeemed for travel purchases, as they are worth 1 cent per point.
Cardholders can redeem via the MBNA Rewards Travel Portal for travel purchases including flights, hotels, vacation packages, rental cars, and cruises.
MBNA Rewards points can be redeemed towards travel purchases, for a statement credit, gift cards, or merchandise.
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After the one time transfer of points to Alaska Airlines last year 2024 will be able to do a once a year transfer every year?
Hi Gordana,
Unfortunately, that transfer was a time-limited opportunity. We do not foresee that the ability to move MBNA Rewards points to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan will return, and is definitely not something that can be done annually.
Do you know when the ability to convert MBNA Rewards into Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan will be available?
I don’t know but am hopeful we will have confirmation of the partnership and more details on the effective date, by the end of spring.
Can you update your info on MBNA transferring to Alaska? Do you have any additional info? Their agents seem to know nothing about it and I got the card specifically for this future transfer.
Hi Adam,
Since the transfer is not available yet I am not surprised that the phone reps don’t have any information. We do not have any additional timelines or information at this point in time, just that it is still planned to happen. I’m also a MBNA Rewards World Elite cardholder who is waiting as well.
MBNA customer service says that Rewards Mastercard cardholders will never be able to transfer to Alaska. Only those who were transferred from Alaska cards to the Rewards cards have one year to accumulate and transfer points into their Alaska account. New cardholders do not have this option.
I think they are misinformed. Nobody currently has the ability to transfer and full details of the partnership between MBNA Rewards and Alaska have yet to be released.