The Three Levels Of Mastercard: Here’s The Difference Between Standard, World And World Elite

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Mastercard is one of the largest payment networks in the world and owning a card with its famous interlocking circles may entitle you to perks and benefits beyond what your issuing bank is offering. These perks can save you hundreds of dollars, making it worth taking a look at how they can help you.

Although the main characteristics of your credit card, like any rewards, APR offers or fees are established by the bank, every Mastercard offers foundational benefits which vary depending on the level.

There are three levels, or tiers, of Mastercard:

  • Standard
  • World
  • World Elite

    • What’s the difference between each of these designations? Each tier offers an increasing number of perks and money-saving extras. Know that the exact benefits on a Mastercard may vary depending on which items the issuing bank chooses to make available on your card. In other words, a card from one bank that calls itself a World Mastercard may have different benefits than a World Mastercard from another bank.

    Additionally, be aware that some issuers may not deem you eligible for the World Elite version of their card and, based on your overall creditworthiness, may issue you the World version instead.

    Standard Mastercard Benefits

    If your card is a standard Mastercard, these are the included benefits:

  • Zero Liability Protection. You’re not responsible for unauthorized charges made on your card.
  • Global Services. Get emergency assistance anytime, anywhere and in any language. This includes reporting a lost or stolen card, obtaining an emergency card replacement or cash advance, finding an ATM and answering questions on your account.
  • ID Theft Protection. You can opt in to this service that monitors your credit file for changes that could indicate fraud, sends you emergency alerts and can assign you a resolution specialist if fraud is detected.
    • World Mastercard Benefits

    World Mastercards come with the benefits mentioned above and typically also include the following:

  • Cell Phone Protection: Pay your monthly bill with your World Mastercard and get up to $1,000 in yearly coverage ($600 max per claim, 2 claims per year) if your phone is stolen or needs eligible repairs.
  • ShopRunner Membership: Get free 2-day shipping and free return shipping at over a hundred online retailers.
  • Onefinestay: Get 10% off luxury rental homes in cities worldwide booked through the service.
  • Priceless Golf: Access to exclusive golf experiences with the PGA Tour.
  • Professional Travel Services: Complimentary travel advisor services.
  • Hotel Stay Guarantee: If your 3-star or higher-rated hotel isn’t working out, Mastercard will assign you a Lifestyle Manager to either resolve your issue directly with the hotel or find you other suitable accommodations.
  • Lowest Hotel Rate Guarantee: If you find the same exact prepaid hotel stay for less, Mastercard will refund you the difference.
  • Mastercard Luxury Hotel and Resorts Portfolio: When available, get a complimentary room upgrades, early check-in and late check-out, daily breakfast for two and preferred amenities at more than 2,000 properties worldwide.
  • Car, Air, Cruise and Vacation Packages: Get discounts and upgrades on car rentals, hotel, flight bookings and more when you book with a Mastercard Travel and Lifestyle Services specialist.
  • Airport Concierge: With this service, you can arrange for an agent to escort you through the airport on departure, arrival or any connecting flights. There are also certain airports where you can be expedited through the security and/or the immigration process.
    • World Elite Mastercard Benefits

    World Elite Mastercard is the highest tier and as such, cards with this designation carry all of the benefits of the Standard and World Mastercards plus are likely to have these additional perks:

  • Lyft Credits: Get a $10 Lyft credit once per month when you take 5 rides in a month with the ridesharing service.
  • Boxed Rewards: Earn 5% back in credit towards future purchases with the bulk grocery delivery service.
  • Fandango Bonus Points: Use your World Elite Mastercard to buy movie tickets through Fandango and get an extra 125 VIP points. Once you hit 500 points, you’ll get a $5 discount code towards your next ticket purchase.
  • World Elite Concierge: Access to a dedicated concierge service that can handle a wide variety of tasks from making reservations to helping you shop.
    • Bottom Line

    When you have a credit card that runs on the Mastercard network, you likely have access to a number of helpful features that can save you money. Review your particular card’s guide to benefits to see what attributes you have so you can take advantage of any perks available.

    If you’re trying to choose a specific card based on the Mastercard benefits, redirect your efforts and choose a credit card based on the overall benefits of the card itself, and not just the ancillary perks offered by Mastercard.


    Bank Of America Allegiant World Mastercard Credit Card 2020 Review

    Bank of America Allegiant World Mastercard® vs. Bank of America Spirit Airlines™ World Mastercard®*

    Spirit Airlines is a low cost carrier often compared to Allegiant. Bank of America also offers a co-branded credit card for Spirit Airlines, the Bank of America Spirit Airlines World Mastercard®. The Spirit Airlines World Mastercard® currently offers a welcome bonus:Earn up to 30,000 bonus miles. 15,000 bonus miles after your first purchase + 15,000 bonus miles after making at least $500 in purchases within 90 days of your account opening . Spirit Airlines redemptions also start as low as 2,500 Free Spirit miles for off-peak awards which can be very valuable for Spirit Airlines consumers.

    The Spirit Airlines World Mastercard® earning structure also differs from the Allegiant World Mastercard®. The Allegiant World Mastercard® earns 3 points per dollar spent on Allegiant purchases, 2 points per dollar spent on dining and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases while the Spirit Airlines World Mastercard® earns a flat 2 Free Spirit miles per dollar spent.

    Both cards carry the same $59 annual fee but the Spirit Airlines World Mastercard® waives the annual fee for the first year.

    The Spirit Airlines World Mastercard® may bring a little more value overall, but ultimately what separates these credit cards has nothing to do with the cards themselves. The Spirit Airlines World Mastercard® is a better option for regular Spirit Airlines flyers and the Allegiant World Mastercard® works best for regular Allegiant flyers. Neither card offers much to casual travelers on these two airlines.

    Bank of America Allegiant World Mastercard® vs. Citi® Double Cash Card

    It’s helpful to compare the Bank of America Allegiant World Mastercard® to cash back rewards cards. Not only does Allegiant Air charge a lot of ancillary fees that travelers pay with cash, the Allegiant card also offers point redemptions of 1 cent per myAllegiant point. Thus, the Allegiant World Mastercard® essentially acts like a 1% cash back card with the big caveat that all points must be used for Allegiant Air purchases.

    With that consideration, the Citi Double Cash credit card will be more valuable to most travelers. In terms of earning power, the Citi Double Cash earns 1% cash back when you pay for purchases and another 1% cash back when you pay off your balance. This makes the Citi Double Cash effectively a 2% cash back card.

    Spending $26,410 on the Citi Double Cash (the same amount of spending used to calculate the Allegiant World Mastercard® rewards potential above) would earn $528.20  in cash back after you pay off your balance. In addition, the cash back you earn from the Citi Double Cash can be used on any airline, unlike the myAllegiant points from the Allegiant World Mastercard® that must be used on Allegiant.

    Furthermore, the Citi Double Cash carries no annual fee while the Allegiant World Mastercard® has an annual fee of $59 per year. While the Citi Double Cash offers no welcome bonus, the rewards potential on the Allegiant Card will drop even further in the second year of card membership while the Citi Double Cash’s earning potential remains constant.

    Bank of America Allegiant World Mastercard® vs. Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card

    If you’re considering the Allegiant World Mastercard® it’s useful to compare to the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus card. The Southwest card currently comes with a welcome bonus:Earn up to 80,000 points. Earn 50,000 points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Earn an additional 30,000 points after you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 9 months.. You earn 2 points per dollar on Southwest purchases and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases for a $69 annual fee.

    If you fly Southwest, you can get a lot more value out of the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus card when you redeem your points for flights. You can regularly get around 1.2 to 1.5 cents per Rapid Rewards point, so the welcome bonus alone makes the card more valuable than the Allegiant World Mastercard®.

    Additionally, on Southwest you get two checked bags for free per person, so you won’t have to worry about this extra fee, unlike Allegiant.

    Southwest’s Rapid Rewards program also allows you to cancel and change flights for free. Southwest’s deserved family friendly reputation, lack of ancillary fees, larger route network and superior frequent flyer program makes the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus card a better option than the Allegiant World Mastercard® for almost everyone with the exception of frequent Allegiant flyers. Then again, it’s not a good option for someone who never flies Southwest.


    Mastercard Raises Dividend By 10% And Launches $6 Billion Share Buyback Program

    The board of directors of Mastercard (NYSE:MA) has declared the company's latest quarterly common stock dividend. The credit card giant also launched a new large-scale stock repurchase program to replace an existing initiative.

    The dividend will be $0.44 per share, a 10% increase over its predecessor. This is to be paid next Feb. 9 to investors of record as of Jan. 8. At the most recent closing share price, this would yield slightly over 0.5%.

    Similar to archrival Visa (NYSE:V), Mastercard's dividend has never been particularly high-yielding. That said, the company has paid one consistently for many years, and habitually raises it once annually around December. Since the beginning of 2015, the payout has risen more or less steadily from $0.16 per share to the current level.

    A stack of credit cards.

    Image source: Getty Images.

    Again like Visa, Mastercard prefers to devote its cash to shareholder buybacks. Its new $6 billion repurchase program is smaller than a preceding initiative in which the company was authorized to buy back up to $8 billion worth of stock. The former will kick in once the latter is completed. Mastercard said that around $3.8 billion in potential buybacks remain in the older one.

    Neither Visa nor Mastercard actually provides credit to holders of their cards. They therefore are not exposed to pandemic-induced massive credit default risks that many in the financial industry fear. Still, both companies have struggled in the withered global economy of late. Mastercard's Q3 featured a 14% drop in revenue and a 27% decline in non-GAAP (adjusted) net profit.

    On Tuesday, Mastercard basically traded sideways, lagging behind the modest gain of the S&P 500 index on the day.