As first noted on RFD back in February there are some changes coming to several ATB (Alberta Treasury Branch) Mastercards and the accompanying ATB My Rewards program. The changes will take place on June 4, 2024 and affect the ATB World Elite Mastercard as well as the ATB Gold My Rewards Travel Mastercard.
At first there was a lot of excitement on the RFD thread about these changes to the World Elite Card as the announcement only mentions you’ll earn more rewards and discusses changes to the earn rates plus additional benefits added to the cards. There is no mention of redemption rates however.
With a quick first glance the World Elite’s new earn rates of 2, 6 and 8 points per dollar looked pretty amazing knowing the current ATB My Rewards program is a 100 points to $1 program which would make those earn rates provide 2%, 6% and 8% returns on spending. But….
I was also excited at first but quickly came back down to ground level as I thought there’s no way they’d offer a card with a 2% base earn rate and up to 8% on accelerated earn rates and realized ATB were most likely changing the redemption rate as well. Part of the reason why was the specific wording from ATB to one of the RFD members:
While the actual number of points earned by existing cardholders may change to align with the new rewards program, the redemption value of their points will be maintained after June 4
Key phrase being “may change to align with the new rewards program” which is code for we are increasing the earn rates on the credit cards to match the (yet to be disclosed) redemption rates in the new program. And then add in the fact they need to shut down redemption options for a couple of days as they transition to a new program and everything pointed towards changes in the redemption rates.
In order to allow us to smoothly transition to the new rewards program, you will be unable to redeem points from
June 02 – 04, 2024.
There would be no need to shut down for a new program if the only things changing were the earn rates. So based on 20+ years of hearing all sorts of methodologies and marketing speak from the banks I was 99% sure they would be changing the redemption rates as well.
In that thread I guessed they would move to 200 points to $1 redemption ratio from the current 100 to 1. Sure enough, not too long after that, RFD member ccya965041 posted that they were able to get the new redemption details from ATB. And the answer:
…indeed there will be a change for the redemption ratio coming up on June 4, 2024, and it has not been published on the website yet. Currently redemption of 100 points = $1, it will change to 200 points = $1 on June 4, 2024.
So there we have it, the background to some short lived excitement on what many, including myself for a short time, thought could be one of the new best credit cards in Canada, although it is only available to residents of Alberta.
What I find surprising is that in the month or so that has passed since ATB first posted the card changes they have still have not made the redemption rates of the new program publicly available!
Anyways, enough of that, let’s look at the upcoming changes to the cards!
New Earn Rates
As of June 4, 2024 the ATB World Elite Mastercard will have new accelerated earn rates in several categories as well as a new base earn rate:
- Earn 8 points for every $1 spent on eligible purchases made at select travel merchants, including: airlines, hotels, motels and car rental companies
- Earn 6 points for every $1 spent on eligible purchases in essential categories, including: groceries, gas, digital streaming services and/or subscriptions, and entertainment
- Earn 2 points for every $1 spent on any other purchases you make with your card
On the same day the ATB Gold My Rewards Travel Mastercard will receive new earn rates based on the new rewards program as this card was actually part of a different rewards scheme than the World Elite Mastercard. With these changes the Gold card will part of the same program as the World Elite card allowing for better alignment and an easier process for cardholders who may product switch between the two. These are the new accelerated and base earn rates for this card:
- Earn 3 points for every $1 spent on eligible purchases in essential categories, including: groceries, gas, digital streaming services and/or subscriptions, and entertainment
- Earn 1.5 points for every $1 spent on any other purchases you make with your card
New Redemption Rates & actual value
As mentioned above, the revamped ATB My Rewards program will have a redemption rate of 200 points to $1. That will put actual value of the new earn rates on the ATB World Elite Mastercard as follows:
- 8 points for travel = 4% return
- 6 points for groceries, gas, digital streaming services and/or subscriptions, and entertainment = 3% return
- 2 points for everything else = 1%
The accelerated earn rates of 6 and 8 points per dollar are capped at $50,000 in annual spending across all those categories.
As you can see this card is actually a 1%, 3%, and 4% return card despite having those inflated earn rates. The current version of the card provides a straight 1.5% return on all spending. This means the changes to card will see it earn more in the accelerated categories but less on all other spending. So depending on your spending habits you will come ahead with the changes or if you have lots of non-accelerated spending you’ll end up worse than before.
The 8 points for travel (4% return) will become the highest value return out of the book any travel at anytime cards in Canada which means BMO may have to stop marketing their BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard as “Now get the highest rewards points for travel of any premium flexible travel card in Canada” as that card earns 5 points/$ with an actual value of 3.33 cents versus ATB’s 8 points and 4 cents.
For most people I would think these changes do make the World Elite card better and more competitive with many other cards in the market.
On the ATB Gold My Rewards Travel Mastercard the actual value of the new earn rates are as follows:
- 3 points for groceries, gas, digital streaming services and/or subscriptions, and entertainment = 1.5% return
- 1.5 points for everything else = 0.75%
The accelerated earn rate of 3 points per dollar are capped at $10,000 in annual spending in those categories.
Currently the Gold Mastercard has the equivalent of 1% return on all spending so with the changes the card will earn more for some, and less for others.
Additional Benefits and Insurance
In addition to the new earn and redemption rates, the benefits and insurance on the two cards are being enhanced.
The revamped ATB World Elite Mastercard will now receive four (4) free annual lounge visits with its Mastercard TravelPass airport lounge access membership. This is up from the current two passes. This benefit is also extended to co-applicant/joint cardholders who will receive four visits annually.
On the insurance side the World Elite will have Mobile Device Insurance (up to $1,500) and Event Ticket Protector Insurance added to its coverage package.
The ATB Gold My Rewards Travel Mastercard will also receive Mobile Device Insurance (up to $1,500)
Wrapping it up
Overall I would say the changes to the ATB cards, primarily the World Elite card, are a net positive as long as you have a good amount of spend in the new accelerated categories. For those that have a lot of base earn the cards will likely provide less value.
I do take issue with how ATB has gone about announcing the changes with statements like “Starting June 4, 2024, you’ll earn even more rewards!” and are detailing the earn rates but are not mentioning the new redemption rate. It’s just like BMO and TD with their inflated earn rates and the sly marketing surrounding them.
ATB will be hoping to get unsuspecting people to apply for their cards with these inflated earn rates, namely the 6 points per dollar, as some people will think it is better than 4 or 5 points provided on other cards when it is not. And then they’ll think the 2 points per dollar is better than 1 (when it’s the same) and even existing cardholders may think the 2 points is better than their current 1.5 points when it’s not.
Granted, the 8 points per dollar earned on travel will be the best in Canada if we don’t take into account cards that have conversion options to frequent flyer and frequent guest programs. So at least we have that!