8% Cash Back offer with National Bank

I have been asked by National Bank to do a review of one of their highly anticipated promotional offers, so here goes! 

Looks like there is a new player in town to compete in the cash back sphere. We have been writing about how we think the Canadian rewards industry is shifting more towards cash back, rather than miles and points. This new offer is just more indication of this happening.

Though not quite the 10% cash back that we started getting used to seeing, an 8% sign up bonus cash back offer for a no annual fee card is a great start. Below are the highlights of a new offer from the National Bank mycredit Mastercard:

• No annual fee
• Earn 8% cash back on restaurant and pre-authorized payments (within the first 3 months or up to $1,500 in spending for a total of $120 cash back) (if you apply before August 31, 2021)
• Earn 1% on restaurant purchases and recurring pre-authorized payments (after the promotional period is done)
• Earn 0.5% cash back on all other purchases
• No minimum annual income required to apply

This card has a great promotional offer that is worth adding to your wallet if you maximize the cash back, since it has no annual fee.

I would have liked to see a higher cash back on a regular basis on a few spending categories (e.g. 2% cash back on restaurants purchases and reoccurring pre-authorized payments) just to keep the card more competitive to keep pace with the other no annual fee cards out there. For now, this is a great start for National Bank to join in on the heated cashback market.