A Guide MasterCard Benefits: World Elite, World & Basic

Barclay recently announced that some card holders would be able to get a World Elite Arrival card. A few readers asked us what this meant so we’ve decided to put together a list of the benefits of MasterCard World & MasterCard World Elite benefits and highlight the differences. It should be noted that card issuers don’t have to give their card holders access to all of the benefits to these programs, it’s worth calling the issuer before you apply to make certain that all programs apply.

Below are our own summaries of the MasterCard benefits, make sure you read your own “guide to card benefits” that you should receive for each credit card. We’ve done our best to make sure the information found in this post is accurate, but there might be some mistakes. If you notice any, please let us know in the comments section so this post can be updated. This information is based on US cards only, if you live outside the United States please refer to the MasterCard site for your own country.

MasterCard Basic

The following benefits apply to all MasterCards (assuming the card issuer has activated them), you don’t need a world or world elite cards for any of these benefits. You can view these benefits on the official MasterCard site by clicking here.

• Extended Warranty

MasterCard offers an extended warranty for purchases made using your card. The extended warranty doubles the original manufacturer warranty up to a maximum of twelve months. This covers items up to a maximum of $10,000. MasterCard or the underwriter for this extended warranty will decide if the item will be replaced or repaired or if you will receive reimbursement. If an item is replaced, it will be of the same kind and quality (but not necessarily the same material, color, brand, size or model).

To receive this extended warranty you must:

• Purchase a new item in full with your Mastercard (or use points accumulated from that card to purchase the item)
• Purchase an item with an original manufacturers warranty of twelve months or less

A lot of items are not covered, for a full list see the image below:

To file a claim you’ll need to call 1-800-MC-ASSIST within 60 days of the failure, you’ll then need to send the completed claim form along with: Receipt showing the covered items, statement showing covered items, itemized purchase receipts, original manufacturers or U.S store brand warranty, service contract or optional extended warranty, itemized repair estimate from a factory authorized service provider and any other documentation that could be reasonably requested.

Our thoughts

When dealing with warranties, it doesn’t matter who’s providing it – it’s always a massive hassle to actually use. There is no difference with MasterCard, finding a factory authorized provider that will give you an itemized repair estimate is always difficult and a lot of places will flat out refuse to give you one (knowing that the chances of them actually getting the repair job is small).

We read multiple reports of people being stuck on the phone line for a long time when trying to process their extended warranty claims. We also saw reports of claims going missing. The coverage period is also quite small (less than 12 months and only on products with warranties of 12 months or less). Most products which are likely to break down within a 24 month period either have a longer manufacturer warranty or are not covered (e.g media devices with stored data or music are excluded which pretty much excludes all electronics). Although we’re not sure if this was recently added or it’s not enforced properly as a lot of people have received claims on items which would be excluded with this clause.

That being said there were also lots of positive reports of the extended warranty working as advertised. Here are some of our favorites.

• Fuel Reload Network (FRN)

FRN allows you to earn discounts on your fuel purchases at participating locations (mostly Shell gas stations). You can purchase a maximum of 20 gallons per refill and there is no maximum on the amount you can save (which means you can potentially get free gas). You can earn discounts in a variety of ways: shopping online using their portal, using a link credit card for restaurant expenses at certain locations (10,000+), buy groceries from participating grocery stores (you must link the grocery store rewards card to your account), link eCoupons and use them, shop at shell locations & use your mastercard for specific purchases. You can also earn discounts by referring friends to the program.

Our thoughts

In our list of best gas credit cards, there was only one card in the top six which was a MasterCard (#2 was the Sallie Mae Rewards Mastercard from Barclaycard). It’s well worth enrolling your MasterCard in the FRN program but at the moment you’ll only receive fuel discounts on purchases at participating grocery stores & participating restaurants.

[Want free gas? Read our post on Free Gas for purchasing gift cards]

• Identity Theft Resolution Services

In the event that your identity is stolen MasterCard provides benefits to help you restore your identity, to access this service you must live in the United States. This service is free & available 365 days of the year and 24/7, to access it call 1-800-MC-ASSIST. MasterCard provides cardholders with the following benefits:

• Provides a uniform identity Theft Affidavit and assistance in completing this. They do not help you submit this Affidavit.
• Help notifying the three major credit reporting agencies about the identity theft, this entitles you to a free copy of your credit report and you can also place a fraud alert on your credit report.
• Assistance in providing the cardholder with new debit credit or charge card replacements
• Assistance in providing the cardholder with membership/affinity card replacement
• Identity theft education on how it occurs and what to do to prevent it
• Providing an Identity Theft Resolution Kit
• Sample letters which can be used for canceling checks, ATM cards and other accounts

It is only available to the primary card holder.

Our thoughts

This is all pretty basic help that MasterCard is offering to give you. The information they provide you can easily be accessed online via sources such as the FTC. It’s nice to have access to a 24 hour identity theft consultant but it’s disappointing to see that no basic identity theft insurance is provided.

Whilst identity theft insurance should never be paid for due to how little it actually covers (generally expenses resulted in restoring your identity – rather than loses due to identity theft), there are a number of ways to get it for free. For example, a lot of credit unions offer it to all of their checking customers and Credit Sesame offers it to all of their members that opt in ($50,000 in coverage).

That said, it’s free and doesn’t require you to make any purchases so having multiple people you can contact in the event of your identity being stolen is always preferable to help reduce stress and anxiety.

• MasterCard Global Services

Global services is really just a fancy way of re branding their concierge service. They’ll give you emergency assistance “virtually anytime, anywhere and in any language”. It’s supposed to be used for lost or stolen cards, getting a cash advance, obtaining a temporary card, finding an ATM or any other questions about your account.

Our thoughts

I don’t know of any card issuers who don’t offer this or a similar service. It’s in their best interest for you to report a stolen card in a timely manner (at the end of the day, you’re not liable for this charges as cards come with zero fraud liability claims).

• Price protection

Almost all credit cards offer some type of price protection these days, it’s a way to encourage card holders to use specific cards for all their purchases. The same is true if you hold a World MasterCard, if you find an item that you purchased using your card in some cases they’ll refund the difference. This sounds great in principal but in practice it’s usually extremely difficult to get them to refund the difference.

On the official MasterCard US site the details are sparse about their price protection offering. But if you go to page 4 of card benefits [Warning: PDF] you can get a bit more information. Here is a brief explanation of the fine print:

• Only covers new purchases, used purchases are not covered
• Item must be purchased entirely with your MasterCard (e.g if you use store points or credits to lower the price it will not be covered and no splitting the purchase between two cards). It’s unclear if coupons or promotional codes are counted as reducing the price and would mean the items are excluded.
• You must see a printed advertisement or non-auction Internet advertisement for the same product
• Product is only considered the same if the manufacturer and model name is the same (this also needs to be listed in the advertisement
• Coverage lasts for sixty days after the item is purchased
• This is secondary insurance. This mean it only applies to items that are not covered by primary insurance provided by the merchant (e.g refunds, exchanges & store credits). This means if a store also offers price protection you cannot double dip and get it twice.
• Coverage is for the difference between the actual price you paid and the price advertised, up to a maximum of $250
•  Maximum of four claims per cardholder per 12 month period
• Lots of items are not covered (see image below)

To file a claim you need to call 1-800-MC-ASSIST and then request a claim form. This needs to be submitted with information such as: printed advertisement or non-auction internet advertisement, receipt of purchase, credit card statement showing item was purchased (screenshot of this is deemed acceptable) and any other documentation that they can reasonably ask for if it’s requested.

It’s important to note that some card issuers will handle price protection themselves (e.g Citibank) whilst others will let MasterCard handle it (e.g Barclaycard). In general when the card issuer handles it the rules are more strict (Citi doesn’t allow online purchases for example). This will also change the claim process.

Our thoughts

We did a lot of internet searching to see if people have had issues actually getting this price protection or not. The main complaint seems to be the requirement for a printed advertisement that includes the manufacturer, model number and price. Most advertisements (even online) don’t include the model number which can make it difficult to get your claim processed.

Another common complaint was that a lot of stores also offer price protection (primary insurance) but wouldn’t honor it due to various reasons. Because the original retailer offers this primary insurance MasterCard will not process these claims.

That said, those who had the correct documentation and shopped at a retailer were able to get their refunds processed (which will show as a credit on your next statement, or at least it should). We’d suggest checking to see if the store your shopping from has a price protection policy and reading it closely before relying on it from MasterCard. We’d also recommend doing a search for the item online to see if it’s often advertised with the manufacturer and model number or not.

One advantage over using MasterCard price protection over price protection offered by the other issuers is there is no minimum coverage amount.

• Zero Liability Protection

Zero liability protection (also called zero fraud liability) simply means that in the event there are unauthorized charges on your credit card you aren’t held responsible for those charges. For example, if somebody steals your card and then purchases $1,000 in alcohol and cigarettes you will not be required to pay for that purchase. It applies to all purchases (whether they are made online, in store or by phone). Your account needs to meet some basic requirements for you to have zero liability protection:

• Credit card account must be in good standing (e.g all minimum payments being met)
• You have exercised reasonable care in preventing your card from theft and loss (e.g if you willingly give your credit card to a stranger then you will not be covered)
• You have not reported two or more unauthorized uses in the previous 12 months

It also does not apply to the following situations:

• Transactions where a PIN was used
• Cards which are used for commercial, business or agricultural purposes (small business purchases ARE covered)
• Anonymous prepaid cards

Our thoughts

All credit card processors come with a similar fraud liability statement, it’s interesting that PIN transactions are specifically excluded. I’m hoping this will change with more consumer pressure as chip & PIN cards become more mainstream in the future. Update: Starting from October, 2014 MasterCard will cover both ATM & PIN transactions.

• Trip Cancellation Insurance

Trip cancellation insurance will vary a lot from card to card, so it’s extremely important that you read the disclosures for your particular card. In general here are the benefits/restrictions:

• Must charge the entire cost of the fare(s) to your MasterCard less redeemable certificates, vouchers, coupons or free flights
• Maximum benefit of $1,500 to reimburse the cardholder for non-refundable common carrier expenses

The following is not covered:

 

To complete a claim you must:

• Call 1-800-337-2632 to request a claim form
• Fill out this form, sign it and return it with the following, within 180 days of the incident:
  • MasterCard statement showing purchase of fare
  • Any other documentation that they might reasonably request

Our thoughts

I’ve never had to use this trip cancellation insurance so I can’t speak from first hand experience on how useful it is. I also wasn’t able to find any reports (positive or negative) about filing a claim for this insurance. Most people seem to stick with the insurance offered by American Express as the coverage area is greater.

• Baggage Delay Insurance

If your baggage is delayed you will be reimbursed for emergency purchase of essential items up to a maximum of $300. This is limited to $100 per day per card holder up to a maximum of three days. If your baggage is delayed at a destination of your permanent residence no insurance is paid out.

You must put the full cost of the fares on your MasterCard.

Our thoughts

This is a standard benefit that all the major card processors offer. It’s usually a royal pain to get your expenses reimbursed and often not worth the time.

• Travel Accident Insurance

You receive the following payouts for specific injuries:

• $1,000,000, Accidental loss of: life, two or more members (hand or foot), sigh of both eyes, speech and hearing or any combination thereof
• $500,000, Accidental loss of: one member (hand or foot), sight of one eye, speech or hearing
• $250,000, Accidental loss of: thumb and index finger of the same hand

As always, the full fare must be charged to your MasterCard to be eligible.

The following is not covered:

Our thoughts

Again, this is standard insurance offered by all the card processors (with a few slight differences). I haven’t been able to find anybody who has reported the claim process but I imagine it’s made fairly easy to avoid massively negative publicity that would result in these claims not being handled properly.

MasterCard World

MasterCard world card holders get access to all of the basic benefits along with the following benefits, you can view the full fine print and feature list on the MasterCard site by clicking here.

• Concierge services

If you’ve ever been to a hotel with a concierge you’ll know what they can do for you. MasterCard world offers a similar service but instead of going to the hotel concierge you call them instead. It’s basically a form of a personal assistant with a bit more pulling power. They can help you: find hard to locate items (e.g decent cheese in Asia), event tickets (to sold out concerts), dinner reservations (at booked out restaurants), business arrangements & purchasing/delivering gifts.

Obviously they won’t always be successful but because they do a lot of this they have a lot of connections with event organizers and restaurants in particular making it easier for them, than it would be for you. Unfortunately they aren’t really motivated by the price, so you’ll often end up paying a premium if you purchase items using the concierge service. Hotel concierges are usually more price motivated as they make their living through tips. Any charges that are incurred from carrying out this service (e.g purchasing of tickets) will be automatically charged to your participating MasterCard.

To reach the concierge service you can call on 1-800-MC-ASSIST (1-800-622-7747) and be redirected. Alternatively you can call these direct phone numbers:

• World MasterCard: 1-800-336-6420
• World Elite MasterCard: 1-888-314-5133

The MasterCard concierge service is outsourced and run by AspireLifestyles (formerly known as VIPdesk). You can see if your card is eligible by going to the previous link and entering your details including the first six digits of your card (this is the same numbers for all World or World elite card holders, it cannot be used to steal your credit card number or identity)

Our thoughts

I’ve personally used the concierge service before and it was decent. I used it for business purposes (I needed a restaurant reservation that I couldn’t get) and MasterCard tried to get the same reservation, they were unable to do so. I then asked the hotel concierge and within 10 minutes I had a table reserved for that night. In my limited experiences hotel concierges have more pull than MasterCard concierges due to them only servicing a small area. Lots of them have deals set up with the top restaurants where they’ll send additional business to the restaurant on slow nights (in the form of a restaurant recommendation) in exchange for last minute reservations on busier nights.

Of course by using a MasterCard concierge there is no need to tip (unlike at a hotel, where it’s not only expected but it’d be downright rude not to tip) and you can also use it when you’re not staying at a hotel. I’d definitely use it again but not if I was currently staying in a hotel. I’d suggest reading a few of the following in depth reviews to get a gauge or how useful this service is:

• Finance Buff Review
• Credit Card Forum Review

If you know of other good reviews of the Mastercard Concierge service, let us know in the comments and we will add them here.

• MasterCard Airport Concierge

The Airport concierge service will meet and greet you at over 450 airport locations worldwide, they also do departures and connecting flights. They help you get through immigration quicker, help with luggage and provide a chauffeured car. Most airports offer this, although it’s usually called a “Meet & Greet” service. MasterCard is actually just reselling these individual services, although they do state they give you a 15% discount.

Even with the discount this service is extremely expensive and will only really be an option for the extremely wealthy. We did a test quote which can be reviewed below.

Our thoughts

This service is to expensive to be used for the majority of people. If you want a cheaper option, contact your hotel or accommodation (or airline) and ask if they can offer a similar service. They most likely will be unable to greet you at the plane due to security restrictions but the price will be a lot less.

If you’re disabled or elderly most airports and airlines will have free services specifically tailored to you that are free. More often than not they are required to offer these services by law, but they are often hidden so make sure you do a bit of sleuthing. One of my close friend’s Mothers has a disability and is confined to a wheel chair. A staff member from the airline ALWAYS greets her at the taxi (she just calls a few minutes in advance), helps her with her luggage, takes her through security and then passes her off to another staff member at the boarding gate. This process is then repeated on the other end and she doesn’t have to pay a cent for it.

MasterCard World Elite

World Elite cards have the most comprehensive set of features, cardholders get access to everything offered to basic MasterCard holders and World holders as well as the following benefits. You can view the full range of features on the MasterCard site by clicking here.

• Luxury Hotel & Resorts Portfolio

This entitles you to additional benefits for hotels & resorts that are participating in this program. You must call and speak to one of their travel advisers to book and use a participating World Elite MasterCard. Benefits vary from hotel to hotel (and resort to resort). This service is actually operated by Carlson Wagonlit Travel and offered by MasterCard. Here are a few sample benefits that we found after a quick look at the site:

• Room upgrades
• Early check in
• Late check out
• Free breakfast
• Free cheese platters
• Welcome drinks

Our thoughts

If you have status with a hotel, you’re likely used to seeing these or similar benefits. My main concern in using this program would be the price, you have to book via phone which leads me to believe that you’re not getting the best price. There are also a spate of hotel booking sites that reward you in points or miles which you’d be missing out on. In my personal experience it’s almost always cheapest to book directly on the website that you want to stay at. It’s not really a free cheese platter if you’re paying an extra $50 a night for it.

All of the hotels and resorts also look like they are premium (as in, super expensive) as the luxury name suggests. I need to do some more digging to see what the price differences are between using this service and not and will update when I’ve done so.

• Car Rental Program

The car rental program basically gives you status and a discount with three different car rental companies. You must book through Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) and pay the full amount using a participating World Elite credit card.

• Avis: Complimentary Avis FIRST® status & Avis Preferred and up to 25% discount on car rentals
• Elite Car Rental: Complimentary 1-year access to the Emerald Club Executive membership program and up to 25% discount on car rentals
• Sixt: Complimentary platinum status & up to 15% off rentals worldwide

Our thoughts

Status with each of these car rental programs doesn’t mean much, it just increases your likelihood of getting an upgraded car for free. It’s difficult to say how useful the discount is, because it’s up to 15-25% off rather than a set amount. In cases like this it’s usually rare to get the full discount amount. You’re also required to book through CWT and use certain rental car companies which limits the price comparisons you can do. The value of this service will really be dependent on the rates CWT is able to book for you at, although we suspect it’ll be the maximum advertised price with a slight discount – which is usually easily beaten.

• Air Program

The air program is also run by CWT and you are required to book through them to get the following benefits:

• Aer Lingus: Receive a complimentary upgrade to business class when flying to Dublin (DUB) and Shannon (SNN) from BOS), Chicago (ORD), New York (JFK), and Orlando (MCO). Must purchase a full fare unrestricted non-seasonal roundtrip economy class fare.
• Aeromexico:
  • Receive a 20% discount on business class fares from selected cities in the US & Canada to Mexico and selected cities in Central & South America
  • Receive a 15% discount on on coach class fares from select cities in the United States & Canada to Mexico & select cities in Central and South America
  • Receive 10% discount on business class & coach fares from Mexico to select cities in US, Canada, Central & South America.
  • Purchase a round trip full-fare Premier Plus business class ticket and get a free business class companion ticket.
• Austrian Airlines: 
  • Upgrade to business class on select fares
  • Priority check-in
  • Lounge access
  • Increased baggage allowance
• Cathay Pacific Airways: Fly from the U.S.A. to Asia, China, India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East with savings off Business Class, Premium Economy Class and Economy Class fares
  • Receive 5% to 20% off Business Class fares
  • Receive 5% to 10% off Premium Economy Class fares
  • Receive 5% to 15% off Economy Class fares
• Etihad Airways:
  • Receive 20% savings on First Class and 18% savings on Business Class tickets from JFK, Washington-Dulles, Chicago, Los Angeles, Sao Paulo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Jeddah, Dammam, Riyadh, Madinah, Bahrain, Doha, Beirut and Amman to Etihad worldwide destinations
  • Complimentary door-to-door Chauffeur Drive Service in more than 25 cities worldwide
• LAN Airlines:
  • Upgrade to Business Class with the purchase of an eligible Economy Class fare
  • 30% off full Business Class fares and 20% off discounted Business Class fare on LAN from USA to select South American destinations
• Lufthansa: 
  • Upgrade to Business Class on select fares
  • Priority check-in
  • Lounge access
  • Increased baggage allowance
• Park ‘N Fly:
  • 15% on posted rates at off-site airport facilities in the US
  • Shuttle between the facility and airport
• Qantas Airways: Discounted based fares between Los Angeles and other Qantas-filed cities in the U.S.A to Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane
  • A business-class special base-fare of $6,348 (USD) per person for one passenger traveling alone. And for two passengers traveling together, a special base-fare of $4,748 (USD) per person
  • A first-class special base-fare of $13,048 (USD) per person for one passenger traveling alone. And for two passengers traveling together, a special base-fare of $9,048 (USD) per person
    For additional passengers traveling together, ask agent for additional fare offers
• Swiss International Airlines: Complimentary Business Class Upgrade with the purchase of a full-fare Economy Class ticket
• Virgin Atlantic Airways: 
  • Complimentary door-to-door Chauffeur Driven service in more than 29 cities worldwide
  • Receive up to 20% off Upper Class
  • Receive up to 14% off Premium Economy Class
  • Receive 10% off Economy Class

Our thoughts

This is probably the best feature of having a World Elite card. If you’re flying business the discounts are large enough that even if you did extensive price shopping you probably wouldn’t be able to find a cheaper fare (you can always do your own price comparisons before hand and only book if it works out cheaper). It’s also useful if you plan on flying an airline you don’t want status with but would want to be upgraded if possible. The participating airlines constantly change though, so don’t come to rely on specific deals. Unfortunately most of the airlines listed are international European/Australian or Latin American based.

It’s important to note that these programs cannot be combined with any other special offer you find.

• Chauffeured Car Service

These services must also be booked through CWT to get the discount.

• Avis Chauffeured Limousine service: Savings of up to 25% on chauffeured cars in North America.
• International Limousine Service:  Save 15% on chauffeured rentals worldwide. Receive a $50USD savings voucher after your first annual rental
• Sixt limousine service: 15% discount on Sixt limousine service worldwide. Receive a $50 credit annually after your first round trip reservation is complete
• Vitesse Worldwide: 15% savings on any worldwide luxury chauffeured service. $50 annual credit after first round trip reservation is complete. Complimentary vehicle upgrade when available

Our thoughts

If you’re regularly using limousines then chances are a $50 annual credit isn’t that enticing. The discounts are nice but I’d think that for the majority of people this isn’t something they are going to be taking advantage of.

• Cruise Program

  • Avalon Waterways: Receive a $300 discount per stateroom on an Avalon Waterways cruise
  • Azamara Club Cruises: Receive a $300 shipboard credit per stateroom
  • Crystal Cruises: Receive a $500 shore excursion credit per state room
  • Norwegian Cruise Line: Receive a $300 on-board credit on Carribean, Alaska, Europe or Hawaii sailings when booking specific staterooms
  • Oceania Cruises: Enjoy up to $300 shipboard credit on select sailings
  • Paul Gauguin: Receive a $500 shipboard credit per stateroom
  • Regent Seven Seas Cruises: Receive a $500 shipboard credit per stateroom
  • River Cloud II: Receive up to $500 shipboard credit per stateroom
  • Royal Caribbean: Receive a $150 shipboard credit during cruises in Europe or Australia
  • Sea Cloud Cruises: Receive a $500 shipboard credit per stateroom
  • Seadream: Receive a $500 shipboard credit per stateroom
  • Silversea: Receive a $500 shipboard credit per stateroom
  • Un-cruise adventures: Receive a $500 or 5% discount (whichever is greater) on all Un-Cruise adventures
  • Uniworld river cruises: Receive a $300 shipboard credit per stateroom
  • Yachtstore Ltd: Receive a MasterCard Gift Card equal to 3% of your private chartered yacht trip as well as a Bon Voyage gift card (undisclosed amount) at the commencement of your trip

Our thoughts

I decided to do a bit of searching to see how expensive state rooms are because I’ve never been on a cruise before. I was expecting the staterooms to be the most expensive lodging on the cruises but was surprised to find this isn’t the case. That being said, I quickly found bigger discounts than those offered by the Elite program (discounts more in the $1,000 range) – which makes this particular benefit almost worthless.

Also none of these cruises are low cost, even the shortest trips were quite expensive – even for the river cruises.

Private Jet

There are three private jet companies that are currently participating in this program. This also needs to be booked through CWT.

• Air Charter Services, pick one of the following:
  • Save $500 on the price of a light or midsize jet charter, $750 for a heavy jet charter
  • Complimentary family friendly on-board catering including champagne for adults
  • Chauffeur-driven car service (where available) from the aircraft to any destination with 50 miles of the arrival airport
• Lufthansa Private Jet: 
  • 5% discount on all bookings
  • Lead passenger receives 10,000 award miles with count as status & HON miles
  • VIP treatment and lounge access at FRA, MUC, DUS, ZRH
  • Standard Lufthansa First Class Ticket
• Sentient Jet Charter: $500 discount on all charters.

Our thoughts

I’ve never had the privilege of flying private before and I’m not sure I’d want to (I almost always fly economy, even if work is paying). Out of the three Lufthansa’s discount is by far the best (assuming that a private jet costs more than $10,000 to charter), but it’s hard to compare as the prices aren’t publicly listed. That said, private jets are unobtainable apart from the very elite.

• Tours & Vacations Program

All tours & vacations must be booked through CWT

• Abercrombie & Kent: Receive a $250 savings per person on any Signature Series itinerary by Abercrombie & Kent
• Absolute Travel Journeys: Receive a $250 or 5% savings per person whichever is greater for custom trips from Morocco to Thailand.
• Ancon Expeditions Of Panama: Receive a $250 or 5% savings per person, whichever is greater on custom-tailor journeys
• Avanti Destinations: Receive a $250 or 5% savings per person on land-only travel tours above $5,000
• Big Five Tours & Expeditions: Receive a 5% savings on customized journeys
• Butterfield & Robinson: Receive a $250 or 5% savings per person on custom-designed biking, walking and active travel tours
• Classic Vacations: Receive a $100 savings per person on vacation packages worldwide
• Cork & Tee Golf Travel: Enjoy a $250 or 5% savings per person whichever is greater on golf travel in the following countries: Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Portugal & U.S.A
• Costa Rica Expeditions: Receive a 5% disocunt on qualifying customized vacations in Costa Rica
• Delta Vacations: Receive up to a $200 discount
• Funjet Vacations: Receive a $100 per person discount
• Globus Vacations: Receive a $100 savings per person
• Journey Mexico: Receive a 5% savings per person on qualifying adventures
• Kensington Tours: Receive a 5% discount on all tailor-made private tours worldwide
• Ker & Downey: Receive a 5% discount on all Ker & Downey tours
• Key tours:
  • Receive a $100 savings per person on custom tailored vacations and escorted tours
  • Receive a $250 or 5% savings (whichever is greater) on Smart Luxury collection tours
• Monograms Vacations: Receive a $100 savings per person
• Pacific delight tours: Receive a $100 savings per person on Gold Experience tours to China & Tibet
• Perrygolf: Receive a $250 or 5% savings per person, whichever is greater
• Ski.com: Receive a discount of up to $300 on ski packages in America, Canada, Europe & South America
• South African Airways Vacations: Receive a $100 savings per person on air-inclusive Africa vacation packages
• Swain Tours: Receive a $250 or 5% savings per person (whichever is greater) on trips to Oceania, Africa, Asia & India
• Tahiti Nui Travel: Receive a $250 or 5% savings pe person (whichever is greater) o customized packages to the South Pacific
• Trafalgar Tours: Receive a $100 savings per person
• Travcoa: Receive a $250 or 5% discount per person (whichever is greater)
• Viviani: Receive a $250 or 5% savings pe person for all programs in California, Orgeon & Washington

Our thoughts

None of these tours are cheap, especially when you realize that most of them require a custom journey to trigger the discount. With a bit of basic googling you should be able to find better discounts on almost all of the companies list. We wouldn’t recommend using this feature at all.

• Personal Travel Advisor

To access the personal travel advisor call the number on the back of your card.

Our thoughts

This is yet another way that MasterCard has rebranded their personal concierge service. It’s run through the same phone number and by the same company. There is literally no difference.

How do they decide which card you get?

Credit card issuers will issue you a World or World Elite card based upon the details you provide them. They likely look at information such as: your credit history, your credit score, income, existing debt and card habits (e.g spend) with existing cards.

They will also do upgrades based on your spend. Most people will find that they are upgraded from World to World Elite when their annual spend is $25,000 a year or greater. Keep in mind not all cards can be upgraded to World or World Elite.