The Ultimate Guide to ATB Rewards for Albertans

Are you an Albertan considering applying for an ATB Rewards Mastercard? It’s always important to do your research before applying for any credit card to determine which is best suited for you, and to find out how to get the best perks based on your spending. As an Albertan, going with an Alberta-based credit card just makes sense. With local ATB branches never too far away, it’s reassuring to know you have a team available to help you when needed.

Having a credit card that gives you rewards for making purchases is a no-brainer. If you’re using a credit card often, especially for larger purchases, it literally pays to have a card that gives you extra benefits. But is ATB Rewards the best rewards credit card program in Canada?

In this ultimate guide to ATB Rewards, you’ll find out everything there is to know about the ATB Rewards program to determine if it’s a good option for you.

What are ATB Rewards cards?

ATB has two different Mastercards that give you rewards in exchange for your purchases. One of them is the ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard, and the other is the ATB Gold My Rewards Travel Mastercard.

The better rewards option for you will be based on how you prefer to use your rewards. The ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard awards you 1% cash back on each purchase. The ATB Gold My Rewards Travel Mastercard rewards you with points you can redeem towards travel, merchandise, or cash.

There is also an ATB Business Rewards Mastercard, which allows you to use your point to reward yourself, employees or clients. This guide will focus on personal cards, but the business rewards options are basically the same.

Read More: The 10 Best Business Credit Cards in Canada for 2022

Key product details for the ATB Rewards Mastercard

Both of the ATB Gold Reward Mastercards have the same general specifications. The first thing that’s important to know is that these credit cards have no annual fee. This is a huge perk, as many other reward cards come with a yearly fee.

You can also add additional cards for free, in case you want an extra card for a spouse or partner.

There is a maximum cash advance of $1000 for both cards. Some people may be looking for a higher cash advance limit, but this is a pretty standard limit for a basic rewards card, especially from a small, local financial institution.

The interest rates for the ATB Rewards Mastercard are 19.99% on purchases and 22.99% on cash advances. Interest is calculated daily and charged monthly.

Another cool detail of the ATB Rewards Mastercard is a feature called MyPic®. This allows you to choose from almost 100 different card designs with unique pictures of animals, landmarks, landscapes, patterns, and sports.

Who qualifies for an ATB Rewards Mastercard?

Before applying for the ATB Rewards Mastercard, you must make sure that you meet the eligibility requirements. Luckily, the requirements are quite basic compared to other Canadian credit cards. Here are the criteria you must meet:

• You must be at least 18 years old
• You must be a resident of Alberta
• The card must be for personal use only
• You must not have declared bankruptcy in the past five years

If you intend to apply for this Mastercard with another person, that person must also meet all the above eligibility requirements.

How can you apply for an ATB Rewards Mastercard?

Head to the ATB website and choose the credit card you’d like to apply for, whether the ATB Gold My Rewards Mastercard or the ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard. Once you select the card you’d like to apply for, you’ll need to gather some personal and financial information before proceeding.

Personal details

As part of your application, you’ll need to provide:

• Your home address in Alberta
• Contact information
• Form of identification, such as passport number or driver’s licence number

Financial details

You will also need the following information regarding your finances:

• Current employment details
• Income
• Any assets, such as shares or properties
• Employer’s contact details
• If you’re self-employed, you’ll need to include details about your expenses and liabilities, as well as your accountant’s details

Once you upload all your documents and information, the financial institution will assess your eligibility. If approved, your card will be on its way!

How do you earn ATB rewards?

The earning structure for both ATB Rewards cards is easy to understand and very straightforward.

For the ATB Gold My Rewards Travel Mastercard, you will receive 10 rewards points for every $1 spent. One thing to note is that partial dollars are rounded down. For example, if you made a purchase of $20.90 you would only receive 200 points.

If you choose the ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard, you’ll earn unlimited cash back on everything you buy at a rate of 1% of the purchase price. There are cards with higher cashback rates, but most of them have annual fees. 1% cash back is pretty standard for a no-fee rewards card. Cash back rewards will be automatically applied to your credit card statement every January.

Read More: The 11 Best Cash Back Credit Cards in Canada

How can you redeem ATB Reward Mastercard points?

Redeeming your ATB Reward Mastercard points is the fun part! For the ATB Gold Cash Rewards Mastercard, you won’t need to do anything to redeem your points since your cashback is automatically added to your credit card statement each year.

If you have the ATB Gold My Rewards Travel Mastercard, there are a variety of different ways that you can redeem your points for travel, merchandise or cash rewards.

Redeeming for travel rewards

If you’d like to redeem your points for travel, you can do so via the ATB My Rewards website, where you can use them for hotel gift certificates, itravel2000.com gift certificates, gift cards for VIA Rail and a variety of other travel experiences with one of their partners. You can also redeem your points via ATB’s travel agency partner.

You’ll get the best value for your ATB rewards points if you redeem them via ATB’s website and those of their partners. That said, you can also book your travel using your credit card and then go online or call up ATB, and they will redeem your points against the charge.

You need to have a minimum of 50,000 points in order to redeem them against your travel. However, you don’t need to have enough points to cover the entirety of the purchase, which is often the case with other rewards credit cards. Instead, you can use the points you have towards your travel purchase and pay the difference yourself. Another unique feature is that you can make a travel purchase on your card, such as for a flight, and then redeem your points afterwards.

If you want to redeem your points for gift certificates or gift cards, you need to have the total value of points associated with that gift card. For example, if a $200 gift card costs 240,000 points, you must have the full 240,000.

You can also arrange your travel by calling the ATB My Rewards Service Centre, but be aware that there is a $25 charge for booking over the phone.

Redeeming for merchandise 

You can also redeem your ATB Rewards points for merchandise. “My Rewards” features tons of amazing products, including kayaks, coffee makers, backpacks, pillows, blenders, monitors, electric scooters, and anything else you can think of. Simply head to the ATB My Rewards catalogue, and browse through different categories of merchandise to see how many points you’ll need to purchase it.

Redeeming for experiences

ATB Rewards also has an “Alberta’s Own” section where you can redeem your points for incredible experiences around the province. This includes things like helicopter tours over Banff, canoe and horseback tours of Barrier Lake, cooking classes, massages, white water rafting and segway tours in Edmonton.

Redeeming for cash rewards 

You can also redeem your ATB Rewards points for cash. You can transfer your balance points to dollars in four different ways:

• Using your points towards your ATB Mastercard balance
• Making a contribution to your ATB Financial investment account
• As a cash deposit into your ATB Financial Line of Credit, Loan or Mortgage account
• Directly deposit cash into your ATB Financial savings or chequing account

Does an ATB Rewards card offer travel perks?

Yes! Both ATB Rewards Mastercards offer some additional travel perks and insurance. These include flight delay and delayed luggage insurance, plus travel assistance services when you charge the full cost of the trip to your card. If your flight is delayed by four hours or more, you may be eligible for reimbursement of any necessary expenses you sustain while delayed, up to $250 per day and $500 total per trip. If your baggage is delayed over four hours, you may also qualify for up to $250 in reimbursement to buy any essential items.

You’ll have 24/7 assistance for any lost luggage or documentation when travelling outside Alberta. This also includes ticket replacement help or legal referrals.

You can also use your points to book your own flights without any blackout periods.

As far as no-fee travel rewards cards go, these are some pretty decent travel perks.

Read More: The 10 Best Travel Credit Cards for 2022

Additional perks of the ATB Rewards Mastercard

Just for being a cardholder, you will receive some other beneficial perks.

Rental car discounts and insurance

When you use your ATB Rewards credit card to book a rental car at Avis or Budget, you can get up to 25% off your booking.

On top of that, you’ll also receive additional insurance when you book the entire cost of the rental car on your ATB Rewards Mastercard. This includes collision and damage waiver insurance, which provides you with up to 31 days of coverage against collision damage, plus coverage of damage to your personal items up to $1000. You’ll also receive accidental death and dismemberment insurance of up to $225,000 if it takes place while occupying the rental car.

Purchase protection 

You’ll get 90 days of protection against damage or theft when you purchase specific items using your ATB Rewards Mastercard. You may also receive double the original manufacturer’s warranty for up to one extra year.

Pros and cons of the ATB Rewards Mastercard