À la carte Rewards is National Bank of Canada’s in-house credit-card rewards program, primarily earned through cards such as the Platinum Mastercard, World Mastercard, and World Elite Mastercard.
There are no airline or hotel transfer partners and no complicated award charts. The program’s main strength is simple redemption, especially for travel. Depending on how you use the points, they are worth roughly 0.4 to 1 cpp. Points expire after 12 months without account activity.
How to Earn À la carte Rewards
Most points come from National Bank Rewards credit-card spending and occasional welcome offers. Personal cards include:
- National Bank Platinum Mastercard
- National Bank World Mastercard
- National Bank World Elite Mastercard
NBC World Elite Mastercard
The World Elite earn rates are straightforward:
| Category | Earn rate |
|---|---|
| Groceries | Up to 5x |
| Restaurants | Up to 5x |
| Gas / EV charging | 2x |
| Recurring bills | 2x |
| À la carte Travel | 2x |
| Everything else | 1x |
The 5x grocery and restaurant rate has an unusual limit. It applies while total gross purchases in the billing cycle remain below $2,500, not just while grocery and restaurant spending remains below that amount. Once total card spending exceeds $2,500, later grocery and restaurant purchases earn 2x.
NBC Platinum Mastercard
| Category | Earn rate |
|---|---|
| Groceries / restaurants | Up to 2x |
| Gas / EV charging | 1.5x |
| Recurring bills | 1.5x |
| À la carte Travel | 1.5x |
| Everything else | 1 point per $1.50 |
NBC World Mastercard
World Mastercard uses annual spending tiers:
- $0–$20,000: 1.25x
- $20,001–$30,000: 2x
- Over $30,000: 1.25x
À la carte Travel purchases earn an additional 1.25x. The middle spending tier is unusually valuable for a Canadian credit card.
Welcome Offers
National Bank periodically offers À la carte Rewards bonuses on its cards. The Platinum and World Elite cards currently have welcome offers.
How to Use À la carte Rewards
The same 100,000 points can be worth $400 or $1,000 depending on the redemption. The redemption method matters more than the points balance.
À la carte Travel — 1 cpp (recommended)
Book flights, hotels, vacation packages, cruises, rental cars, and other travel through National Bank’s À la carte Travel portal:
10,000 points = $100
À la carte Travel is managed by Transat Distribution Canada Inc. rather than National Bank directly. Compare its prices with airline and hotel websites because the portal can sometimes be more expensive. If the price is similar, redeeming at 1 cpp is straightforward; if the portal is much more expensive, book directly and use the next method.
Book your own travel and apply points — 0.83–0.91 cpp (recommended)
You can book directly with an airline, hotel, or travel agency using an eligible National Bank travel card, then apply À la carte Rewards to the posted travel purchase.
- Redeem fewer than 55,000 points at 12,000 points = $100, or 0.833 cpp.
- Redeem 55,000 points or more at 11,000 points = $100, or 0.909 cpp.
The travel purchase must be charged to an eligible National Bank travel card and the points must be applied within 60 days of the transaction date. The statement credit usually appears within about three business days.
RRSP / TFSA / FHSA — 0.83 cpp
Points can be contributed to a National Bank RRSP, TFSA, or FHSA at 12,000 points = $100, or 0.833 cpp. The minimum redemption is 12,000 points.
Mortgage / line of credit — 0.83 cpp
Use points toward the principal of a National Bank mortgage or All-In-One line of credit at 12,000 points = $100, or 0.833 cpp. The minimum is also 12,000 points.
Gift cards and merchandise — usually not recommended
The À la carte Rewards store offers gift cards, electronics, home goods, brand-name merchandise, and environmental rewards. Values vary. One current example is a $50 gift card for 7,250 points, or about 0.69 cpp. Merchandise values depend on the actual retail price, so these redemptions are usually not attractive unless an item is on sale.
Credit-card balance — 0.4 cpp (not recommended)
Redeeming points against a credit-card balance requires 6,250 points for $25, or only 0.4 cpp. This is the weakest practical option.
What Are À la carte Rewards Points Worth?
| Redemption | Rate | Value |
|---|---|---|
| À la carte Travel | 10,000 = $100 | 1.00 cpp |
| Book your own travel, 55,000+ points | 11,000 = $100 | 0.91 cpp |
| Book your own travel, under 55,000 points | 12,000 = $100 | 0.83 cpp |
| RRSP / TFSA / FHSA | 12,000 = $100 | 0.83 cpp |
| Mortgage / line of credit | 12,000 = $100 | 0.83 cpp |
| Gift cards | Varies | About 0.7 cpp |
| Credit-card balance | 25,000 = $100 | 0.40 cpp |
Bottom Line
À la carte Rewards is a typical Canadian bank-points program. It has no Aeroplan or Avios transfer partners and is not designed for outsized business-class redemptions. Its strengths are simple redemptions and flexible travel reimbursement.
Think of À la carte Rewards as a travel-cash currency rather than an airline or hotel program that requires hunting for sweet spots.