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Best Desjardins Credit Cards

Best Desjardins credit cards in Canada

Cory Santos

By Cory Santos

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Desjardins credit cards pack a powerful combination of insurance and rewards in a single package, but are they right for you?

Desjardins might not be the biggest name in Canadian credit cards but it offers some impressive choices for the discerning Canadian. From travel points and lounge access to cash back rewards and low interest rates, Desjardins cards often rank among the very best credit cards in Canada, but which is right for you?

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Summary

Summary of picks

Card Best for Annual fee
Desjardins Odyssey® World Elite® Mastercard Overall/Travel $130
Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard Cash back $100
Desjardins Cashback Visa/Mastercard No annual fee $0
Best overall

Best Desjardins credit card overall/travel

Desjardins Odyssey® World Elite® Mastercard®

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4.2

Fair

Suggested credit score

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Pros

  • Get 3% cash back on groceries in BONUSDOLLARS, 2% cash back on restaurants, entertainment and alternative transportation in BONUSDOLLARS and 1.5% cash back on all other purchases in BONUSDOLLARS

  • 20% BONUSDOLLARS® bonus for Desjardins members

  • Mobile device insurance included

  • No foreign transaction fees

Cons

  • High annual fee

  • Supplementary card fee

  • No sign-up bonus

  • Limited lounge access

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Fair

Required Annual Personal Income

$80,000

Required Annual Household Income

$150,000

Pros

  • Get 3% cash back on groceries in BONUSDOLLARS, 2% cash back on restaurants, entertainment and alternative transportation in BONUSDOLLARS and 1.5% cash back on all other purchases in BONUSDOLLARS

  • 20% BONUSDOLLARS® bonus for Desjardins members

  • Mobile device insurance included

  • No foreign transaction fees

Cons

  • High annual fee

  • Supplementary card fee

  • No sign-up bonus

  • Limited lounge access

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Fair

Required Annual Personal Income

$80,000

Required Annual Household Income

$150,000

Get 3% cash back on your groceries in BONUSDOLLARS (up to $10,000).

3%

Get 2% cash back on restaurants, entertainment, and alternative transportation in BONUSDOLLARS (up to $6,000).

2%

Get 1.5% cash back on all other purchases in BONUSDOLLARS.

1.5%

Purchase APR

20.9%

Cash Advance APR

21.9%

Annual Fee

$130

Foreign Transaction Fee

2.5%

Proclaiming itself as ‘the must-have card for frequent flyers,’ this Desjardins credit card is ideal for cardholders who want a comprehensive free travel insurance program along with travel-related perks and rewards.

When compared to free travel insurance programs offered by other premium travel credit cards, the Desjardins Odyssey® World Elite® Mastercard holds its own. Cardholders benefit from travel medical insurance coverage of up to $5,000,000, trip cancellation coverage of $2,500 per person, travel accident coverage up to $1,000,000, and unlimited trip interruption coverage—more than the amounts offered by some Canadian cards with far higher annual fees.

The best part of the Desjardins Odyssey® World Elite® Mastercard’s travel insurance program is the length of the trips that it will cover. If you’re under 60 when you travel, you can get coverage for a full 60 days, and those aged 60-65 get 31 days coverage, compared to a standard 15 days from most credit card travel insurance plans. It’s also a great choice for older cardholders, who are excluded entirely from coverage by most credit card plans. With Desjardins Odyssey® World Elite® Mastercard, travellers over 65 still get up to 15 days of free travel insurance at the same terms as everyone else.

Alongside the excellent free travel insurance plans, Odyssey World Elite cardholders get access to the Desjardins Odyssey Lounge at Montréal-Trudeau Airport, free identity theft assistance, free concierge services, and the opportunity to access exclusive events and experiences through the Priceless Cities program.

Best cash back

Best Desjardins cash back card

Desjardins Cash Back World Elite Mastercard

3.0

Good

Suggested credit score

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Pros

  • Generous rewards: Earn up to 4% back on everyday purchases.

  • Manageable annual fee: $100 annual fee is slightly lower than similar cards from other issuers.

Cons

  • Spending caps: Cash back on groceries is capped at $10,000 in spending per year while dining is capped after $6,000 in spending per year.

  • No welcome bonus: Desjardins Bank does not offer welcome bonuses on its credit cards.

  • Limited insurance: The card provides some travel insurance but the coverage is smaller than you might find elsewhere.

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Good

Required Annual Personal Income

$80,000

Required Annual Household Income

$150,000

Pros

  • Generous rewards: Earn up to 4% back on everyday purchases.

  • Manageable annual fee: $100 annual fee is slightly lower than similar cards from other issuers.

Cons

  • Spending caps: Cash back on groceries is capped at $10,000 in spending per year while dining is capped after $6,000 in spending per year.

  • No welcome bonus: Desjardins Bank does not offer welcome bonuses on its credit cards.

  • Limited insurance: The card provides some travel insurance but the coverage is smaller than you might find elsewhere.

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Good

Required Annual Personal Income

$80,000

Required Annual Household Income

$150,000

Up to 4% cash back on groceries

4%

Up to 3% cash back on restaurants

3%

cash back on entertainment and alternative transportation

3%

cash back on all other purchases

1%

Purchase APR

20.9%

Cash Advance APR

21.9%

Annual Fee

$100

Foreign Transaction Fee

2.5%

The main perk for Desjardins Cashback World Elite Mastercard holders is its cash back program. Cardholders earn up to 4% back on grocery store purchases, with a base rate of 1% on anything not in a bonus category. But don’t sleep on those bonus categories, which are lucrative and ideal for everyday earning. 

Unfortunately, there’s a cap on the grocery and dining purchases. Fortunately, the limit is fairly generous, so most people won’t even notice it. 

Along with cash back, cardholders get the very useful perk of free mobile device insurance—ideal if they happen to lose their cell phone or it gets damaged. There’s also free travel insurance for up to 3 days when travelling outside a home province, which saves cardholders from needing to bother with getting travel insurance for every short trip they take. A 10% discount on Hertz rental cars adds to the travel perks.

On top of this, the Desjardins Cashback World Elite Mastercard offers free additional cards, contactless payment capabilities, and standard extended warranty and purchase protection. Cardholders can also apply for financing for special or unexpected purchases through the Desjardins Accord D financing program. 

Best no fee

Best Desjardins no annual fee card

Desjardins Cashback Visa/Mastercard

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Good

Suggested credit score

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Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Good

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Good

Purchase APR

20.9%

Balance Transfer Rate

21.9%

Cash Advance APR

21.9%

Annual Fee

$0

Foreign Transaction Fee

2.5%

It’s rare to find a credit card in Canada that’s available as either a Visa or Mastercard, but that’s exactly what Desjardins offers in its Desjardins Cashback Visa/Mastercard. You can choose which type of card you prefer and get the same benefits, rewards, and standard interest rates.

The main perk for Desjardins Cashback Visa/Mastercard holders is its cashback program. Cardholders earn 2% back on dining, entertainment, transit and recurring bills. Unfortunately, that earn rate is capped at $3,600 per year, however.

It’s a shame that there’s only 0.5% cash back on all other purchases, which does limit a cardholder’s earning power. There are certainly other credit cards out there that offer a better cashback rate, but this Desjardins Cashback Visa/Mastercard has no minimum income level and requires ‘only’ a Good credit score, making it accessible to more borrowers. It’s worth remembering that there’s also no annual fee, so all earned cash back is essentially entirely free.

Along with cash back, cardholders get the very useful perk of free mobile device insurance—ideal if they happen to lose their cell phone or it gets damaged. There’s also free travel insurance for up to 3 days when travelling outside a home province, which saves cardholders from needing to bother with getting travel insurance for every short trip they take. A 10% discount on Hertz rental cars adds to the travel perks.

What is Desjardins?

What is Desjardins?

Desjardins is well known throughout Canada as the country’s largest credit union. Because it’s actually a federation of over 300 credit unions, branches of Desjardins can be found in many smaller towns which don’t have any other financial institution. 

Benefits

Benefits of Desjardins

Desjardins provides a full range of financial products that include many types of auto, home and travel insurance, various credit cards, and brokerage services. Because Desjardins is a credit union rather than a standard bank, members with lower credit scores are often able to access insurance, credit sources, and other financial products that would otherwise be very expensive or out of their reach. 

Desjardins credit cards are notable because they come with very useful insurance. Particularly useful is the addition of mobile phone insurance to its cards, something you typically don’t see from banks (though TD Bank provides phone protection with many of its card offers). Additionally, many cards come with some basic travel insurance, including 3 days of complimentary travel insurance. 

Pros and cons

Desjardins pros and cons

Pros

Pros

  • Mobile device protection: Many Desjardins credit cards feature mobile phone insurance which protects you should your phone get lost or suffer accidental damage.

  • Free travel insurance: Desjardins offers 3 days of complimentary travel insurance to cardholders.

  • Valuable rewards: BONUSDOLLARS are by far the most valuable reward currency meaning your points go further with Desjardins.

Cons

Cons

  • Foreign transaction fees: Desjardins charges a foreign transaction fee of 2.5% of the transaction in CDN.

  • No points transfers: Desjardins does not offer points transfers to frequent flyer programs or hotel loyalty programs.

BONUSDOLLARS guide

Guide to Desjardins BONUSDOLLARS rewards program

Some cards provide access to the Desjardins BONUSDOLLARS rewards program. 

How to earn BONUSDOLLARS

Earning BONUSDOLLARS is simple: use your eligible Desjardins credit card and rack up points. Here’s how the Desjardins BONUSDOLLARS cards stack up across everyday categories:

Purchase category.
Bonus Visa*
Odyssey® Gold Visa*
Odyssey® World Elite® Mastercard®
Odyssey® Visa Infinite Privilege*
Groceries
0.5%
1%
Up to 3% 
3%
Travel
0.5%
1%
1.5%
Up to 3% 
Restaurants
Up to 2% 
Up to 2% 
Up to 2% 
4%
Entertainment
2%
2%
2%
4%
Alternative transportation
2%
2%
2%
4%
Pre-authorized payments
Up to 2% 
Up to 2% 
1.5%
1.75%
All other purchases
0.5%
1%
1.5%
1.75%

Do BONUSDOLLARS points expire?

Yes. Desjardins BONUSDOLLARS will expire after one year if not used. 

What are Desjardins BONUSDOLLARS worth?

BONUSDOLLARS are by far the most valuable rewards currency in Canada. Desjardins BONUSDOLLARS are worth one dollar per point ($1/pt.), which makes sense when you remember it’s BONUSDOLLARS and not BONUSCENTS.

How to redeem BONUSDOLLARS

Like other reward programs, DEsjardins BONUSDOLLARS count towards several redemption options:

  • Pay off purchases in the following categories: dining, entertainment, travel, alternative travel (transit, taxis and rideshares) or donations.
  • Pay off insurance premiums (including home, auto, travel, accident and life insurance), deposits into eligible Desjardins deposit accounts (including RRSPs, RESPs or TFSAs) or loans (personal, auto and mortgage).
  • Gift cards from leading brands (in increments of $25, $50 or $100).

Strangely, you can use points to pay down your Desjardins credit card bill, but only if you have the Odyssey Visa Infinite Privilege. Instead, you’ll need to pay yourself back with points feature. 

FAQs

FAQs

  • Can I use my Desjardins credit card in the US?

    +

    Yes, you can use your Desjardins Via or Mastercard anywhere worldwide, though you may be charged a foreign transaction fee.

  • Is Desjardins a bank or a credit union?

    +

    Desjardins Ontario Credit Union is the bank's presence outside of Quebec, so yes, Desjardins is a collection of banks and credit unions.

Cory Santos Finance editor

Cory Santos is a finance writer, editor and credit card expert with nearly a decade of experience in personal finance. Cory joined Wise Publishing from BestCards, with bylines in numerous print and digital publications across North America, including the Miami Herald, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Debt.ca, AOL, MSN and Medium as well as financial podcasts like KOFE Talk.

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