What benefits does the PC Mastercard actually offer?

PC Financial·CA$0/year·Mastercard·American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida

Pauline LauroreAuthor of HelloSafe's card insurance reviewsUpdated June 23, 20268 min read

Our Verdict · Travel Insurance

Our opinion on PC Financial Mastercard Travel Insurance

Pauline Laurore
Expert review · Pauline LauroreAuthor of HelloSafe's card insurance reviews

No travel insurance. None. Here is what that means the next time you leave the country. You are boarding a flight with just your PC Mastercard in your wallet. Emergency medical costs abroad start at $10,000 for a minor incident and can reach $80,000 for an ER admission in the United States. Your provincial health plan (OHIP, RAMQ) pays almost nothing outside Canada. The PC Mastercard pays nothing either. Most cardholders searching pc financial mastercard travel insurance expect at least some coverage. The certificate confirms there is none: no trip cancellation, no emergency evacuation, no baggage protection, no flight delay reimbursement, across all 11 travel benefits. A standalone travel policy for emergency medical starts at $60 for a week in Florida. If you travel even once a year, a separate travel insurance policy is the only way to close this gap.

What works on travel
  • $0 annual fee: no premium cost attached to the absence of travel coverage
  • PC Optimum points still earned on travel spend at PC Travel at 20 points per $1
Where travel breaks down
  • No emergency medical: provincial health plans cover almost nothing abroad; an ER visit in the United States runs $10,000 to $80,000
  • No trip cancellation: prepaid flights, hotels, and tours are entirely at risk if you need to cancel
  • No baggage protection: lost luggage, delays, and theft are entirely out of pocket
  • No rental CDW: all collision and theft costs on a rental vehicle are the cardholder's responsibility
  • No evacuation benefit: a transoceanic air ambulance can cost $200,000 to $300,000
Our methodology

Every score is derived from official bank documents: terms and conditions, benefit guides, and claim procedures. No commercial relationship influences our ratings.

Travel Insurance · 11 guarantees

What does PC Financial Mastercard Travel Insurance actually cover?

Quality, not just caps

No trip cancellation. This benefit is not included with this card. Prepaid flights, hotels, and tours are not reimbursable if you cancel. A standalone travel insurance policy is required for this coverage.

What's not covered
  • No cancellation benefit. All prepaid travel costs are the cardholder's responsibility.

No emergency medical coverage. This benefit is not included with this card. Provincial health plans (RAMQ, OHIP, etc.) cover almost nothing outside Canada, so medical costs abroad are the cardholder's responsibility. A single ER visit abroad typically runs $10,000 to $80,000.

What's not covered
  • No emergency medical benefit. All costs are the cardholder's responsibility.

No emergency evacuation benefit. This benefit is not included with this card. Emergency transportation costs are entirely the cardholder's responsibility. A transoceanic air ambulance from Southeast Asia runs $200,000 to $300,000.

What's not covered
  • No evacuation benefit. All costs are the cardholder's responsibility.

No trip interruption coverage. This benefit is not included with this card. Costs from a trip cut short, including return flights and unused hotels, are entirely out of pocket.

What's not covered
  • No trip interruption benefit. All costs are the cardholder's responsibility.

No trip delay reimbursement. This benefit is not included with this card. Meals, lodging, and transportation during a delay are the cardholder's responsibility.

What's not covered
  • No trip delay benefit. All costs are the cardholder's responsibility.

No missed connection coverage. This benefit is not included with this card. Last-minute rebooking on a missed international connection can cost $300 to $800.

What's not covered
  • No missed connection benefit. All costs are the cardholder's responsibility.

No early return benefit. This benefit is not included with this card. A last-minute one-way flight home can cost $800 to $2,000.

What's not covered
  • No early return benefit. All costs are the cardholder's responsibility.

No baggage delay reimbursement. This benefit is not included with this card. Purchases of essential items during a bag delay are out of pocket.

What's not covered
  • No baggage delay benefit. All costs are the cardholder's responsibility.

No lost or stolen baggage coverage. This benefit is not included with this card. If your luggage is permanently lost or stolen in transit, the airline's liability limit applies ($3,700 domestic or $1,900 international under the Montreal Convention).

What's not covered
  • No baggage loss benefit. All costs are the cardholder's responsibility.

No travel accident insurance. This benefit is not included with this card. Common carrier accident benefits on premium cards typically range from $250,000 to $1,000,000; this card provides none.

What's not covered
  • No travel accident benefit. This card does not cover accidental death or dismemberment while travelling.

No hotel theft protection. This benefit is not included with this card. Electronics and valuables left in a hotel room can total $1,000 to $3,000 with no recourse if stolen.

What's not covered
  • No hotel theft benefit. All costs are the cardholder's responsibility.
Policy document

We source benefits from official card guides, but PDFs are sometimes hard to obtain or update. Spotted something off?

Coverage Radar

Where the PC Financial Mastercard wins, where it loses

Coverage snapshot for this tab — click any layer to highlight its scores.

Compare

MastercardThis card0.2/5?
$0/yr
With travel insuranceIdeal
Complete coverage · 5.0 / 5
Premium card avg.
$150 avg. annual fee

Click a layer to highlight its scores on the radar.

Side-by-side comparison

How the PC Financial Mastercard stacks up against the alternatives

Same 5 coverage dimensions, ranked head-to-head against the cards most Mastercard shoppers also consider.

Card
This card
Mastercard

Mastercard

PC Financial · $0/yr

0.2/5?
WestJet World Elite Mastercard

WestJet World Elite Mastercard

RBC · $139/yr

4.1/5?
Aeroplan Reserve

Aeroplan Reserve

American Express · $599/yr

4.1/5?

Trip cancellation

Per person, per trip cap

$1,500 per person

Charged to card or WestJet dollars

$1,500 / person

Covered reasons apply

Emergency medical

Hospital bills abroad

Unlimited

No dollar ceiling

$5,000,000

Age 64 or under only

Emergency evacuation

Air ambulance + repatriation

Within medical

Air ambulance pre-authorized

Within $5M medical

Within emergency medical

Trip delay trigger

Hours before benefits kick in

4h / $500

$250 per day

4h / $1,000 agg

4-hour trigger

Rental CDW

Primary or secondary

Primary / actual cash value

Primary coverage

Primary / $85,000

Primary CDW

StrongLimited / misleadingNot covered

Data verified against each card's Guide to Benefits, May 2026.

Cardholder reviews

What cardholders say about the PC Financial Mastercard

Synthesis of public reviews from r/PersonalFinanceCanada, r/CreditCardsCanada, and Ratehub.ca. Individual experiences may vary.

MT

Marc T.

2025-11

Best card for Loblaw shoppers

For Shoppers Drug Mart purchases, the PC Mastercard earns 25 points per dollar, which works out to about 2.5%. I use it only at Loblaw-banner stores; it is my grocery card, not my travel card.

DK

David K.

2025-09

Extended warranty paid out on my laptop

The extended warranty paid out on a broken laptop. I submitted the original receipt, the manufacturer's warranty, and a repair estimate. The claim resolved in about three weeks.

JL

Jennifer L.

2025-08

No travel insurance: found out the hard way

I assumed the card had at least some travel coverage. It has none: no emergency medical, no cancellation, nothing. I found out when I tried to claim a delayed flight. Use a different card when you travel.

Emergency · Card assistance line

How to contact PC Financial Mastercard assistance?

1-866-892-8683

Benefit administrator: American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida

How to file a claim

1

Call the claims line

Call 1-866-892-8683 (Canada and US) or 613-634-4997 (collect, from outside North America) to initiate your purchase assurance or extended warranty claim.

2

Gather your documents

You will need the original itemized receipt, proof of loss or damage, and for extended warranty claims, the original manufacturer's warranty document.

3

Submit within the deadline

File within the deadline stated in your Certificate of Insurance. The underwriter is American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida under Master Policy PCF0817.

FAQ

What people ask about the PC Financial Mastercard

  • Purchase assurance and extended warranty activate automatically when you charge the full purchase price to your PC Financial Mastercard. No registration or pre-approval is required for items with warranties of five years or less. For extended warranty on items with original warranties over five years, call 1-866-892-8683 within the first year of purchase to register the item with the Insurer. Keep the original sales receipt and manufacturer's warranty documentation. There is no travel insurance activation process because the card carries no travel benefits.
  • The PC Financial Mastercard purchase assurance and extended warranty benefits cover eligible items charged to the primary cardholder or any supplementary cardholder on the account. Items given as gifts are also covered, but the cardholder who made the purchase must file the claim. Non-cardholder household members who did not charge the purchase cannot file a claim. There is no covered-persons clause for travel benefits because the card carries no travel insurance of any kind.
  • The PC Financial Mastercard does not offer rental car coverage of any kind. No CDW (collision damage waiver), no secondary coverage, nothing. If you rent a car and damage occurs, all collision, theft, and damage costs are your responsibility. The rental agency's collision damage waiver at the counter is your only card-adjacent option. A standalone rental CDW from a third-party provider typically costs $8 to $12 per day.
  • Call 1-866-892-8683 (Canada and US) or 613-634-4997 (collect, from elsewhere) immediately after the loss to notify the Insurer and receive claim forms. Complete and return the signed claim form within 90 days of the loss. The form must include the time, place, and amount of the loss; your PC Financial Mastercard sales receipt; the vendor receipt; the original manufacturer's warranty where applicable; and a police or loss report. Important: if you need repair work done, notify and obtain Insurer approval before proceeding. There is no travel insurance claims process because the card does not include travel coverage.
  • The PC Financial Mastercard carries no travel insurance of any kind: no trip cancellation, no emergency medical, no evacuation, no flight delay, no baggage coverage. For purchase assurance, key exclusions include motorized vehicles and their parts, items purchased for business use, perishables, used or rebuilt items, inherent product defects, fraud, mysterious disappearance, and consequential damages. Extended warranty excludes computer hardware, software, motorized vehicles, items bought for business use, and normal wear and tear. Both benefits require the full purchase to be charged to the card.
  • Yes. Purchase assurance covers eligible items against theft, loss, or direct physical damage for 90 days from the date of purchase, anywhere in the world. The benefit pays up to $1,000 per incident, with a lifetime maximum of $50,000 per account. Items given as gifts are also covered — the cardholder files the claim, not the recipient. If the item needs repair, notify and obtain Insurer approval before proceeding. Call 1-866-892-8683 and submit your claim form within 90 days of the loss.
  • Yes. The PC Financial Mastercard doubles the original manufacturer's warranty on eligible purchases, up to a maximum of one additional year. Automatic coverage applies to products with original warranties of five years or less. For items with warranties over five years, call 1-866-892-8683 within the first year of purchase to register the item with the Insurer. Coverage is capped at $10,000 or the amount you paid, whichever is lower. Computer hardware, software, motorized vehicles, and business-use items are excluded.
  • No. The PC Financial Mastercard is not designed for travel protection. It carries no emergency medical insurance, no trip cancellation, no baggage coverage, and no rental CDW. Your provincial health plan (OHIP, RAMQ) covers almost nothing outside Canada, so any international trip without a separate policy leaves all medical costs at your own expense. A standalone travel insurance policy covering emergency medical and trip cancellation typically costs $60 to $150 for a week abroad. The PC Mastercard is a strong grocery and pharmacy card; it is not a travel card.
  • No. The PC Financial Mastercard does not include cell phone protection. Theft, accidental damage, or screen cracks to your phone are not covered by this card. Replacing a mid-range to flagship smartphone costs $400 to $1,300 out of pocket. The purchase assurance benefit does cover general purchases, including electronics, for 90 days from purchase against theft and physical damage, but it is not a dedicated cell phone protection benefit and caps at $1,000 per incident.
  • No. The PC Financial Mastercard does not include trip cancellation insurance. If you need to cancel a prepaid trip, flights, hotels, and tour packages are not reimbursable through this card. Trip cancellation is not the only missing travel benefit: the card carries no travel insurance at all. For Canadians who travel regularly, a standalone travel insurance policy or a travel-equipped card such as the Scotiabank Gold Amex or RBC Avion Visa Infinite is required to cover cancellation and other travel risks.
Not just PC Financial

Other cards worth considering

Mastercard is a strong choice — but depending on what you prioritize, one of these may suit you better.

WestJet World Elite Mastercard

WestJet World Elite Mastercard

RBC

See WestJet World Elite Mastercard review
Aeroplan Reserve

Aeroplan Reserve

American Express

See Aeroplan Reserve review
Aeroplan Visa Infinite

Aeroplan Visa Infinite

CIBC

See Aeroplan Visa Infinite review
Aventura Visa Infinite

Aventura Visa Infinite

CIBC

See Aventura Visa Infinite review

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