To the point
Earn up to 25,000 BMO Rewards points with this new no-annual-fee credit card: the BMO eclipse rise Visa Card.
BMO offers a new credit card as part of its BMO Rewards program: the BMO eclipse rise Visa* Card.
This credit card is ideal for Generation Z and millennials, with the following features:
- No annual fee
- No minimum income requirement
- Rewarding good financial habits by awarding points each year when the credit card balance is paid in full on time each month
Before analyzing this card in detail, here’s the current welcome offer:
BMO eclipse rise Visa Card - Welcome offer
BMO eclipse rise Visa* Card
The new BMO eclipse rise Visa* Card is a no-annual-fee travel rewards credit card with no minimum income required.
With this offer, you can earn up to 25,000 points as a welcome bonus:
- 20,000 points after $1,500 in purchases in the first 3 months
- 2,500 bonus points for redeeming at least 12,000 points annually towards your statement balance with Pay with points
- 2,500 bonus points for paying your full credit card balance on time for 12 consecutive months
Moreover, you can get a 0.99% introductory interest rate on Balance Transfers for 9 months (a 2% fee applies to balance amounts transferred).
With the new BMO eclipse rise Visa* Card, you get :
- 5 points for every two dollars spent on recurring bill payments
- 5 points for every two dollars spent at the grocery store
- 5 points for every two dollars in dining and takeout purchases
- 1 point per two dollars spent on everything else
You can use BMO Rewards points for all travel purchases made through the agency or website of your choice (flights, hotels, car rentals, all-inclusive resorts, Airbnb, etc.) or for rewards and gift cards on the BMO Rewards platform.
The new BMO eclipse rise Visa* Card also offers:
- Mobile Device Insurance
- Purchase Protection
- Extended warranty insurance
BMO eclipse rise Visa Card - Features
Earn BMO Rewards points
With the BMO eclipse rise Visa* card, you can earn 5 points for every $2 spent on:
- Groceries
- Dining and takeout
- Recurring bills payments (such as rent via Chexy)
BMO clearly wanted to stick to the “5X the points” marketing pitch already used for its other products such as the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card, the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Privilege* Card or the BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard.
However, unlike these other three products, the 5x points are not per dollar but per two dollars of purchases. So 5 points per $2 is equivalent to 2.5 points per dollar.
The same applies to all other purchases, where you can earn 1 point for every $2 spent. This amounts to 0.5 points per dollar.
In addition to earning BMO Rewards points on your BMO eclipse rise Visa* card purchases, you could also earn up to 5,000 bonus points each year, in two ways:
- 2,500 bonus points for using at least 12,000 points per year to pay off your credit card statement balance
- 2,500 bonus points when the credit card balance is paid in full on time each month
If we don’t recommend the first option, which is not advantageous in terms of the value obtained with your points (compared to travel or BMO financial investment products), we can only encourage you to pay your credit card balance in full, every month, on time.
Not only will you improve your credit score, but BMO will give you 2,500 bonus BMO Rewards points (a $16 value according to our estimate).
Redeeming BMO Rewards points
As mentioned in our guide to the BMO Rewards program, here’s a chart of your options:
| Redemption | 10,000 points | Value of 1 point |
| Travel | $66.7 | ¢0.67 |
| Investment | $66.7 | ¢0.67 |
| Experiences | $62 | ¢0.62 |
| Merchandise | $60 | ¢0.60 |
| Gift cards | $54 | ¢0.54 |
| Statement credit | $33.3 | ¢0.33 |
As you can see, the value of your BMO Rewards points can vary greatly.
One thing is for sure: do not use them for a statement credit; it is the worst possible redemption!
If you don’t redeem your points for travel, use it for investments, experiences or even gift cards.
Fees and balance transfer option
The BMO eclipse rise Visa* Card has no annual fee.
This makes this credit card an excellent starting point for your credit history. Keep it year after year to improve your credit score. However, once you have a more substantial income, consider a credit card offering more rewards and benefits/insurance.
The BMO eclipse rise Visa* Card may also be of interest to those wishing to transfer their credit card balance, and benefit from a low-interest rate for several months on the transferred balance. Actually, right now, when you apply for the BMO eclipse rise Visa* card, you can take advantage of a 0.99% rate on balance transfers (with a 2% transfer fee).
Insurance
While the BMO eclipse rise Visa* card has no annual fee, it does come with insurance for your purchases, including mobile device insurance. This insurance will provide you with up to $1,000 of protection.
BMO eclipse rise Visa Card - Our take
The new BMO eclipse rise Visa* Card targets a specific audience: young Canadians from Generation Z (18 – 24) and young millennials (25 – 34). In this sense, we understand the targeted purchasing categories such as groceries, restaurants, takeaway food or recurring payments.
However, it’s a shame that BMO used the marketing pitch of 5 times the points, which can be misleading when compared with other cards that really offer 5 times points per dollar of purchase such as the American Express Cobalt® Card, the National Bank World Elite Mastercard® Card, the MBNA Rewards World Elite® Mastercard® or the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card. Where the new BMO eclipse rise Visa* Card offers only 5 points per two dollars in purchases. That’s 2.5 points per dollar.
Also, given that the value of BMO Rewards points is lower than that of the cards mentioned above, 2.5 points per dollar corresponds to an effective return of 1.67% – when BMO points are used optimally. In the end, this is still a good deal for a no-annual-fee credit card (annual fees are often a disincentive to applying for a credit card – even though some premium credit cards have first-year annual fee rebates).
On the other hand, offering only 1 point per $2 for all other purchases corresponds to an effective return of 0.33%. Many other no-annual-fee credit cards offer better returns, such as:
Bottom Line
The BMO eclipse rise Visa* Card is an attractive card for those just starting with credit. After that, however, we advise you to switch to a credit card offering more benefits and rewards for your purchases!
Come to discuss that topic in our Facebook Group!
