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BMO and National Bank each offer a credit card that allows you to earn 5 points per dollar on grocery and restaurant purchases:
These are two basic cards that we often recommend when someone wants to earn points quickly and easily.
So, we’ll break down the key differences between these credit cards based on:
The National Bank World Elite Mastercard currently offers no welcome bonus, while the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card still allows you to enjoy a welcome bonus of up to 80,000 BMO Rewards points depending on current promotions.
By applying for our exclusive offer for the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card, you can get up to 80,000 BMO Rewards points as well as an annual fee rebate of $120 for the first year:
The additional reward points (worth approximately $530) and the annual fee rebate ($120) have a total value of $650.
In terms of value, the offer for the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card is the best. However, you will need to spend $27,000 to get all the points.
The National Bank World Elite Mastercard requires:
The BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card requires:
It’s easier to qualify for the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Card, both in terms of income requirements and the minimum spend of $15,000 (an average of $1,250 per month) needed on the card.
The National Bank World Elite Mastercard has an annual fee of $150.
The BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card has an annual fee of $120.
Yes, the annual fees for the National Bank World Elite Mastercard are higher than its competitor.
However, the National Bank World Elite Mastercard has a unique advantage: it offers an annual travel fee rebate of up to $150! By using this $150 rebate to its full potential, your credit card costs you $0 every year.
However, the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card should not be completely overlooked in this case. It offers a $50 annual lifestyle credit that you can use however you like. This may be more suitable for people who don’t travel much or at all. This card would therefore cost a small $70 per year ($120 – $50).
The BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card and the National Bank World Elite Mastercard each offer fairly similar point earning rates.
With the National Bank World Elite Mastercard you can also earn up to 5 points per dollar:
*For the Grocery and Restaurant category, you can earn 5 points per dollar spent on the first $2,500 in monthly purchases (across all categories) charged to the card. Starting at $2,501, points are accumulated at a rate of 2 points per dollar for the 5 X points category.
With the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card, you can earn up to 5 points per dollar:
* This card offers 5 BMO points per dollar spent in the five bonus categories: dining, food delivery, groceries, gas, and public transit. However, this advantageous rate only applies up to certain annual caps ($6,000 for dining, $6,000 for groceries, $20,000 for gas and transit), after which you earn 1 point per dollar.
If groceries represent a significant portion of your household budget, these two credit cards offer an excellent earning rate of 5 points per dollar in this spending category.
However, the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Card has a drawback: after $6,001 in annual grocery purchases, the earn rate drops sharply to just 1 point per dollar. So, if you spend $115 or more per week on groceries, you will quickly reach this cap and lose the card’s main benefit for the rest of the year.
Whereas the National Bank World Elite Mastercard is more generous with a monthly cap of $2,500. This higher limit lets you take full advantage of the elevated earn rate of 5 points per dollar, without worrying about hitting the cap as quickly as with the competing card.
Both cards are part of different loyalty programs:
The ways to use your points are similar, but you’ll notice differences in the value of each program’s points.
With National Bank World Elite Mastercard, you cannot transfer your points to other programs. According to our estimate, one NBC reward point is worth 0.90 cents.
Here are a few ways to use your Reward Points:
BMO Rewards points cannot be transferred to other reward programs.
According to our estimate, one BMO reward point is worth 0.67 cents. There are several options for using BMO Rewards points:
Thanks to the great flexibility of the National Bank World Elite Mastercard, points can be used in several ways and require fewer points for redemptions, since they have a higher value.
Each calendar year, the National Bank World Elite Mastercard cardholder has a $150 travel credit to reimburse certain travel expenses:
It also offers:
With the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card, you can also enjoy the benefits of Visa Infinite cardholders:
With its wide range of travel benefits, the National Bank World Elite Mastercard is unbeatable in this respect.
180 days
The National Bank World Elite Mastercard offers more generous additional coverage than the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card. Furthermore, it only requires charging a portion of travel purchases to the card to benefit from most of the insurance coverage.
The BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card stands out for its mobile device insurance coverage.
So? Which card is the winner?
In our opinion, for everyday life and its regular expenses, it’s the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card. Whereas if you love to travel and insurance is paramount for you, the National Bank World Elite Mastercard is the best.
The BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card stands out for:
While the National Bank World Elite Mastercard stands out thanks to:
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