Earn an extra 10% cash back (up to $100)*
BMO Rewards

BMO Rewards ultimate guide

To the point BMO Rewards is Bank of Montreal's loyalty program. Find out how to use your BMO Rewards points to save money!

Earn points

There are 5 credit cards that are part of the BMO Rewards program.

BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard

The BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard is one of the best World Elite Mastercard credit cards with travel points in Canada. With our exclusive offer, you can get up to 70,000 Welcome Bonus Points:

  • 40,000 points when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months
  • 2,500 points per month after $2,000 in monthly purchases from the 4th to the 15th month, up to 30,000 points

Plus, the annual fee is waived in the first year for both the primary cardholder and authorized users.

With the BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard, a premium credit card from BMO, you get:

  • 5 points per dollar on travel purchases
  • 3 points per dollar on dining purchases
  • 3 points per dollar for entertainment purchases
  • 3 points per dollar on recurring bill payments

And 1 point for every $1 spent everywhere else, including at Costco. You can use your points for travel purchases on the BMO Rewards website (flights, hotels, car rentals, all-inclusive).

The BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard also offers:

  • Four annual complimentary passes to airport VIP lounges
  • Excellent Premium insurance for your travels or purchases
  • a premium concierge service

BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card

When you sign up for our exclusive offer on the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card, you can earn up to 70,000 BMO Rewards points as well as a$120 annual fee waiver for the first year:

  • 40,000 points after $3,000 in purchases in the first three months
  • 30,000 points at annual renewal if you have made $25,000 in purchases with the card in the first 12 months

Plus, you’ll get a $50 annual lifestyle credit – per calendar year – to spend however you want.

With the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card, you can earn 5 BMO Rewards points per dollar spent on:

  • Groceries
  • Dining
  • Food delivery
  • Gas
  • Transit

And 1 BMO Rewards point for every $1 spent on everything else. Plus, if you add an authorized user to your account, you’ll earn 10% more points.

The New BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Privilege* Card

The BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Privilege Card* is a premium metal card! With this card , you can earn up to 90,000 BMO Rewards points:

  • 50,000 points when you spend $6,000 in the first 3 months
  • 40,000 points twelve months after the Credit Card account open date after you spend a minimum of $100,000 within the first twelve months

Plus, you’ll get a $200 annual lifestyle credit – per calendar year – to spend however you want. As well as a Visa Airport Companion membership with 6 complimentary airport lounge visits per year.

With this Card, you earn 5 BMO Rewards points per dollar of purchases for:

  • Groceries
  • Gas
  • Drugstores
  • travel purchases
  • Dining
  • Food delivery

And 1 BMO Rewards point for every $1 spent on everything else.

BMO® Rewards® Mastercard®*

The BMO® Rewards® Mastercard®* is one of the best no-fee credit cards in Canada. For a limited time, you can get a welcome bonus of 15,000 points.

Also, you can get a 0.99% introductory interest rate on balance transfers for 9 months.

It’s a great way to get more BMO Rewards points!

BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard for Business

The BMO Rewards® World Elite®* Business Mastercard®* is one of Canada’s best Business travel Mastercard credit cards. You can earn up to 70,000 points as a welcome bonus:

  • 50,000 points after you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months
  • 20,000 points after you spend $35,000 in the first twelve months

Plus, there is no annual fee for the first year! And you get 2 free visits a year to DragonPass airport lounges.

You can also enjoy a 0% introductory interest rate on balance transfers for nine months (with a 3% transfer fee).

With BMO World Elite Business Mastercard, you earn 4 points for every dollar you spend on:

  • gas purchases
  • office supply purchases
  • cell phone/internet payments

And 1.5 points for every dollar you spend, including at Costco or for significant purchases at home improvement stores.

You can use your points for travel purchases on the BMO Rewards website (flights, hotels, car rentals, all-inclusive). Finally, you can combine the points you earn with the other two BMO Rewards cards to save even more on your travel.

With the BMO World Elite Business Mastercard, you get premium insurance:

  • Collision Damage Waiver
  • Car Rental Personal Effects & Business Property
  • Car Rental Accidental Death & Dismemberment
  • Baggage & Personal Effects
  • Baggage insurance in case of delay
  • Trip Cancellation Insurance
  • Trip Interruption/Trip Delay
  • Departure flight delay insurance
  • Common Carrier Insurance

And for your purchases :

  • Extended Warranty
  • Purchase Protection

Great cards for Costco!

As they are Mastercard credit cards, you can use them at Costco: you will earn between 1 and 2 BMO Rewards points depending on the card you’ll use!

costco logo

Redeem points

Redeem your BMO Rewards Points for travel

The most significant advantage of BMO Rewards points: there are no blackout periods.

You can redeem your BMO Rewards points anytime.

IMG 2174
Muraille de Chine

Unlike a loyalty program like Aeroplan or AIR MILES, you can redeem anytime for flights, hotels, cruises and vacation packages.

You can redeem BMO Rewards points for different types of trips:

  • flights
  • Hotels
  • Car rentals
  • Cruises
  • Vacation packages

To redeem your BMO Rewards points, you’ll need to use the BMO Rewards website.

bmo rewards
BMO Rewards Travel portal

In all of these cases, the value of your BMO Rewards points will be 15,000 points = $100 (or 0.67¢/point). And that’s the most value you can get out of them !

Prices are the same as other travel agencies. You can even check prices for yourself: you don’t need a BMO Rewards account to search for a trip.

And if the flight you see elsewhere isn’t on the site, you can call BMO Rewards team and ask to book that specific flight!

Here are some examples of BMO Rewards points redemptions:

Travel type BMO Rewards points Value
One hotel night in Fort Lauderdale (before a cruise) 18 575 $132.68
Three hotel nights in Orlando 38 252 $273.23
5-days car rental in Orlando 48 569 $346.92
One roundtrip flight from Montreal to Orlando with Air Canada 65 020 $464.44
leased vehicle
Rental car

In our opinion, Car rentals are the best BMO Rewards points redemption:

  • you can use your BMO points at their full value
  • You will benefit from the insurance provided by the BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard, which will save you the cost of collision insurance with the rental company (approximately $25/day savings).

And you don’t need to have a full balance of points to book: you can make a mix of cash and points!

bmo recompenses voiture

If you decide to cancel your car rental, BMO will make a statement credit on your credit card account (rather than a BMO Rewards points credit). An excellent way to redeem your BMO points for cash!

BMO Rewards Price Guarantee

You can call BMO Rewards if you can’t find what you want on the online portal.

But it is also possible to claim a price match guarantee!

PriceMatch 960x320 EN
BMO Rewards price match guarantee

Several rules are governing this price guarantee. BMO will match the price for most Canadian travel providers:

  • Vacation Packages:Sunquest Vacations, ALBATours, TransatVacations, Nolitours, Signature Vacations, Air Canada Vacations, Sunwing and WestJet Vacations
  • Airfare:Air Canada or WestJet

Redeem BMO Rewards points for investments/statement credit

After travel, the second-best BMO Rewards points redemption is through a BMO investment account.

money 2724241 1920
Investment

Here, 15,000 points = $100 (or $0.67/point).

On the other hand, we will totally advise you not to use your points as a statement credit: the rate is far from advantageous: 15,000 points = $50 (or $0.33 /point).

Redeem BMO Rewards points for Gift cards

Another option to redeem your BMO Rewards points is for gift cards.

cards

Here, BMO Rewards points value is variable:

Gift-card Cost in points Value of 1 point
Best Buy = $100 19 300 ¢0.52
Amazon / Costco = $100 20 300 ¢0.49
Indigo = $100 18 700 ¢0.53
Gap = $100 17 200 ¢0.58
Best Western = $100 17 500 ¢0.57

On average, here 10,000 points = $54 (or $0.54/point).

Products with BMO Rewards Points

Like any loyalty program, you can redeem your BMO Rewards points for products.

bmo marchandises points 1

But, as we say in travel hacking:

You don’t buy a toaster with your points!

Here, we made the comparison on a product, the “Four Smart Oven Air Breville” sold for 90,000 BMO Rewards points.

four breville amazon

This same oven costs $599 plus taxes on Best Buy / Amazon, or $688.70 in Quebec. This makes a valuation of 10,000 points = $76.52 (or 0.765 ¢).

Surprisingly, you find more value in buying this item than through travel! The exception confirming the rule?

After several valuation tests, we found that the value varies greatly from product to product (between 0.30 and 0.80 ¢!).

It will be up to you to test for your desired products!

Redeem BMO Rewards Points for experiences

Finally, you can redeem your BMO Rewards points for experiences!

bmo experiences points 1

This option applies to only a few cities in Canada. When writing this post, the only one in Quebec is in Mont-Tremblant.

bmo mt tremblant 1

64,500 BMO Rewards points for a getaway for two at Le Grand Lodge Mont-Tremblant:

  • One night for 2 in a suite
  • Breakfast for 2
  • Bottle of wine
  • Welcome cocktail

Compared to the rates spotted on the web, this values 10,000 points = $62 (or 0.62 ¢ per point).

Summary

Here is a table of your various options:

Redemptions 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 may have seen, 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.

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FAQ

What are BMO Rewards points?

BMO Rewards is Bank of Montreal’s (BMO) loyalty program. Points earned are called BMO Rewards points. You can redeem BMO Rewards points for travel, products or gift cards through the BMO Rewards website.

How do I earn BMO Rewards points?

There are five BMO Rewards Credit Cards, including one business credit card.

According to offers, each one gives you some welcome bonus points. You’ll earn points depending on your purchases charged to the credit card. Depending on your buyer profile, some cards will be more suitable than others.

For example, with the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card, you can earn 5 points per dollar on:

  • Dining
  • Food delivery
  • Gas
  • Transit
  • Groceries

Finally, other BMO Rewards credit cards are Mastercard, so it’s a good idea to use them at Costco. Take the time to read through the benefits of each card to match your needs.

How much is a BMO Rewards point worth?

Each BMO Rewards point is worth 0.7 cents. So if you have 50,000 points, it’s a $350 value.

What are BMO Rewards points used for?

You can redeem BMO Rewards points in 5 different ways:

  • Travel
  • Investments
  • Experiences
  • Products
  • Gift cards
  • Statement credit

However, the best use is for travel. Here’s the approximate value of 10,000 BMO Rewards points based on the type of redemption:

Redemptions Value
Travel $71.4
Investments $66.7
Experiences $62
Products $60
Gift cards $54
Statement credit $33.3

Can BMO Rewards points be transferred to another program?

BMO Rewards points cannot be transferred to another program.

Do BMO Rewards points expire?

As long as a BMO Rewards credit card is open, the points are valid. After the account is closed, you have 90 days to use them.

What is the Best Price Guarantee at BMO Rewards?

BMO has a best price guarantee for most Canadian travel suppliers: Vacation Packages: Sunquest Vacations, ALBATours, Transat Holidays, Nolitours, Signature Vacations, Air Canada Vacations, Sunwing Vacations, and WestJet Vacations. And airline tickets: Air Canada or WestJet.

Is there an annual fee for BMO Rewards credit cards?

Some BMO Rewards credit cards have no annual fee, some are waiving the first-year annual fee and some not.

In addition, there are minimum annual income requirements to apply for some cards (BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard) while others are available to everyone such as the

With select BMO Rewards Credit Cards, you get great insurance for travel or purchases, as well as extended warranties depending on the credit card you choose. You can also get free access to airport VIP lounges.

How do I apply for a BMO Rewards credit card?

As with most Canadian credit cards, Milesopedia is affiliated with Bank of Montreal (BMO). You can filter your search in the Credit Card Comparison Page, or go to the BMO Credit Cards page.

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Jean-Maximilien
Jean-Maximilien is an expert in Canada and France about Loyalty programs, Credit cards and Travel. He is the Founding President of Milesopedia.

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