The Top BMO Travel Credit Cards for Canadians

Top BMO Travel Credit Cards are cards you can leverage to travel the world for free.

BMO (Ban of Montreal) is one of the largest banks here in Canada and has a long history, dating back to 1817. BMO has a significant presence in Canada, with a large network of branches and ATMs across the country. It is known for its commitment to customer service, innovative banking solutions, and a comprehensive suite of financial products. BMO has built a strong reputation and has been recognized as one of the leading banks in Canada.

BMO serves millions of customers and offers a wide range of banking products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management, investment banking, and travel credit cards

The travel credit cards offered through BMO come with a number of perks including:

• Travel rewards which can be redeemed for various travel-related expenses such as flights, hotel stays, car rentals, and more.
• Great sign-up bonuses
• Travel insurance
• Airport lounge access
• Travel-related discounts and benefits

Travel credit cards through BMO allow cardholders to earn either BMO Rewards or Air Miles

What are BMO Rewards?

BMO Rewards allows BMO customers to earn rewards points on their eligible credit card purchases and redeem those points for a variety of rewards.

BMO Rewards program offers flexibility in how you can use your points. You can redeem them for travel, merchandise, gift cards, statement credits, and more. Travel rewards include flights, hotels, vacation packages, car rentals, and cruises.

BMO has a dedicated travel website that allows you to book your travel using your points, or you can simply use your points against any travel related credit card purchase (at a rate of 150 points = $1, or 0.67 cents per point)

What are Air Miles?

Air Miles is a loyalty program that allows members to earn points, called Air Miles, on their everyday purchases and redeem them for various rewards. It was originally launched in Canada in 1992, and was purchased by BMO in 2023.

Air Miles partners with various companies, such as airlines, financial institutions, retailers, and service providers, to offer opportunities for members to earn points. Members can earn Air Miles by making purchases with participating retailers, using co-branded credit cards, or engaging with partner offers and promotions.

Once members accumulate enough Air Miles, they can redeem them for a wide range of rewards, including flights with participating airlines, hotel stays, car rentals, vacation packages, merchandise, gift cards, and more.

Read: Your Complete Guide to Air Miles

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What are the Top Travel Credit Cards Offered Through BMO

Top Air Miles BMO Card: The Air Miles World Elite Mastercard

The BMO Air Miles World Elite Mastercard is the top Air Miles card in the market today. 

Sign up here

The annual fee of $120 is waived for the first year, and is offset by the following benefits:

• Sign-up Bonus:
  • 2,000 Air Miles upon spending $3,000 in the first 3 months
• Earn Rate: 
  • 3 Air Miles per 12 dollars spent at Air Miles partner retailers
  • 2 Air Miles per 12 dollars spent at grocery & gas stations
  • 1 Air Mile per 12 dollars spent everywhere else
• Insurance:
  • Emergency medical travel insurance – up to 15 days
  • Flight delay insurance – up to $500
  • Car rental damage insurance 
  • Trip cancellation insurance – up to $2,500
• Perks
  • DragonPass membership
  • 15% discount on all Air Miles flights within North America

If you intend on cashing in your Air Miles for a flight, this card can certainly help. The 15% discount on Air Miles flights within North America, and the 2,000 sign up bonus can get you a free round trip flight, depending on where you’d like to fly. 

Runner up Air Miles Card: Air Miles Mastercard

The BMO Air Miles Mastercard is a great way to earn Air Miles without paying a high annual fee

Sign up here

The annual fee is $0, and is offset by the following benefits:

• Sign-up Bonus:
  • 800 Air Miles upon spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
• Earn Rate: 
  • 3 Air Miles per 25 dollars spent at Air Miles partner retailers
  • 2 Air Miles per 25 dollars spent at grocery & gas stations
  • 1 Air Mile per 25 dollars spent everywhere else
• Perks
  • 15% discount on Alamo & National car rentals

Top BMO Rewards Card: BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard

The BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard card is the top BMO Rewards card in the market today. 

Sign up here

The annual fee of $150 is waived for the first year, and is offset by the following benefits:

• Sign-up Bonus:
  • 30,000 BMO Rewards upon spending $3,000 in the first 3 months
  • 2,500 BMO Rewards per month upon spending $2,000 per month during months 5-14 of card ownership
    • Total of 60,000 BMO Rewards
• Earn Rate: 
  • 5 BMO Rewards per dollar spent on travel
  • 3 BMO Rewards per dollar spent on dining, entertainment & bill payments
  • 1 BMO Reward per dollar spent everywhere else
• Insurance:
  • Emergency medical travel insurance – up to $2,000,000 (21 days)
  • Car rental damage insurance 
  • Trip cancellation/interruption insurance – up to $2,500
  • Flight delay insurance – up to $500
• Perks
  • 4 annual DragonPass passes
  • Boingo wifi membership

The 30,000 BMO rewards is essentially $210 off travel purchases. Most users will be better off leveraging other cards (through other issuers) for everyday spending. Canadians will need to determine whether or not the $150 annual fee is taking into the second year.

Runer Up BMO Rewards Card: BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card

The BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite card is the top BMO Rewards card in the market today. 

Sign up here

The annual fee of $120 is waived for the first year, and is offset by the following benefits:

• Sign-up Bonus:
  • 30,000 BMO Rewards upon spending $3,000 in the first 3 months
  • 2,500 BMO Rewards per month upon spending $2,000 per month during months 5-14 of card ownership
    • Total of 60,000 BMO Rewards
• Earn Rate: 
  • 5 BMO Rewards per dollar spent at grocery, dining & gas stations
  • 1 BMO Reward per dollar spent everywhere else
• Insurance:
  • Emergency medical travel insurance
  • Car rental damage insurance 
  • Mobile device insurance – up to $1,000
• Perks
  • $50 annual lifestyle credit

The 30,000 BMO rewards is essentially $210 off travel purchases. Most users will be better off leveraging other cards (through other issuers) for everyday spending. Canadians will need to determine whether or not the $120 annual fee is worth taking into year 2.

Top BMO Business Card: BMO World Elite Business Mastercard

The BMO World Elite Business Mastercard card is the top BMO Business card in the market today. 

Sign up here

The annual fee of $149 is waived for the first year, and is offset by the following benefits:

• Sign-up Bonus:
  • 50,000 BMO Rewards upon spending $5,000 in the first 3 months
  • 20,000 BMO Rewards per month upon spending $35,000 in year one of cardmembership
    • Total of 70,000 BMO Rewards
• Earn Rate: 
  • 4 BMO Rewards per dollar spent on office supplies, gas, and cell phone bills
  • 1.5 BMO Rewards per dollar spent everywhere else
• Insurance:
  • Emergency medical travel insurance – up to $2,000,000 (21 days)
  • Car rental damage insurance 
  • Trip cancellation/interruption insurance – up to $2,500
  • Flight delay insurance – up to $500
  • Baggage delay – up to $500
  • Lost or stolen baggage – up to $1,000
• Perks
  • 2 annual DragonPass passes
  • 5 free virtual care visits per year with Maple

The 50,000 BMO rewards is essentially $350 off travel purchases. Most users will be better off leveraging other cards (through other issuers) for everyday spending. Canadians will need to determine whether or not the $149 annual fee is taking into the second year.

When Should I Start Collecting BMO Rewards or Air Miles

BMO rewards can be redeemed against travel purchases at a rate of 0.67 cent per point. While that’s fantastic, there are other travel programs in Canada that can get you better value.

I would encourage Canadians to look at program such as Aeroplan, Marriott Bonvoy, or American Express Membership Rewards to get you started on your points journey. Those programs can get you value of upwards of 10cents/point if redeemed properly. Aeroplan & Marriott are the two biggest loyalty programs in Canada. This is where you should start.

Once you’ve properly racked enough enough Aeroplan & Marriott Bonvoy points, you can then start focusing on BMO Rewrards or Air Miles

Canadians are often in situations where they need to spend cash for their travel purchases. Maybe your paying cash for a hotel stay, or maybe your flying on an airline which doesn’t have a loyalty program (Flair Airlines for example). For this reason, the BMO rewards program should not be overlooked.

What’s the Optimal BMO Credit Card Strategy

One of the downsides about the BMO credit card portfolio is that you can’t “product switch” (switch from one card to another) and earn different welcome bonuses each time. You can however downgrade your card to a card which doesn’t carry an annual fee. The benefit of doing this is to keep your credit history with BMO in good standing. You’re more likely to get approved for a second line of credit if you’ve had a BMO card for a year/few years.

With that information in mind, we can now start to build out our credit card strategy.

Starting with the BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard makes the most sense given the high signup bonus and first year annual fee waiver. It’s essentially a free $200 towards travel. It also comes with lounge access which is extremely handy. If you value the lounge access, you can keep the card, but it may be in your best interest to downgrade to a no fee BMO card after year one.

From there, you can open up a second credit line by signing up for the BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite card. This card comes with a strong welcome bonus, and once again is virtually $200 towards travel. Canadians will have to determine whether or not the high annual fee ($120) is worth taking into year two. After year 1, you can cancel, or downgrade to a no fee card.

I would focus on BMO rewards prior to Air Miles, unless you already have a pool of Air Miles, and are looking to top up your points. Air Miles can difficult to redeem when compared to BMO Rewards.

Once these two cards have been leveraged, you can then venture into the other credit cards offered through BMO.

How to Redeem BMO Rewards

BMO Rewards points can be redeemed for:

• Travel
• Gift Cards
• Merchandise,
• Tickets
• Cash

If you’re redeeming your points for travel, you’ll need sign in to your BMO Rewards account, and click on the “Pay with Points” button.

Conclusion

BMO offers a range of credit cards with various features and benefits, catering to different customer needs and preferences. There are a few things that make BMP a desirable credit card issuer:

• Some of BMO’s credit cards offer luxurious airport lounge access
• You’ll receive the travel insurance associated with BMO travel credit cards as long as you charge only a portion of the trip to your BMO card
• BMO rewards can be redeemed against travel at a rate of 0.67 cent/point, which can be useful in you’re in a situation where you have to pay with cash (Car Rental, AirBnB, etc.)
• Many credit cards offered by BMO come with a cash back rebate if you sign up through GreatCanadianRebates