BMO CashBack^® World Elite^®* Mastercard^®*

As a welcome bonus, this card is currently offering up to $480 in cash back, credited as a monthly cash back bonus structure.

You’ll earn $40 cash back each month in your first year, up to $480 total, as long as you spend at least $2,000 per billing cycle. This is effectively a monthly loyalty bonus rather than a traditional upfront welcome offer.

The annual fee of $120 is also rebated in the first year.* You can give the card a try at no cost before deciding whether to commit long-term, with the option to downgrade to the no-fee version if you’d prefer.*

Supplementary cardholders come at a cost of $50 apiece.*

The BMO CashBack® World Elite^®* Mastercard^®* has a 5-4-3-2-1 tiered earning structure, structured as follows:

• Earn 5% cash back on groceries, up to $500 spent per month*
• Earn 4% cash back on transit, up to $300 spent per month*
• Earn 3% cash back on gas and electric vehicle charging, up to $300 spent per month*
• Earn 2% cash back on recurring payments, up to $500 spent per month*
• Earn 1% cash back on everything else*

These accelerated rates are among the best in the market for their respective categories, so on the surface, this looks like a great cash back card.

Unfortunately, the category bonuses are capped at a low level of spending per month ($300–500), so the higher earning rates are only beneficial if you don't spend a lot in each category every month.

Any purchases above the monthly limits will only earn 1% cash back.

There are three ways to redeem your cash back on the BMO CashBack® World Elite®* Mastercard®*:

• Deposit into a BMO chequing or savings account*
• Deposit into a BMO InvestorLine account*
• Redeem as a credit against your credit card's statement*

Any of these three options can be requested at any time when you've earned at least $1 of cash back. You can also set up automatic payments, which will automatically trigger one of the above three redemption options every time you reach $25 of cash back.

BMO's cash back redemption options are relatively flexible compared to its peers, many of which only allow you to claim your cash back earnings once a year.

Among the perks specific to BMO credit cards, you'll enjoy discounts at select shows: 15% off Cirque du Soleil's Canadian tours and 20% off resident shows in Las Vegas.*

You'll also be enrolled in a free membership in the Dominion Automobile Association, with the benefits of the basic tier of the BMO Roadside Assistance Program.*

Furthermore, as a standard benefit on World Elite Mastercards, you'll get a complimentary DragonPass membership (although you do need to pay for each visit to an airport lounge).*

The insurance package on the BMO CashBack^® World Elite^®* Mastercard^®* is quite strong overall, including common carrier accident insurance of $500,000, flight delay insurance of $500 on delays of over four hours, and $500 of baggage delay insurance on delays of over six hours.*

The card's lost and stolen baggage insurance covers $500 per person and up to $1,000 per trip, and the rental car collision insurance covers vehicles up to $65,000 (MSRP).*

Extended warranty is also included on this card, doubling the manufacturer's standard warranty by up to an additional one year.*