The BMO CashBack® World Elite®* Mastercard®* is a decent cash back credit card for high-income low spenders, who are able to make use of the card's high category earn rates in spite of the low monthly caps on accelerated rewards.

Bonuses & Fees

As a welcome bonus, this card is currently offering up to 10% cash back in the first three months, worth up to $260.*

However, it's important to note that the structure of the offer is rather complex, as it's broken down by spending category. To maximize the offer and get $260 cash back, you'd need to spend a total of $2,600, structured as follows:

• Earn 10% cash back on up to $500 in groceries ($50 cash back)
• Earn 10% cash back on up to $300 on transit ($30 cash back)
• Earn 10% cash back on up to $300 on gas and electric vehicle charging ($30 cash back)
• Earn 10% cash back on up to $500 in recurring bill payments ($50 cash back)
• Earn 10% cash back on up to $1,000 on all other purchases ($100 cash back)

If you meet the above requirements, you'd earn a total of $260 cash back for spending $2,600 in the first three months.*

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.*

Earning Rewards

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.

Redeeming Rewards

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.

Perks & Benefits

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).*

Insurance Coverage

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.*