BMO VIPorter Mastercard®*

The BMO VIPorter Mastercard®* is a great card for frequent flyers with Porter Airlines who don’t qualify for the BMO VIPorter World Elite®* Mastercard®*, with strong earning rates and great perks & benefits for Porter Airlines.

Bonuses & Fees

The BMO VIPorter Mastercard®* is currently offering a welcome bonus of up to 40,000 VIPorter points, which are awarded in three chunks as follows:

• Earn 10,000 VIPorter points upon spending $3,000 in the first 110 days
• Earn 15,000 VIPorter points upon spending $6,000 in the first 180 days
• Earn 15,000 VIPorter points upon spending $10,000 in the first 365 days

In order to fulfill the full minimum spending requirement of $10,000 in the first 365 days, you’ll need to spend an average of $834 per month. The final allotment of 15,000 VIPorter points is awarded in your second year as a cardholder, which means you’ll need to pay the annual fee in the second year.

This card comes with an annual fee of $89, which is rebated in the first year as part of this offer. Supplementary cardholders cost $35 apiece, and you’ll enjoy an annual fee rebate for up to three authorized users as part of this offer.

How Much Is This Offer Worth?

Here’s a breakdown of what the welcome bonus for the BMO VIPorter Mastercard®* is worth. Keep in mind that this doesn’t take into consideration the potential value of other card benefits, which we’ll outline in detail below.

We value VIPorter points at 1.5 cents per point, and using that value, we’d peg a value of $600 on the welcome bonus alone.

Plus, assuming the card’s baseline earning rate of 0.5 VIPorter points per dollar spent, you’d earn an additional 5,000 VIPorter points for meeting the minimum spending requirement. We’d value these points at an additional $75.

Therefore, in the first two years as a cardholder, the minimum amount of net value you can expect to get from this card’s welcome bonus is $586: $600 from the 40,000 points from the welcome bonus, $75 by spending the bare minimum to earn the welcome bonus (and assuming the card’s baseline earning rate), and then minus the card’s annual fee of $89 in the second year.

Of course, you can certainly squeeze more value out of the card by leveraging the category earning rates and the card’s other benefits; however, this is unique to each cardholder, and our valuation assumes a minimum amount of value rather than a maximum amount of value.

Earning Rewards

The BMO VIPorter World Elite®* Mastercard®* has a three-tiered earning structure, which allows you to earn VIPorter points on your daily spending that you can then redeem for travel with Porter Airlines and its partner airlines. The card’s earning rates are broken down as follows:

• Earn 2 VIPorter points per dollar spent on Porter purchases
• Earn 1 VIPorter point per dollar spent on gas, transportation, dining, groceries, and hotels
• Earn 0.5 VIPorter point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases

It’s important to note that there are spending caps in the elevated category earning rates, which are calculated based on the calendar year. The spending caps are as follows:

• Earn 2 VIPorter points per dollar spent on up to $10,000 of Porter purchases (and earn 0.5 VIPorter points per dollar spent thereafter)
• Earn 1 VIPorter point per dollar spent on up to $3,000 of gas & transportation purchases (and earn 0.5 VIPorter points per dollar spent thereafter)
• Earn 1 VIPorter point per dollar spent on up to $5,000 of dining and grocery purchases (and earn 0.5 VIPorter points per dollar spent thereafter)
• Earn 1 VIPorter point per dollar spent on up to $3,000 of hotel purchases (and earn 0.5 VIPorter points per dollar spent thereafter)

If you’re someone who may tend to max out any of the elevated category earning rates each year, be sure to consider switching your purchases to a different card once you’ve hit the cap to ensure you’re getting the best return on your spending.

Redeeming Rewards

You’ll earn VIPorter points on the BMO VIPorter Mastercard®*, which can be redeemed for flights with Porter Airlines and its partners.

The VIPorter program doesn’t publish an award chart, which means that you might see different prices for the same flight, depending on the demand. Plus, you aren’t able to redeem them against the taxes and fees for your booking, so be prepared to pay a modest amount on each flight, which usually doesn’t exceed $100 or so.

Porter Airlines has a growing network of flights across Canada and the United States, and it’s likely that its route map will continue to grow as the airline expands its fleet.

Here’s an idea of some of the lowest-level prices you can expect to pay for one-way flights using VIPorter points:

• Toronto–New York: 5,000 VIPorter points
• Toronto–Edmonton: 8,000 VIPorter points
• Toronto–Halifax: 7,000 VIPorter points
• Toronto–Vancouver: 8,000 VIPorter points
• Toronto–Miami: 7,000 VIPorter points
• Toronto–Los Angeles: 7,000 VIPorter points

One of the best ways to squeeze extra value out of your VIPorter points is to use the Points + Cash option, which lets you pay more in cash and less in points on redemptions. In some cases, the value of your VIPorter points can exceed 5 or even 6 cents per point, which is four times our base valuation!

If you’re ready to make a redemption, be sure to compare all options at your disposal, and also check to see what the flight’s corresponding cash value is to make sure you’re happy with the value from your points.

Perks & Benefits

The BMO VIPorter Mastercard®* comes with a handful of perks & benefits which are mostly specific to Porter Airlines.

All BMO VIPorter Mastercard®* cardholders are granted VIPorter Passport Avid Traveller status, which grants cardholders the ability to earn 6 VIPorter points per dollar spent. Plus, in the event of flight delays, you’ll get priority re-accommodation over other passengers, and you’ll also have priority check-in, security, and early boarding.

In the first year as a cardholder, you’ll earn a 35% off voucher upon spending $6,000. Then, in subsequent years, you can earn one by spending $25,000 on your card each cardholder year.

The voucher gives the cardholder and up to three guests travelling on the same Porter Airlines flight 35% off the base fare on a booking.

If you fly with Porter Airlines often, your credit card spending will give your Avid Traveller status a boost, since you’ll earn $1 in Qualifying Spend for every $25 spent on your card.

Your VIPorter points will never expire as long as you’re a cardholder.

 

Insurance Coverage

The BMO VIPorter World Elite®* Mastercard®* comes with the following suite of insurance coverage:

• Emergency medical insurance: 8 days
• Car rental collision/loss damage insurance
• Common carrier insurance
• Flight delay insurance
• Baggage insurance
• Hotel burglary insurance

Legal Disclaimers