The BMO Ascend World Elite®* Mastercard®* is long-reigning backbone of the BMO Rewards program, and it also comes with a great insurance package.

Bonuses & Fees

The BMO Ascend World Elite®* Mastercard®* offers a welcome bonus of up to 90,000 BMO Rewards points, distributed as follows:

• 45,000 BMO Rewards points upon spending $4,500 in the first three months
• 3,750 BMO Rewards points in each of months 4–15 in which you spend $2,500, for a total of up to 45,000 additional points

The second part of the welcome bonus is quite a high spending requirement for a relatively small return. Keep in mind that our first-year valuation only takes the first part into account.

The card comes with an annual fee of $150, which is waived in your first anniversary for both primary cardholders and authorized users.

Earning Rewards

The earning rate on the BMO Ascend World Elite®* Mastercard®* is as follows:

• 5 BMO Rewards points per dollar spent on travel, up to $15,000 per calendar year

• 3 BMO Rewards points per dollar spent on dining, entertainment, and recurring bill payments, up to $10,000 per category per calendar year

• 1 BMO Rewards points per dollar spent on all other purchases

Since BMO Rewards can be redeemed at the rate of 0.67cpp, these earning rates are equivalent to an effective 3.35%, 2.01% and 0.67% return, respectively.

These are respectable returns on a premium card, although some might choose to earn more valuable points currencies through a product like the American Express Platinum Card instead (since BMO Rewards points can only be redeemed at a fixed value, rather than transferring out to higher-value airline partners).

However, the BMO Ascend World Elite®* still makes for a solid Mastercard option to keep in your wallet alongside an Amex product as well.

Redeeming Rewards

BMO Rewards points are worth 0.67 cents per point (cpp) when redeemed against the cost of travel booked via the BMO Rewards online portal (at a fixed rate of 150 BMO Rewards points = $1).

Therefore, the total signup bonus of 90,000 BMO Rewards points can be redeemed as $603 worth of travel. Plus, you'll earn more points from everyday spending as you work towards the spending requirements.

BMO Rewards points can also be redeemed at 0.5cpp against any statement purchase (at the rate of 200 BMO Rewards points = $1), but the value in doing so is clearly not as strong, so you should always aim to use your BMO Rewards points to book travel, if possible.

Perks & Benefits

In terms of perks and benefits, this card offers four annual complimentary lounge passes with DragonPass lounge membership, which allows you to access the airport lounge and relax before your flight (either on four occasions for a solo traveller, two occasions as a couple, etc.) Additional lounge visits will cost $32 (USD) apiece.

Insurance Coverage

The BMO Ascend World Elite®* Mastercard®* offers an outstanding insurance package, including:

• Emergency medical insurance of up to $5 million for the first 21 days on out-of-province trips

• Trip cancellation insurance for up to $1,500 per insured person and $5,000 per trip overall

• Trip interruption insurance for up to $2,000 per insured person and $10,000 per trip overall

• Flight delay benefits of up to $500 per trip for reasonable expenses incurred on a flight delay of four hours or more

• Car rental insurance and Collision Damage Waiver benefits, which allow you to save on the insurance fees that car rental companies usually charge