BMO Launches New Business Credit Cards

Today, BMO is launching two brand-new credit cards for businesses: the BMO Air Miles World Elite Business Mastercard, and the BMO World Elite Business Mastercard.

These new products replace the old business credit cards, with some new perks and rates being introduced. Let’s take a look at what the new cards offer.

BMO Air Miles World Elite Business Mastercard

As the chief Air Miles co-branded credit card issuer in Canada, BMO has come out with the new BMO Air Miles World Elite Business Mastercard.

The card has a signup bonus of 3,000 Air Miles upon spending $5,000 in the first three months. That’s the same bonus that we’ve occasionally seen on promotional offers for the personal Air Miles World Elite card, but with a higher spending requirement (as is typical on business cards).

The annual fee is waived for the first year, and you’ll pay $149 starting in the second year.

For everyday rewards, the card is a bit stronger than the personal one:

• 4 Air Miles per $12 spent at participating partners
• 1 Air Mile per $12 spent on all other purchases

That’s a strong earning rate, better than the 3x rewards on the personal card. Considering the fixed value of a Cash Mile at 10.5 cents per Air Mile, these rates are equivalent to 3.5% cash back at partners, and 0.9% cash back elsewhere.

Additionally, the new card offers travel insurance, including trip interruption, baggage delays, car rentals, and more. As with BMO’s personal credit cards, you’ll be covered with full or partial payment on the credit card, meaning you can use the card for award ticket taxes and fees and be covered for those bookings.

BMO World Elite Business Mastercard

The first thing you’ll notice about the BMO World Elite Business Mastercard is its vertical orientation. This matches the BMO eclipse Visa cards, as the bank is using this signature design element for cards which earn BMO’s in-house rewards currency.

New cardholders will get 50,000 BMO Rewards points upon spending $5,000 in the first three months.

Like its Air Miles counterpart, the card has a $149 annual fee, waived for the first year. It also has the same travel insurance package.

Everyday earn rates are as follows:

• 4 BMO Rewards points per dollar spent on gas, office supplies, and phone and internet bill payments
• 1.5 BMO Rewards point per dollar spent on all other purchases

That’s notably a bit worse than the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Card. The personal card earns 5 points per dollar spent in bonus categories, and its categories are generally more useful.

This new business card would only be advantageous if you buy a lot of office supplies or have high bills, which are rare bonus categories not seen on many cards. But even then, the might be more appealing for office supplies, with 3 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent – a much more valuable rewards currency.

BMO Rewards are worth a fixed 0.67 cents per point. The welcome bonus is therefore worth $333, and everyday spending in the bonus categories is equivalent to 2.67% cash back, or 1% cash back for other purchases.

Those rewards are rather disappointing, to say the least, given that this new product is being touted as a more interesting card than its predecessor.

The saving grace is that you’ll get a LoungeKey membership with two free visits per year. This perk isn’t available on the Air Miles World Elite Business card.

Unfortunately, BMO has been gradually removing the free visits from all of its other cards, offering only the LoungeKey membership and requiring you to pay per visit every time. If you’re particularly fond of BMO and LoungeKey, this card would have a unique advantage.

Maple: Virtual Healthcare

BMO has partnered with Maple, a virtual healthcare platform. These will be the first two credit cards to offer this type of benefit in Canada.

Maple connects you online with Canadian-licensed general practitioners for virtual consultations, without the inconvenience of seeing a doctor in person. You can chat on-demand 24/7 or schedule an appointment, with options for text, voice, and video.

Maple’s doctors can diagnose and treat many conditions, including reproductive health, mental health, and other specialties. They can also write prescriptions and sick notes for you.

Both new business credit cards provide five free virtual care visits with Maple, which can be used for the cardholder and their family. Each visit is normally priced starting at $49 for a weekday visit for services that aren’t covered by your province.

This is an annual benefit, so in fact you’ll get five visits per year for as long as you remain a cardholder.

Visit getmaple.ca/bmo-cards to learn more about how their service works.

Mastercard Easy Savings: Extra Cash Back

These two cards are also part of the Mastercard Easy Savings program. In addition to regular rewards, you’ll get an automatic rebate of 1–25% cash back when you shop at participating merchants.

Select business credit cards are eligible to participate in what looks to be Mastercard’s answer to Amex Offers. You can get rebates at specific retailers including restaurants, travel, business services (printing, advertising, etc.), and fuel and vehicle maintenance. There are also different offers available for shopping within Canada and outside of Canada.

The fledgling program’s catalogue of partners is still slim, but as an early example, you can get 4% back at Dinova restaurants in the US, an umbrella organization which includes brands such as Pizza Hut, Outback Steakhouse, and California Pizza Kitchen. Whether you would even want to use this card after considering foreign transaction fees is another matter, however.

You don’t have to opt in to these offers, so keep an eye on the list as it grows and watch the rewards roll in.

How to Get BMO Business Credit Cards

Sole proprietors need only provide their business registration document, which can be easily obtained from Ownr:

Corporate clients, however, are asked to bring a whole briefcase full of paperwork:

You can qualify for these World Elite cards with $80,000 annual personal income, or $150,000 annual household income. Alternatively, you’ll also qualify with $250,000 annual business revenue.

Either way, be prepared to show your personal or business financials, for whichever type of income you declare on the application.

Conclusion

BMO’s new business credit cards bring a World Elite level of benefits to a part of their portfolio which was previously lacklustre. Still, it’s hard to overcome the fact that Air Miles and BMO Rewards simply aren’t the most compelling points currencies.

I’m most intrigued by the partnership with Maple for virtual healthcare visits. I do hope this perk is well-received, as BMO could add a lot of value for its cardholders by implementing it on their personal credit cards too.

I don’t expect to get either of these cards myself, due to the potential hassle of getting BMO business credit cards and my preference for other rewards currencies. That said, I’m curious to hear about the approval process and how Maple works in action.