Earn rates
| Spending category | Earn rate | Annual cap | Value per $100 spent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eligible travel purchases | 5 pts / $1 | $15,000/yr | ~$3.33 |
| Dining (restaurants, food delivery) | 3 pts / $1 | $10,000/yr | ~$2.00 |
| Entertainment | 3 pts / $1 | $10,000/yr | ~$2.00 |
| Recurring bill payments | 3 pts / $1 | $10,000/yr | ~$2.00 |
| Everything else | 1 pt / $1 | None | ~$0.67 |
BMO Rewards points are worth a fixed 0.67¢ each (150 pts = $1) on travel purchases. The 5x and 3x earn rates apply up to the annual category caps shown above; verify current caps with BMO before applying.
Benefits
| Benefit | Details |
|---|---|
| Airport lounge access | Four complimentary lounge visits per year via Mastercard Travel Pass powered by DragonPass. Access to 1,300+ lounges worldwide. Additional visits available at a per-visit rate. |
| NEXUS statement credit | Statement credit toward a NEXUS membership application in the first year of card ownership. NEXUS speeds up Canada–US border crossings at eligible land, air, and marine ports. |
| Welcome bonus | Up to 100,000 BMO Rewards points (~$667 in travel). Earned in tiers; verify current thresholds and offer details with BMO before applying. |
| Travel insurance | Out-of-province/country emergency medical, trip cancellation and interruption, flight delay, delayed and lost baggage, and rental car collision/damage. Verify current coverage limits in the certificate of insurance. |
| Mastercard World Elite benefits | Mastercard Travel Pass lounge access (above), Boingo Wi-Fi, and Mastercard World Elite hotel and car rental benefits. |
| Mobile device insurance | Coverage for mobile devices purchased on the card against theft, loss, or damage. |
Travel insurance on the BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard
No coverage from age 65
The BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard scores 79 of 100 on the figures its certificate publishes, joint 20th of the 59 Canadian cards compared. Emergency medical is capped at $5,000,000 for trips up to 21 days. Coverage stops entirely at 65: not a smaller limit, nothing.
| Emergency medical | $5,000,000 · age 0–64: 21 days; age 65+: not covered · 180-day stability window |
|---|---|
| Trip cancellation | $1,500 per person · $5,000 per account |
| Trip interruption | $2,000 per person · $10,000 per account |
| Flight or trip delay | after 4 hours · $500 per trip |
| Baggage delay | $500 per person · after 6 hours |
| Rental car collision or damage | Pays after your own insurance · rentals to 48 days · vehicles to $65,000 |
You have 30 days from the incident to report a claim. Dependent children are covered to age 20.
Every figure from the certificate, with its own wording
| Emergency medical | limit: $5,000,000 (per insured person, per trip) age 0–64: 21 days; age 65+: not covered pre existing stability days: 180 days (365 days for insured persons sixty-five (65) years of age or older under Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance) |
|---|---|
| Trip cancellation | per person: $1,500 (per trip) per account: $5,000 (per trip for all insured persons combined) covered reasons: Health, Pregnancy, Work, Travel Documents, Legal, Transportation, Environmental, Other (category headings enumerating the covered reasons in section 2.3.4; the individual reasons each run past 40 words) |
| Trip interruption | per person: $2,000 (per trip; covers trip interruption and trip delay) per account: $10,000 (for all insured persons combined on the same trip) |
| Flight or trip delay | trigger hours: 4 hours (arrival or departure of a regularly scheduled flight on a commercial airline) per trip cap: $500 (for all insured persons combined; prepaid expenses are not covered) |
| Baggage delay | per person: $500 (maximum $1,000 per trip for all insured persons combined; purchases must be made within thirty-six (36) hours of arrival; outbound travel only) trigger hours: 6 hours |
| Lost, stolen or damaged baggage | per person: $500 (maximum $1,000 per trip for all insured persons combined; paid at actual cash value) per item sublimit: $500 |
| Travel accident | limit: $500,000 (per insured person for loss of life; $1,500,000 aggregate where more than one insured person suffers a loss in the same accident) common carrier only: Yes (requires the full cost of the ticket charged to the cardholder’s credit card) covers 24h: No (coverage applies while a passenger on, entering or exiting a licensed common carrier and while at the airport, terminal, port or station) |
| Hotel or motel burglary | $1,000 (per burglary occurrence for all insured persons combined) |
| Emergency travel assistance | offered: Yes (Operations Centre maintained by Allianz Global Assistance; expenses incurred using the services may not be covered) |
| Rental car collision or damage | is primary: No (pays in excess of any other insurance plan or source of reimbursement) limit basis: the lesser of, the cost of the repair (including loss-of-use) or the replacement cost of your rental car which has been damaged or stolen (less any amount or portion of the loss assumed, waived or paid by the car rental agency, its insurer, or a third-party insurer) vehicle value cap: $65,000 (Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price in the vehicle’s model year) max rental days: 48 days (a full calendar day must exist between rental periods to break the consecutive day cycle) excluded classes: vans (except as defined below), trucks (including pick-ups) or any vehicle that can be spontaneously reconfigured into a pick-up truck, campers or trailers, vehicles towing or propelling trailers or any other object (enumeration truncated at 40 words; the clause continues with off-road vehicles, motorcycles, mopeds or motorbikes, exotic vehicles over $65,000 MSRP, antique vehicles, recreational vehicles, leased vehicles with buyback guarantee, and limousines) |
| Purchase protection | days: 90 days (coverage ends on the ninety-first (91st) day from the date of purchase; no registration required) |
| Extended warranty | years added: 1 year (doubles the original manufacturer’s warranty up to this maximum extension) cap: $60,000 (overall lifetime maximum per account for Extended Warranty and Purchase Security combined) |
Figures above are from the BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard Certificate of Insurance, Group Policy FC310000-A, effective 2023-07-06, underwritten by CUMIS General Insurance Company, a member of The Co-operators group of companies. Checked against the certificate for 13 coverage types. Terms change without notice; verify with the issuer before relying on any figure.
What your monthly spend earns
| Category | Monthly spend | Rate | Monthly pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | $375 | 5x | 1,875 |
| Dining, entertainment & recurring bills | $625 | 3x | 1,875 |
| All other spending | $1,500 | 1x | 1,500 |
| Total | $2,500 | 5,250 pts / mo |
63,000 pts / year (~$420 in travel). After the $150 fee, net earn value ~$270. If your spend skews heavily toward groceries and everyday categories, the eclipse Visa Infinite earns 5x on those instead.
Good fit if
- You spend meaningfully on travel and want to earn 5x on those purchases specifically. The 3x rate on dining, entertainment, and recurring bills stacks well for cardholders who also eat out regularly or have meaningful subscription and utility costs.
- You travel through airports occasionally and will use the four annual lounge passes. At a moderate value per pass, the lounges alone can offset most of the annual fee.
- You want lounge access and a travel-first earn structure without the premium-card fee of the eclipse Privilege.
If that describes you, apply for the BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard. Not sure yet? Book a free conversation and we will walk through it together.
Less useful if
- Your biggest spend categories are groceries, gas, or drugstore purchases. The eclipse Visa Infinite earns 5x on all of those for $30 less per year.
- You rarely travel and don’t use airport lounges. The lounge passes are the primary benefit differentiating this card from a basic flat-rate card.
- You want maximum cents per point. Like all BMO Rewards cards, the Ascend caps at 0.67¢/pt — programs like Aeroplan can return more on the right redemptions.