Highlights

  • Eligible Canadian grocery purchases earn 5% on the first $500 each statement cycle.
  • Cash rewards can be redeemed from $1, and they do not expire while the account stays open and in good standing.
  • Includes Basic roadside assistance, up to 4 uses per eligible member per year.
  • Eligible cardholder family members age 64 and under get the first 8 days of out-of-province emergency medical coverage on each trip.
BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard

Issuer: Bank of Montreal (BMO)
Network: Mastercard
Card type: Credit card
Annual fee: $139 for the primary card; $50 per additional card
Foreign transaction fee: 2.5%; foreign-currency purchases convert at the payment-network rate on the posting date plus 2.5%, and refunds convert at that rate minus 2.5%

This card earns cash rewards through the BMO CashBack program. You can redeem them as a statement credit or deposit them into an eligible BMO account. Amounts in this article are in Canadian dollars unless noted as US dollars.

Welcome offer

【September 5, 2026 update】 Up to $480 in welcome cash, plus a rebate of the first-year $139 primary-card annual fee and an extra $120 cash back.

  • Your application must be received between December 15, 2025 and October 31, 2026. The offer can change or be withdrawn at any time.
  • In each of the first 12 statement cycles after the account opens, $2,000 in eligible net purchases that cycle earns an extra $40 cash reward, up to $480 in total. Each cycle is counted on its own. Net purchases subtract refunds and exclude cash advances, cash-like transactions, interest, fees, and credit or debit adjustments. BMO’s website does not say when the bonus actually posts.
  • The first-year $139 primary-card annual fee appears on the first statement as both a charge and a rebate. Additional-card fees are not waived. The primary-card annual fee returns in year two.
  • Current or former holders of this card, anyone who reactivates a closed account or reopens the same product during the offer period, are not eligible for the welcome bonus. Product transfers also do not qualify for the first-year fee rebate. If you cancel within 90 days of opening, CashBack rewards earned in that period are cancelled.
  • Apply through the blog’s partner cash-back site for an extra $120 rebate.
  • Roadside assistance that comes with the card is an ongoing service. Its stated $75 market value is not paid out as cash welcome-offer credit.

Apply through the referral link 🔗

Application requirement: at least $80,000 in personal annual income, or at least $150,000 in household annual income.

Everyday spending

5%: eligible Canadian grocery purchases. The first $500 each statement cycle qualifies; spend above that earns unlimited 1%. The merchant must be classified by Mastercard as a supermarket or grocery store (MCC 5411).

4%: eligible Canadian ground-transport purchases. The first $300 each statement cycle qualifies; spend above that earns unlimited 1%. This includes public transit, commuter ferries, passenger rail, taxis, rideshare, and buses that match the merchant category, using MCC 4111, 4112, 4121, 4131, and 4789.

3%: eligible Canadian gas and EV charging. The two categories share the first $300 each statement cycle; spend above that earns unlimited 1%. The merchant must be classified as a service station, automated fuel dispenser, or EV charging (MCC 5541, 5542, 5552).

2%: eligible Canadian recurring automatic charges. The first $500 each statement cycle qualifies; spend above that earns unlimited 1%. The merchant must bill this card automatically on a monthly or other regular schedule. Not every ongoing bill qualifies. If a charge also codes as grocery, transit, or gas/EV, it follows that category and its cap and does not also earn the recurring bonus.

1%: other eligible purchases. No earn cap. Rewards are calculated on net purchases; refunds claw back rewards. Cash advances, cash-like transactions, interest, fees, payments, credit or debit adjustments, and other non-purchase amounts do not earn rewards. The account must stay in good standing.

Benefits and insurance

  • Cash-reward redemption (BMO CashBack Rewards Redemption)

The minimum redemption is $1. You can apply it as a statement credit, or deposit it into an eligible BMO chequing, savings, or InvestorLine account in the primary cardholder’s name. Automatic redemption starts at $25 and can be set in $5 increments. Rewards do not expire while the account is open and in good standing. Register on the BMO CashBack website before you close the account; after closure you have 90 days to log in and redeem, or any remaining rewards are forfeited.

  • Basic roadside assistance (BMO Roadside Assistance — Basic Coverage)

Dominion Automobile Association provides the service. Eligible primary and additional cardholders need a valid Canadian or U.S. driver’s licence and must be driving a personal-use passenger vehicle that weighs no more than 6,000 pounds / 2,721 kilograms. Coverage is in Canada and the continental United States, including Alaska, and excludes Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Each member can use it up to 4 times a year, and only one service is covered in any 24-hour period. Covered help includes a battery boost, installing a safely usable inflated spare, lockout service, up to 1 hour of single-truck winching, and towing after a mechanical breakdown to the nearest repair facility within 10 kilometres of the breakdown. Up to about 10 litres of emergency gasoline can be delivered; you pay for the fuel, and diesel is not delivered. Extra distance or time, parts, and repairs are on you. Off-road or impassable areas, commercial vehicles, and vehicles without liability or property-damage insurance are excluded. After the same vehicle has received service for the same mechanical issue 3 times in a calendar year, that issue is no longer covered. Call 1-866-731-4999 when you need help; the account must stay in good standing.

  • Airport lounge membership (Mastercard Travel Pass provided by DragonPass)

Membership is complimentary. You must register on the Mastercard Travel Pass website or app. The cardholder and guests each pay US$32 per lounge visit. This card does not include free visits.

  • Car rental discounts (Car Rental Discounts)

Prepay the rental with this card through an eligible channel and Avis base rates can be reduced by up to 30%, Budget by up to 35%. Ordinary eligible bookings at participating locations in Canada and the United States can get at least 10% off the base rate. Use Avis AWD C516800 or Budget BCD B021100 when you book, and pay with this card. Offers depend on location, car type, availability, and blackout dates. They do not apply to taxes, insurance, fuel, one-way fees, or other add-ons, and cannot be stacked with other discounts or applied to an existing reservation. Through BMO’s designated rental-booking tool, National and Alamo can be reduced by up to 20%, and Enterprise by up to 5%.

  • Bank-account annual-fee rebate (Premium Plan Credit Card Rebate)

If the primary cardholder is also the primary holder of an eligible BMO Premium Plan bank account and meets the annual-spend condition, the full primary-card annual fee can be rebated. Starting the day after the next credit-card anniversary that follows May 1, 2025, the requirement is at least $15,000 in eligible net purchases in the 12 months between two annual-fee billing dates. BMO Private Wealth Banking clients are excepted. One rebate per person, per Plan; additional cards are not included, and it cannot be stacked with other offers. If you have more than one eligible card account, BMO chooses by highest annual fee, then earliest account opening. Both the bank and credit-card accounts must be in good standing. The rebate usually appears within two statements after the annual fee is charged. If you join or lose Plan eligibility partway through, the rebate is prorated by month.

  • Limited-time Instacart offer (Complimentary Instacart+ Membership & Monthly Credit)

Primary cardholders who register with a Canadian address and an eligible card by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on October 31, 2027 can get 6 months of complimentary Instacart+. An existing eligible directly purchased membership can be extended by 6 months. Only one eligible card applies per Instacart account. Memberships bought through a third party do not qualify. If you opt into paid auto-renewal at signup, the first paid year is $79 and later years are $99; prices can change. The membership fee must be paid with an eligible card. If you do not choose renewal and the original membership has no auto-renewal, it ends after the free period. You can cancel before the paid period starts to avoid a charge.

From registration through that deadline, while the membership is active, you get one $10 Instacart credit each month. It applies to one eligible non-alcohol order of at least $50 before tax, paid directly with an eligible BMO card—not Apple Pay, PayPal, or other digital wallets. The credit expires that month, does not roll over, and has no cash value. Tax, service fees, and tips can still apply. If a substitution or stock-out reduces the final eligible amount, the credit can be reduced. The credit card must stay open and not in default.

  • Travel assistance services (Travel Assistance Services)

24/7 medical coordination, help replacing lost documents or tickets, emergency cash-transfer coordination, and legal referrals are available. Fees for those services are reimbursed only if the matching insurance terms cover them. They are not automatically free.

Travel insurance

Official insurance certificate 🔗

The cover below is for Canadian residents, and the credit-card account must stay in good standing. Insured family members are the primary cardholder, spouse, and dependent children: usually age 20 or under, or age 25 or under if they are full-time students. Children with a qualifying permanent physical or mental disability can be excepted from the age limit under the certificate. Additional cardholders who do not have that family relationship are not automatically covered. Except for common-carrier accidental-death benefits, the expense cover usually tops up other insurance or pays amounts those policies do not.

For every travel and shopping claim, contact Allianz Global Assistance as soon as possible: 1-877-704-0341 in Canada and the United States, or collect 519-741-0782 from elsewhere. You generally need to give written notice within 30 days of the incident and submit sufficient proof within 90 days. If you reasonably cannot meet those deadlines, file as soon as you can, and no later than one year after the incident. The certificate does not list a single deductible or claim-count cap that applies to every benefit, and BMO’s website does not either. The amounts, aggregate limits, and special conditions below still apply.

  • Out-of-province/country emergency medical insurance (Out-of-Province/Country Emergency Medical Insurance)

Eligible people who are 64 or under at departure and hold valid Canadian provincial or territorial public health insurance for the whole trip are covered for the first 8 consecutive days (including the departure day) when they leave their home province or territory. Reasonable medical expenses for a sudden, unforeseen emergency illness or injury are covered up to $5,000,000 per person, per trip. You do not have to charge the trip to this card. Contact the assistance centre within 24 hours of the incident, or as soon as reasonably possible. Further tests, treatment, and medical transport must be approved; costs after you refuse a reasonable transfer or return-home arrangement may not be paid. Pre-existing conditions must meet the 180-day stability rule before departure. Certain heart conditions treated with nitroglycerin, and lung conditions treated with home oxygen or prednisone, also have exclusions. Non-emergency treatment, travel for medical care, travel against medical advice, alcohol or drug abuse, listed high-risk sports, pregnancy or delivery within 9 weeks of the due date, and claims tied to a Government of Canada travel advisory that was in place before departure are not covered.

Sublimit examples include: private nursing up to $5,000; listed therapists up to $150 per profession; accidental dental injury up to $2,000, excluding chewing accidents, and emergency toothache up to $150; a bedside visit that meets the at-least-7-day serious hospital-admission condition can include an economy round-trip ticket plus $200 a day for meals and lodging for up to 10 days. Returning remains is covered up to $3,000, excluding a coffin or urn. Meals and lodging if an emergency delays the return home are $200 a day for up to 10 days, combined for all insured people. Pre-approved vehicle return arranged within 30 days after you get home is covered up to $1,000. If no claimable event has occurred, you can apply and pay to extend cover before the 8th day ends. Hospitalization and qualifying emergency or transport delays have separate automatic-extension rules. Keep travel dates, medical bills, receipts, and public-health records for a claim.

  • Car rental — collision/loss damage insurance (Car Rental — Collision/Loss Damage Insurance)

You must charge the full rental and taxes from a commercial rental company or eligible car-share to this card (or the full package price if it is a package trip) and decline the rental company’s CDW/LDW where the law allows. Drivers need a valid licence and must be named on the rental agreement. Only one vehicle can be covered at a time. The entire rental cannot exceed 48 consecutive days; going over voids cover for the whole rental. A full calendar day must separate two rentals before the clock starts again. The vehicle’s model-year MSRP cannot exceed $65,000. Theft, damage, and eligible towing and loss-of-use are covered. Settlement is the lower of repair or replacement cost, minus other amounts already paid. Third-party liability and your own injury are not covered. Pickups, RVs, off-road use, luxury or antique vehicles, mechanical failure, wear and tear, wrong fuel, lost keys, diminished value, and rental-agreement violations are excluded. Report an accident immediately. Losses over $500 need a police report. Keep the rental agreement, damage photos, repair details, and proof the full charge went on the card; related rental charges must appear on the statement within 90 days of the incident.

  • Common carrier insurance (Common Carrier Insurance)

You must charge the full common-carrier fare and taxes to this card. Cover applies to accidental death and specified injuries while boarding, riding, or leaving an eligible common carrier. The loss must occur within one year of the accident. Death and specified major losses pay up to $500,000 per person. Loss of one hand, one foot, one eye, speech, or hearing pays $250,000. Loss of the thumb and index finger of the same hand pays $125,000. Only the single highest applicable amount is paid per person for the same accident, with a $1,500,000 combined maximum for all insured people. If the full fare was charged before you left for the station or airport, cover also includes the certificate’s direct travel to and from the carrier and waiting time. Sickness, self-inflicted injury, treatment that was not required because of an accident, working as aircrew or operating an aircraft, and war are excluded. Notify as soon as you can and provide fare proof, police or accident records, and proof of death or injury. The card charge must appear on the statement within 90 days of the incident.

  • Flight delay insurance (Flight Delay Insurance)

For travel outside your home province or territory, you must charge the full scheduled commercial-airline fare and taxes to this card. If arrival or departure is delayed more than 4 hours, reasonable extra lodging and transport costs can be reimbursed, up to $500 per trip for all insured people combined. Prepaid expenses are not covered. Cover runs from trip departure until you return to the original starting point. Shutdowns caused by supplier bankruptcy or insolvency, crew action, illegal acts, and war are excluded. Notify the assistance centre as soon as you learn of the delay, and keep the airline’s cause-and-duration proof, original receipts, the fare statement, and any carrier compensation records.

  • Baggage insurance (Baggage Insurance)

Before departure, you must charge the full common-carrier fare and taxes to this card. Cover applies to trips outside your home province or territory. Theft, loss, or accidental damage to checked or carry-on baggage is paid at actual cash value, up to $500 per person and per item, and $1,000 combined per trip for all insured people. Value accounts for depreciation. Items without a receipt are paid at most 75% of the assessed depreciated value. The covered period starts when you check the bag or carry it onto the carrier, and ends when checked bags are placed in the collection area or when you leave the carrier with carry-on bags. Phones, computers, jewellery, watches, cameras, cash, tickets, business goods, fragile items, and perishables are excluded.

If outbound checked baggage is delayed more than 6 hours, necessary clothing and toiletries bought within 36 hours of arrival can be reimbursed, up to $500 per person and $1,000 combined per trip. Return-trip baggage delay is not covered. If the bag is later confirmed lost, delay payments already made reduce the loss limit. Notify immediately and keep the baggage claim, carrier delay or claim records, shopping receipts, and a police report for theft.

  • Hotel burglary insurance (Hotel Burglary Insurance)

You must charge the full eligible travel lodging and taxes to this card. Cover applies from actual check-in to checkout for personal-property loss or damage from a burglary with visible forced entry. Timeshare arrangements are excluded. All insured people share a $1,000 maximum per incident, paid at the lower of applicable repair or like-item replacement cost. Cash, tickets, perishables, unexplained disappearance, failing to reasonably lock the room or protect belongings, and war are excluded. Contact the assistance centre immediately and submit police and lodging burglary reports, proof the stay was charged to the card, and repair or replacement receipts.

Shopping insurance

  • Purchase security insurance (Purchase Security Insurance)

Canadian residents who charge the full tax-included purchase price of personal-use items or gifts to this card are covered for worldwide theft or damage for 90 days from the purchase date. The insurer can repair, replace, or reimburse, up to the original purchase price. This benefit shares a $60,000 lifetime maximum per account with extended warranty. No registration is required. The account must stay in good standing. Used, refurbished, or resold goods, business-use items, motor vehicles and drones, consumables, normal wear, abuse, natural disasters, items left behind, and unexplained disappearance are excluded. Online or mail-order goods must have been delivered in good condition and accepted. Theft from a vehicle or home needs evidence of forced entry. The cardholder files claims for gifts. Notify immediately after an incident, follow the 30/90-day filing windows above, and keep the original receipt, card statement, police report, and photos. The insurer may require you to ship the damaged item for inspection at your expense.

  • Extended warranty insurance (Extended Warranty Insurance)

Canadian residents who charge the full tax-included purchase price of personal items or gifts to this card can double the original manufacturer warranty, for at most one extra year. The original warranty must be valid in Canada. Items with an original warranty longer than 5 years must be registered with the assistance centre within one year of purchase. Cover follows the original warranty’s obligations and does not extend a third-party or separately purchased extended warranty. Lifetime warranties do not apply, and cover ends if the manufacturer goes out of business. Settlement is the lower of applicable repair or replacement cost, not more than the original purchase price, and shares the $60,000 lifetime maximum per account with purchase security. Used or refurbished goods, business items, wear, abuse, and the other shared shopping exclusions also apply. Notify immediately after a failure and, within the 30/90-day windows above, submit the original Canadian manufacturer warranty, original receipt, the full card charge, and a quote or invoice from a manufacturer-authorized repair shop.