🇨🇦 BMO Rewards Points: How to Earn and Use Them

BMO Rewards is Bank of Montreal’s in-house points program. You earn points through everyday card spending, then use them for travel, gift cards, merchandise, and other rewards.

Keep in mind that BMO Rewards and Blue Rewards are completely different programs. Blue Rewards replaced AIR MILES as BMO’s everyday loyalty program in 2026. BMO Rewards is the separate points program used by select BMO credit cards. The cards, portals, and redemption rules are different, and you cannot move points between the two.

BMO Rewards at a Glance

BMO Rewards is a fixed-value program. Unlike Aeroplan or Marriott Bonvoy, you are not trying to find a sweet spot in an award chart or worrying about dynamic pricing. The value is fairly predictable.

• Best value: 150 points = $1 CAD, or about 0.67 cents per point.
• Best uses: flexible travel credits and deposits to eligible BMO investment accounts.
• Good to know: You do not have to book through BMO’s travel portal. Since 2022, you can pay an airline, hotel, car-rental company, cruise line, travel agency, or Airbnb directly, then use points against the eligible travel charge afterward.

How to Earn BMO Rewards Points

You’ll earn most of your BMO Rewards points through welcome offers and everyday card spending. BMO’s banking and investing options also give you another useful way to cash them out.

Cards That Earn BMO Rewards

BMO has Rewards-earning cards at a range of annual-fee and income levels. The better cards offer strong multipliers on the spending most Canadians do every week.

What 5x is worth: If you redeem at 150 points per dollar, 5x spending is worth about 3.33% back. That is a very solid return on everyday spending in Canada.

Welcome Bonuses

BMO regularly runs strong welcome offers. When promotions are good, the BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard and BMO eclipse Visa Infinite have offered 60,000 to 100,000+ points—roughly $400 to $660+ CAD toward eligible travel purchases at the best rate.

How to Use BMO Rewards Points

BMO gives you several ways to redeem points, but the return depends heavily on how you use them. Travel and eligible investment-account deposits give you the best value.

Redemption value, from best to worst:
Travel purchases / eligible BMO investment accounts  0.67¢ per point
Entertainment and experiences                       about 0.64¢ per point
Gift cards and merchandise                           about 0.48–0.56¢ per point
Regular statement credits                            0.50¢ per point

1. Use Points for Travel — Best Value

• Rate: 150 points = $1 CAD (0.67 cents per point).
• How you do it: Pay directly with an eligible BMO credit card for a flight, hotel, Airbnb, rental car, cruise, or travel-agency booking. After the charge posts, open BMO Rewards or the BMO app, choose Pay with Points, and apply points to it.
• Why it is useful:
  • No blackout dates. Book the trip you want, wherever it is available.
  • You can still earn loyalty benefits. When you book directly with a hotel or airline, you can usually earn its own points, elite-night credit, or flight activity—benefits a third-party portal may not offer.

2. Move Points to a BMO Investment or Savings Account

• Rate: 150 points = $1 CAD (0.67 cents per point); 15,000 points is generally worth $100.
• How you do it: You can deposit points as cash into eligible BMO investment or savings accounts, including BMO InvestorLine and BMO SmartFolio.
• Why it is useful: This is one of the most straightforward ways to turn points into investable cash without accepting a lower rate. If you do not have travel plans, it lets you keep the full value.

3. Use Points for Regular Statement Credits

• Rate: 200 points = $1 CAD (0.50 cents per point).
• The catch: Using points against regular, non-travel purchases cuts their value by 25%. Unless you need the flexibility, save your points for travel or an eligible BMO investment account.

4. Redeem for Gift Cards and Merchandise

• Rate: roughly 0.45 to 0.56 cents per point, depending on the item.
• Tip: BMO occasionally puts gift cards on sale at 15% off. During those sales, popular gift cards can get close to 0.6 cents per point. That is a decent fallback if travel or investing is not useful to you.

Strengths and Weaknesses

What BMO Rewards Does Well

1. Travel credits that feel almost like cash. You are not stuck with a bank portal, inflated prices, or limited inventory. Book with the provider you want, then apply points afterward.
2. Fast earning in everyday categories. The eclipse cards’ 5x categories cover common expenses such as groceries, restaurants, gas, and transit.
3. A practical investing option. If you do not want to chase award flights, you can move the value into BMO InvestorLine and put it toward an ETF, fund, or other investment.
4. Useful card benefits. Depending on the card, annual lifestyle credits and DragonPass lounge visits can help offset the annual fee.

Limitations to Keep in Mind

1. No transfer partners. Unlike American Express Membership Rewards or RBC Avion, you cannot transfer BMO Rewards to Aeroplan, British Airways, Marriott Bonvoy, or another loyalty program. You will not get the outsized value that can come from a premium-cabin award flight.
2. Bonus-category caps. The 5x categories usually have annual spending limits—often $5,000 to $15,000 CAD per category. Once you hit the cap, you earn the base rate.
3. Weak value for ordinary cash back. If you are not redeeming for travel or a BMO investment account, a regular statement credit returns only 0.5 cents per point.

How to Use the Program Strategically

For Canadian points collectors, BMO Rewards works best as a flexible, supporting currency rather than a program to hoard for aspirational travel.

• Pair it with transferable points. Use Aeroplan or Amex Membership Rewards for a long-haul business-class award, then use BMO Rewards for travel costs those programs do not cover well—Airbnb stays, low-cost-carrier tickets, train fares, rental cars, and hotel taxes or fees.
• Apply when the offer is strong. Watch for first-year-free promotions paired with a larger welcome bonus. You can put the points toward your next trip, or move them into InvestorLine if cash value is what you want.