In 2020, credit card interchange fees were revised downwards, which had a direct impact on the rewards earned from a good number of institutions.

After announcing changes for the BMO^® AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard and the BMO CashBack^® World Elite Mastercard^®*, Bank of Montreal – BMO has just announced changes that will take place in May 2021 regarding the BMO Rewards program.

Effective May 5, 2021, there will be an increase in the number of points required to book travel with BMO Rewards: 150 BMO Rewards points instead of 140 points for a $1 value.

This is called a devaluation. As of May 5, 2021, the value of 1 BMO point will be reduced from 0.71 cents to 0.67 cents.

Mathematically, this affects the earning value of the five BMO Rewards credit cards, as we will see below.

Note that other methods of using points remain unchanged, so it will be just as rewarding to use your BMO Rewards points for travel as it is to redeem points for financial products with BMO (15,000 points = $100).

The least attractive option is to pay for any purchase with your points (15,000 points = $75).

To offset the value of BMO Rewards points for existing customers, on May 5, 2021, BMO will increase your existing BMO Rewards points balance by 7%.

For example, if you had earned 28,000 BMO Rewards points (a $200 value) with your new BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card or BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard, BMO will add 1,960 points to your BMO Rewards account on May 5, 2021. You’ll have a balance of 29,960 BMO Rewards points, which will still be worth $200.

So, I would strongly suggest that you unlock your Welcome Bonus or earn a maximum of BMO Rewards points BEFORE May 5, 2021, to benefit from this 7% increase in your BMO Rewards points balance.

Having recently signed up for the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card myself, that’s exactly what I plan to do. For example, I just got my welcome bonus by carrying all my purchases on it (I usually use my American Express Cobalt^MD Card for GoodFood).

And I’ll try to earn as many points as I can before May 5, 2021:

On May 5, 2021, the five BMO Rewards credit cards’ earning rates won’t change. But the accumulation value will be reduced if your intention was to use your points for travel.

Here’s how this affects each of the 5 BMO Rewards credit cards. And I’ll suggest alternative credit cards for the most common credit cards.

Depending on the purchases you make with the BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard, you’ll earn a return of 1.33% to 2% when you use your BMO Rewards points for travel:

There are many alternatives for travel credit cards:

• The Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card offers 2 points per dollar on groceries, entertainment, restaurants and local transportation (or 2% in travel rewards), no foreign currency conversion fees and 6 annual airport VIP lounge passes.
• The National Bank World Elite Mastercard^® offers between 1 and 5 points per dollar (between 1 and 5% in travel rewards) and the best insurance on the market.
• The Scotiabank Gold American Express^® Card offers 5 points per dollar on entertainment, groceries and restaurants (or 5% in travel rewards) and no foreign currency conversion fees.
• The Mastercard^MD HSBC World Elite^MD Card offers 6 points per dollar for travel (that’s 3% in travel rewards) and has no foreign currency conversion fees.
• The MBNA Rewards World Elite^MD Mastercard^® offers between 1 and 5 points per dollar (i.e. 1 to 5% in travel rewards).

Depending on the purchases you make with the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card, you’ll earn 0.67% to 3.33% back by using your BMO Rewards points for travel:

There are many alternatives for travel credit cards, requiring less than $80,000 of personal income:

• The American Express Cobalt^MD Card offers 5 points per dollar for groceries, restaurants, home food delivery (that’s 5% in travel rewards), 2 points per dollar for transportation, gas and travel (that’s 2% in travel rewards) and 1 point per dollar everywhere else (that’s 1% in travel rewards). No minimum income required.
• The Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card offers 2 points per dollar on groceries, entertainment, restaurants and local transportation (or 2% in travel rewards), no foreign currency conversion fees and 6 annual airport VIP lounge accesses. Personal income of $60,000 required (identical to BMO’s card )
• The Scotiabank Gold American Express^® Card offers 5 points per dollar on entertainment, groceries and restaurants (or 5% in travel rewards), and no foreign currency conversion fees. Personal income of $12,000 required.

Depending on the purchases you make with the BMO Rewards^® World Elite^®* Business Mastercard, you’ll earn 1% to 2% back by using your BMO Rewards points for travel:

Depending on the purchases you charge to your BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Privilege* Card, you’ll earn between 0.67% to 3.33% when you use your BMO Rewards points for travel:

Depending on the purchases you charge to your BMO Rewards^® Mastercard^®*, you’ll earn 0.67% when you use your BMO Rewards points for travel:

Strategically, today it’s still a good time to sign up for a BMO Rewards credit card.

Indeed, if you unlock your Welcome Bonus before May 5, 2021, your points will keep their current valuation, even if you use them after May 5, 2021.

For example, if you spend $3,000 with your new BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card, you’ll earn the first welcome bonus: 25,000 points. As of May 5, 2021, BMO will add 7% to your BMO Rewards account (or 1,750 points).

Your points will keep their value of $178 for travel rewards.

The same applies if you spend $3,000 with your new BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard: you’ll earn the first instalment of the welcome bonus: 30,000 points. As of May 5, 2021, BMO will add 7% to your BMO Rewards account (or 2,100 points).

Your points will keep their $214 value for travel rewards.

Finally, if you’re self-employed or a small business owner, if you spend $5,000 with your new BMO Rewards^® Business Mastercard^®*, you’ll earn 50,000 BMO Rewards points. As of May 5, 2021, BMO will add 7% to your BMO Rewards account (or 3,500 points).

Your points will keep their value of $357 for travel rewards.