This is BMO's everyday points card, and the pitch is simple: 5x on the four places most of a household budget goes, groceries, dining, gas and transit, for $120 a year with year one free. I'd point it at someone who wants one card for the weekly shop and the commute and is happy to use points against travel they book themselves.
What I'd want people to see before applying is the exchange rate. BMO Rewards points are worth 0.67 cents each when you redeem against travel, so the headline 5x is closer to 3.3% back, and grocery and dining only earn it on the first $6,000 a year each. It is a solid return, not the runaway one the multiplier suggests.
Welcome offer
BMO is advertising up to 70,000 BMO Rewards points on the eclipse Visa Infinite, verified on the BMO page on October 13, 2026. The points come in three steps: 30,000 after $4,000 in net purchases in the first 110 days, 20,000 more once you reach $7,000 within 180 days, and a final 20,000 at $12,000 within the first 12 months. Applications must be received by October 31, 2027.
BMO puts the points at up to $467 when redeemed for travel at 150 points per dollar, and rolls them into a larger "up to $1,150 in value" headline that also counts the first-year fee rebate, a year of streaming credits, the $50 anniversary credit and points from average spending. Bonus points can be clawed back if the card is closed within 365 days, and the offer is not open to anyone reopening this same card or switching into it from another BMO card.
The first tier is the easy part: $4,000 in 110 days is about $1,100 a month. The full ladder asks for $12,000 in a year, roughly $1,000 a month, which most households clear if this becomes the main card for groceries, gas and bills. Spend at least $500 each month as well, because that is the condition for the $20 streaming credit.
Fees & eligibility
The card costs $120 a year, and the primary fee is rebated in the first year under the current offer (it is billed and credited on the first statement). Additional cards are $50 each and are not covered by the rebate. A $50 anniversary lifestyle credit each year, paid after a single purchase of $50 or more, takes some of the sting out of the renewal.
Eligibility is the standard Visa Infinite bar: $60,000 personal or $100,000 household income, or at least $15,000 in annual spend on your other credit cards. Purchases carry 21.99% interest and cash advances and balance transfers 23.99% (21.99% in Quebec). Foreign currency purchases cost 2.5% on top of the network rate, so this is a card to leave at home when you travel abroad. As with any rewards card, the value only holds if the balance is paid in full each month.
Earning rewards
Four everyday categories earn 5 BMO Rewards points per dollar: groceries, dining (restaurants, pubs, cafés, plus takeout and delivery apps like UberEats and DoorDash), gas, and transit (public transit and rideshare like Uber and Lyft). Everything else earns 1 point per dollar.
Each 5x category has its own annual limit, counted from January 1 to December 31: $6,000 for groceries, $6,000 for dining, and $20,000 each for gas and transit. Past a cap, that category drops to 1 point per dollar. Adding an authorized user switches on a 10% bonus on the accelerated rate, which BMO describes as an introductory feature.
Redeeming rewards
BMO Rewards has no airline or hotel transfer partners, so the value comes from Pay with Points: book travel with any airline, hotel or agency on the card, then wipe the charge with points within 90 days. Travel redeems at 150 points per $1, or 0.67 cents per point (cpp), and that is the best fixed rate in the program.
Non-travel purchases redeem at 200 points per $1 (0.5 cpp), a quarter less, so groceries and everyday charges are the weaker use. Merchandise, gift cards, financial products and charity are also on the menu, with a minimum redemption of $1. Phone redemptions for merchandise or financial rewards cost $7.50; online is free.
Perks & benefits
The perks are light, which fits the price. The useful ones are the $50 anniversary lifestyle credit each year and, in year one only, up to $20 a month back on Netflix, Disney+, Crave, Spotify, Apple TV and a few other streaming services billed directly to the card, as long as you spend $500 that month. There is also six months of Instacart+ with a $10 monthly credit on orders of $50 or more.
The Visa Infinite layer adds the Luxury Hotel Collection (breakfast, upgrades when available, late check-out), the Dining Series, Troon golf discounts and a concierge. Avis and Budget give up to 30% and 35% off base rates when you prepay. What is missing: no lounge access, no travel credit and no foreign fee waiver.
Insurance
The insurance is a basic travel set plus good gadget cover, underwritten by CUMIS. Out-of-province emergency medical pays up to $5 million per person for the first 15 days of a trip, for cardholders, spouses and dependent children aged 64 or under, and the trip does not need to be charged to the card. There is no medical coverage at 65 and over, and no trip cancellation, interruption, flight delay or baggage insurance.
On the ground, the card covers rental cars with an MSRP up to $65,000 for up to 48 days when you decline the agency's damage waiver. Purchases are covered against theft or damage for 90 days, warranties are doubled by up to 1 extra year, and phones and tablets bought on the card are covered for up to $1,000 per claim.
My take
I'd get this card if most of your spending is groceries, takeout and getting around town and you'll redeem points against travel; if you travel abroad a lot or need trip cancellation cover, I'd skip it.
What I like about the eclipse Visa Infinite is the shape of its 5x list. Groceries, restaurants, delivery apps, gas, transit and Uber cover a big share of a normal month, and at 0.67 cpp that works out to about 3.3% back in those categories when you book travel with points. Year one costs very little: no fee, up to $240 in streaming credits if you spend $500 a month, and 70,000 points for $12,000 in spend.
The limits are real, though. Grocery and dining stop earning 5x after $6,000 a year each, which a family can hit by summer. The points are locked to BMO's own redemption rates with no transfer partners, there is a 2.5% foreign fee, and the travel insurance stops at medical and rental cars. If your spending outgrows those caps or you want lounge access and trip cancellation, I'd look at BMO's $599 eclipse Visa Infinite Privilege next, but that is five times the fee.
The good
- 5x on groceries, dining, delivery, gas, transit and rideshare
- No fee in year one plus up to $240 in streaming credits
- $50 anniversary credit and $1,000 mobile device insurance
The catch
- Points worth 0.67 cpp at best, no transfer partners
- $6,000 annual caps on groceries and dining
- 2.5% FX fee and no trip cancellation or delay cover