BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card Review

BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card

The Bank of Montreal (BMO) is the eighth largest bank in North America, and the fourth largest in Canada – and it didn’t get to that size by accident. BMO has a long history of innovative products and services, tailored to meet the needs of its 12 million customers, and the BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card* is just the newest in the bank’s storied history. Let’s take a look at this new card, what it has to offer, and how it stacks up against its competitors.


Topics


What is the BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card?


BMO has traditionally only issued Mastercard cards, but with the Eclipse Visa Infinite Card the bank is expanding its scope. This new Visa card has been designed to meet the needs of BMO’s customers via access to a convenient, flexible credit card that seamlessly integrates with everyday life. This is a rewards-based credit card, and it has a generous and convenient points collection and spending system that means users can make every penny go further than ever before.

Who is the BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card For?


If you like earning points or cash back on the money you spend, the BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card is a great credit card option for you. The card offers 5X BMO Rewards points on basic day-to-day expenses (such as groceries, dining out, gas and transit) and 1X points on absolutely everything else. These points can then be spent on cash back, travel, merchandise, or used to pay for items on your credit card bill – the choice is yours.

The key is that the points collect automatically, via everyday use of your card, so no matter how busy you are, you’ll be gathering points. Popping to the grocery store or buying gas comes with a bonus that will quickly accumulate, meaning you can live your day-to-day normally, and then use your points to treat yourself as you wish.

Features of the BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card


The BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card offers many perks, including:

  • $50 annual credit, to be spent however you like.
  • A Welcome Offer of up to 40,000 Rewards points. 
  • Waiving of the annual fee for the first year.
  • 5X Rewards points on the first $50,000 per year spent on dining, gas, groceries and transit.
  • 1X Rewards on every other expenditure.
  • 10% more points when you add another authorized user to the account.
  • Mobile Device Insurance that covers you up to $1000, so you can use your BMO card digitally via your phone in safety.

Rates and Cost of the BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card


As with any credit card, it’s important to be aware of the cost associated with its use. The important details you need to know about the BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card are:

  1. The annual credit card fee is $120. This is waived in the first year via the Welcome Offer.
  2. The interest rate on purchases is 20.99%.
  3. The interest rate on cash advances is 23.99%.

Spending Points on BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card


As you spend on your credit card, your Rewards points accumulate in your Collector Account. These points can then be used in three ways:

  1. For cash back.
  2. To buy travel experiences or merchandise.
  3. To “Pay with Points” – a system that allows you to log onto your account, browse recent transactions, and choose an eligible transaction to redeem points against. This can be anything as small as $1 – so you can use your points to pay for your morning coffee, or to subsidize the cost of big purchases.

Eligibility for the BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card


As it is a card geared towards busy professionals, the BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card has some income requirements. The primary cardholder must have a minimum annual income of $60,000, or a household annual income of at least $100,000.

How to Get the Welcome Offer


The card’s generous rewards program gets a lot better when you qualify for the Welcome Offer, which kick starts your points balance. To be eligible for this, you must apply for the BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card between October 19th 2020 and October 31 2021, and you must spend a minimum of $3000 within the first three months of the account being open. That’s it! 25,000 points will be credited to your Collector Account. And if you keep your account in good standing, you’ll get another 15,000 points on the first anniversary of the account.

The BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card vs. Its Competitors


There are plenty of rewards-based credit cards available in Canada, so let’s see how the BMO card stacks up:

Annual Fee

BMO’s annual fee is $120 (waived in the first year). This is about average for this type of card; some basic credit cards have lower fees (as low as $20) but do not offer rewards benefits, and some premium cards have much higher fees – for example, the American Express Platinum Card.

Interest Rate

The BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card has an interest rate of 20.99% on purchases, and 23.99% on cash advances. The average interest rate on rewards cards is around 19.99%, though some go as high as 30% or require that consumers pay off the balance every month.

Rewards

Every credit card has a slightly different rewards structure, with some offering compounding rewards for specific types of purchases, and others offering a flat rewards structure. The BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card offers a mix – holders earn 5X BMO Rewards on gas, transit, grocery and dining costs, and 1X on everything else. To see how this compares with other cards, see the table below:

Card Rewards Tier 1 Rewards Tier 2 Rewards Tier 3
BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card 5X on groceries, gas, transit and dining 1X on everything else
SimplyCash Preferred Card 2% cash back on everything
American Express Cobalt Credit Card 5X on food and drink 2X on travel and transit 1X on everything else
MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard 2X on eligible purchases
Scotiabank Gold American Express Card 5X on eligible groceries, entertainment and dining 3X on gas, transit and streaming services 1X on everything else
TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card 1.5X on grocery, gas, drugstore purchases 1X on everything else
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card 2X on dining, groceries, transit and entertainment 1X on everything else
BMO World Elite Mastercard 3X on travel, dining and entertainment 2X on everything else
Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card 4X on gas, groceries, dining and entertainment 1X on everything else
TD Cash Back Visa Infinite Card 3% cash back on groceries and gas 1% cash back on everything else
The American Express AIR MILES Platinum Credit Card 0.2X on food, drinks, gas and transit 0.1X on everything else
American Express Gold Rewards Card 2X on food, travel, gas and drugstore purchases 1X on everything else

Frequently Asked Questions About the BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card


How much does the BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card cost?

The BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card has an annual fee of $120, and an interest rate of 20.99% on purchases. This puts it squarely in the middle in terms of the cost of popular rewards-based credit cards.

Who can get the BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card?

To be eligible for the BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card, you must earn more than $60,000 a year, or have a household income of more than $100,000 a year. If you fall into this category, then you qualify for the card. Those who can truly benefit from this card are those seeking high rewards returns on their credit card purchases, and flexibility in how those rewards can be spent.

How can I spend Rewards points from the BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card?

Rewards points collected via your BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card can be used in several ways: as cash back, for travel or merchandise, or to pay for items sitting on your credit card bill.

Are there any limits on Rewards points collected through the BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card?

The BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card offers 5X rewards on the first $50,000 per year spent groceries, transit, dining and gas. After this initial $50,000, rewards on these purchases falls to 1X. There is no limit on the number of points that can be collected.

Are there any bonuses for getting a BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card?

Yes! If you qualify for the BMO Eclipse Visa Infinite Card Welcome Offer, you are eligible to receive up to 40,000 bonus points, as well as a rebate of the first year’s annual fee ($120). As well as this, all cardholders have a $50 a year annual credit, mobile device insurance up to $1000, and generous ongoing rewards.

Written by Smarter Loans Staff


The Smarter Loans Staff is made up of writers, researchers, journalists, business leaders and industry experts who carefully research, analyze and produce Canada’s highest quality content when it comes to money matters, on behalf of Smarter Loans. While we cannot possibly name every person involved in the process, we collectively credit them as Smarter Loans Writing Staff. Our work has been featured in the Toronto Star, National Post and many other publications. Today, Smarter Loans is recognized in Canada as the go-to destination for financial education, and was named the “GPS of Fintech Lending” by the Toronto Star.

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