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Mr. Loonie

Best BMO credit cards

BMO credit cards ranked by what each one is worth for your spending, after fees.

Card details updated November 10, 2026 How we rank

What matters most?
Your spending a month
What’s in each?
Light:
Groceries $400, restaurants $100, gas $100, recurring bills $100, everything else (base rate) $250, foreign currency $50
Typical:
Groceries $800, restaurants $250, gas $250, recurring bills $250, travel $150, everything else (base rate) $650, foreign currency $150
Big:
Groceries $1,200, restaurants $500, gas $400, recurring bills $400, travel $500, everything else (base rate) $1,600, foreign currency $400
Yours:
Your own amounts, saved on this device only
The balance you carry

Not sure which kind of card you need? Help me choose

No BMO Bank of Montreal credit cards match these filters

Ranked by value in year one at $2,500 a month, after fees. How we rank

  1. No cards match all of that.

    Try taking off a filter. Your spending choice stays as it is.

How we rank cards

The list is math only: one set of rules, worked out for the choices you made.

What Year one and Every year mean

Year one is what a card is worth in its first year at your spending: the rewards it earns, plus any welcome offer your spending would reach, minus the first year’s annual fee.

Every year after leaves out the welcome offer and takes off the full annual fee, so a big offer can’t hide a weak earn rate.

We rank by the one you pick. When two cards come out the same, the one with the higher score goes first. Values are estimates, rounded to the dollar.

What’s in each spending choice

Each choice is an example month of spending, split across the kinds of spending cards reward differently. Pick the one closest to yours.

  • Light, $1,000 a month: Groceries $400, restaurants $100, gas $100, recurring bills $100, everything else (base rate) $250, foreign currency $50
  • Typical, $2,500 a month: Groceries $800, restaurants $250, gas $250, recurring bills $250, travel $150, everything else (base rate) $650, foreign currency $150
  • Big, $5,000 a month: Groceries $1,200, restaurants $500, gas $400, recurring bills $400, travel $500, everything else (base rate) $1,600, foreign currency $400
How we value points

Each points program gets one value per point, taken from the program’s own valuation. Cards in the same program use the same value, so two cards that earn the same points are judged the same way.

  • Aeroplan: 2 cents a point
  • American Express Membership Rewards: 1.7 cents a point
  • BMO Rewards: 0.67 cents a point
  • British Airways Club: 2 cents a point
  • Cathay Asia Miles: 1.5 cents a point
  • CIBC Aventura: 1 cents a point
  • Desjardins BONUSDOLLARS: 100 cents a point
  • Flying Blue: 1.9 cents a point
  • Marriott Bonvoy: 0.8 cents a point
  • moi Rewards: 0.8 cents a point
  • More Rewards: 0.2 cents a point
  • National Bank a la carte Rewards: 0.9 cents a point
  • PC Optimum: 0.1 cents a point
  • RBC Avion: 1.7 cents a point
  • Scene+: 1 cents a point
  • TD Rewards: 0.5 cents a point
  • Triangle Rewards: 100 cents a point
  • United MileagePlus: 1.6 cents a point
  • VIPorter: 1.5 cents a point
  • WestJet Rewards: 1 cents a point

A card whose points we can’t value yet shows its points and sorts after the cards we can value.

What Low interest adds up

Low interest ranks by what a year of carrying a balance would cost: interest at the card’s purchase rate, plus the annual fee. It assumes the balance stays the same all year and leaves out rewards and welcome offers.

A balance transfer offer shows on the card when it has one, but it doesn’t change the order.

Does pay change the order?

No. The order comes only from the math above. We get paid when you apply through some links, and a bank can pay to show a card in a spot marked Sponsored. Pay never moves a card in the ranked list or changes its score.

Help me choose

Four quick questions, then a list that fits. Your answers only set the list. We don’t keep them.

Show the questions as a form
What do you want your card to do?
A bit more about you
How much goes on your card each month?

If you picked Earn on what I spend, Earn points for travel, and Keep it simple, no fee.

How much do you usually carry from month to month?

If you picked Pay down a balance.

Would you move it to a new card?

If you picked Pay down a balance.

Which sounds most like you?

If you picked Build my credit.

What’s your personal income a year?
Anything you must have?

If you picked Earn on what I spend, Earn points for travel, Keep it simple, no fee, and Build my credit.

Cards by network

Rates, fees and offers come from the card issuers and change often. We work to keep this page accurate and current, but it may contain mistakes, so always check the issuer’s terms before you apply. Values are estimates for the spending you picked, rounded to the nearest dollar.

Spot something wrong? We’ll check it with the bank. Suggest a correction

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