BMO Cashback World Elite Mastercard

Overview

The BMO Cashback World Elite Mastercard is BMO Bank of Montreal's premium cashback card on the Mastercard World Elite network. It carries a $120 CAD annual fee and earns cashback at 5% on groceries, 4% on transit, 3% on gas and EV charging, 2% on recurring bill payments, and 1% on everything else. For high-income Canadians who want to extract strong cashback from their essential spending categories — groceries, gas, and transit — this card offers earn rates that are competitive with the best cashback cards available at this fee level.

Who this card is for

You'll need at least $80,000 CAD in individual income or $150,000 CAD household income to qualify. Within that pool, this card is best for urban and suburban Canadians with predictable, consistent spending on groceries and commuting. If your monthly groceries run $500 CAD, your transit spending is meaningful, and you drive regularly, the accelerated rates across all three categories can generate $300–$400 CAD in annual cashback, making the $120 CAD fee easy to justify.

Key benefits

The 5% grocery earn rate applies to the first $500 CAD in grocery purchases per statement period — the highest grocery cashback rate in BMO's lineup and one of the highest among fee-bearing cashback cards in Canada. Spend $500 CAD monthly on groceries and you'd earn $25 CAD per month, or $300 CAD per year from groceries alone.

The 4% transit rate covers public transit, including urban transit systems (capped at $300 CAD per month). Spend $200 CAD per month on transit and you'd add $96 CAD annually from that category. Gas and EV charging earn 3%, and recurring bill payments earn 2% (capped at $500 per month). All other purchases earn 1%.

Cashback can be redeemed at any time, starting from $1, directly against your statement. World Elite Mastercard benefits include comprehensive travel insurance, mobile device insurance, and purchase protection.

Potential drawbacks

The category caps define the ceiling on your earn. The 5% grocery rate is capped at $500 per statement period — after that, additional grocery spending earns 1%. Heavy grocery spenders who routinely spend more than $500 per month in that category hit the ceiling. The Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite + earns 4% on groceries with no monthly cap (though there is an annual $25,000 cap), which can outperform the BMO card for larger grocery budgets at a comparable $150 CAD fee.

How it compares

The Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite + earns 4% on groceries and recurring bills, plus 2% on gas and food delivery, at $150 CAD. The BMO card earns a higher grocery rate (5%) but on a lower monthly cap ($500). For a household spending exactly $500/month on groceries, the BMO card earns $300/year versus $240/year for the Scotia card — BMO wins. For households spending $1,000/month on groceries, the Scotia card's uncapped 4% would earn $480/year versus BMO's capped $300/year. Know your grocery volume before deciding.

Bottom line

One of Canada's strongest cashback cards for grocery and commuting-heavy spenders who fall within the $500/month grocery cap. Run the numbers against your own spending before choosing between this and the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite +.