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BMO Ascend™ World Elite®* Mastercard®* Review

BMO Ascend World Elite®* Mastercard®* review

Rudro Chakrabarti
Cory Santos

Mar 6, 2025

While we adhere to strict editorial guidelines, partners on this page may provide us earnings.

Overall rating

First year value

$671.6

Get this card if you:

  • are a high-earning globetrotter, looking for travel perks
  • value travel insurance, lounge access, and concierge services
  • appreciate a great welcome offer

Scores by category

Travel 4.1

Welcome Bonus 3.2

Rewards 3.1

At a glance

The BMO Ascend™ World Elite®* Mastercard®* is a premium travel rewards credit card with elevated earn rates on eligible travel, dining, entertainment, and recurring bill payments. Cardholders benefit from complimentary lounge membership, which includes complimentary passes, as well as comprehensive travel insurance coverage, making it a suitable option for frequent travelers seeking both rewards and travel-related perks.

Highlights

$671.6

First year value

up to 90,000 points

Welcome bonus

$150

Annual fee

first year waived

Interest Rates

21.99%

Purchase APR

23.99%

Balance transfer APR

21.99% for Quebec residents

23.99%

Cash advance APR

21.99% for Quebec residents

Eligibility

Excellent

Recommended credit score

$80,000

Required annual personal income

$150,000

Required annual household income

Quick overview of the BMO Ascend World Elite®* Mastercard®*

The BMO Ascend World Elite®* Mastercard®* comes armed with a number of features designed for high-income globetrotters, like flexible airport lounge access and travel insurance*. It’s a particularly valuable asset if you:

  • Travel between provinces/territories or internationally at least 3-4 times per year;
  • Are frequently in need of a rental car; or
  • Regularly shop at retailers that accept only Mastercard.

But there’s no shortage of upscale rewards credit cards in the Canadian market, and if you don’t check off at least two of the boxes listed above you should consider other options that can help you earn a bigger bounty of rewards, or that offer superior travel perks.

Who's the BMO Ascend Card for?

  • Regular international travellers: If you’re a regular international traveller, you often find yourself in a rental car, the BMO Ascend World Elite®* Mastercard®* is probably a perfect fit for you. It will cover most of your travel needs and will help you earn rewards points at a decent clip.
  • Shoppers who prefer stores accepting Mastercard (e.g., Costco and No Frills): If you tend to shop at stores that accept Mastercard, but not Visa (e.g., Costco and No Frills) and absolutely need a Mastercard for just a few merchants here and there, you can always elect to use a Visa or Amex as your primary travel card, while holding onto a no-annual-fee Mastercard as a back burner option.
  • Lounge buddies: The BMO Ascend Card's lounge access makes it a popular option for the seasoned traveller who wants to relax in style no matter where their journey takes them.

Pros and cons

Pros

Pros

  • High-value welcome offer

  • Flexible airport lounge access

  • BMO Rewards points can be used to cover flight taxes and fees

  • Great for those who frequently rent cars

  • Good for Costco and No Frills shoppers

Cons

Cons

  • So-so earn rates relative to its annual fee

  • Points have low redemption value compared to other travel rewards programs

  • Charges foreign transaction fees

  • Relatively high minimum income requirements

BMO Ascend World Elite®* Mastercard®* welcome bonus

New cardholders can benefit from BMO's competitive welcome offer: 

  • Get up to 90,000 points and the annual fee waived on your first anniversary for both the primary cardholder and authorized users.*

  • Earn up to 90,000 points details

    +

    Get up to 90,000 points and the annual fee waived in the first year for both the primary cardholder and authorized users.

    • 45,000 points when you spend $4,500 in the first 3 months, and 3,750 points for each subsequent month in which you make at least $2,500 in purchases on your card, for 12 months.

    Offer expires June 1, 2025.

Related: Best credit card sign-up bonuses in Canada

How to earn BMO rewards with the BMO Ascend World Elite®* Mastercard®* 💰

The BMO Ascend World Elite®* Mastercard®* has the following three earn rates:

  • 5x the points for every $1 spent on eligible travel purchases*
  • 3x the points for every $1 spent on eligible dining and entertainment purchases and recurring bill payments*
  • 1 point for every $1 spent everywhere else*

  • BMO Ascend rewards explained

    +

    The rate for eligible travel purchases* out to a 3.3% return on spending if you redeem the points for travel, or if you deposit them into a BMO Investment Account (see ‘How much are BMO Rewards Points worth?’ below). The 3 points per $1 rate works out to a maximum 2% return, which is competitive for travel spending and entertainment.

    That said, there are several other Canadian rewards and cash back cards with superior earn rates on dining, so you might consider those instead if you eat out a lot. Read our article about the best credit cards for restaurants to find out which cards edge out the BMO Ascend World Elite®* Mastercard®* in that respect.

    Also, keep in mind that this accelerated rate applies to the first X amount you spend within these combined categories per year; after you cross that mark you’ll earn 1 point per $1 in those categories*.

How to redeem BMO Rewards with the BMO Ascend World Elite®* Mastercard®* ✈️

Following BMO’s regrettable devaluation of BMO Rewards points in 2021, 1 BMO point is now worth about $0.0067 when redeeming for travel, including flights, car rentals, hotel rooms, and vacation packages (150 points = $1 in redemption value). Other redemption options include:

  • Investing BMO Rewards points in a BMO Investment Account
  • Cashing in points toward a statement credit (max value of $0.005 per point)
  • Redeeming points for products from diverse merchants like Le Creuset, Dell, and Rayban

You can learn more about the BMO Rewards program by reading our complete BMO Rewards Guide.

How much are BMO Rewards points worth?

Cardholders should be aware that the value they get for their points varies from one redemption path to the next. See the below table for details.

  • Redeem for travel: $0.0067 per point (no minimum redemption amount)
  • Redeem for investment: $0.0067 per point (15,000 point minimum redemption)
  • Redeem for merchandise: $0.0037-$0.0065 per point (no minimum redemption amount)
  • Redeem for gift cards: $0.004-$0.0045 per point (no minimum redemption amount)
  • Redeem for statement credit: $0.005 per point (200 point minimum redemption)

The BMO Ascend World Elite®* Mastercard®* provides cardholders with Complimentary membership in Mastercard Travel Pass provided by DragonPass.* This authorizes you to relax in any of the 1,300+ airport lounges available.

But what makes this card stand out is that it offers four free entries each year*. Most World Elite Mastercards offer just the basic membership, in which each lounge entry costs $32 USD. Plus the free lounge passes from the BMO Ascend World Elite®* Mastercard®* are flexible; you can use them yourself, or they can be used to admit your travel companions. The combined value of these four lounge passes is $128 USD, equivalent to $184 CAD as of January 22, 2025. The value of that feature alone exceeds the $150 annual fee for the primary cardholder.

Dragonpass guide

Related: Guide to DragonPass lounges

The insurance package offered by the BMO Ascend World Elite®* Mastercard®* is fairly comprehensive overall, with a few highlights that outperform the insurance offered by most travel rewards cards, and some weaknesses as well. The coverage is summarized in the table below:

BMO Ascend World Elite®* Mastercard®*: What's protected? Coverage amount
Travel emergency medical* Under age 65, up to 21 days of consecutive coverage. Covers up to $5,000,000. Does not mention if must charge trip to your card.
Delayed and lost baggage* Up to $500 per person up to a maximum of $1,000 per trip for lost, stolen or damaged baggage. Up to $1,000 for baggage delay of over 6 hours.
Trip cancellation* Up to $1,500 per person up to a maximum of $5,000.
Trip interruption* Up to a max of $2,000 per insured person.
Flight delay* Up to $500 per person per trip for flight delays of more than 4 hours.
Auto rental collision/loss damage* Up to 48 days of consecutive coverage when you charge the full amount of your rental car to your card. Limited to vehicles up to $65,000 in value. The insurance will cover theft or damage to your rental car.
Hotel/motel burglary Up to $1,000 per occurrence for all insured persons combined
Common carrier travel accident insurance*. Up to $500,000 per insured person; entire cost of trip must be charged to the card to be eligible for insurance
Purchase protection* Covers theft of or damage to items within 90 days of purchase with the card.
Extended warranty* Extends a purchased item's original manufacturer's warranty by up to 1 year. Lifetime maximum coverage of $60K for Extended Warranty and Purchase Protection combined.

For those who rent cars with some regularity, it’s worth noting that this card covers theft or damage as part of its rental car insurance*. A similar protection applies to the theft/damage of personal property items from your hotel room, which seems to be the only complete coverage exclusion from the card’s travel insurance suite.

The total amount of out-of-province emergency medical coverage is an impressive $5,000,000 (most policies only cover up to $1M)—that said, it’s only valid for the first 21 days of a trip, and it only applies to those under age 65*. The primary cardholder, their spouse, and dependent children are covered. You can pay out of pocket to Allianz, the card’s insurance provider, if you’d like an extension of the coverage period or if you’re a senior citizen in need of a separate emergency medical policy, but the out-of-pocket charge for that might be pricey.

If you’re over the age of 65 or if you frequently stay in hotels, in which case it’s highly recommended to have some form of hotel/motel burglary insurance, we recommend that you check out our list of Canadian travel rewards cards with strong travel insurance to see if there might be a better card out there for your needs.

  • Get valuable benefits and offers for digital everyday services from a variety of on-demand apps and subscription services
  • BMO Concierge Service*
  • BMO Roadside Assistance (must pay additional $69-$98 annually)*
  • Unlock Mastercard Travel Rewards cashback offers when you travel and shop outside of Canada 

  • Annual fee: $150 for primary cardholder; $50 per supplementary card
  • Purchase interest rate: 21.99%
  • Cash advance and balance transfer: 23.99% (21.99% for Quebec residents) on Cash Advances; 23.99% on Balance Transfers
  • Foreign transaction: 2.5% charge per foreign transaction
  • Missed payment/late payment: Purchase interest rate and cash advance/balance transfer rate increase to 25.99% and 28.99% respectively if you have two late payments in a 12-month period

How the BMO Ascend World Elite®* Mastercard®* compares

Here's how the BMO Ascend stacks-up with its nearest competitors:

up to 40,000 pts*

Welcome Bonus

$926

First Year Value

$0

Annual Value

Welcome Bonus: Earn up to $1,300* in value in the first 12 months, including up to 40,000 bonus Scene+ points*. Expires Jul 01, 2025

Learn More Apply Now On Scotiabank's Secure Site
BMO Ascend World Elite®* Mastercard®* Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite* Card 
Annual fee:
$150 primary; $50 additional 		Annual fee:
$150 primary; First supplementary Card is $0/year ($50/year on each additional Card)
Rewards:
5x the points for every $1 spent on eligible travel purchases*, 3x the points for every $1 spent on eligible dining and entertainment purchases and recurring bill payments*, 1 point for every $1 spent everywhere else*. 		Rewards:
3x Scene+ points¹ on every $1 you spend at Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, and Foodland
2x Scene+ points¹ for every $1 you spend at other eligible grocery stores, on dining, entertainment and daily transit options
1x Scene+ point for every $1 spent on all other purchases.
Redemption value:
Poor 		Redemption value:
Average
Airport lounge access:
Complimentary membership in Mastercard Travel Pass provided by DragonPass,* with four annual complimentary passes. 		Airport lounge access:
6 Complimentary airport lounge access
Insurance:
Good/Fairly comprehensive 		Insurance:
Excellent/Very comprehensive
Foreign transaction fee:
2.5%

Foreign transaction fee:
0%
- Apply Now

The Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card edges out the BMO Ascend World Elite®* Mastercard®* in a number of key categories. Its points are worth more when redeemed for either travel or a statement credit; its travel insurance suite has no significant weaknesses or gaps; it offers more free annual airport lounge passes; and it doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. That said, as a Visa it won’t be accepted at some major stores, like No Frills and Canadian branches of Costco. It’s also missing some of the BMO card’s rental car benefits, like insurance coverage for personal belongings damaged or stolen in a rental car*.

Disclosures:

  • Rates, fees and other information are effective as of January 3, 2025. Subject to change.

    Conditions Apply. Visit here for the Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite* Card to learn more.

    *See Card Provider's website and Card Application for complete card details, terms and current offers. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accuracy of information.

American Express Cobalt® Card

4.9

Winner: Best Overall

up to 15,000 points

Welcome Bonus

$679.02

First Year Value

$529.02

Annual Value

Welcome Bonus: Earn up to 15,000 Welcome Bonus Membership Rewards® points* – that’s up to $150 in value.

Learn More Apply Now On American Express' Secure Site
BMO Ascend World Elite®* Mastercard®* American Express Cobalt® Card
Annual fee:
$150 primary; $50 additional 		Annual fee:
$155.88 ($12.99/month)
Rewards:
5x the points for every $1 spent on eligible travel purchases*
3x the points for every $1 spent on eligible dining and entertainment purchases and recurring bill payments*
1 point for every $1 spent everywhere else*. 		Rewards:
5x points on eligible dining and groceries in Canada
3x points on eligible streaming subscriptions in Canada
2x points on eligible gas, transit and ride shares in Canada
1x point on all other purchases
Redemption value:
Poor 		Redemption value:
Excellent
Lounge access:
Complimentary membership in Mastercard Travel Pass provided by DragonPass,* with four annual complimentary passes. 		Lounge access:
N/A
Insurance:
Good/Fairly comprehensive 		Insurance:
Good/Fairly comprehensive
Foreign transaction fee:
2.5% 		Foreign transaction fee:
2.5%
- Apply Now

Amex Cobalt - winner,  Best Overall in our Best Credit Cards Canada Awards

The American Express Cobalt® Card lacks some of the BMO card’s added travel goodies, like airport lounge access, but it can help you really rake in rewards points at a much faster rate than you would with BMO. If you spend $6,000 per year on groceries and $3,000 per year at restaurants you’ll earn 45,000 points with the Cobalt. And Amex Membership Rewards® points are worth more than BMO Rewards points when the time comes to redeem them. That said, Amex is not as widely accepted by stores as Mastercard, which may limit the number of points you can potentially earn, depending on where you shop.

Disclosures:

  • Contact American Express for the most up-to-date referral bonus figures.

    American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information, click the Apply Now link. If you apply and get approved for an American Express Card, (I/we) may receive compensation from American Express, which can be in the form of monetary payment.

As Reddit user, /u/Primary_Tangerine625 explains, the best use of your BMO rewards is redeeming them for travel rewards or investing them through BMO's Investorline. 

The best rate is redeeming for travel or as a transfer of cash to an investment account like BMO InvestorLine. It’s effectively a cash back card if you transfer to InvestorLine.

/u/Primary_Tangerine625

Is the BMO Ascend World Elite Card worth it?

For individuals seeking a credit card offering comprehensive travel insurance, lounge access, and a reasonably flexible rewards program, this card is a worthwhile choice. Moreover, if you frequently shop at Costco, owning a Mastercard of this caliber proves to be an excellent option.

Eligibility requirements

In order to qualify for the BMO Ascend World Elite®* Mastercard®* you must meet the following requirements:

  • Age: 18+
  • Residency: Canadian resident
  • Credit score: [[ ribn.prod.bmo-ascend-world-elite-mastercard.recommended_credit_score ]]
  • Income: $80,000 (personal); $150,000 (household) income

Disclosures

  • *Terms and conditions apply.

    BMO is not responsible for maintaining the content on this site. Please click on the Apply now link for the most up to date information.

  • †Statement based on a comparison of the redeemable value of the non-promotional travel rewards points earned on premium flexible Canadian credit cards as of May 3, 2022. “Flexible” is defined as points earned when you purchase travel anywhere and “premium” refers to cards with an annual fee of ≤ $150 or has an income requirement of ≤ $150,000 annual individual income.

BMO Ascend FAQs

  • How much travel medical insurance coverage does the card provide?

    +

    The BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard offers up to $5 million in travel medical insurance coverage per insured person per trip, which is one of the highest coverage amounts available on Canadian credit cards.

  • Does the card charge foreign transaction fees?

    +

    Yes, the BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard charges a 2.5% foreign transaction fee on purchases made in currencies other than Canadian dollars.

  • How does the airport lounge access work?

    +

    Cardholders receive a complimentary Mastercard Travel Pass membership provided by DragonPass, which includes four free airport lounge visits per year. After using the free passes, each subsequent visit costs $32

  • Can I waive the annual fee?

    +

    Yes, the $150 annual fee can be permanently waived if you have a BMO Premium Chequing Account.

  • Is this card good for frequent travellers?

    +

    Yes, the BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard is an excellent choice for frequent travellers. It offers big points on travel purchases, comprehensive travel insurance, airport lounge access, and travel-related discounts, making it a valuable companion for globetrotters who want to maximize their rewards and travel benefits.

Rudro Chakrabarti Editor

Rudro is an editor with Money.ca. Rudro had previously served as Managing Editor of Oola, and as the Content Lead of Tickld before that. Rudro holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Toronto.

Cory Santos Credit card expert

Cory Santos is a finance writer, editor and credit card expert with nearly a decade of experience in personal finance. Cory joined Wise Publishing from BestCards, with bylines in numerous print and digital publications across North America, including the Miami Herald, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Debt.ca, AOL, MSN and Medium as well as financial podcasts like KOFE Talk.

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