BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card Review
Search no further for a BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card review. With a generous welcome bonus, higher earn rates, an annual lifestyle credit, and more, this card has quickly gained quite the following. The BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* card is clearly designed for Millennials and Gen Z with its unique structure and benefits, but is it any good?
In my BMO eclipse Visa Infinite*card review, I’ll go over the details of the card, how you can double dip one of the benefits, and what the real value of BMO Rewards points are. Keep reading and find out why BMO’s first Visa card deserves your attention.
BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card
- $120 annual fee – Waived in the first year
- Earn 30,000 points when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months, and 2,500 points for each subsequent month in which you make at least $2,000 in purchases on your card, for 12 months
- $50 anniversary lifestyle credit
- 5 BMO Rewards points per $1 spent on dining, groceries, gas, and transit purchases
- 1 BMO Reward point on all other purchases
- Earn 10% more points when adding an authorized user to your account
After a quick look at the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* card benefits, you’ll notice that it has a lot to offer. The card is clearly aimed at Millennials and Gen Z who typically spend more on dining and transportation.
The current sign up bonus is worth up to 60,000 BMO Rewards points, but it’s broken up into two parts. You’ll get 30,000 points when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months, and 2,500 points for each subsequent month in which you make at least $2,000 in purchases on your card, for 12 months. In addition, the annual fee of $120 is waived for the first year.
When it comes to the earn rate, you get an incredible 5 BMO Rewards points per $1 spent on dining, groceries, gas, and transit purchases. All other purchases earn you 1 point per $1 spent. In addition, if you add an authorized user, your earn rate increases by 10%. There is a cap on your earn rate of $50,000 per calendar year. Once you reach that cap, your earn rate is 1 point per $1 spent.
While there’s no denying that these rates are appealing, you need to understand how BMO Rewards works to get the full value for your points (which I’ll cover below).
The annual lifestyle credit of $50 is interesting since it’s available every calendar year. Lifestyle purchases are anything that’s not dining, groceries, gas, or transit. To get the credit, you need to make a purchase that’s at least $50.
Additional benefits that come with the card include mobile device insurance, travel medical insurance, car rental insurance, extended warranty, and purchase security.
How BMO Rewards works
To maximize the value of your points, you need to understand how BMO Rewards work. Since it takes 150 points to claim $1 in travel, 1 BMO Rewards point is worth .67 cents. Based on this value, the real earn rate for each multiplier is as follows:
- 3.35 cents in points per $1 spent on dining, groceries, gas, and transit
- .67 cents in points per $1 spent on everything else
As you can see, the true earn rate for dining, groceries, gas, and transit purchases is generous and comparable to other cards on the market. However, the earn rate on all other purchases is one of the lowest for a Visa Infinite Card.
Remember, if you add an authorized user, your earn rate goes up 10%, so your earn rate could be as high as:
- 3.69 cents in points per $1 spent on dining, groceries, gas, and transit
- .74 cents in points per $1 spent on everything else
What’s interesting with the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* card is that you can also use your points to pay for any purchase you’ve made. This is done via bmorewards.com. If you’re going to go this route, it costs 200 points for $1 in redemptions. That means your points would actually be worth .50 cents per point. While this is a convenient option, you’re better off using your points for travel since they’re worth more.
Keep in mind that to get the full value of your BMO Rewards points, travel must be booked via the BMO Rewards website. If you book travel on your own and then use the pay with points option, you’d be using them at the .50 cents per point rate.
Get nearly $400 value in the first anniversary
Although BMO Rewards points can be a bit complicated, when you look at what you’re getting with the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* card in the first anniversary, you’ll quickly realize that this card offers incredible value.
The $50 anniversary lifestyle credit is per calendar year and resets on January 1st. That means you could get the credit twice in the first anniversary of your card membership. For example, if you signed up in October or November, you could use your credit before the end of the year. You will then get the credit again on January 1st.Â
That’s a value of $100 you could get before the annual fee is due. If you wanted, you could cancel your card before the annual fee is charged so you’re essentially double-dipping. Remember, the annual fee is waived for the first anniversary, so that’s another $120 you’re saving.
Now think about the welcome bonus. The base bonus is worth 25,000 points which has a value of up to $178.57. You would get an additional 15,000 points on your anniversary date that has a value of $107.14, but then you would have to pay the annual fee as you’d be entering year 2.
If you were to look strictly at the value you’d get in year one, you’d be getting nearly $400. That doesn’t factor in any regular spending you do, so this card is clearly worth applying for to test drive for at least one year.
How the card compares to others
People reading this BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* card review have likely realized that this card is very comparable to the American Express Cobalt and the Scotiabank Gold American Express cards. Let’s take a look at the earn rates for each card. For simplicity, I’ve calculated the earn rates in cents per dollar spent. But don’t forget your earn rate goes up 10% for the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* card if you add an authorized user.
| BMO eclipse VIP | Amex Cobalt | Scotiabank Gold | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dining | 3.35 | 5 | 5 |
| Groceries | 3.35 | 5 | 5 |
| Gas | 3.35 | 2 | 3 |
| Transit | 3.35 | 2 | 3 |
| Travel | 3.35 | 2 | 1 |
| Streaming services | 0.67 | 1 | 3 |
| Everything else | 0.67 | 1 | 1 |
As you can see, the American Express Cobalt and the Scotiabank Gold American Express have a higher earn rate for dining and groceries. However, the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* card comes out ahead for gas and transit purchases. Unfortunately, the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* card has the lowest base earn rate at .71 cents per $1 spent. That said, you shouldn’t base your decision just on the earn rate.
Both the American Express Cobalt and the Scotiabank Gold American Express cards have an annual fee of $120 which rarely have a first year free offer. In addition, they don’t offer an annual credit of any sort. Plus, the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* card is a Visa card so it’s accepted at more merchants compared to American Express.
Final thoughts
My BMO eclipse Visa Infinite card* review is positive. The fact that you get close to $400 in value for free in the first year is reason enough to sign up. Hanging onto the card for much longer is likely worth it since it comes with a good earn rate and a yearly lifestyle credit. If you’re looking for a card with even more features, check out my BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Privilege* review.
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Quite a nice card offering from BMO. Is that actually what the card looks like? Looks awesome. 40,000 BMO Rewards is a nice touch, I haven’t started collecting those just yet. I might have to consider picking up this card sometime in the near future. Thanks for the review!
I just got this offer in the mail so came here to check the review. I already have the Scotia Gold Amex…so probably not the best to switch BUT tempted to get it for a year for the “$400”! thanks Barry!