We’ve heard that BMO may be making some changes to two of their BMO eclipse cards – the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Card and the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Privilege Card. In short, there are going to be annual spend caps on all bonus categories and the annual fee for the VIP card will increase.
Plus, if you use either the BMO Premium or Performance plans to help cover the cost of a credit card annual fee, there could be a new $15,000 annual spend requirement attached to getting it.
It sounds like the credit card changes will take effect on February 3, 2025, while the banking plan change will begin on May 1, 2025.
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BMO eclipse credit card changes
A casual look through RedFladDeals alerted us to this news – it's not even on BMO's site yet. With a hat tip to RFD user Cryptos, let's dig in and start with the upcoming changes to a pair of BMO eclipse Visa cards.
One potential change affects both cards. The annual lifestyle credit, which was previously delivered on your account anniversary, will be available on January 1 each year.
Now for the individual changes.
Changes to the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Card
The spending limit on bonus rewards categories will reportedly change for the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Card. Currently, there's a very high $50,000 combined annual spending limit across all categories. This is very common among credit cards.
Now, it sounds like BMO will parse out that $50K cap between the various categories.
- Dining and groceries will be limited to 5x the points on $6,000 annually for each category ($500 per month)
- Transit and gas will get higher spending caps of $20,000 annually each, or $1,667 per month
The transit and gas cap isn’t likely to affect many people; most households spend less than $1,600 per month in each category.
The food caps are a different story. Many families will easily exceed the $500 per month cap on groceries. If you eat out more than a few times a month, you’re likely to run up against the restaurant cap, too.
Want an alternative card for groceries? If you spend more than $500 per month on groceries, we have some cash back or flexible rewards credit cards that offer similar (or better) rewards on groceries and other categories. These include Amex cards like the American Express Cobalt Card and Scotiabank Gold American Express Card, as well as the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard, TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card, and more.
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Changes to the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Privilege Card
The BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Privilege Card will reportedly also have a spending cap adjustment on the bonus categories. The current cap is $100,000 in combined annual spending on all bonus categories. The new caps are apparently as follows:
- Dining and travel will each be capped at $25,000 in annual spending
- Groceries will be capped at $20,000 per year
- Gas and drug stores will each be capped at $15,000 per year
Unless you’re a high spender, you probably won’t need to worry about those caps.
The card is also getting an annual fee increase, though – from $499 to $599, putting it on par with other Visa Infinite Privilege cards. As far as we know, no new perks or benefits are being added.
Looking for an alternative? Other premium cards to look at include the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege, TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Credit Card, and American Express Platinum Card.
BMO banking changes
One of the features of the BMO Premium or Performance chequing account is a rebate on the annual fee you pay for a BMO World Elite Mastercard or Visa Infinite card – $40 for performance chequing and up to $150 for premium chequing.
It’s reported that there will be a new requirement to keep that rebate going: you'll need to spend $15,000 annually on the card. This is not a requirement the other big banks have at this time – and let's hope they don’t get any ideas here!
The BMO credit cards that qualify for this rebate are as follows:
- BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard
- BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard
- BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard
- BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Card (yes, a double whammy for this card)
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