Students – BMO CashBack® Mastercard®*

BMO Preferred Rate Mastercard®*

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Students – BMO CashBack® Mastercard®* vs BMO Preferred Rate Mastercard®*

Which one is better? Both cards worked out on the same spending: rewards, welcome bonus, fees and perks, line by line.

4.8

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Our review Rewards calculator

4.5

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Our review

Welcome bonus

Each offer as the issuer words it. The numbers below show whether your spending reaches it.

The offer

Get up to 5% cash back in your first 3 months, up to $2,500 in spend (max $125 cashback)

Get a 0% introductory interest rate on Balance Transfers for 18 months with a 3% transfer fee and a $29 first-year annual fee rebate.*

What each card is worth

Rewards, the welcome bonus and any Finly rebate in, the annual fee and FX fees out, all on your spending.

Worked out on a typical $2,000 a month of spending. Enter yours to see your own numbers.

$336

First-year value

Doesn't earn rewards

$238

Every year after

Doesn't earn rewards

Only BMO Students CashBack earns rewards we can work out.

Compare the fees, rates and perks below.

How the first year adds up

Annual rewards

$238.43

cash back a year

Welcome bonus

+ $97.5

first year only

Annual fee

− $0

no annual fee

First-year value

$335.93

No figures for this card.

Where each card earns

A year of your spending at each card's own reward rates, most first.

3%Groceries

$127.71

1%Recurring Transactions

$24

0.5%All other purchases

$86.72

Doesn't earn rewards

Fees, rates and eligibility

What each card costs to hold and to use abroad, and who it's for.

Annual fee

$29

$0 the first year

Additional cards

Interest rates

Purchase:

21.99%

Cash Advance:

23.99%

Balance Transfer:

23.99%

Purchase:

13.99%²

Cash Advance:

15.99%²

Balance Transfer:

15.99%²

² Terms and conditions apply. Each balance transfer is subject to a fee of 3% which will be charged to your account on the date the balance transfer is posted to your Account.

Recommended credit score

300⁎

Poor

560⁎

Fair

660⁎

Good

725⁎

Very Good

760⁎

Excellent

⁎Estimates based on Equifax scoring

300

Poor

560

Fair

660⁎

Good

725⁎

Very Good

760⁎

Excellent

⁎Estimates based on Equifax scoring

Income required

Min Personal Income:

N/A

Min Household Income:

N/A

Min Personal Income:

N/A

Min Household Income:

N/A

How each card earns

The earn rates and caps, as each issuer sets them.

3% cash back on grocery purchases (maximum $15 per statement)
1% cash back on recurring payments like bills or subscriptions (maximum $5 per statement)
0.5% cash back on all other purchases

No rewards earned on this card

Insurance and perks

What both cards include comes first in each list.

Insurance

Extended Warranty

1 year

Purchase Protection

90 days

Extended Warranty

Doubled up to 1 year

Purchase Protection

90 days

Perks

Discount

Get 20% off admission to Cirque du Soleil shows touring Canada, and 15% off resident shows in Las Vegas.

Discount

Enjoy three months of Instacart+ and a $5 monthly Instacart credit when you enroll your eligible BMO Credit Card. Terms apply.

Car Rental Discount

Save up to 20% on National Car Rental® and Alamo Rent A Car® and up to 5% on Enterprise Rent-A-Car® at locations worldwide using the Car Rental Booking tool.

Hotel Booking Discount

Save up to 7% on your Booking.com prepaid hotel or property rental bookings at booking.com/mastercardcanada.

Discount

Enjoy three months of Instacart+ and a $5 monthly Instacart credit when you enroll your eligible BMO Credit Card.*

Our take

Why we like it

We consider this card to be the best student credit card in Canada for it's competitive cashback rewards (3% on groceries, 1% on recurring bills), no annual fee and a generous welcome bonus. Plus, cashback redemption is flexible so no need to wait a year each time you want to get your cashback paid out.

If you plan to carry a balance on your credit card, this card offers a very low interest rate. However, there are other cards with no annual fee and slightly lower interest rates that you might want to consider as well.