5 Things to Know About the BMO VIPorter Mastercard
If you’re a budget-conscious traveller or a Porter Airlines patron, the BMO VIPorter Mastercard merits consideration. It’s a solid travel card that offers surprisingly upscale perks at a wallet-friendly $89 annual fee.
Rewards breakdown
Rewards breakdown
NerdWallet's take
NerdWallet's take
Card details
Card details1. It earns VIPorter points on every purchase
The BMO VIPorter Mastercard earns VIPorter points on every dollar spent at the following rates:
2X on Porter purchases (up to $10,000 annually).
1X on groceries and dining out (up to $5,000 annually).
1X on gas and transportation (up to $3,000 annually).
1X on hotel accommodations (up to $3,000 annually).
0.5X on other eligible purchases (and after exceeding any annual spending caps).
Now, the BMO VIPorter Mastercard is a low-fee card, so you’re not going to earn points at the same accelerated rates of its more expensive sibling: the BMO VIPorter World Elite Mastercard. This card is more than twice as expensive to carry, though, with a $199 annual fee and eligibility criteria that require an annual income of at least $80,000 for an individual or $150,000 for a household.
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The BMO VIPorter Mastercard imposes no such income criteria and sets the bar of its annual fee at a more budget-friendly $89. Still, its baseline earn rate of 0.5 VIPorter points may be underwhelming for travellers keen to rack up rewards. This drawback may be particularly unattractive for big spenders who may bump up against the various spending caps across this card’s elevated rewards categories.
2. You get priority airport services
Air travel can be a hectic affair, so any credit card perk that helps a cardholder cut down on time spent waiting in line is worth a callout. Access dedicated flight check-in, priority security lanes and be among the first to board the plane when you fly with Porter — for you and up to eight additional guests on the same reservation.
Competing travel rewards programs like Aeroplan reserve the benefit of priority airport services for their premium cards — all of which cost a whopping $599 annually. So, seeing this top-tier airport perk on a card that costs less than $100 is noteworthy.
3. Its travel insurance is surprisingly robust
Travel insurance that extends above and beyond emergency medical and common carrier coverage isn’t particularly common for lower-fee credit cards. The BMO VIPorter Mastercard offers both of these benefits plus rental vehicle coverage, flight delay, lost baggage and hotel burglary coverage — a rare suite of insurances for a card in this price tier.
4. Airline partners are limited — for now
Like Air Canada and WestJet’s in-house rewards programs, VIPorter points can be earned and redeemed with Porter’s partner airlines. As of this writing, Porter’s airline partner network is limited to Air Transat and Alaska Airlines.
That said, Porter is actively expanding its airline partner network and route map, so VIPorter credit cardholders may have access to a greater range of point earning and redemption opportunities in the future.
5. You have to spend big to unlock the annual flight voucher
The BMO VIPorter Mastercard offers an annual flight voucher for 35% off a Porter flight booking for the cardholder and up to three companions, but there’s a catch: you have to spend at least $25,000 annually to get it.
The voucher period resets each year on the anniversary date of the card, and if you don’t hit the spending threshold within the 365-day period, you don’t get the flight discount. Plus, the spending caps for the BMO VIPorter Mastercard’s accelerated rewards rates add up to $21,000, so — depending on where you use your card — you’ll probably stop earning extra points before you meet the spending minimum to unlock the voucher.
While $25,000 is a steep annual spending requirement, 35% off the base fare of a flight is a respectable discount that could shake out to hundreds of dollars in savings. For example, a $600 round-trip ticket from Toronto to Vancouver drops down to $390 after applying the voucher (plus taxes and fees). That’s a potential savings of $210 — more than enough to offset the card’s annual fee.
Bottom line
The BMO VIPorter Mastercard delivers outsized value for its $89 annual fee, offering perks more often reserved for high-end travel cards, like priority airport services and solid insurance coverage. While its limited lineup of airline partners and steep spending requirement for the annual flight voucher may be dealbreakers for some, frequent Porter flyers may be willing to overlook these drawbacks to take advantage of travel-enhancing features without premium-tier costs.
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Shannon Terrell
Shannon Terrell