Welcome to another Rewards Canada Clash! This time in our Clash of the Credit Cards we see two cards with big cash back earn rates on groceries battle it out in the RC Arena! Those cards are the BMO CashBack® World Elite®* MasterCard®* and the Neo World Elite Mastercard™.
In this match up we look at over a half dozen criteria to compare the cards against one another along with a head to head detailed table comparison.
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Round 1: Annual Fees
The BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard and the Neo World Elite Mastercard have very similar annual fees. For the primary card the BMO runs $120 per year while the Neo card is $125 per year.
For additional (supplementary) cards the annual fee is $50 with the BMO CashBack World Mastercard while Neo does not offer an additional (supplementary) card option at this time.
At the time of first posting this clash the BMO card also comes with a first year annual waiver as part of its welcome bonus. The annual fee waiver on the BMO card is something we don't consider as part of the standard fees but rather the welcome bonus, so we don't give it weight in this round.
BMO also offer a waiver on their card with select bank account offerings such as the BMO Premium Chequing Account but do note that they will require $15,000 in annual spending on the card to receive that waiver (Effective May 2025)
With all that said the winner for this category is the BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard for having a slightly lower fee, the ability to add additional cardholders and the potential to have the fee waived with select bank accounts.
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Round 2: Welcome Bonus
Right now the BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard is being offered with a welcome bonus of up to 10% cash back on up to $2,600 in spending in your first 3 months and the $120 annual fee waived in the first year. The cash bonus is awarded as a 10% earn rate on up to $500 qualified spend in grocery, up to $300 qualified spend in transit, up to $300 qualified spend in gas and electric vehicle charging, up to $500 qualified spend in recurring bill payments, and up to $1000 qualified spend on all other purchases. In total you can earn $260 cash back with the welcome bonus.
The Neo World Mastercard does not have a set welcome bonus but does offer up to 15% cash back the first time you use the card at select Neo partners.
By actually offering a welcome bonus that is not merchant dependent and no annual fee in the first year, this category easily goes to the BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard.
Round 3: Rates
For interest rates, the BMO card charges 21.99% on purchases and 23.99% on cash advances while Neo has a range of rates that is determined by the cardholders credit history and that range is 19.99% to 31.99% on purchases.
It should also be noted the foreign transaction fee on the BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard is 2.5% while the Neo World Elite Mastercard is 3%.
We would consider this category a tie as the Neo card has the potential to have a lower interest rate than the BMO card but it can also be the opposite.
Round 4: Features & Benefits
The only features and benefits these cards offer are those that come standard on all Canadian issued World Elite Mastercards. As those are the same for both cards, this category is a tie.
Round 5: Earning & Redeeming
This is the category that holds the most weight in our Clashes and is the round that most people care about. The two competitors have very similar base and accelerated cash back earn rates, however a big difference in earning comes into play with the monthly spending caps that are assigned to the accelerated earn rate categories.
Cash Back Earn Rates + Monthly Spending Caps
Here are the cash back earn rates for each card and any respective spending caps. When those spending caps are reached, any additional spend in those categories will earn the base rate or "All other spending" rate.
| Spending Category | BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard | Neo World Elite Mastercard |
|---|---|---|
| Groceries | 5% (Capped at $500 spend per month) |
5% to 7% (Capped at $1,000 spend per month) |
| Gas | 3% (Capped at $300 spend per month) |
3% to 4% (Capped at $1,000 spend per month) |
| Transit | 4% (Capped at $300 spend per month) |
1% (No caps) |
| Recurring Bills | 2% (Capped at $500 spend per month) |
3% to 5% (Capped at $500 spend per month) |
| All other spending | 1% (No caps) |
1% (No caps) |
For the Neo World Elite Mastercard it should be noted that the cash back amounts shown in the table above do not take into account any of their additional cash back rewards which averages around 5% for shopping at Neo partners.
Annual Cash Back Earning Example
Here are is a look at the cash back that can be earned in annually on the cards using the following spend breakdown:
- 30% Groceries
- 10% Dining
- 5% Gas
- 5% Travel
- 10% Recurring bills
- 5% Transit / Rideshare
- 35% other
- Final amounts include the subtraction of the primary card annual fee
| Annual Spend | BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard | Neo World Elite Mastercard | Neo World Elite Mastercard When holding $10,000 in a Neo Everyday Account |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | $135 |
$135 |
$210 |
| $30,000 | $525 |
$655 |
$880 |
| $50,000 | $842 | $1,055 |
$1,370 |
For the Neo World Elite Mastercard it should be noted that the cash back amounts shown in the table above do not take into account any of their additional cash back rewards for shopping at Neo partners which averages around 5%.
Cash Back Redemption
The cards are pretty equal when it comes to redeeming for cash back rewards, with the BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard you can cash out your rewards as a statement credit anytime your balance reaches $1. With Neo the cash back rewards post to your account as soon as each purchase clears. This means you have immediate access to that cash back reward. With Neo you can also choose to have the cash back credit to a Neo chequing or savings account or redeem via the Neo store in the app.
With Neo meeting or beating the BMO card in all earn categories except for transit and providing higher monthly spending caps on groceries and gas, the Neo World Elite Mastercard easily takes the win in this the most important round of them all.
Round 6: Insurance
Despite being cash back cards rather than travel rewards cards, the BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard and the Neo World Elite Mastercard both provide quite good insurance benefits packages.
The insurance coverage from both cards are very comparable with BMO beating Neo in some of the coverage they both provide and vice-versa with Neo beating BMO in some others. However, with the Neo World Elite Mastercard providing Trip Cancellation coverage (the BMO card does not) and a longer duration of Out of Province Emergency medical coverage this category goes to the Neo World Elite Mastercard.
And the winner is...
If we take out the "potential" to earn additional cash back on the Neo World Elite Mastercard through their partner network or by holding money in a Neo Everyday Account, these two cards match up quite closely. The BMO card delivers a pretty big blow at the start of the match to the Neo card with it's welcome bonus offer but then the Neo card fights back with some big punches in the most important category of cash back earning. Add in a few extra jabs in the insurance category and the Neo World Elite Mastercard scores the win in the RC Arena.
The winner of this clash is the: Neo World Elite Mastercard
Key factors in Neo's win:
- Higher monthly caps on accelerated earn rates
- Higher accelerated earn rates for recurring bills
- Slightly better insurance coverage
If you would like to see any cards go head to head against each other - please do not hesitate to reach out to us in the comments, on social media or via email.
Here is a direct side by side comparison of the two cards in this clash!
Basics |
 BMO CashBack® World Elite®* MasterCard®* |
 Neo World Elite Mastercard™ |
|---|---|---|
| Card Type | Cash Back | Cash Back |
| Annual Fee | $120 | $125 |
| Limited Time Annual Fee Offer | $0 in the first year | N/A |
| Additional Card Fee | $50 | Not available |
| Interest Rate | 21.99% Purchase 23.99% Cash Advance | 19.99% - 31.99% (19.99% - 23.99%for Quebec & Newfoundland residents) |
| Foreign Transaction Fee | 2.5% | 3% |
| Minimum Income Requirements | $80,000 (individual) or $150,000 (household) | $80,000 personal or $150,000 household |
Cash Back Earning |
BMO CashBack® World Elite®* MasterCard®* |
Neo World Elite Mastercard™ |
| Current Welcome Bonus | Get up to 10% cash back in your first 3 months | N/A |
| Welcome Bonus Value |
$260 | N/A |
| Renewal or Additional Bonus | N/A | N/A |
| Travel Purchases Earn Rate | 1% | 1% (up to 5% or more at Neo Partners) |
| Grocery Purchases Earn Rate | 5%^ |
5% to 7%^ |
| Dining / Food Delivery Purchases Earn Rate | 1% | 1% (up to 5% or more at Neo Partners) |
| Entertainment Purchases Earn Rate | 1% | 1% (up to 5% or more at Neo Partners) |
| Gas & Transit** Purchases Earn Rate (** May include ride share, taxi, etc.) |
4%^ (Transit) 3%^ (Gas & EV Charging) |
3% - 4%^ Gas only (up to 5% or more at Neo Partners) 1% for transit etc. |
| Drug Store Purchases Earn Rate | 1% | 1% (up to 5% or more at Neo Partners) |
| Streaming Services | 2%^ (if considered a recurring bill) otherwise 1% | 4% to 5%^ (if considered a recurring bill) otherwise 1% |
| Other Digital Media, Membership & Household Utility Purchases Earn Rate | 2%^ (if considered a recurring bill) otherwise 1% | 4% to 5%^ (if considered a recurring bill) otherwise 1% |
| Other Recurring Bills that are not part of the two rows above | 2%^ | 4% to 5%^ (if considered a recurring bill) otherwise 1% |
| All Other Purchases Earn Rate | 1% | 1% (up to 5% or more at Neo Partners) |
| ^ Caps on bonus category spending | $500 per month groceries $300 per month transit, $300 per month gas, $500 per month recurring bills |
$1,000 per month groceries $1,000 per month for gas $500 per month for recurring bills |
| Minimum cash back rewards amount required to cash out | $1 | $0.01 |
| Cash Back Liquidity (how and when you can cash out) | Anytime | Automatically credited |
Features & Benefits |
BMO CashBack® World Elite®* MasterCard®* |
Neo World Elite Mastercard™ |
| Annual Credit | N/A | N/A |
| Airport Lounge Access Membership | Yes | Yes |
| Airport Lounge Access Annual Passes | 0 | 0 |
Insurance Coverage |
BMO CashBack® World Elite®* MasterCard®* |
Neo World Elite Mastercard™ |
| Common Carrier Travel Accident Insurance | $500,000 | None |
| Flight Delay Insurance | 4 hours $500 in total |
4 hours $250/day max. ($500 in total) |
| Delayed Baggage Insurance | 6 hours $500 per trip |
6 hours up to $1,000 in total |
| Lost / Stolen Baggage Insurance | up to $750 per person / $2,000 max per trip | up to $1,000 in total |
| Damaged Baggage Insurance | up to $750 per person / $2,000 max per trip | up to $1,000 in total |
| Trip Cancellation Insurance | None | up to $1,000 per person ($5,000 total per trip) |
| Trip Interruption Insurance | $2,000 per person (max $10,000 per trip) |
up to $1,000 per person ($5,000 total per trip) |
| Travel Medical Insurance up to 64 years old | 8 days - up to $5 million | 14 days up to age 60 |
| Travel Medical Insurance 65+ | None | None |
| Auto Rental/Loss Damage Insurance | 48 Days Up to $65,000 MSRP |
48 Days Up to $65,000 MSRP |
| Hotel / Motel Burglary Insurance | Up to $1,000 | Up to $1,000 |
| Purchase Protection | 90 Days Up to $60,000 lifetime |
90 Days Up to $10,000 lifetime |
| Price Protection | None | None |
| Extended Warranty Plan | Up to 1 extra year | Up to 1 extra year |
| Mobile Device Insurance | None | None |
BMO CashBack® World Elite®* MasterCard®* |
Neo World Elite Mastercard™ |
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| Link to Apply |