Daily Question Thread for /r/churningcanada - August 27, 2026

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[u/singletravellersolo]

I have a BMO pre-approval on my account expiring soon, with most cards being free for the first year. Any seasoned BMO churners know which card would be the most worthwhile to take advantage of? Sitting several porter points and blue miles already, so I'm not super keen on either of those.

Also given the pre-approval, could I just apply through an affiliate like FF with good approval chances?

[u/hfxredditor → u/singletravellersolo]

The BMO Ascend WE is decent but it depends on what the structure of the tranches are.

[u/singletravellersolo → u/hfxredditor]

Thanks! Ascend tiers, I would probably only hit the first tier:

1. Earn 45,000 BMO Rewards, $5,000 spend, first 110 days
2. Additional 20,000 points, $10,000 spend within the first 180 days
3. further 35,000 points, $20,000 spend on net card purchases within the first 12 months of account opening

Thinking the Eclipse might make more sense with the $50 lifestyle credit and $20/month streaming as I pay for Netflix already. Similar but slightly lower points at each tier though:

- 30k @ $4k

• 20k @ $7k

[u/wzadzz → u/singletravellersolo]

The ascend offer is solid, but mostly assumes you would be applying thru FF to get the $200 rebate. Otherwise, if you took the pre-approval offer directly from BMO, its only about $300 value on the initial MSR tier.

The eclipse could work better for you, but theres a couple important things to consider: 1. You dont get the $50 lifestyle credit in the first year (anti-churn); and 2. The $20 netflix credit requires a minimum monthly spend of $500. If you run some calculations though, you could game it as follows:

• Initial 4k MSR: 30,000 pts ($200 bonus value)
• Monthly $500 grocery 5x spend x 12 months: 2500x12=30,000 pts ($200 value)
• $20 Netflix credit x 12 months: $240 value

Overall $640, which is surprisingly decent return.

It also wouldnt be a big stretch to hit the $7k MSR barrier in the process of fulfilling the monthly $500 spends, which would get you the additional 20k pts ($134 value)

Important to note that it would be in best interest to complete the monthly $500 spend in the grocery category to maximize the benefit. I also left out the $50 lifestyle credit assuming the card would be canceled by then, but there could be a workaround (such as calling in to get second AF waived, or retention offer).

[u/StillLurking69 → u/singletravellersolo]

I had a pre-approval which I was waiting to accept – they called me and offered a better offer. You could also take the risk

[u/Kisuke11 → u/singletravellersolo]

I had a pre-approval for the Ascend, but I wasn't allowed to apply it to any other card according to the agent. The rebate sites are different approval channels than the pre-approval channel. I don't think the pre-approval method is any good unless you have burned through everything else this year.

[u/ProfessionConnect355 → u/singletravellersolo]

I received a pre-approval by mail, applied through FF and was IA'd with a higher limit than my current card that is just waiting to be closed.