Blue Rewards & VIPorter: A New Partnership With Transferable Points Coming Soon

The end of AIR MILES was rather ignominious, but as Game of Thrones teaches us, “what is dead may never die, but rises again, harder and stronger.”

And BMO was there to live up to the words of House Greyjoy by bringing AIR MILES back in a new form as Blue Rewards. This looked like your typical bank’s points program: no transferring out of the system, and points redeemable only at a fixed cash rate.

Except… not. BMO has instead taken the program in a more hopeful direction by partnering Blue Rewards with the Porter Airlines VIPorter program, thus turning Blue Points into a convertible points currency.

Let’s talk about all the possibilities about to be unlocked with this new partnership.

Blue Rewards & Porter Airlines VIPorter Buddy Up

Soon, you’ll be able to transfer Blue Points to VIPorter points at a rate of 2:1, so 2,000 Blue Points becomes 1,000 VIPorter points. Do note: such transfers, when enabled, are irreversible and do not count toward accruing higher status levels.

Is the 2:1 transfer ratio any good? Since 1,500 Blue Points buy a $10 gift card, the 750 VIPorter points you’d get instead need to be worth more than 1.33 cents apiece. So go ahead and make the transfer if you can beat it out.

As part of the promotional efforts to connect the two programs, BMO and Porter are offering a limited-time deal to link your accounts. Navigate to the appropriate page, link the accounts, and 500 VIPorter points will land within 48 hours.

You’ll also earn a bonus 500 Blue Points after making a single eligible Blue Rewards-eligible purchase or Blue Rewards card-linked offer, so go nuts.

Linked members also earn extra VIPorter points on Porter fares and add-ons, before taxes: one more point per dollar if a BMO credit or debit card is attached to your Blue Rewards profile, or half a point if not.

The magic comes from combining the power of multiple credit cards: with this account link, the BMO VIPorter World Elite Mastercard effectively earns 10 points per dollar spent on Porter cash fares booked directly with Porter. Six points come from the card’s automatically granted Venture status, one point from your accounts being linked, and three points from the card itself. Not too shabby!

Then there’s the redemption side. If you pay for a Porter-operated flight entirely with Blue Points through Blue Rewards Travel, then you’ll get points back based on the base fare. We’ve made a handy table to help make this more straightforward:

Do note that the column for 500-1,500 bonus points is for BMO Mastercard or debit card holders only. It does not include holders of any of the BMO-issued Visa cards. Whether a maximum of $10 is worth it is up to you.

One thing you must be aware of: these bookings are made through Blue Rewards Travel powered by Expedia. They are therefore made with an Online Travel Agency, which we at Frugal Flyer typically recommend avoiding when booking hotels.

However, flights made via online travel agencies, unlike hotels, are usually eligible for full points earning, status benefits, and any other goodies you may need so long as your VIPorter number is attached to your itinerary. The one caveat is that should something go wrong, you will need to contact Blue Rewards Travel, not Porter.

When one considers that redeeming VIPorter Points for Porter flights now boasts a $40 fuel surcharge per direction, redeeming Blue Points instead can be a great way to reduce cash spent on travel. 

BMO Credit Card Family Shows a Cohesive Vision

I’d like to applaud BMO for making another transferable currency. Such rewards programs feel like they’ve been going the way of the dodo in recent years. Alternatively, companies seem to prefer points currencies that are redeemable only at a fixed cash value.

However, this program shows something I’ve written about before: vision. Vision matters, because it’s one thing to buy a legacy program and run it into the ground; it’s another to have a direction.

I would postulate that BMO does have a direction. It wants to continue deepening its relations with Porter, who want to take away market share from Air Canada and WestJet by acquiring more customers.

What’s an easy way to get more customers? For Porter Airlines, it’s getting more people on the planes and realizing how good Porter’s economy product actually is. A great way to funnel people, therefore, is via Blue Rewards, which has a huge legacy customer base of people transferred over from AIR MILES.

It also incentivizes new signups because now there’s a reason to hold multiple BMO credit card products simultaneously, thus earning the bank annual fees on each.

Think about it: if you fly anywhere Porter does, which is in Canada, to the Sun Belt, and to parts of the US, you have a reason to actually hold the BMO Blue Rewards World Elite Mastercard.

Not only does it earn 10x the Blue points per dollar spent at participating partners and 2x per dollar spent on groceries, gas, electric vehicle charging, wholesale, and alcohol purchases, but you can transfer them to VIPorter points. That nets the bank $150 in annual fees per year, unless you have a BMO bank account that waives the fee.

BMO Blue Rewards World Elite^®* Mastercard^®*

$200

Apply Now Learn More Terms & Conditions apply

BMO Blue Rewards World Elite^®* Mastercard^®*

The BMO Blue Rewards World Elite^®* Mastercard^®* earns 10x Blue Points per $1 spent on participating Blue Rewards Partners and offers four airport lounge passes annually, plus up to a $200 NEXUS membership credit.*

Earn $200 in FlyerFunds when you apply through Frugal Flyer.

OFFER
115,000 Blue Points

MINSPEND
$20,000

EST. VALUE
$971+

ANNUAL FEE
$150 (FYF)

FOREX FEES
Yes

EXPIRY
Dec 31, 2026

When those points are transferred, you now have a reason to continue holding the BMO VIPorter World Elite Mastercard. Why? Because sure, the $199 annual fee is a decent-sized hit, but it comes with Venture status in the VIPorter program.

BMO VIPorter World Elite^®* Mastercard^®*

$125

Apply Now Learn More Terms & Conditions apply

BMO VIPorter World Elite^®* Mastercard^®*

The BMO VIPorter World Elite^®* Mastercard^®*, Canada’s most valuable airline credit card^*, offers benefits including VIPorter Venture membership and the opportunity to earn an annual round-trip companion pass through spending.

Earn $125 in FlyerFunds when you apply through Frugal Flyer.

OFFER
70,000 VIPorter points

MINSPEND
$18,000

EST. VALUE
$1,175+

ANNUAL FEE
$199 (FYF)

FOREX FEES
Yes

EXPIRY
Oct 31, 2027

Both the Frugal Flyer team and I can personally attest to routinely getting upgrades to Porter Reserve Class, which is hugely appreciated for simply holding a credit card.

We can also attest to elites legitimately receiving excellent service (and that is when one considers that service, as a whole, is very strong on Porter to begin with). Pair that with free seat selection, checked baggage, and more, and you have an incredible combination.

And I forgot to mention this card is great, not least because now it can earn 10 VIPorter points for direct spend on Porter.

More importantly, there are sure to be more reciprocal bonuses. I don’t know what they’ll look like yet, but they’ll certainly incentivize customers participating in both programs.

From a business perspective, this is smart and shows a cohesive plan.

From a consumer perspective, it’s a win, too, because now there’s a bigger reason to collect Blue Points, and another reason (as if we needed any) to continue flying Porter. These products aren’t for every customer, but it gives plenty of customers a pretty valid reason to collect both.

A win-win for the bank and the customer? In 2026? Are we entering the Twilight Zone?

Conclusion

I’ll be honest. I had warm feelings toward VIPorter and tepid ones toward the launch of Blue Rewards. AIR MILES, despite being synonymous with loyalty in Canada, had fallen from grace a long time before BMO acquired it fully.

This announcement should show both shareholders and customers that the spirit of AIR MILES when it was founded is back: rewarding Canadians for their daily purchases and helping them travel affordably.