American Express Cobalt® Card vs American Express® Green Card: Which one is better?

Deciding whether to go for the American Express Cobalt and Green is an important choice because choosing the right card over the other might cost you hundreds of dollars in rewards and benefits!

Let's start by discussing their main differences and similarities and giving you a step-by-step guide to choosing the right one for you.

The Main Similarities of Amex Cobalt vs Green

1. Both these cards are points-based, meaning they will earn you American Express reward points on your purchases. The points values and redemption methods are identical for both cards, so they have the same reward flexibility.
2. Both these cards offer the purchase protection and extended warranty benefits.

The Main differences between Amex Cobalt and Green

The main difference between these two cards is that the American Express Green card has no annual fees, whereas the American Express Cobalt has an annual fee of $155.8.

Now, in exchange for this annual fee, American Express Cobalt provides a much better reward structure and many benefits. For the majority of people, the Cobalt earns so many more points than the Green card that it makes sense to get the Cobalt card. Let's get into the details of why this happens:

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Yes

No

American Express Cobalt® Card

5

Finly Rating

Welcome Bonus*

Up to 15,000 points

Rewards Rate*

1x - 5x points

Yes

No

Annual Fee*

$155.8

Interest Rates*

21.99% / 21.99%

RECOMMENDED CREDIT SCORE*

300

Poor

560

Fair

660

Good

725

Very Good

760

Excellent

Get your free credit score

Why we like it

This card was voted the Best Credit Card in Canada by FinlyWealth. The rewards earned on this card for a person with average spending exceed those of other credit cards in Canada by a huge margin! In addition, this card has a good benefits coverage, a flexible points redemption program (1:1 transfer to Aeroplan® or Avios), making it the best candidate to become the main credit card for the majority of people.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Points can be transferred to Air Canada Aeroplan® at a 1:1 ratio, making this card a solid Aeroplan® points earner as an alternative to Aeroplan® branded credit cards
• Generous welcome bonus of up to 15,000 points
• 4+ different ways of redeeming your points for great value
• 10 different types of insurance, including travel
• Often referred to as the Best Credit Card in Canada

Cons

• Less acceptance of American Express at different merchants across Canada
• Not all types of travel insurance are covered, especially trip cancellation and interruption insurance

Product Details

Rewards*

• 5x points per $1 spent on eligible eats and drinks in Canada, including groceries and food delivery (up to 12,500 points per month)
• 3x points per $1 spent on eligible streaming subscriptions in Canada
• 2x points per $1 spent on eligible gas, transit & ride share in Canada
• 1x point per $1 spent on all other purchases

Insurance*

Coverage*

• 

  Emergency Out of province Medical

  15 days
• 

  Flight Delay

  $500
• 

  Baggage Delay

  $500
• 

  Hotel Burglary Insurance

  $500
• 

  Lost or Stolen Baggage

  $500
• 

  Travel Accident

  $250,000
• 

  Car Rental Damage & Theft

  yes
• 

  Mobile Device Insurance

  $1,000
• 

  Purchase Protection

  90 days
• 

  Extended Warranty

  Up to 1 year

Benefits*

Details*

• 

  Amex Experiences™

  Access Front Of The Line® Amex Presale & Reserved Tickets to some of your favourite concerts and theatre performances and special offers and events curated for Cardmembers with Amex Experiences™
• 

  Travel Credit

  Book two or more consecutive nights at participating properties through The Hotel Collection with American Express Travel to receive a $100 credit for amenities or a complimentary room upgrade, if available.

Eligibility*

• Credit Score

  Good
• Annual Income

  N/A

^*American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. If you apply and get approved for an American Express Card, (I/we) may receive compensation from American Express, which can be in the form of monetary payment. Check here for full details and current product information.

The cobalt card gives 5x the points on Foods and Groceries, which is the category most people spend the most on. Each American Express point could be redeemed for $0.02 on average, meaning you would gain an extra 4 points ($0.08) for each dollar spent using cobalt instead of Green for groceries.

Because of Cobalt's excellent reward structure, this card is voted the Best Credit Card in Canada by FinlyWealth, and with average spending amounts, this card has massive rewards. We recommend using this card as your primary card for most people. The only case we recommend using Green instead of Cobalt is if you have very little spending (less than $3K/year) on your credit cards because the spending would be too low to generate enough rewards to cover the Annual fee.

Apply NowMore Details

Yes

No

American Express® Green Card

3.9

Finly Rating

Welcome Bonus*

Up to 10,000 points ($210 value)

Rewards Rate*

1x point

Yes

No

Annual Fee*

$0

Interest Rates*

21.99% / 21.99%

RECOMMENDED CREDIT SCORE*

300

Poor

560

Fair

660

Good

725

Very Good

760

Excellent

Get your free credit score

Why we like it

The American Express® Green Card is a great option for those looking for a no-frills card that earns rewards on all purchases without any annual fee or minimum income requirement. It's an accessible card with no cap on rewards, making it ideal for those who want to earn points without the higher costs and complexities of premium cards. However, it does come with lower rewards earnings across most categories and a modest welcome bonus.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• No Spending Limits: Earn unlimited rewards with no caps.
• Flexible Redemption: Transfer points to other loyalty programs for maximum value.
• VIP Perks: Access a variety of exclusive benefits through Amex Experiences™.
• Eco-Friendly: The card is made from 99% recycled plastic.

Cons

• Lower Reward Rates: Earn rates are lower compared to other no-fee cards.
• Limited Travel Perks: Lacks some of the travel benefits and insurance options provided by other cards.

Product Details

Rewards*

• 1x point per $1 spent on all purchases

Insurance*

Coverage*

• 

  Purchase Protection

  90 days
• 

  Extended Warranty

  Up to a year

Benefits*

Details*

• 

  Amex Experiences™

  With Amex Experiences™ and Front Of The Line® Amex Presale Tickets, American Express Cardmembers get access to amazing events in Canada
• 

  Extra points

  2 points on Amex Travel Online purchases

Eligibility*

• Credit Score

  Good
• Annual Income

  N/A

^*American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. If you apply and get approved for an American Express Card, (I/we) may receive compensation from American Express, which can be in the form of monetary payment. Check here for full details and current product information.

Doing simple math, if you spend around $2K per year on Groceries and Food, then the cobalt card would be just better than green just from that. But even if you don't spend that much on Food and Groceries, the other categories need to be considered as well.

To see exactly your net reward for these cards, you can use our cobalt reward calculator and green reward calculator tools to compare the rewards in detail and the breakdown of redemption categories and see for yourself which card is better for you.

Extra benefits Amex Cobalt provides compared to Amex Green

Putting aside the much better Coblat reward structure, you will have access to many more benefits when you get the Cobalt card.

• Out of Province Medical insurance

• Flight delay and Baggage delay insurance

• Hotel Burglary insurance

• Lost or stolen baggage insurance

• Travel Accident Insurance

• Car Rental Theft and damage insurance

• Mobile Device Insurance

Other than mobile device insurance, the rest are mostly related to travel. So, if you don't travel by plane a lot, then these benefits might not be that interesting for you. Our main recommendation in that scenario is to decide based on the rewards.

Conclusion

While the Green card is a great card for very low spenders, the American Express cobalt beats American Express Green both in rewards and benefits for users with average spending levels. If you want to see the numbers yourself, you can use our rewards calculator tool to compare the rewards.