American Express Cobalt® Card

American Express Cobalt® Card

5/5

Up to 15,000 points

Apply Now

American Express Cobalt® Card

American Express Cobalt® Card

Apply Now

Rewards Calculator Algorithm

You can either estimate rewards by inputting your spending habits manually or creating secure bank connections through our trusted financial partner mx.com and letting Finly analyze your spending in the past year.

Finly factors in all the reward limits and fine prints of every single credit card.


Your Spending

Modify your spending numbers and click update to get the most accurate reward estimates.

$2,000

Restaurant, Fast Food & Coffee Shop

$

Grocery

$

Recurring Purchases (Bills, Subscriptions, Rent via Chexy)

$

Gas

$

Transportation

$

Entertainment (Movies, Concerts, etc.)

$

Foreign Purchases (Non $CAD)

$

Travel (Flights, Hotels, etc.)

$

Pharmacy

$

Online Shopping

$

Home Improvement (Renovation, Furniture)

$

Purchases at Canadian Tire, Sport Check, Lquipeur, Atmosphere, Party City, SportsRousseau, HockeyExperts, LentrepduHockey

$

Other Purchases Not Specified

$

Card Details

Based on $2,000 spending

First Year Value

$1,255.2

$940.2 in years after

Annual Rewards

$1,096

American Express Membership Rewards

First Year Bonus

$315

American Express Membership Rewards

Annual Fee

$155.8

First Year Value

$1,255.2

$940.2 in years after

Interest Rates

Cash Advance: 21.99%*

Purchase: 21.99%*

Annual Fee

$155.8

Annual Income

Personal: N/A

Household: N/A

Credit Score

Good

Welcome Bonus

Earn 1,250 Membership Rewards® points for each monthly billing period in which you spend $750 in purchases on your Card in the first Year

Card Type

Category: Points

Our Rating

5/5

Institution

American Express

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

American Express Cobalt® Card Points Calculator

Based on $2,000 spending


Rewards Breakdown

Food and drinks, Groceries

33,255 points


Amex eligible Streaming Subscriptions

1,440 points


Rental Car & Taxi, Gas

4,694 points


All other purchases

12,801 points


Annual Fee

- $155.8


Net Annual Rewards

52,190 points

Valued at $940.2 (after fees)

Rewards Summary

Net Annual Rewards

52,190 points

Valued at $940.2 (after fees)


First Year Card Bonus

15,000 points

Valued at $315


First Year Card Value

67,190 points

Valued at $1,255.2

Point Redemptions

Redemptions Chart

Transfer to Airline Partners

$1,255.2


Fixed Point Travel Program

$959.56


Transfer to Hotel Partners

$623.61


Statement Credits

$516.1


Gift Cards

$358.21


Amazon

$314.53


Merchandise

$267.5

Insurance & Benefits


Insurance

Coverage

  • travel accident medical

    Emergency Out of province Medical

    15 days
  • hourglass timer

    Flight Delay

    $500
  • hourglass timer

    Baggage Delay

    $500
  • burglar

    Hotel Burglary Insurance

    $500
  • lost baggage

    Lost or Stolen Baggage

    $500
  • heart lock

    Travel Accident

    $250,000
  • car insurance

    Car Rental Damage & Theft

    yes
  • mobile device insurance

    Mobile Device Insurance

    $1,000
  • purchase protection

    Purchase Protection

    90 days
  • extended warranty

    Extended Warranty

    Up to 1 year

Benefits

Details

  • Amex logo

    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

    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.

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

American Express Cobalt® Card Review


If you are looking for a card that comes with great rewards and benefits, there is no need to search any longer! The American Express Cobalt card is our favorite, best overall credit card, and the best points credit card in Canada!
So what makes this card be so special? Let's find out.

The Rewards

The Amex Cobalt credit card offers one of the highest points earning rates on very popular everyday categories. Here's what you can earn and how to best use them.

How You Earn Rewards

Your points are part of the overall American Express Membership Rewards (MR) program. You can earn points as follows:
  • 5 points per $1 on eligible restaurant and grocery purchases up to 12,500 points monthly
  • 3 points per $1 on eligible streaming subscriptions in Canada
  • 2 points per $1 on eligible gas, transit & ride share in Canada
  • 1 point per $1 on all other purchases
As you can see, that's a lot of points to be earned on very common categories like food and groceries. That's usually where most people spend their money each month! The other categories people mostly spend on are ride share and gas, which are also covered by this card. Given this generous rewards program, the Amex Cobalt earns the highest rewards for the majority of people.
One restriction you have to be aware of is that there is a cap on how much you can earn in the grocery and restaurant category, which is 12,500 points, meaning $2,500 spent every month! While most people don't even get near the cap, if you are a very high spender and will frequently exceed that cap, then this card may limit your rewards, however on average you'll still come ahead with it.

Welcome Bonus

The American Express Cobalt card comes with a welcome bonus that earns you 1,250 points on every billing period if you spend over $750 in the first year. Not the biggest welcome bonus, but a very solid combination with the great rewards program of this card.

How You Redeem Rewards

American Express MR points are known for the flexibility they offer, mainly because they can be used in many different ways and are potentially worth a lot of money. In fact, they were voted the most flexible Points Program by FinlyWealth! We'll go through the most optimal redemption methods and then work our way down to the ones that are less optimal.
Transfer MR points to other airlines
Basically you can convert your American Express points to these available Airline partners programs. These programs are great ways to maximize the value of your points by finding flights that don't use that many points. Many times a business or first class flight can be booked with a fraction of a price if they were being purchased with cash.
American Express Flight Redeem options
One of the best airlines to use MR points on is Air Canada for Canadians. Your points will transfer 1:1 to Aeroplan (Air Canada's point system), with a value of 2 cents per points.
The Fixed Points Travel Program
This is the second-best option for redeeming your MR points. You essentially can redeem a fix number of your points to fly to a specific region. These points can cover the base cost of your ticket, leaving you to pay for the taxes or any other fees.
Here's a chart from the Amex website that showcases the Economy class.
A way to maximize the points is to redeem points towards certain short-haul routes. These can generally yield 2 cents per point, however, there's a limited selection that you can choose from. You can simply book a flight through the American Express Travel portal and log into your account.
Amex Fixed Travel Program
Transfer MR points to hotel programs
You can Transfer your points to hotel programs to book your stay. Marriott Bonvoy is the better of the 2 since it provides more value generally, on average at about 1.1 cents per point.
Amex Hotel Redemption option
Redeem MR points for any purchase
This option generally gives a lower redemption rate compared to those mentioned above. For example, if you go to your Membership Rewards page, you can get a statement credit to pay off any of your past month's purchases with your points balance. This redemption will give you 1 cent per point, which is still a considerable amount.
Redeem MR points for Gift Cards, Amazon and Merchandise
Generally these options are not recommended because they would give you an even less value than redeeming for statement credit, so it's just better to purchase one of these and then pay them off with the statement credit option.

Benefits of the American Express Cobalt Credit Card

1. Best Rewards Program in Canada

The American Express rewards program is voted the best reward program by FinlyWealth for average spenders. It offers so much in categories where most people make frequent purchases, and there is a lot of flexibility in how you can use your points at any time. Sometimes you might be travelling, and other times you might need cash, and you can redeem in different categories based on your situation.

2. Insurance Coverage

This card comes with a fantastic range of insurance coverage. From travel to mobile device insurance, you'll get more than enough coverage for most of your needs.

3. Amex Offers and Benefits

On top of the great bonus and insurance coverage, you can get in front of the line through the Front of The Line® program. Essentially this allows Amex cardholders to get early access to ticket sales on Ticketmaster. You can also get personalized Amex offers when you make purchases through certain merchants. You can usually find them on your Amex page when you're logged in. Learn more here.

4. Access to Fantastic customer service

If you ever have any issues that you want to resolve, American Express offers one of the best and fastest customer services compared to other financial institutions in Canada. Most of the time, you will be able to reach a representative in less than a minute.

Downsides of the American Express Cobalt Credit Card

1. Lower Acceptance at Merchants Across Canada

This is an unfortunate fact about Amex in general. Not all merchants are accepting of American Express in their stores at a similar level to Visa or Mastercard. Major retailers like Loblaws or Costco do not accept Amex. Additionally, there is lower acceptability compared to Mastercard and Visa when traveling abroad, especially in many European countries.

2. High Annual Fee

This card comes with a hefty monthly fee of $12.99 or $155.88 per year, which is on the higher end for cards with a mid-level annual fee.

3. Limit on the Grocery and Food category

There is a $2,500 monthly cap on the 5x points for the grocery and food categories. If you spend massive amounts in these two categories and exceed the cap, then other cards might be better suited to earning you higher rewards, however make sure to do the math first. You can use our calculator tool for the most accurate estimates.

American Express Cobalt Comparison to some reward cards

American Express Cobalt® CardAmerican Express® Green CardScotiabank Gold American Express® CardAmerican Express Gold Rewards Card®

Welcome Bonus

Up to 15,000 pointsUp to 10,000 points ($210 value)Up to 45,000 Scene+ points ($450 value)Up to 60,000 points

Earn Rates

  • 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
  • 1x point per $1 spent on all purchases
  • 6 Points per $1 spent at Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland & Participating Co-ops
  • 5 Points per $1 spent on eligible dining, other grocery stores, entertainment purchases including movies, theatre, and ticket agencies
  • 3 Points per $1 spent on rides which includes rideshare, buses, taxis, subways and more
  • 3 Points per $1 spent on eligible streaming service payments (Netflix, Spotify, Disney+, Crave and more)
  • 1 Point per $1 spent on all other eligible purchases
  • 2x points per $1 spent on gas, groceries and drugstore purchases
  • 2x points per $1 spent on travel (eligible flights, hotels, tours and more)
  • 1x point per $1 spent on all other eligible purchases

Insurance Included

10 types

  • travel accident medical

    Emergency Out of province Medical

    15 days
  • hourglass timer

    Flight Delay

    $500
  • hourglass timer

    Baggage Delay

    $500
  • burglar

    Hotel Burglary Insurance

    $500
  • lost baggage

    Lost or Stolen Baggage

    $500
  • heart lock

    Travel Accident

    $250,000
  • car insurance

    Car Rental Damage & Theft

    yes
  • mobile device insurance

    Mobile Device Insurance

    $1,000
  • purchase protection

    Purchase Protection

    90 days
  • extended warranty

    Extended Warranty

    Up to 1 year

2 types

  • purchase protection

    Purchase Protection

    90 days
  • extended warranty

    Extended Warranty

    Up to a year

13 types

  • travel accident medical

    Emergency Out of province Medical

    $1M, Up to 25 days
  • travel accident medical

    Emergency Medical Over 65

    $1M, Up to 3 days
  • cancel airplane

    Trip Cancellation

    $1500/person, $10000/trip
  • pause

    Trip Interruption

    $1500/person, $10,000/trip
  • lost baggage

    Lost or Stolen Baggage

    $500/person, $1000/trip
  • hourglass timer

    Baggage Delay

    $500/person, $1,000/trip After 4 hours
  • hourglass timer

    Flight Delay

    $500/person
  • heart lock

    Travel Accident

    $500K/person, $1M/occurrence
  • car insurance

    Car Rental Damage & Theft

    $65K up to 48 days
  • burglar

    Hotel Burglary Insurance

    $1000/occurrence
  • mobile device insurance

    Mobile Device Insurance

    $1,000
  • purchase protection

    Purchase Protection

    90 days
  • extended warranty

    Extended Warranty

    Up to 1 year

11 types

  • travel accident medical

    Emergency Out of province Medical

    15 days
  • cancel airplane

    Trip Cancellation

    $1,500 per person, $3,000 combined
  • pause

    Trip Interruption

    $1,500 per person, $6,000 combined
  • hourglass timer

    Flight Delay

    $500 after 4 hour delay
  • hourglass timer

    Baggage Delay

    $500 after 6 hour delay
  • burglar

    Hotel Burglary Insurance

    $500
  • lost baggage

    Lost or Stolen Baggage

    $500
  • heart lock

    Travel Accident

    $500,000
  • car insurance

    Car Rental Damage & Theft

    $85K, up to 48 days
  • purchase protection

    Purchase Protection

    90 days, Up to $1,000
  • extended warranty

    Extended Warranty

    Up to 1 year

Perks

2 perks

  • Amex logo

    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

    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.

2 perks

  • Amex logo

    Amex Experiences™

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

    Extra points

    2 points on Amex Travel Online purchases

4 perks

  • exchange money

    No Foreign Transaction Fees

    Avoid the 2.5% foreign transaction fees incurred when spending in non $CAD
  • Amex logo

    American Express® Experiences

  • concierge

    Concierge Services

  • discount

    Discount

    Discount on PriorityPass Membership

8 perks

  • travel

    Travel Credit

    $100
  • border guard

    Nexus Program Rebate

    $50 statement credit every 4 years
  • alcohol cheers

    Airport Lounge - Priority Pass

    Pass only. No Complimentary visits!
  • alcohol cheers

    Airport Lounge - Plaza Premium

    4 Free complimentary visits
  • hotel

    Complimentary Hotel Benefits

    Hotels booked American Express Travel
  • star fall

    Status lift

    Hertz Gold Plus Rewards® loyalty program
  • Amex logo

    American Express® Experiences

  • reward cup

    Extra points

    Earn 2 points on Amex Travel Online purchases and extra points on American Express offers

Annual Fee

$155.8$0$120$250

Income Requirements

N/AN/A$12,000 personal or $12,000 householdN/A

Apply Now

Apply NowApply NowApply NowApply Now

How to Apply for the Cobalt American Express Card

To apply for the Cobalt American Express* Card, follow these steps:
  1. Click on the "Apply now" button on the American Express website.
  2. Indicate whether you are a new or returning American Express customer. If you’re an existing customer, sign in with your account; otherwise, proceed as a new applicant.
  3. Review the card's terms and conditions, then click "Agree and continue."
  4. Enter your personal information such as your name, contact details, and address.
  5. Provide your financial information, including your income, employment status, and any other required details.
  6. Upload any supporting documentation, if necessary.
  7. Review your application carefully, then submit it by clicking "Submit Application."

Final Verdict

Is the Amex Cobalt card really worth the $155.88 yearly fee?
The simple answer is absolutely yes. Given the amount of points you can redeem on this card, it would be hard to say no to it. This card isn't known to be the best credit card in Canada for no reason.

FAQ

Is it hard to get an Amex Cobalt Card?

Getting the Amex Cobalt card is actually one of the simplest processes compared to many other cards in Canada. It does not have an income requirement, so even many students can apply, and the estimated credit score needed for approval is a good score or above.

Does Amex Cobalt Card have a foreign transaction fee?

No foreign transaction fee is not one of the benefits provided by the American Express Cobalt. Although this card is great in almost all other aspects, it might not be the best choice for significant foreign currency purchases.

Do you have to pay Amex Cobalt in full every month?

Similar to other credit cards, you can carry a balance on your card. Although it's not recommended due to the high interest rates of credit cards, you can choose to pay only the minimum amount required by Amex and don't need to pay it in full every month.

Why is Amex Cobalt good?

It's because of having the best reward program based on our review and also being well-rounded in terms of insurance and benefits. Most other cards have one but not the other.

Does Amex Cobalt have lounge Access?

While the Amex Cobalt has many benefits, lounge access is not one of the benefits covered by this card.

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.
* If you have 2 separate missed Payments, the applicable rates for your account will be 25.99%. If you have 3 or more separate missed payments, the applicable rates will be 28.99%.

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