The Cobalt is the card I'd point most Canadians to when their biggest spending is food. It earns 5 Membership Rewards points per dollar at restaurants, coffee shops, bars, grocery stores and food delivery in Canada, on up to $2,500 a month. Points are worth at least 1 cent per point (cpp) as a statement credit, so that is a 5% return before you ever transfer a point, on a card that costs $15.99 a month.
What keeps it from being an everything card is the fine print around travel. The bonus categories only count at merchants in Canada, purchases in other currencies earn 1x and pay a 2.5% foreign transaction fee, and the insurance has no trip cancellation or interruption. I'd treat it as the card for the grocery run and dinner out, paired with something else for trips abroad.
Welcome offer
The Cobalt is showing an increased offer of up to 20,000 Membership Rewards points, verified on the Amex page on October 13, 2026, with the standard 15,000 struck through. Most of it arrives monthly: 1,250 points for each billing period in your first year in which you spend $750, for up to 15,000 points. The increase is an extra 5,000 points after spending $2,500 in the first 3 months.
Amex values the full 20,000 points at up to $200. The page also says the offer is the one currently available to you and that eligibility can change at any time, and no end date is published. Current or former Cobalt Cardmembers are not eligible, so confirm the current terms on the issuer's page before applying.
The monthly structure rewards steady spending rather than a sprint. $750 a month is about $25 a day, so groceries and restaurant bills alone get many households there, and the 5,000-point tier only needs $2,500 across the first 3 months. Purchases have to post by the last day of each billing period to count, so a charge on the final day can slip into the next month.
Fees & eligibility
The Cobalt is billed monthly: $15.99 a month, which Amex says equals $191.88 a year. Quebec residents pay $191.88 once a year instead. There is no first-year waiver, and additional cards have no annual fee, up to 9 per account.
No minimum income is published; Amex lists Canadian residency, a Canadian credit file and the age of majority in your province or territory. The interest rate is 21.99% on purchases and on funds advances, rising to 25.99% after 2 missed payments in 12 months and 29.99% after 3 or more. As with any rewards card, the points only come out ahead if the balance is paid in full each month.
Earning rewards
The headline rate is 5x on what Amex calls eats & drinks: restaurants, quick service, coffee shops and bars, stand-alone grocery stores and food delivery, all in Canada. It applies to a combined $2,500 in net purchases a month, or up to 12,500 points, and the count resets on the 1st.
Below that sit 3x on eligible streaming subscriptions in Canada and 2x at stand-alone gas stations and on local transit, taxis and ride share in Canada. Everything else earns 1x, and hotel or car rental bookings through American Express Travel Online earn one extra point per dollar. At the 1 cpp floor, 5x is a 5% return, which is why the food categories carry this card.
Redeeming rewards
Membership Rewards gives you a floor and a ceiling. The floor is Use Points for Purchases: 1,000 points = $10 as a statement credit against eligible card purchases, with a 1,000-point minimum, which is 1 cpp on anything from groceries to a flight. Amex's own $200 valuation of the welcome offer uses the same rate.
The ceiling is transfers. The product page says points move 1:1 to several frequent flyer and other loyalty programs, and the value from there depends on the program, route and cabin. In between sit the Fixed Points Travel Program for return flights booked through Amex Travel, gift cards and merchandise at membershiprewards.ca, and purchases on Amazon.ca, each at its own rate.
Perks & benefits
The Cobalt is a points card first, so the perks are light. The most concrete is up to $60 in Instacart statement credits within a 12-month period: $5 back each month on a single Instacart order of at least $10 charged to the registered card, running until December 31, 2027. Booking 2 or more consecutive nights through The Hotel Collection at American Express Travel adds up to a $100 USD hotel credit for amenities and a room upgrade at check-in when available.
The rest is entertainment and shopping: Front Of The Line presale and reserved tickets, the Cardmember Entrance and American Express Lounge at Rogers Stadium and RBC Amphitheatre, and targeted Amex Offers. There is no airport lounge access, no travel credit and no hotel or airline status.
Insurance
The insurance covers the common travel mishaps but not a cancelled trip. You get $5,000,000 in out-of-province emergency medical for the first 15 days of a trip, for insured persons 64 or under on the departure date, without having to charge the trip to the card. There is no trip cancellation or trip interruption coverage, and no medical cover for travellers 65 and over.
The delay and baggage benefits need the airline tickets on the card: flight delay and baggage delay share $500 per occurrence, lost or stolen baggage pays up to $500 per trip, and hotel burglary up to $500. Car rental theft and damage is primary coverage on vehicles up to $85,000 MSRP for rentals of 48 days or less. On the purchase side there is 90-day Purchase Protection, a one-year warranty extension and Mobile Device Insurance up to $1,000.
My take
I'd get the Cobalt if restaurants and groceries are your biggest monthly spend in Canada; I'd skip it as the card you travel abroad with.
The math is what sells it. Put the full $2,500 a month through the 5x categories and you earn 12,500 points, worth $125 at the 1 cpp Use Points for Purchases rate, against a $15.99 monthly fee. Even at half that spend the points cover the fee nearly four times over, before counting the 1:1 transfers that give Membership Rewards its upside.
What I'd keep in mind is everything the 5x doesn't touch. Groceries at general merchandise stores, anything abroad and anything in a foreign currency earn 1x, and the 2.5% FX fee makes it a poor card to travel with. With no trip cancellation cover either, I see it as the food card in a two-card setup rather than the only card in your wallet.
The good
- 5x on restaurants, groceries and food delivery in Canada, up to $2,500 a month
- Membership Rewards: a 1 cpp floor plus 1:1 transfers
- Primary rental car cover and mobile device insurance
The catch
- Bonus categories only count in Canada, plus a 2.5% FX fee
- No trip cancellation or interruption insurance
- Small welcome offer and $191.88 a year with no first-year waiver