American Express can offer some of the best rewards and perks credit cards in Canada by keeping them in-house. Case in point: the American Express Cobalt Card has the best rewards in Canada, while the American Express Platinum Card has the best perks and benefits.
Key Takeaways
- The American Express Amex Cobalt Card earns plenty of points on a long list of purchase categories.
- The American Express Platinum Card spoils high spenders with a plethora of annual credits, travel perks, and exclusive offers.
- For the best rewards, choose the Amex Cobalt.
- for incomparable luxury benefits, choose the Platinum.
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American Express Cobalt Card vs. American Express Platinum Card overview
Canadians rightfully expect better benefits and rewards when they upgrade to a premium credit card. The two best American Express credit cards in Canada give you both: the Amex Cobalt is the best rewards card in Canada while the Amex Platinum is unmatched for perks and benefits:
| Feature | American Express Cobalt Card | American Express Platinum Card |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Credit card | Charge card |
| Annual fee | $191.88, charged as $15.99 per month | $799 |
| Welcome bonus |  $100 GeniusCash + Up to 15,000 bonus points (terms) | Up to 100,000 bonus points (terms) |
| Maximum rewards | Up to 5 points per $1 spent | Up to 2 points per $1 spent |
| Highest earning categories | Groceries and restaurants | Travel |
| Metal card | ❌ | ✅ |
| Insurance types included | 10 | 11 |
| Special feature | 8 ways to earn points and mobile device insurance | $200 annual travel credit and $200 annual dining credit |
| Best for | General spenders | Luxury travellers |
| Get started | Apply now | Apply now |
Let’s look at the similarities between the two cards for now. Both cards include the following Amex features.
American Express benefits
Amex boasts as many benefits as the iconic World Elite Mastercard or Visa Infinite Privilege programs. Both the Amex Cobalt and Platinum cards include:
- A $100 USD hotel credit, room upgrades, early check-ins, and late check-outs at 700+ properties in The Hotel Collection
- Access to special dining, rewards, and shopping rebates worth $200 or more through Amex and Member Offers
- Access to special pricing and deals on American Express Travel Online
- Early access to in-demand event tickets, reserved seating, and curated experiences through Amex Front Of The Line, Presale Tickets, and Reserved Tickets
- Exclusive access to curated dining, entertainment, shopping, and wellness benefits and events through American Express Experiences
One less exciting, but convenient advantage to banking with Amex includes 24/7 customer service and the ability to pay your bills and monitor your balance using the 4.7-star Amex Canada app from Google Play.
American Express Membership Rewards
The Amex Cobalt and Platinum cards earn Amex Membership Rewards points, although their earning rates and categories differ. You can redeem said points for 8 different types of rewards, but they aren’t all worth the same number of cents per point (CPP).
Value of reward in CAD / cost in points x 100 = value in cents per point (CPP)
For example, converting your Amex points to the Marriott Bonvoy or Hilton Honors programs yields up to 1.16 CPP, but converting them to Aeroplan yields 2 – 4 CPP. Using the Amex Fixed Points Travel program (which lets you cover up to $4,500 worth of airfare with a fixed number of points) gives you 1.75 CPP or more.
For even more flexibility, you can charge any purchase to your card and redeem 1,000 points for a $10 statement credit, or 1 CPP. Whatever you do, pass on gift cards and merch, which are each worth less than 1 CPP.
American Express travel insurance
Credit card insurance gives you the option to pay a single annual fee for coverage over multiple trips, which is often less expensive than an annual plan. The Amex Cobalt and Platinum cards share 9 types of useful coverage:
- Extended warranty
- Purchase protection
- Travel accident
- Emergency medical term
- Flight delay, baggage delay, lost/stolen baggage, and hotel burglary insurance
- Theft and damage rental car insurance
Theft and damage rental car insurance is the most valuable type of coverage, saving you about $140 on a 7-day car rental. You’ll save a further $133 on emergency medical term coverage, and $72 with a year’s extended warranty, adding up to $410 worth of insurance in common.
No income requirements
While a good credit score is a must, you don’t need to prove a minimum annual personal or household income to qualify for an Amex card.
Now that we’ve gotten your approval worries out of the way, let’s examine the Amex Cobalt and Platinum’s individual strengths.
What we love about the American Express Cobalt Card
×8 Award winner 
GC: $100
8x Award winner Pros:
- 15 ways to earn rewards
- Up to 9 free additional cards
- Higher returns on more purchase categories
- Lower annual fee
- No minimum income requirements
- Standard credit card repayment options and interest fees
Cons:
- Fewer benefits
- Less insurance coverage
- Lower welcome bonus
The American Express Cobalt Card is the best overall credit card in Canada and the winner of multiple titles, including:
- Best American Express card
- Best flexible rewards credit card
- Best grocery credit card
- Best restaurant credit card
- Best rewards credit card
- Best travel credit card
The Amex Cobalt is all about rewards, rewards, and more rewards for a modest annual fee. Depending on your preferences, that could be enough to give it the edge against the Amex Platinum’s superior benefits and insurance.
Higher returns
Rewards:
- 5 points per $1 spent on eligible groceries and restaurants (up tp $2,500 spent per month)
- 3 points per $1 spent on eligible streaming services
- 2 points per $1 spent on eligible gas, transit, and ride share purchases
- 1 point per $1 spent on foreign currency purchases
- 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
The Amex Cobalt and Platinum cards add 1 bonus point per $1 spent whenever you book a hotel stay or car rental on American Express Travel. That’s a maximum of 3 points per $1 spent for the Platinum and 5 points per $1 for the Cobalt, producing a return rate of 6% for the former and 10% for the latter.
Value of rewards in CAD / money spent in CAD x 2760 = return rate in %
In other words, every time you spend $100 on travel (or groceries or restaurants) with the Amex Cobalt, you’ll get $10 back in rewards, compared to $6 with the Amex Platinum. Even better, the Amex Cobalt actually covers 15 separate purchase categories. "Restaurants" include bars and dine-in, fast food, and coffee joints; “grocery stores” include grocery delivery businesses; and “transit” includes subways, streetcars, taxis, limos, and ride-sharing apps.
The only downside is you can only earn 5X the points on $2,500 of eligible spending per month, limiting you to $3,000 in rewards in those purchase categories per year.
There are no limits on eligible spending in the Platinum’s 2X points categories.
Lower annual fee
The cost to grab all these rewards is a reasonable $15.99 per month. Unfortunately, there are no annual fee waivers or other deals to bring the cost down.
What we love about the American Express Platinum Card
Pros:
- 3 ways to earn rewards
- 2 free supplementary Gold Rewards cards
- Cheap supplementary Platinum Card fees
- Larger welcome bonus
- More benefits
- More insurance coverage
- No minimum income requirements
- Premium metal credit card
Cons:
- Complicated repayment and interest structure
- Higher annual fee
- Lower returns in fewer purchase categories
The Amex Platinum card is an iconic perks and benefits credit card for a reason; it includes so many benefits Amex created a dedicated phone line and website to help cardholders explore them all.
While it lacks the earning power of the Amex Cobalt, and its annual fee is higher, the Amex Platinum provides more benefits and insurance than its cheaper cousin.
More benefits
The Amex Platinum has 3 big advantages over the Cobalt: a $200 annual dining credit, a $200 annual travel credit, and a $100 NEXUS rebate every 4 years. Plus, you’ll get access to Platinum exclusives such as:
- 24/7 complimentary assistance with restaurant reservations, travel plans, and travel emergencies through Platinum Care concierge services
- Access to specially reserved tables at fine dining establishments in the Global Dining Collection, plus curated experiences By Invitation Only
- Automatic Hilton Honors Gold Status and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status – including preferred pricing and free nights, breakfast, and room upgrades – through Platinum Hotel Status Benefits
- Complimentary in-room Wi-Fi, breakfast for 2, and unique benefits at 1,500+ Fine Hotels + Resorts
- Complimentary upgrades, advanced loyalty status, and a fee waiver for 1 additional driver with the Hertz Car Rental Benefit
- Discounted Premium Economy, Business, and First Class flights through the International Airline Program
- Priority security, parking discounts, and complimentary value services at Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ), plus premium airport transfers when you book a round-trip Business or First Class flight with a 1+ night’s stay through the Platinum Card Travel Service
- Unlimited access for the primary cardholder and up to 2 guests to the Amex Global Lounge Collection, which includes every location in the Priority Pass and Centurion Lounge networks
We estimate Platinum card benefits add an extra $2,500 of value to your wallet, if not more. The value of perks like concierge services, Member Offers, and the International Airline Program, will only grow the more you use them.
More insurance coverage
Although the Amex Platinum boasts an extra 30 days of purchase protection and $1,000 of trip cancellation and interruption insurance over the Amex Cobalt, it only provides an extra $100 worth of credit card insurance. In some cases, higher coverage limits just aren’t that valuable – we would have preferred if the Platinum included $1,000 of mobile device insurance instead.
American Express Platinum® Card
| Extended Warranty | 1 year |
| Purchase Protection | 120 days |
| Travel Accident | $500,000 |
| Emergency Medical Term | 15 days |
| Emergency Medical Maximum Coverage | $5,000,000 |
| Trip Cancellation | $2,500 |
| Trip Interruption | $2,500 |
| Flight Delay | $1,000 |
| Baggage Delay | $1,000 |
| Lost or Stolen Baggage | $1,000 |
| Hotel Burglary | $1,000 |
| Rental Car Theft & Damage | Yes |
Please review your insurance certificate for details, exclusions and limitations of your coverage.
How do the Amex Cobalt and Platinum compare?
Before we unveil the winner, let’s recap the 8 most important points of comparison.
Best benefits: American Express Platinum Card
The Amex Platinum offers more than triple the estimated value of credit card benefits over the Cobalt, providing cardholders with a luxury travel experience from start to finish.
Best insurance: American Express Platinum Card
The Amex Platinum’s increased insurance coverage limits only narrowly beat the value of the Amex Cobalt’s basic insurance package.
Best rewards: American Express Cobalt Card
The Amex Cobalt is the undisputed ruler of credit card rewards, offering a maximum return rate of 10% compared to the Platinum card’s 6%. The former also rewards more types of purchases than the latter; based on a typical annual spend of $24,000, we estimate the Amex Cobalt would return an average of 4.50% and the Platinum an average of 2.25%.
Highest acceptance: Tie
There’s no place you can bring the Amex Platinum where the Amex Cobalt won’t also be welcome. And although American Express credit cards are useful for booking travel at home and shopping, dining, and staying at major chains worldwide, we recommend you bring a Visa or Mastercard as a back up on your travels.
Interest fees: American Express Cobalt Card
The Amex Cobalt charges standard interest rates: 21.99% for purchases, 21.99% for cash advances, and no balance transfers. It’s much simpler than the Amex Platinum’s charge card setup.
Whenever you use the Amex Platinum, you must either pay the balance in full before the 21-day grace period expires or suffer a 30% interest fee. You can elect to carry a Flexible Payment Option Balance for 21.99%, but if you miss 2 separate payments within 12 months, the rate will increase to 25.99%. Miss 3 payments and it’ll shoot up to 28.99%.
Lowest annual fee: American Express Cobalt Card
The Amex Cobalt charges $191.88 per year. The Platinum is 3X more expensive with an annual fee of $799. That said, Platinum cardholders can elect to give authorized users either a supplementary Platinum or Gold card with limited benefits:
| Amex Platinum | Amex Gold | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $250 | $0* |
| Amex Experiences, Offers, Front of the Line, and Presale Tickets benefits | ✅ | ✅ |
| Hertz car rental benefits | ✅ | ✅ |
| Avis car rental benefits | ✅ | ❌ |
| Fine Hotels + Resorts benefits | ✅ | ❌ |
| Global Dining Collection benefits | ✅ | ❌ |
| Platinum Concierge | ✅ | ❌ |
| Platinum Card Travel benefits | ✅ | ❌ |
| The American Express Global Lounge Collection benefits | ✅ | ❌ |
| Toronto Pearson International Airport benefits | ✅ | ❌ |
* Applies to the first 2 supplementary Amex Cobalt cards on the account. Subsequent cards cost $50 each per year.
Supplementary cards are free for Amex Cobalt. Although the Amex Platinum’s supplementary card costs $250 annually, the benefits make a second Platinum card an absolute steal.
Lowest eligibility requirements: Tie
As long as you have a credit score between 660 and 724, you have a chance to qualify for either the Amex Cobalt or Platinum card.
The winner: American Express Cobalt Card
The American Express Cobalt Card carries broad appeal for many Canadians. It has an accessible annual fee, plentiful rewards, and a sensible insurance package. Although it won’t treat you like royalty, it’s a better travel credit card than most.
Top alternative
×1 Award winner GC: $100
1x Award winner We can’t think of a credit card that combines the Cobalt’s rewards and the Platinum’s perks, but the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card provides a decent middle ground between the two. It only requires $12,000 of personal income, provides 12 types of insurance, and earns generous Scene+ rewards that you can spend on movies, grocery rebates, travel, and more.
FAQ
What income do you need for Amex Cobalt?
There are no formal income requirements for the American Express Cobalt Card.
What’s the most prestigious Amex card?
The most prestigious American Express credit card is the invitation-only Amex Black, followed closely by the American Express Platinum Card.
Is the Amex Cobalt worth it in Canada?
Being an Amex Cobalt cardholder is worthwhile in Canada because you can amass lots of rewards and points at most major retailers.
Does the Amex Cobalt Card have a limit?
The American Express Cobalt Card limits eligible spending in its 5X points categories to $2,500 combined per month.
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