Amex Gold Rewards Card vs. Amex Cobalt Card 2026: Why Gold Regains the Advantage

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The American Express Cobalt^® Card has long been a staple in our wallet, thanks to its exceptional earn rates and the flexibility of its points. But the landscape is rapidly changing, and the American Express^® Gold Rewards Card is regaining ground.

If you’ve been following Milesopedia for a while, you probably know that welcome offers and credit cards evolve over time; sometimes cyclically, and other times unexpectedly.

In this article, we’ll give you the lowdown on the evolution of these two cards to see which is currently more advantageous.

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The American Express Cobalt^® Card is all about long-term earning speed. With 5 points per dollar on groceries and restaurants, it turns your everyday spending into a points machine.

The goal? To quickly earn a large number of points. For those who spend a lot on groceries and restaurants (think families or entrepreneurs who go out often), the Cobalt can generate a large amount of points without any particular effort.

The American Express^® Gold Rewards Card has often been overshadowed by the Cobalt due to its advantageous earning potential. However, it positions itself as a slightly more premium card with attractive travel benefits: an annual $100 travel credit, 2 points per dollar on travel purchases, complimentary airport lounge access, and much more.

 

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The current welcome offer for the American Express^® Gold Rewards Card is high, with the possibility to get up to 60,000 Membership Rewards points! This is a value of $600 for travel or any purchase made on the Card:

• 5,000 Membership Rewards points per month when you spend $1,000 in net purchases on your Card, for 12 months (a total of 60,000 points in the first year)

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The current welcome offer from American Express Cobalt^® Card welcome offer is up to 15,000 Membership Rewards points.

The welcome bonus is distributed monthly for the first 12 months. You’ll earn 1,250 Membership Rewards points for every $750 in purchases charged to your card during the month (whether in the 1X, 2X, 3X or 5X category). That’s up to 15,000 Membership Rewards points.

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With a total difference of 45,000 Membership Rewards points between the two welcome offers, it goes without saying that the American Express^® Gold Rewards Card stands out significantly.

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Take, for example, a monthly family budget of $2,000, which would be enough to unlock any of the welcome offers.

The budget is divided as follows:

• $800 for groceries
• $200 at drug stores
• $100 for streaming services
• $300 for transportation
• $400 for other expenses
• $200 for travel (not necessarily spent every month, but just to get an idea)

According to the multipliers of each card, this represents a total of:

• 3,500 base points for the American Express^® Gold Rewards Card
• 5,700 base points for the American Express Cobalt^® Card

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So here are the points that can be earned with each of the cards following the previous budget, for the first year:

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	Amex Gold with Rewards		Amex Cobalt
Month	Base points	Bonus points	Base points	Bonus points
1	3,500	5,000	5,700	1,250
2	3,500	5,000	5,700	1,250
3	3,500	5,000	5,700	1,250
4	3,500	5,000	5,700	1,250
5	3,500	5,000	5,700	1,250
6	3,500	5,000	5,700	1,250
7	3,500	5,000	5,700	1,250
8	3,500	5,000	5,700	1,250
9	3,500	5,000	5,700	1,250
10	3,500	5,000	5,700	1,250
11	3,500	5,000	5,700	1,250
12	3,500	5,000	5,700	1,250
Total	102,000 Membership Rewards points		83,400 Membership Rewards points

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With this budget, the Gold Rewards Card surpasses the Cobalt Card in terms of accumulation. You could get a total of:

• 102,000 Membership Rewards points with the American Express^® Gold Rewards Card or
• 83,400 Membership Rewards points with the American Express Cobalt^® Card

This is simply a simulation. It’s up to you to make your own calculations based on the breakdown of your monthly expenses.

[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Travel Rewards” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” css=”” el_id=”travel_rewards”][vc_custom_heading text=”Travel points” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:left” css=”” el_id=”travel_points”][vc_column_text css=”” el_class=”checkmarks”]

Membership Rewards points have a fixed value of 1,000 points per $10 when redeemed for statement credit. However, they are flexible points that can be transferred to many airline and hotel programs: Aeroplan, Flying Blue, British Airways Club, Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors, among others.

By transferring points, it is often possible to achieve greater value for each point redeemed. For example, Milesopedia estimates that one Aeroplan point is worth 2 cents when used to purchase a flight. With a 1:1 transfer ratio, you can indirectly obtain 2 cents per Membership Rewards point (or potentially even more) with Aeroplan.

If we take the example of American Express^® Gold Rewards Card you can earn the equivalent of:

• 60,000 Aeroplan points
• 60,000 Avios
• 45,000 Flying Blue Miles
• 72,000 Marriott Bonvoy points

Certain promotions maximize the value of these points, such as the transfer bonus to Marriott Bonvoy, or Flying Blue Promo Rewards, which enable you to save on the price of an award ticket.

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If you’re planning to travel, it goes without saying that the American Express^® Gold Rewards Card is to be favoured, especially since it earns 2 points per dollar on travel expenses. As for the Cobalt, the multiplier on travel expenses has been reduced to the base rate as of October 2024, i.e. to 1 point per dollar.

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[vc_custom_heading text=”Annual Travel Credit” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:left” css=”” el_id=”annual_travel_credit”][vc_column_text css=””]

The American Express^® Gold Rewards Card offers a $100 annual travel credit, which the Cobalt does not. In a way, this offsets the Amex Gold Rewards Card‘s higher annual fee of $250.

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Another travel benefit offered by the American Express^® Gold Rewards Card that the Amex Cobalt doesn’t have: a subscription to Priority Pass and 4 complimentary annual visits to the Plaza Premium lounges.

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[vc_custom_heading text=”Insurance” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:left” css=”” el_id=”insurance”][vc_column_text css=””]

Once again, the American Express^® Gold Rewards Card is more advantageous in terms of insurance for travellers. The only advantage of the American Express Cobalt^® Card is that it provides mobile device insurance up to $1,000.

Here is a comparison of the insurance offered by the two cards:

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Insurance
Trip Cancellation Insurance	–	up to $1,500
Trip interruption insurance	–	up to $1,500
Out-of-Province/Country Emergency Medical Insurance	Up to $5,000,000 15 days	Up to $5,000,000 15 days
Flight delay insurance	Up to $500 after 4 hours	Up to $500 after 4 hours
Misdirected Baggage Insurance	Up to $500 after 6 hours	Up to $500 after 6 hours
Baggage loss or theft insurance	up to $500	up to $500
Hotel burglary insurance	up to $500	up to $500
Rental car theft and damage insurance	up to $85,000	up to $85,000
Travel accident insurance	$250,000	$500,000
Purchase Protection	1 additional year	1 additional year
Purchase Guarantee	Up to $1,000 90 days	Up to $1,000 90 days
Standby Medical Concierge Service	–	–
Mobile Device Insurance	Up to $1,000	–

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Other travel advantages give the American Express^® Gold Rewards Card a head start:

• A $50 statement credit for NEXUS membership every 4 years.
• Hertz car rental benefits, i.e. Gold Plus Rewards status, which gives you access to discounts, upgrades subject to availability, and simplified rental management with accelerated service.
• A USD 100 credit to be used at the hotel when booking with The Hotel Collection.

These are the little extras that ultimately make a difference for travelers.

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The American Express Cobalt^® Card has long been one of the cards we keep in our wallets year after year. Here’s why it’s still a great card to use for rewards.

[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”High Earning Potential” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” css=”” el_id=”high_earning_potential”][vc_custom_heading text=”5x Points at Grocery Stores and Restaurants” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:left” css=”” el_id=”5x_points_at_grocery_stores_and_restaurants”][vc_column_text css=””]

The American Express Cobalt^® Card is one of the very few credit cards in Canada to offer a 5 points per dollar multiplier at grocery stores, restaurants and with food delivery services.

That’s a minimum of 5% return on these expenses, which often account for a significant portion of a budget. And, as demonstrated in this article, the flexibility of these points can easily increase their value. For example, if they are transferred to Aeroplan and then used to purchase a flight valued at 2 cents per point, we are talking about a 10% return on food-related purchases!

Plus, by using the gift card trick, it’s possible to get a similar return on other everyday purchases.

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Important to know: the 5 points per dollar multiplier category has a monthly cap of $2,500 per month. It is therefore important to demonstrate normal purchasing behaviour so as not to risk finding yourself targeted by Amex for a financial review that could lead to unpleasant consequences.

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Indirectly, it’s the card in Canada with the highest accumulation of points for a number of airline and hotel loyalty programs. In this article, we explain how you can earn up to 3.25 X points for over 40 airlines with the Amex Cobalt.

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[vc_custom_heading text=”Other Multipliers” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:left” css=”” el_id=”other_multipliers”][vc_column_text css=””]

The American Express Cobalt^® Card is still very advantageous on everyday spending, offering 3 points per dollar on streaming services: Spotify, Netflix, Crave, etc.

It also offers 2 points per dollar on gas, public transit and ride sharing purchases in Canada.

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The American Express Cobalt^® Card offers other advantages that are shared by other American Express cards:

• Online Amex offers for statement credits at many retailers
• Access to the Front of the Line program
• Access to The Hotel Collection including a USD 100 credit to use at the hotel

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Taking into account the current welcome offers of both cards, combined with the advantages of each, it is more advantageous to go with the American Express^® Gold Rewards Card.

Not only is it possible to save over $600 on your next trip thanks to the reward points granted, but you will also benefit from significant advantages, such as airport lounge access, an annual travel credit, and a comprehensive range of travel insurance. You will also earn 2 points per dollar for every travel expense.

The American Express Cobalt^® Card remains an excellent card to have in your wallet, but is simply not as generous with its current welcome bonus.

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Due to current welcome offers, the American Express^® Gold Rewards Card is more generous in terms of rewards, and more advantageous for travellers. The American Express Cobalt^® Card remains a very good option for accumulating points on a daily basis.

It is important to respect the terms and conditions of the American Express loyalty program; that is, not to misuse it. Behaviors considered abusive may include:

• Applying for several American Express cards in the same year
• Upgrading from the Cobalt Card to the Gold Rewards Card, then re-applying for the Amex Cobalt
• Having a credit history that shows very frequent credit card openings and closings

For a detailed analysis of each card’s features, see our comparison of the Gold Rewards Card and the Cobalt Card.

Ultimately, while the American Express^® Gold Rewards Card outperforms the Cobalt Card in this analysis, the important thing is to apply for it to take advantage of its high welcome offer.

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The Amex Gold is clearly superior for travel with its $100 annual credit, Priority Pass lounge access, and 2 points per dollar on travel spend. The Cobalt offers only 1 point per dollar on travel since October 2024.

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The Gold Rewards Card has an annual fee of $250 but includes a $100 travel credit that reduces the net cost. The Cobalt Card has annual fees of $191.88, depending on province of residence, and no offset credit, but offers faster accumulation on groceries and restaurants.

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Yes, American Express sometimes offers an upgrade offer to switch from the Cobalt Card to the Gold Card. However, you must respect American Express’s terms and conditions, and therefore not reapply for the Cobalt Card shortly after accepting the offer.

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