American Express Cobalt Card - Welcome Offer
New American Express Cobalt® Cardmembers can earn up to 30,000 Welcome Bonus Points. This is the most generous welcome offer ever for this Card and a credit card that requires no minimum income!
That’s a value of $300 using your points for any purchase charged to the Card. And up to $500 when you use the American Express Fixed Points Travel Program to book some flights! You can even transfer your points to many partners such as Aeroplan or Marriott Bonvoy.
Since American Express credit cards are increasingly accepted in many stores in Quebec (including some IGA grocery stores) and in Canada, there is no reason not to get the best 5X card in Canada!
American Express Cobalt Card - How to maximize the welcome offer
The welcome bonus is split monthly for the first 12 months. For example, you earn 2,500 Membership Rewards points for every $500 in purchases charged to your card during the month (whether in the 1X, 2X, 3X or 5X category).
For the monthly welcome bonus, it is best to shop in the 5X categories:
- 2,500 points as a monthly welcome bonus
- 2,500 points for purchases in the 5x category
That’s a 10% minimum return for the first 12 months on each of your first $500 in Card purchases within the 5x categories like groceries.

Here’s how you could earn 60,000 points in your first year by optimizing your purchases in the 5x the points spending categories:
Month | Purchases | 5x Categories | Bonus | Total |
1 | $500 | 2,500 points | 2,500 points | 5,000 points |
2 | $500 | 2,500 points | 2,500 points | 5,000 points |
3 | $500 | 2,500 points | 2,500 points | 5,000 points |
4 | $500 | 2,500 points | 2,500 points | 5,000 points |
5 | $500 | 2,500 points | 2,500 points | 5,000 points |
6 | $500 | 2,500 points | 2,500 points | 5,000 points |
7 | $500 | 2,500 points | 2,500 points | 5,000 points |
8 | $500 | 2,500 points | 2,500 points | 5,000 points |
9 | $500 | 2,500 points | 2,500 points | 5,000 points |
10 | $500 | 2,500 points | 2,500 points | 5,000 points |
11 | $500 | 2,500 points | 2,500 points | 5,000 points |
12 | $500 | 2,500 points | 2,500 points | 5,000 points |
Total | $6,000 | 30,000 points | 30,000 points | 60,000 points |
60,000 points for $6,000 in purchases in 12 months is a 10% minimum return if you use your points for an account credit for any purchase. That’s a $600 value!
If you remove the cost of the card fee ($12.99 per month or $155.88 over 12 months), you have a net worth of approximately $444 in the first year!
One way to do this is to do your grocery shopping. And if you don’t have $500-$1,000 worth of groceries a month, you could buy gift cards there for other businesses you regularly frequent like Amazon, SAQ, GAP, Old Navy, etc. Another way to earn 5x the points for these purchases.
What about Aeroplan?
With the American Express Cobalt® Card, you can transfer points to airline programs like Aeroplan. The conversion rate is 1:1. So 10,000 points = 10,000 Aeroplan points.
The Welcome Bonus of 30,000 points is equivalent to 30,000 Aeroplan points.
By taking into consideration the minimum spend in the first 12 months and optimizing your purchases in the 5 points per dollar categories, you could earn up to 60,000 Aeroplan points in the first year!
What about Marriott Bonvoy?
With the American Express Cobalt® Card, you can transfer your points to Marriott Bonvoy. The conversion ratio is 1:1.2. Thus, 10,000 points = 12,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
The welcome bonus of 30,000 points is equivalent to 36,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
By taking into consideration the minimum spend in the first 12 months and optimizing your purchases in the 5x the points spending categories, you could earn up to 60,000 points in the first year, which is worth 72,000 Marriott Bonvoy points!
Learn more in this article:
American Express Cobalt Card - Features
American Express Cobalt Card - Earning Points
With the American Express Cobalt® Card, you can earn between 1 and 5 points per dollar:
Category | Points per dollar |
Grocery | 5 |
Food delivery | 5 |
Restaurants and bars | 5 |
Convenience stores | 5 |
Streaming subscriptions | 3 |
Gas station | 2 |
Transportation | 2 |
Travel | 2 |
Other | 1 |
To maximize your card, you can purchase gift cards (Amazon, SAQ, Netflix, etc.) in grocery stores or at your 7-eleven / Couche-Tard convenience store. You will earn 5x points for these purchases, for a maximum of $30,000 in purchases per membership year in this category.

American Express Cobalt Card - Redeem Points
You can redeem points from theAmerican Express Cobalt® Card in a many ways:
Redemption | Points |
Flights (American Express Fixed Point Program) | Up to 10,000 points = $200 |
Travel purchases Charged to your Card | 10,000 points = $100 |
Transfer Points to Aeroplan | 10,000 points = 10,000 Aeroplan points |
Transfer Points to British Airways Executive Club | 10,000 points = 10,000 Avios miles |
Transfer Points to Marriott Bonvoy | 10,000 points = 12,000 points Marriott Bonvoy |
Transfer Points to Hilton Honors | 10,000 points = 10,000 Hilton Honors points |
Other purchases with the Card | 10,000 points = $100 |
Shopping with points on Amazon.ca | 10,000 points = $70 |
You could even use the Marriott Bonvoy program to transfer your points to other airline programs: 50,000 Membership Rewards Points = 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points = 25,000 miles.
American Express Cobalt Card - Insurance
With the American Express Cobalt® Card, you benefit from several insurance coverages:
- Mobile Device Insurance
- Car Rental Theft and Damage Insurance
- Baggage delay insurance
- Lost or Stolen Baggage Insurance
- Flight Delay Insurance
- $250,000 Travel Accident Insurance
- Hotel/Motel Burglary Insurance
- Purchase Protection® Plan
- Buyer’s Assurance® Protection Plan
Bottom line
The American Express Cobalt® Card is one of our favourite cards for all the abovementioned aspects.
Every time someone asks for “which credit card to apply for in the Facebook group, many enthusiastic members come to praise the merits of the American Express Cobalt® Card!
And this Card is accessible to almost everyone since there is no minimum income requirement.
If you don’t have this Card yet, now is the best time to apply for it with this great limited-time offer.
You would like to apply for this Card while supporting milesopedia? Click here!