Apply with Confidence Amex: Impact on Your Credit?

Q: Which American Express cards accept the preliminary check?

Personal cards, including the American Express Cobalt ® Card , the American Express ® Gold Rewards Card , and the American Express Platinum Card ® . American Express specifies that the soft inquiry is not yet offered for its business cards.

Did you know that with American Express, you have the option to use Apply with Confidence to find out if American Express would approve your personal card application before you submit a card application?

This preliminary check is based on a soft credit inquiry and therefore does not affect your score. This step addresses the main hesitation we often hear on social media about American Express, provided you understand what it does not do—and it would be a shame to miss out!

The fear constantly returns for a new cardholder: apply for a card, get rejected, and leave a mark on your credit file for NOTHING.

American Express addresses this fear with an intermediate step, offering its Apply with Confidence « tool. » Its operation is simple, but its protection stops at a specific moment in the application process.

What Does Apply with Confidence Do Exactly?

American Express refers to this step or tool by its English name, Apply with Confidence. On its educational page dedicated to credit checks, the issuer states it plainly:

For your personal cards, you can check if you will be approved without your credit score being affected.

The mechanism relies on a distinction that Canadian credit bureaus have used for a long time. Equifax Canada speaks of « hard credit inquiry » and « soft credit inquiry. » In industry jargon, the two English terms remain the most common: hard check and soft check.

A soft inquiry leaves a note visible on your own copy of your file, but it does not change your score and lenders do not take it into account. A hard inquiry, on the other hand, is visible and calculated.

However, note that in the case of an application for business cards or made by phone, you will not have access to this verification step.

Compare

American Express Cobalt^® Card

American Express Amex Membership Rewards

Annual fee: $191.88
Our valuationMilesopedia first-year estimate First-year valueWelcome bonus$255Total$255Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.: $255
Welcome offerGet 1,250 points after $750 in purchases per month for 12 months: Up to 15,000 points

The American Express Cobalt^® Card is a versatile American Express card, whether you want points for travel or cash back.

American Express Cobalt^® Card welcome offer

The welcome bonus is paid out monthly over your first 12 months. You earn 1,250 Membership Rewards points for each monthly billing period in which you charge $750 in net purchases to your card, in any category (1X, 2X, 3X or 5X). That adds up to 15,000 Membership Rewards points over the year, a welcome offer valued at $255.

Earning the full bonus means $9,000 in net purchases spread across 12 monthly billing periods. This offer rewards steady monthly spending rather than one large purchase.

You can use these points as statement credits on everyday or travel purchases, at the same rate either way: 1,000 points = $10.

You can also transfer them to Aeroplan, Avios (British Airways and Qatar Airways), Flying Blue, Marriott Bonvoy or Hilton Honors. With the full welcome bonus, that is a choice between:

15,000 Aeroplan points
15,000 Avios points
15,000 Flying Blue Miles
18,000 Marriott Bonvoy points

American Express Cobalt^® Card benefits

Here is what the card gives you, starting with the benefits cardholders use most.

5X points on eligible eats and drinks in Canada: groceries, restaurants and bars, home food delivery and convenience stores. A spend cap applies.
3X points on eligible streaming subscriptions in Canada.
2X points on eligible gas, public transit and ride sharing purchases in Canada.
1 additional point on eligible hotel and car rental bookings made through American Express Travel Online.
1X point per dollar on everything else, with no category restrictions.
Points that hold the same value either way: 1,000 points = $10 as a statement credit, or a 1:1 transfer to several airline and hotel loyalty programs.
No minimum income requirement, as with every American Express Canada card.
Additional cards at no extra cost: the first and every other supplementary card is $0.
The Hotel Collection: a room upgrade when available, 12pm check-in and late check-out when available, and up to $100 USD in hotel credit on amenities charged to the room for a stay of two or more consecutive nights, booked through American Express Travel.
Front Of The Line^® presale and reserved tickets for concerts and theatre performances, plus offers and events curated for cardmembers through Amex Experiences.
A soft credit check before you apply: you can see whether you will be approved with no impact to your credit score. This applies to American Express personal card applications.

The 5X categories and where they apply

The 5X rate is the reason most people carry this card. In Canada it covers four kinds of merchants:

Groceries: Metro, IGA, Sobeys, Super C, Safeway, Whole Foods.
Restaurants and bars: sit-down meals, takeout and drinks.
Home food delivery.
Convenience stores: Couche-Tard, 7-Eleven.

The 2X rate covers gas stations such as Esso, Shell and Petro-Canada, along with public transit and ride sharing.

With the American Express Cobalt^® Card, you earn between 1 and 5 points per dollar:

Category	Points per dollar
Grocery (Metro, IGA, Sobeys, Super C, etc.)	5
Home food delivery	5
Restaurants and bars	5
Convenience stores	5
Streaming services	3
Service station	2
Transport	2
Travel	1
Other	1

That works out to a 1 to 5% return on those purchases. For example, if you spend $1,000 per month across groceries, restaurants and food delivery, you earn $50 back per month, or $600 per year from that category alone. Transfer the points to a program such as Aeroplan instead and the return can be higher.

You can also stack these categories with the hundreds of stores that offer 5x points.

American Express Cobalt^® Card insurance coverage

The card comes with a broad insurance package. The amounts below are the coverage limits; conditions, age limits and exclusions are set out in the certificate of insurance linked in the Insurance section above.

Travel insurance

Emergency medical: up to $5,000,000 for the first 15 days of a trip.
Travel accident: accidental death and dismemberment of up to $250,000 for you, your spouse and dependent children under age 23 when travelling on a common carrier (plane, train, bus or ship) and the tickets are charged to your card. Supplementary cardholders and their families are covered too.
Flight delay: up to $500 for necessary hotel, meal and sundry expenses bought within 48 hours when you are delayed or denied boarding for four hours or more and no other transportation is available. This $500 is an aggregate limit per occurrence, shared with missed connection and delayed baggage coverage.
Delayed baggage: up to $500 for essential clothing and sundries bought within four days when your outbound luggage is delayed six hours or more. This $500 is an aggregate limit per occurrence, shared with missed connection and flight delay coverage.
Lost or stolen baggage: up to $500 per occurrence for all insured persons combined, for checked or carry-on baggage and personal effects in transit, when the airline tickets are charged to your card. Within that limit, jewellery is capped at $300 per occurrence and golf clubs, including golf bags, at $250 per occurrence.
Hotel and motel burglary: up to $500 against the loss of most personal items if your hotel or motel is burglarized, when the stay is charged to your card.

Rental car insurance

Theft and damage coverage is included for a rental car with an MSRP, for its model year, of up to $85,000 excluding all taxes, for rentals of up to 48 days. To use it, decline the Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) or any similar option from the rental company and charge the full rental to your card. There is no cost for this coverage, and it replaces the daily insurance the rental company charges, usually $16 to $23 per day.

Mobile device insurance

Your device is covered for up to $1,000 per occurrence when it is charged to the card, for up to two years from the date of purchase. The payout is based on the depreciated value of the device, which falls by 2% of the purchase price for every completed month, less a 10% deductible. Theft and accidental damage coverage starts on the 91st day after purchase, because the first 90 days are covered by purchase protection.

Purchase protection and extended warranty

Eligible items charged to your card are insured against accidental physical damage or theft for 90 days from the purchase date, up to $1,000 per occurrence for all items combined. The card also extends the original manufacturer’s warranty by up to one additional year on eligible items, with indemnification limited to $10,000 per insured item and $25,000 per Cardmember per policy year for all items combined.

American Express Cobalt^® Card fees

Card fee: $15.99 per month, which equals $191.88 per year, for residents outside Quebec. Quebec residents are billed $191.88 per year.
Additional cards: $0.
Purchase interest rate: 21.99%.
Cash advance interest rate: 21.99%.
Foreign transaction fee: 2.5%.
Minimum income required: none.

Because the fee is billed monthly rather than in one annual charge, you can stop and restart the cost in step with how much you are actually using the card.

Legal

American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information, click the Apply Now link. If you apply and get approved for an American Express Card, we may receive compensation from American Express, which can be in the form of monetary payment.

Annual fee

Primary card$191.88

Additional card$0

Annual income required

Individual$0

Household$0

Conversion fees

2.5%

Earning rate

5xRestaurants
5xGroceries
3xStreaming
2xTransit
2xGas & EV
1xAll spending

Value

1st Year Value$1,675

2nd Year Value$799

Transfer partners

AeroplanAirline
British Airways ClubAirline
Cathay Asia MilesAirline
Etihad GuestAirline
Flying BlueAirline
Hilton HonorsHotel
Marriott BonvoyHotel

Travel insurance

Travel medical (under 55)Up to $5,000,000 / 15 days

Travel medical (55-64)Up to $5,000,000 / 15 days

Delayed BaggageUp to $500

Lost BaggageUp to $500

Flight DelayUp to $500

Hotel BurglaryUp to $500

Travel AccidentUp to $250,000

Purchase protection

Purchase ProtectionUp to $1,000 / 90 days

Extended Warranty+1 years

Mobile DeviceUp to $1,000 / 2 years

Auto Rental Collision (primary)Up to $85,000 / 48 days

The Two Stages of an Amex Application

The process is divided into two distinct moments when applying for an American Express credit card.

1. The Soft Inquiry

You open the page for the targeted American Express card and click the application button. American Express then collects basic information, without going further:

Your contact information
Your annual income

With this information, the issuer conducts a soft credit inquiry and evaluates your eligibility. American Express is categorical on its page: a soft inquiry has no impact on your credit score.

2. The Official Application, with Impact

You then receive the eligibility verdict. At this stage, nothing has been officially submitted yet: you decide whether to continue or stop there.

If you choose to accept the card, American Express proceeds to the standard check, the one that counts.

The issuer specifies that hard inquiries can remain on your credit file for up to 36 months. This duration matches Equifax Canada’s, which keeps credit inquiries for 3 years. TransUnion keeps them longer, up to 6 years. The mark therefore lives longer at one bureau than at the other, which matters all the more here: American Express applications are recorded with TransUnion.

Criterion	Soft Inquiry (soft check)	Hard Inquiry (hard check)
Timing	Before the official application	Upon application submission
Effect on Score	None	Minor and temporary effect
Visibility to Lenders	Visible to you only	Visible to lenders
Duration on File	No impact	3 years (Equifax), up to 6 years (TransUnion)
What You Get	An eligibility indication	A decision and, if approved, the card

Which Amex Cards Are Eligible?

You can obtain this decision-making tool only for personal cards. We count nine personal American Express cards in Canada, versus four Business cards. It is the first nine that are of interest here.

Personal cards, including the American Express Cobalt^® Card, the American Express^® Gold Rewards Card, and the American Express Platinum Card^®
Applications made online

Business cards: American Express indicates that the soft inquiry is not yet offered for this type of product
Applications taken by phone: the soft inquiry process is not offered there

Here are the cards that have this step:

Our credit card selection
Credit card	Annual fee	Welcome offer
American Express Cobalt^® Card Apply NowCompare	Annual fee$191.88	Welcome offerGet 1,250 points after $750 in purchases per month for 12 months Up to 15,000 points Get 1,250 points after $750 in purchases per month for 12 months	Apply NowCompare
American Express Platinum Card^® Apply NowCompare	Annual fee$799	Welcome offerAfter $10,000 in 3 months Up to 100,000 points After $10,000 in 3 months	Apply NowCompare
Marriott Bonvoy^® American Express^®* Card Apply NowCompare	Annual fee$120	Welcome offerAfter $3,000 in 3 months Up to 70,000 points After $3,000 in 3 months	Apply NowCompare
American Express^® Gold Rewards Card Apply NowCompare	Annual fee$250	Welcome offerAfter $12,000 in 12 months Up to 60,000 points After $12,000 in 12 months	Apply NowCompare
American Express^® Green Card Apply NowCompare	Annual fee$0	Welcome offerAfter $1,000 in 3 months 10,000 points After $1,000 in 3 months	Apply NowCompare
SimplyCash^® Card from American Express Apply NowCompare	Annual fee$0	Welcome offerAfter $2,000 in 3 months Up to $100 cash back After $2,000 in 3 months	Apply NowCompare
SimplyCash^® Preferred Card from American Express Apply NowCompare	Annual fee$119.88	Welcome offerAfter $2,000 in 3 months Up to $250 cash back After $2,000 in 3 months	Apply NowCompare
American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Card Apply NowCompare	Annual fee$120	Welcome offerAfter $7,500 in 6 months Up to 45,000 points After $7,500 in 6 months	Apply NowCompare
American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Reserve Card Apply NowCompare	Annual fee$599	Welcome offerAfter $7,500 in 3 months Up to 85,000 points After $7,500 in 3 months	Apply NowCompare

The Calculation Few Readers Make

This is where the preliminary check takes on its full value, and no one makes this calculation out loud. Take a common scenario: you are hesitating between two American Express personal cards, and you do not know which one would approve you.

The American Express Cobalt^® Card costs $191.88 per year. The American Express^® Gold Rewards Card costs $250. Two different products, two different approval profiles.

Without a preliminary check, testing both means two official applications, therefore two hard inquiries. At 3 years of retention each at Equifax, and up to 6 years at TransUnion, your file carries two marks for one card obtained. With the preliminary check, you test both and submit only one official application: one mark instead of two.

Push the reasoning to the scale of an active shopper. Three personal cards evaluated out of curiosity over three years means three hard inquiries in the old world, versus only one today. Over a period when each new credit application weighs in the calculation of your score, the difference is not symbolic.

Compare

American Express^® Gold Rewards Card

American Express Amex Membership Rewards

Annual fee: $250
Our valuationMilesopedia first-year estimate First-year valueWelcome bonus$1,020Total$1,020Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.: $1,020
Welcome offerAfter $12,000 in 12 months: Up to 60,000 points

Earn up to 60,000 Membership Rewards points with this welcome offer for the American Express Gold Rewards Card. That’s a value of $600 toward travel or any purchase charged to the Card:

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

You can also transfer your points to airline partners such as Aeroplan, Avios (British Airways, Qatar Airways, Finnair), Flying Blue, and hotel partners (Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors).

For example, with this welcome offer, if you decide to transfer your Membership Rewards points to a partner loyalty program, you would have the choice of earning up to :

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

With this Card, you get many benefits like:

$100 annual travel credit
Priority Pass membership and 4 complimentary Plaza Premium visits per year
$50 NEXUS credit

You earn 2 points per dollar for travel purchases, and at:

gas stations
grocery stores
drugstores

And 1 point per dollar everywhere else.

Like all American Express Canada Cards, there is no minimum income requirement.

Legal

American Express is not responsible for maintaining or controlling the accuracy of the information published on this website. For full and up-to-date product information, click on the Apply now link. Terms and conditions apply.