American Express Cobalt Card: 5 Alternatives for Earning Points


The American Express Cobalt® Card is one of the best credit cards in Canada for points enthusiasts, especially thanks to its generous accelerated earn rate on dining and grocery purchases.
However, it has undergone changes in recent years, notably with the monthly cap on the grocery and dining category, the decrease in the travel spending multiplier, and more recently, the end of multipliers on foreign currency spending. Even though the American Express Cobalt® Card remains an excellent credit card for accumulating points quickly, it is important to explore other options as well. Here are five solid alternatives for when this card is not accepted at your favorite merchant, or simply to complement your strategy.
The American Express Cobalt® Card gives 3 points per dollar on eligible streaming service subscriptions.
The TD First Class Travel® Visa Infinite* Card gives you 4 TD Rewards Points per dollar on recurring bill payments and on streaming, digital gaming and media subscriptions. It also earns:
Every year on your birthday, TD also adds a bonus equal to 10% of the points you earned over the previous 12 months, up to 10,000 points. The annual fee is $139, and TD requires a personal income of $60,000 or a household income of $100,000.
The American Express Cobalt® Card gives 5 points per dollar for purchases at restaurants, bars, or bistros. From $2,501 per month in spending, the earn rate is 1 point per dollar.
The National Bank World Elite Mastercard offers 5 points per dollar of purchase on dining and grocery spending. For this card too, there is a limit. The 5-point rate applies as long as total purchases charged to the card in the month, across all categories, do not exceed $2,500. Beyond that, groceries and dining earn 2 points per dollar. Additionally, this credit card has the benefit of being accepted everywhere, even at Costco (but with an earn rate of one point per dollar).
NBC Rewards points can be used to treat yourself to:
The American Express Cobalt® Card gives 5 points per dollar for grocery store purchases and food delivery services. After $2,501 per month of spending, the accumulation falls to 1 point per dollar.
For the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card, it’s the same thing… and a bit more! You earn:
This 5 or 6-point accumulation is valid up to a maximum of $50,000 spent annually in total in these categories. That’s an average of about $4,167 per month. From $50,001 during a calendar year, you will earn 1 point per dollar spent.
We love Scene+ points to reimburse any travel expense (hotel, plane ticket, Viator, car rental, etc.) or to pay the grocery bill at IGA and others.
The American Express Cobalt® Card earns 1 Membership Rewards point per dollar for all foreign purchases, regardless of the category. Additionally, it applies foreign currency conversion fees of at least 2.5%, which is disadvantageous.
To offset these drawbacks, the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card offers 6 Scene+ points per dollar on groceries at Sobeys group stores (IGA, Foodland, Safeway, FreshCo, etc.) and 5 Scene+ points per dollar at other grocery stores, restaurants, and entertainment venues. On gas and public transit, it earns 3 Scene+ points per dollar, and 1 Scene+ point per dollar on all other purchases.
Advantage, its foreign currency conversion charge is 0%.
Since October 8, 2024, the earn rate for travel spending on the American Express Cobalt® Card has changed from 2 points to 1 point per dollar.
To get around this problem for large travel expenses, there’s the BMO Ascend™ World Elite® Mastercard® BMO Points for Travel, which earns 5 BMO points per dollar on travel purchases (airfare, car rentals, cruises, hotels, trains, guided tours, travel agencies, etc.). For annual purchases of $15,001 or more, you earn 1 BMO point per dollar in this category.
Redeem your BMO Rewards points to treat yourself by:
While the very popular American Express Cobalt® Card is a wonderful option for many people, there are equally interesting alternatives to consider based on your specific needs. Take the time to carefully evaluate your spending and needs to see which credit card will best meet your goals.
If you are applying as a couple, our guide on points and credit cards for couples explains how to split these categories between partners to progress together.
Here are frequently asked questions in the milesopedia community about this card.
The American Express Cobalt Card earns 5 Membership Rewards points per dollar on groceries and dining, but it is not accepted at Costco, a major limitation for households that do the majority of their grocery shopping at the warehouse. Its fee of $15.99 per month ($191.88 per year), or $191.88 per year for Quebec residents (as of September 2026), also requires a minimum spending volume to pay for itself. An alternative is useful if you want a Mastercard or Visa card for Costco, or simply to avoid this fee and the less widely accepted Amex network.
It depends on how much you spend in its 5-point categories. As a statement credit, American Express gives $10 for 1,000 Membership Rewards points, or about 1¢ per point, so 5 points per dollar is a return of about 5%. At that value, you need about $3,840 a year in groceries, dining and food delivery, or about $320 a month, to cover the $191.88 annual fee (as of September 2026). With $150 to $200 a month in those categories, points used at 1¢ do not cover the fee of the American Express Cobalt Card. The card only makes sense if you get a much higher value from your points, for example by transferring them to Aeroplan. Otherwise, compare it with our best credit cards in Canada.
The Scotiabank Gold American Express Card is the closest competitor: 6 Scene+ points per dollar at Sobeys group stores (IGA, Foodland) and 5 points per dollar at other grocers, restaurants, and food delivery services, up to $50,000 per year. With a value of about 1¢ per point for travel or groceries, the return is 5% to 6%, comparable to the Cobalt. The annual fee is $120, compared with $191.88 for the Cobalt, and the insurance coverage is solid.
One Mastercard stands out: the National Bank World Elite Mastercard. It gives 5 points per dollar on groceries and dining as long as total monthly purchases charged to the card do not exceed $2,500 (2 points per dollar after that). Since it is a Mastercard, you can use it at every Costco. However, Costco purchases themselves earn the base rate of 1 point per dollar.
Scene+ points are worth about 1¢ each when used for travel, but less as a statement credit: about 0.67¢ (3,000 points = $20). American Express Membership Rewards points earned with the Cobalt are worth more when transferred: 1.4¢ toward Aeroplan in North American economy class, 2¢ or more on transcontinental flights, and 3 to 4¢ in business class to Europe. For simple rewards, Scene+ is more predictable. To maximize value, especially in business class, Amex Membership Rewards points remain superior.
To maximize your Membership Rewards points accumulation, consult our complete guide to the American Express Membership Rewards program as well as our ranking of the best American Express Membership Rewards credit cards, updated monthly by the Milesopedia team.
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