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American Express Canada and National Bank each offer a credit card that earns 5 points per dollar spent in grocery stores and restaurants:
These are two basic cards that we often recommend when someone wants to earn points quickly and easily.
So, we’ll break down the key differences between these credit cards based on:
The National Bank World Elite Mastercard currently offers no welcome bonus, while the American Express Cobalt® Card still allows you to benefit from a welcome bonus of up to 15,000 points, depending on current promotions.
When you subscribe to the American Express Cobalt® Card, you can earn up to 15,000 points:
No welcome offer at this time.
Thanks to its welcome bonus, the American Express Cobalt® Card wins this round!
The American Express Cobalt® Card requires no minimum income.
The National Bank World Elite Mastercard® card requires:
The American Express Cobalt® Card does not require a minimum income, unlike the National Bank World Elite Mastercard.
For individuals residing outside of Quebec, the American Express Cobalt® Card has monthly fees of $15.99 (a total of $191.88). For individuals residing in Quebec, they are $191.88, payable once a year.
The National Bank World Elite Mastercard has an annual fee of $150.
The annual fees for the National Bank World Elite Mastercard are less expensive than the fees for the American Express Cobalt® Card.
What’s more, the National Bank World Elite Mastercard has a special advantage: it gives you a $150 travel credit every year!
As a result, cardholders have a total of $150 to apply to certain travel expenses. Used to its full potential, it costs nothing each year, and even less in the first year with the current promotion.
The American Express Cobalt® Card and the National Bank World Elite Mastercard offer similar levels of point accumulation.
With the American Express Cobalt® Card, you can earn up to 5 points per dollar:
For the 5X points category, you can earn 5 points per dollar up to $2,500 in monthly purchases in this category, charged to the card. Starting at $2,501, points are accumulated at a rate of 1 point per dollar for the 5 X points category.
With the National Bank World Elite Mastercard you can also earn up to 5 points per dollar:
For the Grocery and Restaurant category, you can earn 5 points for every dollar spent in the first $2,500 of monthly purchases (all categories combined) charged to the card. Starting at $2,501, points are accumulated at a rate of 2 points per dollar for the 5 X points category.
Depending on your needs and the majority of your expenses, you may choose one or the other. Since groceries are a major budget item, getting 5 points per dollar on one of these 2 credit cards for this expense is excellent.
Don’t forget the possibility of buying gift cards at the grocery store to maximize your points: you earn 5 points per dollar, even on Walmart, Amazon, Sports Experts, Canadian Tire gift cards, and so on.
Both cards are part of different loyalty programs:
Thus, the ways of using the points are different.
The American Express Cobalt® Card is highly versatile and flexible. You can redeem Membership Rewards points for a statement credit on:
The usage rate is 1,000 points = $10.
So use your Membership Rewards points to simply pay off your American Express Cobalt® Card balance.
A minimum of 1,000 points (minimum $10) is required, and thereafter in increments of one cent per point.
In addition, redeem your Membership Rewards points to:
It offers plenty of opportunities, depending on what you need and when you want it.
With the National Bank World Elite Mastercard, it’s different. NBC points cannot be transferred to other rewards programs.
To redeem your National Bank World Elite Mastercard you will need to log in to your online account NBC à la carte Rewards program.
You can then use these points NBC thanks to various options:
Thanks to the great flexibility of the American Express Cobalt® Card and Membership Rewards points, they can be used in a variety of ways. Points can be used for travel purchased on the card:
With the American Express Cobalt® Card you can also enjoy:
Each calendar year, the holder of a National Bank World Elite Mastercard cardholder has a travel credit of $150 to reimburse certain travel expenses:
It also offers:
With its wide range of travel benefits, the National Bank World Elite Mastercard is unbeatable in this respect.
Whereas for the American Express Cobalt® Card its advantages lie more in everyday shopping.
The National Bank World Elite Mastercard offers much more generous additional coverage than the American Express Cobalt® Card.
What’s more, it requires only a portion of travel purchases to be charged to the card. The American Express Cobalt® Card Card, on the other hand, requires the entire trip to have been charged to it.
So? Which card is the winner?
In our opinion, these two credit cards complement each other. For everyday purchases, it’s the American Express Cobalt® Card. For travel purchases and its insurance, it’s the National Bank World Elite Mastercard.
The American Express Cobalt® Card is the perfect way to do whatever you want with your points without breaking the bank! In addition, it stands out with:
While the National Bank World Elite Mastercard stands out thanks to:
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