Head-to-Head: American Express Cobalt Card vs. National Bank World Elite Mastercard

To the point Here's our detailed comparison of the American Express Cobaltᴹᴰ Card and the National Bank World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card.

Welcome bonus Minimum Income Annual Fees

Earning Points Earning

Redeeming Points Redeeming Points Other benefits

Insurance Bottom Line

American Express Canada and National Bank each offer a credit card that earns 5 points per dollar spent at grocery stores and restaurants:

These are two basic cards that we often recommend when someone wants to get points quickly and easily.

So, we will analyze what are the main differences between these credit cards on:

Welcome bonus
Minimum income
Earning points
Using points
Annual fee
Travel Insurance

Welcome bonus

The welcome bonus offered by each of these credit cards varies according to promotions. However, there are differences to be aware of between the two credit cards.

When you subscribe to the American Express Cobalt^MD Card, you can earn up to 15,000 points:

1,250 points per month for the first 12 months (monthly expenses of $750 or more)

With the current welcome offer, receive up to 35,000 bonus points earned as follows:

10,000 points if you make at least $5,000 in purchases in the first 3 months
10,000 points if you make at least $10,000 in purchases in the first 6 months
15,000 pointsif you make at least $20,000 in purchases in the first 14 months

What’s more, the annual fee is fully refunded in the first year.

Advantage: American Express Cobalt^MD Card

Thanks to its welcome bonus, the American Express Cobalt^MD Card offers the most, with a reasonable spending amount.

Minimum Income

The American Express Cobalt^® Card requires no minimum income.

The National Bank World Elite Mastercard requires :

$80,000 individual income
$150,000 household income
or assets under management of $400,000 or more

Advantage: American Express Cobalt Card

The American Express Cobalt^MD Card requires no minimum income, unlike the National Bank World Elite Mastercard^®.

Annual Fees

The American Express Cobalt^MD Card has a monthly fee of $12.99, charged on each monthly statement. At the end of 12 months, the total is $155.88.

The National Bank World Elite Mastercard^® has an annual fee of $150.

Advantage: National Bank World Elite Mastercard^®.

The annual fee for the National Bank World Elite Mastercard^® is lower than for the American Express Cobalt^MD 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, the card costs nothing each year.

Earning Points

The American Express Cobalt^MD Card and the National Bank World Elite Mastercard^® each offer similar levels of point accumulation.

Earning

With the American Express Cobalt^MD Card, you can earn up to 5 points per dollar:

Category	Points
Grocery, Restaurant, Home Food Delivery, Bars, Convenience Stores	5*
Streaming services (Apple TV+, Apple Music, Crave, Disney+, Netflix, RDS, TSN, etc.)	3
Local transport, service stations	2
Other purchase	1

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:

Category	Points
Grocery and Restaurant	5*
Gas, Electric recharging, Recurring bill, À la carte Travel	2
Other purchase	1

For the Grocery and Restaurant category, you can earn 5 points for every dollar spent within 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.

Equality

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.

Redeeming Points

Both cards are part of different loyalty programs:

NBC points from NBC Plan À la carte Rewards for the National Bank World Elite Mastercard^®.
American Express Membership Rewards for American Express Cobalt^MD Card

Thus, the ways of using the points are different.

Redeeming Points

The American Express Cobalt^MD Card is highly versatile and flexible. You can redeem Membership Rewards points for a statement credit on:

Travel purchases (car rental, hotels, flights, etc.);
Everyday purchases (groceries, gas, bill payments, etc.).

The redeeming 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, thereafter in increments of one cent per point.

In addition, redeem your Membership Rewards points to:

Save on flights with American Express’s flat-rate pricing;
Transfer of points to travel partners : Aeroplan, British Airways Executive Club, Air France KLM Flying Blue, Delta SkyMiles, Etihad Guest, Asia Miles, Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors.

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^® rewards points, you’ll need to log in to your NBC Plan Rewards à la carte online account.

You can then use these NBC points in many ways:

Rewards	Points for $100
Exchange on the dedicated NBC à la carte Plan portal	10 000
Flexible travel discount (from 55,000 points redeemed)	11 000
Flexible travel discount (on travel purchases you book yourself)	12 000
Extras à la carte RRSP or TFSA contribution Repayment of all-in-one mortgage or mortgage loan	12 000
Gift card	12 000 – 13 500
Statement credit	25 000

Advantage: American Express Cobalt Card

Thanks to the great flexibility of the American Express Cobalt^MD Card and Membership Rewards points, they can be used in a variety of ways. Points can be used for travel purchased on the card:

Flights
Rental cars
Hotel
Airbnb rental
Etc

Other benefits

With the American Express Cobalt^MD Card you can also enjoy :

Various promotional offers (which can offset the monthly fee)
Access to exclusive presale Front Of The Line^® tickets to concerts and plays through American Express^® Experiences
Amazon’s Shop with Points program
Hotel reservations at The Hotel Collection with specific perks

Each calendar year, National Bank World Elite Mastercard^® cardholders have a $150 travel credit to reimburse certain travel expenses:

Airport parking
Baggage fees
Seat selection
Access to airport lounges
Airline ticket upgrades

It also offers :

Complimentary & unlimited access to the National Bank lounge at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport
A subscription to the DragonPass program, which gives you access to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide ($32 USD per person).
Free Wi-Fi access when travelling anywhere in the world, thanks to Boingo

Advantage: National Bank's World Elite Mastercard^®

With its wide range of travel benefits, the National Bank World Elite Mastercard^® is unbeatable in this respect.

Whereas for the American Express Cobalt^MD Card, its benefits are more about everyday purchases.

Insurance

Insurance
Trip Cancellation Insurance	–	up to $2,500
Trip interruption insurance	–	up to $5,000
Out-of-province/country emergency medical coverage	Up to $5,000,000 for 15 days	Up to $5,000,000 for up to 60 days
Flight delay insurance	Up to $500 after 4 hours	Up to $500 after 4 hours
Baggage Delay Insurance	Up to $500 after 6 hours	Up to $500 after 6 hours
Baggage loss or theft insurance	up to $500	up to $1,000
Hotel burglary insurance	up to $500	–
Rental car theft and damage insurance	up to $85,000	up to $65,000
Travel accident insurance	250 000 $	500 000 $
Purchase Protection	1 additional year	2 additional years
Purchase Guarantee	Up to $1,000 90 days	Up to $1,000 180 days

Advantage: National Bank's World Elite Mastercard^®

The National Bank World Elite Mastercard^® offers much more generous additional coverage than the American Express Cobalt^MD Card.

What’s more, it requires only a portion of travel purchases to be charged to the card. The American Express Cobalt^MD Card, on the other hand, requires the entire trip to have been charged to it.

Bottom Line

So? Which card is the winner?

In our opinion, these two credit cards complement each other. For everyday shopping, it’s the American Express Cobalt^® Card. For travel purchases and insurance, it’s the National Bank World Elite Mastercard^®.

The American Express Cobalt^MD Card is the perfect way to do whatever you want with your points without breaking the bank! In addition, it stands out with:

An attractive welcome bonus;
Its advantages for everyday purchases (credits for purchases in specific stores, access to show pre-sales, etc.);
The absence of a minimum income requirement;
Its points that can be used on anything;
The possibility of transferring points to several other loyalty programs.

While the National Bank World Elite Mastercard^® stands out thanks to..:

Its $150 travel credit;
Its welcome offer, which arrives a few times a year
Its robust travel insurance package, one of the best of any credit card;
The possibility of using it at Costco;
The opportunity to invest your points in an RRSP, TFSA or to pay off your mortgage;
Unlimited access to the National Bank Lounge at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport before your trip.