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The Amex Cobalt is my everyday card. Coffee in the morning, groceries on the weekend, restaurants with the family — everything goes through it, and the 5x earn rate on food and drinks makes those small daily purchases add up fast.

It’s not a flashy card. There’s no airport lounge access, no $200 travel credit, no concierge line. What it is: the most rewarding card in Canada for the spending categories most Canadian households actually use — food, drinks, and dining out.

Amex Cobalt: The Key Numbers

Annual fee	$155.88/year (billed at $12.99/month)
Earn — food & drinks	5x MR points (restaurants, cafes, food delivery, grocery)
Earn — streaming	3x MR points (Netflix, Spotify, Disney+, etc.)
Earn — travel & transit	2x MR points (flights, hotels, Uber, transit)
Earn — everything else	1x MR points
Monthly bonus	2,500 bonus points when you spend $500+ in the month (up to 10,000/year)
Points program	Amex Membership Rewards — transfers to Aeroplan, Avios, Marriott & more
Insurance	Travel emergency medical, purchase protection, extended warranty

The Math on 5x: What a Typical Canadian Household Earns

A family spending $800/month on groceries, $300/month at restaurants, and $100/month on food delivery is running $1,200/month through the 5x category. That’s $1,200 × 12 × 5 = 72,000 MR points per year on food alone. Add 3x on streaming and 2x on transit, and most households easily clear 80,000–90,000 points annually.

At 1.5 cents per point transferred to Aeroplan: that’s $1,200–$1,350 in flight value against a $155.88 annual fee. The card pays for itself many times over.

The Best Part: Membership Rewards Flexibility

Most Canadians don’t realize that Amex MR points transfer to Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio. Every Cobalt point is effectively an Aeroplan point waiting to happen — redeemable for Air Canada flights, Star Alliance partners, hotels, and more.

• Aeroplan — 1:1. Best value for Air Canada and Star Alliance flights.
• British Airways Avios — 1:1. Strong on short-haul and Porter flights.
• Marriott Bonvoy — 1:1.2. Hotel redemptions across Marriott, Sheraton, Westin.

The flexibility matters. Bank points (TD Rewards, Scene+) lock you into one ecosystem. Amex MR lets you move to whichever program offers the best redemption for your trip.

The Honest Downsides

Amex acceptance. Some grocery stores, smaller restaurants, and most B2B vendors don’t take Amex. Costco Canada doesn’t accept it. Keep a no-fee Visa as backup — the Tangerine Money-Back Card works well paired with the Cobalt.

Monthly billing. The $12.99/month structure means you pay for months you barely use it. A flat annual fee card might suit infrequent users better.

How It Fits With Other Cards

The Cobalt pairs naturally with a high-spend business card. I use it alongside the Amex Business Platinum — Cobalt earns 5x on personal food spending, the Platinum handles business purchasing at 1.25x flat. Both earn MR points that pool together, accelerating accumulation faster than either card alone.

Who Should Get the Cobalt

Good fit: Canadians spending $500+/month on food, dining, and groceries. Anyone who wants MR flexibility for Aeroplan. People who want strong rewards without a $500+ annual fee.

Not a fit: Households where Costco is the main grocery stop (Mastercard only). Anyone prioritizing lounge access or comprehensive travel insurance — look at the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite. High-volume business spend — the Business Platinum wins at scale.

Bottom Line

The Amex Cobalt remains the best everyday card in Canada for households that spend heavily on food and dining. The 5x earn is hard to beat, the MR-to-Aeroplan transfer keeps your options open, and the monthly bonus for hitting $500 in spend is essentially free points for regular users. I’ve earned more rewards on this card than anything else in my wallet.

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True North Money is general educational content, not personalized financial advice. We are not registered financial advisors. | Affiliate Disclosure