Head-to-Head: American Categorical Cobalt Card vs. Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card

On this version of Head-to-Head, we’ll check out two bank cards within the Canadian market which are identified for his or her highly effective incomes charges: the American Categorical Cobalt Card and the Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card.

Whereas these two wonderful playing cards for travellers are general fairly comparable, there are a number of notable variations which will sway your resolution both approach, or would possibly even compel you to offer each of them a spot in your pockets. Let’s examine the 2 playing cards in all of the ways in which matter.

Card Fundamentals

When deciding between two bank cards, a very powerful comparisons will all the time be made on a number of key components.

1. Welcome Bonuses

The American Categorical Cobalt Card at present provides as much as 15,000 Membership Rewards (MR) factors awarded over the course of the primary 12 months of card membership, structured as follows:

• 1,250 MR factors upon spending $750 (all figures in CAD) in every of the primary 12 months

Alternatively, the Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card at present provides as much as 40,000 Scene+ factors,† obtainable till July 1, 2025, distributed as follows:

• 20,000 Scene+ factors upon spending $2,000 within the first three months†
• 20,000 Scene+ factors upon spending $7,500 within the first 12 months†

Verdict: As you’ll be able to see, each playing cards’ present welcome bonuses are structured fairly in a different way.

On one hand, the Cobalt Card requires the next complete spend of $9,000 over the primary 12 months to unlock the total bonus, and also you’ll should hold monitor of the month-to-month spending requirement besides.

Alternatively, the present provide on the Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card has a extra conventional construction, whereby half of the welcome bonus is awarded upon spending $2,000 within the first three months, after which the opposite swath upon spending a complete of $7,500 within the first 12 months.

Placing apart the variations between Membership Rewards factors and Scene+ factors for now (which we’ll handle later), the sting shifts within the Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card’s favour because of a decrease complete minimal spending requirement and the next complete welcome bonus.

2. Referral Bonuses

Like different American Categorical merchandise, the American Categorical Cobalt Card provides a referral bonus of 5,000 MR factors for every buddy or member of the family you consult with a card of their very own, as much as a most of 75,000 MR factors in a calendar 12 months.

Scotiabank bank cards don’t provide referral bonuses, so Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® cardholders would miss out on this technique of supercharging their factors balances.

Verdict: Solely the Amex Cobalt Card has a referral bonus of any type, so it wins this spherical handily. 

3. Annual Payment

The Cobalt Card operates on a month-to-month price mannequin. The $12.99 month-to-month price is charged on each assertion, and provides as much as $155.88 over the course of a 12 months.

In the meantime, the Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card has a $120 annual price,† which is charged completely upfront.

Verdict: Though the Cobalt’s month-to-month price construction works in its favour in which you can pay much less charges upfront, its general value level remains to be increased. The Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card wins this spherical.

4. Incomes Charges

That is arguably probably the most important comparability for us to have a look at, because the elevated incomes charges on choose spending classes is what lies on the coronary heart of each of those playing cards’ identities.

Spending on the American Categorical Cobalt Card will earn you the next:

• 5 MR factors per greenback spent on groceries, eating, and meals supply

• 3 MR factors per greenback spent on streaming providers

• 2 MR factors per greenback spent on transit, gasoline, and rideshare

• 1 MR level per greenback spent on all different purchases

In the meantime, the Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card has the next incomes charges:

• 6 Scene+ factors per greenback spent on Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, FreshCo, and extra†

• 5 Scene+ factors per greenback spent on groceries, eating, and leisure†

• 3 Scene+ factors per greenback spent on gasoline, transit, and streaming providers†

• 1 Scene+ level per greenback spent on all different purchases†

If we as soon as once more put apart the variations in inherent worth between Membership Rewards and Scene+ factors for now, and look solely on the incomes charges, we see that the 2 playing cards match one another at 5x for groceries and eating and at 3x for streaming.

Apart from that, the Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card wins out for purchases at Empire grocery shops (6x vs. 5x), within the leisure class (5x vs. 1x) and the transit and gasoline classes (3x vs. 2x). Each playing cards earn 1 level per greenback spent on journey.

Verdict: incomes charges alone, the 2 playing cards are pretty even in key classes; nonetheless, the Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card continues to carry the sting in additional classes than the Cobalt.

In the event you’re somebody who desires to make use of these playing cards primarily as a automobile in the direction of fixed-value redemptions in your journey purchases, maybe for reserving unbiased resorts or cruises, you’d do higher with the Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card than the Cobalt.

5. Cap on Increased Incomes Charges

Spending caps on class incomes charges are a minor level for almost all of bank card customers, however will likely be of specific concern to anybody who transacts at excessive volumes.

The Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card limits cardholders to accelerated incomes charges on the primary $50,000 of purchases within the 6x, 5x, and 3x classes each calendar 12 months.†

In the meantime the Cobalt imposes a stricter restrict of $2,500 monthly on the 5x class, or $30,000 for the cardboard membership 12 months.

Verdict: The Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card’s increased transaction limits implies that anybody with important spending necessities can extract extra out of the bonus classes on a yearly foundation than through the Amex Cobalt.

6. International Transaction Charges

To spherical issues out compared of card fundamentals, the American Categorical Cobalt Card fees a 2.5% overseas transaction price on any purchases in a overseas foreign money, whereas the Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card doesn’t levy overseas transaction charges.†

Verdict: The Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card is the clear winner with a 0% overseas transaction price. Actually, Scotiabank stays the one giant financial institution in Canada to supply a collection of bank card merchandise with no overseas transaction charges.

Factors Currencies

The worth proposition of those two bank cards can be intently tied to the redemption prospects of the factors currencies they respectively earn: Amex Membership Rewards factors and Scene+ factors. Thus, we should pit these in opposition to one another as effectively.

1. Redemption Strategies

The American Categorical Cobalt Card earns the highly effective Membership Rewards factors that may be transferred to loyalty companions like Aeroplan, The British Airways Membership, Air France KLM Flying Blue, Marriott Bonvoy, and extra. Mixed with the cardboard’s 5x incomes charge, this makes the Cobalt one of the highly effective bank cards in Canada, if not the strongest card.

Aeroplan factors, British Airways Avios, Flying Blue miles, and different airline switch companions are greatest redeemed for high-value flights in premium cabins. Whereas the precise redemption worth varies considerably, you’ll be able to count on to get anyplace from 2–10+ cents per level, relying on the way you redeem your factors.

In the event you aren’t capable of find award availability, the Amex Mounted Factors Journey Program generally is a very helpful backup possibility, capping out at a redemption worth of 2 cents per level.

Alternatively, Scene+ factors could be redeemed to offset in opposition to the price of journey charged to the bank card at a baseline charge of 1 cent per level† – a characteristic that’s additionally shared by Amex MR factors.

Verdict: Each Amex MR and Scene+ factors could be cashed out in opposition to journey purchases at 1 cent per level, however MR factors could be redeemed for a lot increased worth by means of airline or lodge transfers, so it’s the clear winner right here.

2. Ease of Redeeming

There’s additionally one thing to be stated for a way simple it’s to redeem your factors in any program, and the excellent news is that each Membership Rewards and Scene+ assist you to make redemptions fairly effortlessly.

Notably, Scene+ means that you can retroactively use factors to offset any journey buy you make on the cardboard, as an alternative of forcing you to e book on factors by means of the financial institution’s in-house journey company. This can be a way more beneficial scheme than lots of its opponents amongst Canada’s Large 5 banks.

Likewise, you’ll be able to redeem Amex MR factors at a set worth of 1 cent per level in opposition to nearly any cost made in your card.

Verdict: Honours even.

Different Components

Lastly, we’ll take a look at the playing cards’ ancillary advantages and another last-ditch concerns that may sway your selection in both of their favour.

1. Journey Insurance coverage

Insurance coverage generally is a main consider selecting a bank card, and the Amex Cobalt and Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card every have their strengths and weaknesses:

• The Cobalt provides as much as $5,000,000 in emergency medical insurance coverage for the primary 15 days of your journey, whereas the Scotiabank Gold Amex provides as much as $1,000,000 for the primary 25 days of your journey (3 days aged 65 and up).†

• The Cobalt doesn’t provide Journey Cancellation/Interruption insurance coverage, whereas the Scotiabank Gold Amex provides protection of as much as $1,500 per individual, with a most of $10,000 per journey.†

• Baggage delay insurance coverage is offered by the Cobalt for as much as $500 on delays of six hours or extra, and on the Scotiabank Gold Amex for as much as $1,000 per group, for delays of 4 hours or extra.†

• The Cobalt’s automotive rental collision and injury waiver applies on vehicles with an MSRP of as much as $85,000, whereas the Scotiabank Gold Amex’s equal provision is proscribed to an MSRP of $65,000.†

Relying on the way you journey and your age, chances are you’ll profit extra from the Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card’s emergency medical insurance coverage protection, which is much less complete by way of the greenback quantity however covers an extended out-of-province journey.

Additionally word that as with all types of bank card insurance coverage, the emergency medical insurance coverage applies to you whether or not or not you booked the journey utilizing the cardboard, whereas all the opposite insurance coverage objects solely apply should you cost the price of the journey to the cardboard.

Specifically, the Amex Cobalt’s insurance coverage perks would apply should you had been redeeming MR factors (for instance through the Mounted Factors Journey program), however not should you redeemed another kind of factors. 

Verdict: These two playing cards every have their very own strengths in the case of journey insurance coverage propositions, however the Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card wins because of its longer emergency medical protection, stronger Journey Cancellation/Interruption provisions, shorter period for bags delay, and extra.

2. Ease of Getting Authorised

To be eligible for the Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card, you’ll want a minimal private annual earnings of $12,000 to use,† whereas American Categorical simply doesn’t do minimal earnings necessities.

Moreover, Scotiabank requires a minimal credit score restrict of $5,000 for this card,† so your eligibility will depend upon whether or not your credit score rating is sweet sufficient for Scotiabank to be snug extending you that a lot credit score, whereas American Categorical has no such specs.

Verdict: Primarily based on the above thresholds in addition to anecdotal proof, American Categorical’s basic leniency throughout the board in approving new credit score purposes makes it the winner on this class, which supplies the sting to the Amex Cobalt Card.

Nevertheless, it’s value noting that the minimal earnings requirement on the Scotiabank Gold Amex Card can be fairly beneficial, particularly for a journey card full of so many advantages.

3. Supplementary Playing cards

The Cobalt Card is likely one of the few Amex playing cards to make supplementary playing cards obtainable free of charge, whereas the Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card will invoice you $29 per 12 months for each further cardholder you add.†

Verdict: The Cobalt Card is way more pleasant to supplementary playing cards, which might work out effectively to assist pad your stability every month.

Verdict: Whereas each playing cards benefit from the financial savings and bonuses obtainable by means of Amex Presents, Cobalt cardholders will normally obtain a wider vary of provides on their accounts, with out having to register manually by means of a separate web page. 

5. Visible Look

The Cobalt has had one of the putting designs within the bank card market ever because it was launched. It options the well-known Centurion within the centre, with on-brand cobalt blue and a textured background, all on a card made out of recycled plastic.

In the meantime, the Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card options on-brand black and gold tones, with Scotiabank’s brand stylized within the background.

Verdict: The Cobalt Card’s visible look is in a league of its personal, with the immediately recognizable Centurion and a putting design.

Conclusion

The American Categorical Cobalt Card and the Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card are each wonderful bank cards for Canadian travellers because of their robust incomes charges and plenty of options, and there are a number of compelling the explanation why you would possibly go for both card over the opposite.

The Cobalt Card could be a more sensible choice for these of you searching for high-value journey redemptions, as its Membership Rewards factors are extra highly effective than the Scene+ factors supplied by its competitor right here.

Nevertheless, the robust incomes charges on the Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card (6x at Empire grocery shops specifically) additionally make it a worthy possibility, particularly with its increased restrict of $50,000 in annual purchases on the elevated charges in comparison with the Cobalt Card’s $2,500 month-to-month restrict on 5x purchases.

Relying on the way you redeem factors, chances are you’ll even come out forward with the Scotiabank Gold American Categorical® Card, because of increased incomes charges in additional classes.

In any occasion, when you’ve got constantly excessive spending within the 5x classes, you’re very more likely to profit from alternating between each playing cards to get pleasure from one of the best of each worlds.

† Phrases and circumstances apply. Seek advice from the cardboard issuer’s web site for full, up-to-date data. Cheap efforts are made to make sure accuracy of content material.