I still can’t believe how many new and improved credit cards we’ve seen in 2017. Earlier this week Bank of America released a new exciting Premium Rewards card. Now, it appears American Express is releasing yet another new credit card. However, there’s one small catch. American Express’ newest credit card won’t be available in the United States. Instead, the new American Express Cobalt card will only be available in Canada.
I typically wouldn’t discuss a card only available in a select country, but I believe this new card is worth mentioning. Early rumors indicate the card will offer unique Membership Rewards bonus points earning categories not found in the current line up of credit cards from American Express. I’m hoping the card proves successful in Canada and eventually makes its way south the United States.
Meet The American Express Cobalt Card
As I found myself in the depths of FlyerTalk late last night I discovered a peculiar thread. The thread mentioned rumors of a new credit card from American Express. At that time there was even a link to a live American Express website which teased the new Cobalt card. As of today, when I try to access the webpage I instead reach a “400 Bad Request” error page. Luckily, several FlyerTalk user KChu took screenshots of the landing page found below.
As you can see from the above image, this is definitely a real credit card that American Express plans to release soon. To further support the rumors, a few Instagram and Twitter users have since mentioned and pictured their dummy cards. For example, Twitter user @NoTummyMommy posted the following image on Twitter on September 18th.
Shortly after Tweeting the above image, American Express even commented using the hashtag #AmexCobalt. However, as of today, the link provided directs customers to the same “400 Bad Request” error page found earlier. I’m not sure exactly what is happening here, but other Twitter and Instagram influencers who’ve posted about the card made mentions to a launch event. All of that leads me to believe this card is for sure coming and we’re simply waiting on the official launch event from American Express.
American Express Cobalt Benefits
While American Express has yet to confirm the Cobalt card’s benefits, Points Nerd appears to have received some confirmation via a phone call with an American Express Representative. Per his call, it seems the American Express Cobalt card will offer the following benefits:
- $120 Annual Fee, applied in $10 Monthly Installments
- A 30,000 Membership Rewards signup bonus, also distributed in monthly installments
- As Points Nerd states, the sign-up bonus is essentially 2,500 points each month you spend $500 on the card within the first year.
- Bonus Points Earning Categories
- 5X points on all grocery store, restaurants, and food delivery services purchases.
- 2X points on all travel (including ride sharing services and public transportation purchases).
- 1X points on all other qualifying purchases
As you can see, this card offers some great Membership Rewards points earning opportunities. Additionally, American Express is experimenting with the annual fee on this card. Unlike most cards which charge a one-time lump sum annual fee, the Cobalt’s annual fee is just $10 a month. I imagine this psychologically makes the annual fee easier to justify.
One of the major drawbacks of this card (it seems) is that card members can’t transfer Membership Rewards points to airline partners. Instead, points can only be used to offset charges, pay with points options, or transferred to hotel partners. Even though this is fairly limiting, there’s nothing wrong with earning 5X hotel points on grocery, dining, and meal delivery services!
Lastly, as Points Nerd discusses, MR points transfer to Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) at a 2:1 ratio. From SPG card members could theoretically transfer points to airline partners at a favorable rate.
My Take On The American Express Cobalt Card
WOW! Honestly, this card is truly unique. Obviously the card isn’t unique in the design as it mirrors the Australian American Express Explorer card, but it’s points earning structure is totally unique. There isn’t a card on the market today that earns 5X points on groceries and dining that I’m aware of. Sure you can’t transfer those points directly to airlines, but MR points still transfer to a few hotel brands. I’d gladly take a free night or two at a hotel after putting all of my grocery/dining spend on this card.
My hope is that this card does well in Canada which would then lead American Express to offer a similar card in the United States. Personally, I like the idea of a ‘subscription’ model annual fee. Each time a huge $450 annual fee posts I find myself questioning why I carry the card. With a lower monthly fee, I probably won’t worry about the fee as much.
I also am very interested in how American Express is marketing this card. They’ve teamed up with a few “influencers” on social media to tease the card. Majority of those people’s blogs or profiles are geared toward women and particularly mothers. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a card specifically marketed toward moms or marketed this way. Typically credit card issuers simply used established credit card bloggers to tease or release new cards.
Final Thoughts
As I said earlier, wow! This card seems like the perfect addition to my wallet. I don’t currently have a card that offers a great return at grocery stores. While I admittedly don’t do a ton of grocery shopping, it always pains me when I spend $100 at the supermarket knowing I’m only earning 1X points. While I don’t think this card will be available in the US anytime soon, it’s still interesting to see what American Express is offering in other countries.
This card is also exciting because it shows that American Express is trying to be innovative. They’re changing up the annual fee, sign-up bonus, and rewards earning scheme of this card when compared to their other cards. By changing the annual fee and sign-up bonus they’re ensuring those who are simply after the bonus carry the card for at least a full year. They’re also experimenting by limiting the use of Membership Rewards points. While I don’t love that direction, it at least shows that the issuer is willing to adjust some aspects of a card to improve others.
