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

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

Whereas these two wonderful playing cards for travellers are total fairly comparable, there are a number of notable variations which will sway your resolution both approach, or would possibly even compel you to provide 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, an important comparisons will all the time be made on just a few key elements.

1. Welcome Bonuses

The American Specific Cobalt Card at the moment presents as much as 15,000 Membership Rewards (MR) factors awarded over the course of the primary yr of card membership, structured as follows:

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

Then again, the Scotiabank Gold American Specific® Card at the moment presents 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 yr†

Verdict: As you possibly can see, each playing cards’ present welcome bonuses are structured fairly in a different way.

On one hand, the Cobalt Card requires the next whole spend of $9,000 over the primary yr to unlock the total bonus, and also you’ll must preserve observe of the month-to-month spending requirement as well.

Then again, the present provide on the Scotiabank Gold American Specific® 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 yr.

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

2. Referral Bonuses

Like different American Specific merchandise, the American Specific Cobalt Card presents a referral bonus of 5,000 MR factors for every buddy or member of the family you check with a card of their very own, as much as a most of 75,000 MR factors in a calendar yr.

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

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

3. Annual Payment

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

In the meantime, the Scotiabank Gold American Specific® Card has a $120 annual payment,† which is charged fully upfront.

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

4. Incomes Charges

That is arguably probably the most vital comparability for us to take 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 Specific 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 companies

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

• 1 MR level per greenback spent on all different purchases

In the meantime, the Scotiabank Gold American Specific® 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 fuel, transit, and streaming companies†

• 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 Specific® Card wins out for purchases at Empire grocery shops (6x vs. 5x), within the leisure class (5x vs. 1x) and the transit and fuel classes (3x vs. 2x). Each playing cards earn 1 level per greenback spent on journey.

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

For those who’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 inns or cruises, you’d do higher with the Scotiabank Gold American Specific® Card than the Cobalt.

5. Cap on Greater Incomes Charges

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

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

In the meantime the Cobalt imposes a stricter restrict of $2,500 per thirty days on the 5x class, or $30,000 for the cardboard membership yr.

Verdict: The Scotiabank Gold American Specific® Card’s greater transaction limits signifies that anybody with vital 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 as compared of card fundamentals, the American Specific Cobalt Card costs a 2.5% overseas transaction payment on any purchases in a overseas foreign money, whereas the Scotiabank Gold American Specific® Card doesn’t levy overseas transaction charges.†

Verdict: The Scotiabank Gold American Specific® Card is the clear winner with a 0% overseas transaction payment. In actual fact, Scotiabank stays the one massive 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 also be intently tied to the redemption potentialities of the factors currencies they respectively earn: Amex Membership Rewards factors and Scene+ factors. Thus, we should pit these towards one another as properly.

1. Redemption Strategies

The American Specific 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 fee, this makes the Cobalt some 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 possibly can anticipate to get wherever from 2–10+ cents per level, relying on the way you redeem your factors.

For those who aren’t in a position to find award availability, the Amex Fastened Factors Journey Program generally is a very helpful backup choice, capping out at a redemption worth of 2 cents per level.

Then again, Scene+ factors might be redeemed to offset towards the price of journey charged to the bank card at a baseline fee of 1 cent per level† – a characteristic that’s additionally shared by Amex MR factors.

Verdict: Each Amex MR and Scene+ factors might be cashed out towards journey purchases at 1 cent per level, however MR factors might be redeemed for a lot greater worth via airline or lodge transfers, so it’s the clear winner right here.

2. Ease of Redeeming

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

Notably, Scene+ permits you to retroactively use factors to offset any journey buy you make on the cardboard, as a substitute of forcing you to e-book on factors via the financial institution’s in-house journey company. It is a way more beneficial scheme than lots of its rivals amongst Canada’s Large 5 banks.

Likewise, you possibly can redeem Amex MR factors at a set worth of 1 cent per level towards 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 every other last-ditch concerns which 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 Specific® Card every have their strengths and weaknesses:

• The Cobalt presents as much as $5,000,000 in emergency medical insurance coverage for the primary 15 days of your journey, whereas the Scotiabank Gold Amex presents 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 presents 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 automobile rental collision and injury waiver applies on cars with an MSRP of as much as $85,000, whereas the Scotiabank Gold Amex’s equal provision is restricted to an MSRP of $65,000.†

Relying on the way you journey and your age, you might profit extra from the Scotiabank Gold American Specific® Card’s emergency medical insurance coverage protection, which is much less complete when it comes to the greenback quantity however covers an extended out-of-province journey.

Additionally be aware 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 when you cost the price of the journey to the cardboard.

Specifically, the Amex Cobalt’s insurance coverage perks would apply when you have been redeeming MR factors (for instance through the Fastened Factors Journey program), however not when you redeemed every other sort of factors. 

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

2. Ease of Getting Permitted

To be eligible for the Scotiabank Gold American Specific® Card, you’ll want a minimal private annual earnings of $12,000 to use,† whereas American Specific 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 Specific has no such specs.

Verdict: Based mostly on the above thresholds in addition to anecdotal proof, American Specific’s normal leniency throughout the board in approving new credit score functions makes it the winner on this class, which provides the sting to the Amex Cobalt Card.

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

3. Supplementary Playing cards

The Cobalt Card is among the few Amex playing cards to make supplementary playing cards obtainable totally free, whereas the Scotiabank Gold American Specific® Card will invoice you $29 per yr for each extra cardholder you add.†

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

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

5. Visible Look

The Cobalt has had some of the placing 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 Specific® Card options on-brand black and gold tones, with Scotiabank’s emblem 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 placing design.

Conclusion

The American Specific Cobalt Card and the Scotiabank Gold American Specific® Card are each wonderful bank cards for Canadian travellers due to their robust incomes charges and lots of options, and there are a number of compelling 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 in search of high-value journey redemptions, as its Membership Rewards factors are extra highly effective than the Scene+ factors provided by its competitor right here.

Nonetheless, the robust incomes charges on the Scotiabank Gold American Specific® Card (6x at Empire grocery shops particularly) additionally make it a worthy choice, particularly with its greater 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, you might even come out forward with the Scotiabank Gold American Specific® Card, due to greater incomes charges in additional classes.

In any occasion, in case you have persistently excessive spending within the 5x classes, you’re very more likely to profit from alternating between each playing cards to get pleasure from the very best of each worlds.

† Phrases and situations apply. Consult with the cardboard issuer’s web site for full, up-to-date info. Affordable efforts are made to make sure accuracy of content material.