Amex Cobalt Hacks 💳

I gotta share my favourite card ever and one that we should absolutely be proud of as Canadians. We don’t often get many truly great financial products up here, but the Amex Cobalt 💳 is definitely one of them. I’ve been using it for three years straight and I genuinely love it ✨. I’ve had countless other credit cards and I even went deep into the credit card “churning” community, so I’ve seen a fair share of options out there 📚. The fine print can be exhausting for most people, especially if you don’t feel like reading a full essay before applying for a credit card. So I’m here to help you cut through the noise and make it simple!

Canada’s rewards royalty — the Amex Cobalt 💳 (we should call it Canadian Express! 🍁🤭) — makes that annual fee disappear faster than free samples at Costco 🛒. 5x on groceries? 3x on subs? A welcome bonus that can pay for a vacation? Yes please 🙌. But most people leave easy points on the table and never really maximize this card. I was able to pay for my round‑trip flight for two people to Japan just using points from my Cobalt — all thanks to steady, consistent use. You can learn more about how that worked in my Budgeting for Japan article 🏯. After years of trial and error, reading loopholes, and doing the research, I feel like I’ve cracked it a bit.

I know what you might say next: “Not many places accept Amex, though” — and that’s true. But when they do, it’s a game changer. You can actually plan your life around where you spend and still get serious value. I’ve found some key takeaways that make this card genuinely superior, and I want to share them with you!

1️⃣Grocery Game 🥦

We all need to feed ourselves and I hope some of you still buy groceries instead of eating out every single meal 🍜. Maybe you do a few small trips to the grocery store for snacks and essentials. No matter how frequent your trips are or what you buy, as long as you’re making a grocery store purchase, you can earn Amex points.

Groceries are my favourite category because you can buy so much more than just food at a grocery store. You know what I mean? Household items, medication, even some gift cards — all tucked under that 5x grocery multiplier. That’s how you really optimize the returns.

First off, the 5x grocery multiplier on the Cobalt is one of the best and most generous options out there. There isn’t another mainstream Canadian product that offers that kind of return on groceries. But keep in mind that not all grocery stores are eligible for this, and I’ve made a few mistakes along the way, so let me break it down for you.

✅ Eligible

• Metro Inc: Metro, Food Basics, Super C, and Adonis

• Sobeys Inc: Sobeys, Safeway, Freshco, Foodland, Longos, and IGA

• Whole Foods (expensive but still qualifies)

• Most locally owned grocery stores (majority, but double‑check)

❌ Not eligible

• Loblaws Inc: Loblaws, Zehrs, No Frills, Fortinos, and Canadian Superstore

• Any regular department store like Walmart 🛍️

• Costco (they don’t even take Amex 😭)

You should be living close enough to at least one of those eligible stores unless you’re in a very small town. I always recommend finding and prioritizing one of the eligible locations for most of your grocery shopping (and still hit Costco for deals).

2️⃣Restaurants🍜

Eating out is one of the easiest ways to rack up points because, let’s be real, have you seen those prices lately? Dining out is expensive, so we might as well get some nice rewards for it 🍕.

This category can be tricky, especially if you live in an area like Markham where a lot of local restaurants don’t take Amex. You don’t have to stop going to your favourite spots completely, but do a little bit of research before you go. Check Google Reviews or the restaurant’s site to see which cards they accept. They’ll often put those cute little “AMEX, Visa, MC” stickers right outside the door 🚪, so that’s easy to spot.

You don’t have to go out of your way to chase points — I still want you to enjoy your meal! If a place happens to take Amex and you’re deciding where to eat, that’s the perfect time to whip out your shiny Cobalt.

There are also plenty of big chains that do accept Amex, so keep an eye out for them. If you love happy hour at your local Jack Astor’s or other chains that work with Amex, that’s extra happy!✨.

3️⃣AMEX Offers 🧘‍♀️

I love receiving Amex offers because they’re actually decent compared to most bank credit card offers 🎁. You can find them in the “Offers” tab in your Amex app, and they’ll sometimes email them to you too. But be sure to read the details — this is where the “fine print” sneaks in.

If an offer is online‑only, don’t tap your card in‑store trying to get that discount — it won’t count! 🙅‍♀️ And even if you’re not sure you’ll use an offer, register your card for it anyway. Those spots are limited and they can run out fast.

Recent bangers include:

• Lululemon deal: $20 off $100 spent — Lululemon rarely discounts, so this is unreal! I like stacking this on top of sale items for double the savings.

• Uniqlo deal: $10 off $50 spent — Uniqlo is already affordable, and this pushes it into “steal” territory. You can also stack app‑only discounts and sale items for even more value.

Just beware: don’t let these offers turn into a shopping spree. If you already shop at Lululemon and were planning to buy new leggings, then go for it! But don’t use the offer as an excuse to buy things you don’t need or even want.

4️⃣Gift Card Loophole 🎁

This one requires a bit of caution and should definitely not be abused ⚠️. Like I mentioned, grocery stores let you buy more than just food — you can get medication, household items, flowers, and gift cards. Gift cards are great for gifting, or to use toward other retailers that don’t earn the 5x multiplier.

I love using this for my annual Christmas gifts for friends and family. It’s a thoughtful way to show kindness and spread some holiday cheer to people I see every day ❤️. Think of your apartment building cleaner, the caretaker you wave to every morning, or the cashier at your favourite grocery store who always brightens your day.

Gift cards are special because they let the person choose what they want and how they spend it. On top of that, buying those gift cards at an eligible grocery store earns you 5x points — it’s a win‑win 🎉.

But beware — I’ve seen Reddit horror stories where people bought hundreds of gift cards every month and ended up getting their Amex card cancelled. Do not abuse this option!

5️⃣Point Transfer Beats Point Burning 🌍

Amex points are only as good as the way you use them. Here’s a quick breakdown of common redemption options and how much value each one gives you ⚖️:

• Statement credit (using points to pay your bill): 0.6 cents per point

• Amex Travel (for flights): 1 cent per point

• Gift cards or shopping: 0.7 to 1 cent per point

• Partner transfers (to airline or hotel programs): 1.2 to 2.5 cents or more per point

The gift card option is interesting because we just talked about that in the last section. It’s still better to buy gift cards with the 5x grocery multiplier than to redeem your points at 0.7–1¢. But the real winner is partner transfers — they can easily triple or quadruple the value of your points!

My two favourites are Aeroplan and Flying Blue. With partner transfers, you get way more mileage (pun intended) than any other option and that’s why I personally treat the Amex Cobalt as a travel card ✈️. I recommend staying far away from the lower‑value options like statement credits. It's not worth your effort!

6️⃣Skip Supplementary Cards — Play Referral Tag 🤝

You’ll occasionally get emails from Amex offering free supplementary cards. Free sounds nice, but this specific offer is actually not that great. I originally thought it would be awesome to have two people on the same card doubling the points, but hear this out — you’re actually competing with each other for points!

Here’s what I recommend instead:

• Refer a partner or family member shortly before your card expires so both of you can benefit from the referral bonus.

• You refer them, you get bonus points!

• They get the welcome bonus when they apply.

• Woohoo! You both get value without paying multiple annual fees.

Instead of both of you paying for the annual fee at the same time, stagger it — use one card at a time while optimizing it. Apple Wallet lets you both add the card, so your partner can still tap it without needing the physical card 📱.

7️⃣Subscriptions 🎵

We live in a world of subscriptions: Apple TV+, Apple Music, Crave, Disney+, Fubo TV, Hayu, Netflix, RDS, SiriusXM Canada, Spotify, TSN, and so many more. You’re already paying for these every month, so make sure you’re earning points on them!

That $40 total across 3–4 subscriptions becomes 120 points compounded every month 🚀. Don’t underestimate the tiny recurring charges — they add up faster than you think.

If you’re interested in trying the Amex Cobalt, feel free to reach out for a referral link below so you can take advantage of the bonus points! And if you already have it, use these tips to seriously maximize your returns! 🌟

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