The much-loved American Express Cobalt Card is levelling up!
In a very surprising move this week, American Express announced some major changes to their flagship lifestyle credit card, the Cobalt Card.
Starting August 16, 2021, the Cobalt Card will earn Membership Rewards points that can be transferred to airline loyalty programs (including Aeroplan and British Airways Avios at a 1:1 ratio), add a new 3x earning rate on streaming services, and introduce a new type of insurance coverage for mobile devices.
On that date, the monthly fee will also increase from $10 to $12.99 per month; however, if you apply before August 16, you’ll lock in the $10 monthly pricing for a full year!
In this video, let’s digest all of the upcoming changes – and I’ll also share with you why I think the current state of affairs is a little unsustainable, and why further changes to the Amex credit card lineup are all but inevitable.
Without further ado, you can watch the video below:
If you enjoyed the video, click here to subscribe to the Prince of Travel YouTube channel so that you don’t miss any future videos!
Being Aug. 16, the new deal day, I just tried to transfer my current Cobalt MR points to Aeroplan. No such option appears. What am I missing? Or is Amex asleep at the switch?
It should be live now.
Hi Ricky,
Are you saying that previously accumulated MR Select points will flip directly to MR Points on August 16? And then can be flip to Aeroplan at 1:1? If so, that’s amazing!
Can I buy a pre-paid $500 visa at a Safeway with an Amex card. Use it to buy something and still have it contribute to the *spend 5k and get 50,000pts bonus* or would I have to strictly buy gift cards?
Seriously considering this card now. Any recommendations on a visa/MasterCard to pair this with when Amex is not accepted?
So if I currently hold a Gold card should I contact Amex and change it into a Cobalt card? Seriously considering this.
You can’t change it directly to the Cobalt Card, but you can swap out your Gold for a Cobalt. If you aren’t in a hurry, I’d wait and see what happens to the Gold – I’d expect any changes to be coming shortly.
Ah man, I was really looking forward to getting the platinum card for the travel perks. Do you think I should still go for it? This earn rate is really great!
Right now I’d say go for both: lock in the soon-to-be-all-powerful Cobalt at a $120 annual fee for the next year, and grab the 150K bonus on the Platinum because it probably won’t be that high again. Later in 2022, you can decide whether or not to keep it based on whether or not any of the speculated future changes on the Platinum are worth it to you.
Hmmm. This is interesting. I have a Scotiabank Gold Amex which I am gonna cancel in order to go platinum. I was hoping to just have one Amex and then one Visa/Mastercard for vendors who don’t take Amex. Never considered having three cards going.
Will MR points devalue?
Eventually, probably.
Is it reasonable to expect better offers for the Platinum card coming later this year because of this? I’m debating whether to get the Cobalt or the Platinum card. As it now stands, the Cobalt card is far superior to the Platinum…
I’d say a reasonable expectation would be an improved set of benefits and perhaps earn rates, albeit with potential upward movement on the annual fee as well.