Neo World Elite® Mastercard – Gas & Grocery

American Express Cobalt® Card

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Neo World Elite® Mastercard – Gas & Grocery vs American Express Cobalt® Card

Which one is better? Both cards worked out on the same spending: rewards, welcome bonus, fees and perks, line by line.

Finly rebate

$100

4.6

Apply now Get $100 Finly rebate

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Finly rebate

$75

4.9

Apply now Get $75 Finly rebate

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Welcome bonus

Each offer as the issuer words it. The numbers below show whether your spending reaches it.

The offer

Earn 1,250 Membership Rewards^® points for each monthly billing period in which you spend $750 in purchases on your amex cobalt credit card in the first Year. That's up to 15,000 Membership Rewards^® points.

What each card is worth

Rewards, the welcome bonus and any Finly rebate in, the annual fee and FX fees out, all on your spending.

Worked out on a typical $2,000 a month of spending. Enter yours to see your own numbers.

$625

First-year value

$1,147

$376

Every year after

$787

Amex Cobalt is worth $522 more to you in year one.

It stays ahead after that, by $411 a year.

How the first year adds up

Annual rewards

$525.48

cash back a year

Welcome bonus

+ $0

no welcome offer

Annual fee

$149− $0

$149 from year two

Finly rebate

+ $100

paid by FinlyWealth

First-year value

$625.48

Annual rewards

$979.03

51,528 points a year

Welcome bonus

+ $285

first year only

Annual fee

− $191.88

Finly rebate

+ $75

paid by FinlyWealth

First-year value

$1,147.15

1.9¢ a pointAmerican Express Membership Rewards, redeemed for Transfer to Airline Partners

Where each card earns

A year of your spending at each card's own reward rates, most first.

5%Groceries

$212.85

4%Recurring Transactions

$96

3%Gas

$64.8

1%All other purchases

$151.83

5xFood, drinks and groceries in Canada

32,604 pts

$619.48

2xGas, transit & ride share in Canada

4,692 pts

$89.15

3xStreaming subscriptions in Canada

1,440 pts

$27.36

1xAll other purchases

12,792 pts

$243.05

Fees, rates and eligibility

What each card costs to hold and to use abroad, and who it's for.

$149

$0 the first year

Annual fee

$191.88

billed monthly

$49 (max 1 additional cardholder)

Additional cards

Interest rates

Purchase:

19.99% - 26.99%

Cash Advance:

22.99% - 28.99%

Balance Transfer:

22.99% - 31.99%

Purchase:

21.99%²

Cash Advance:

21.99%²

² If you have 2 separate missed Payments, the applicable rates for your account will be 25.99%. If you have 3 or more separate missed payments, the applicable rates will be 29.99%.

Recommended credit score

300

Poor

560

Fair

660⁎

Good

725⁎

Very Good

760⁎

Excellent

⁎Estimates based on Equifax scoring

300

Poor

693

Fair

743⁎

Good

790⁎

Very Good

833⁎

Excellent

⁎Estimates based on TransUnion scoring

Income required

Min Personal Income:

$80,000

Min Household Income:

$150,000

Min Personal Income:

N/A

Min Household Income:

N/A

How each card earns

The earn rates and caps, as each issuer sets them.

5% cash back on grocery purchases up to $1,000 spending per month
4% cash back on recurring purchases up to $500 spending per month
3% cash back on gas purchases up to $1,000 spending per month
1% cash back on all other purchases with no spending caps
Up to 15% boosted cashback at thousands of partners across Canada - on top of base cashback rates

5x points per $1 spent on eligible eats and drinks in Canada, including groceries and food delivery (up to 12,500 points per month)
3x points per $1 spent on eligible streaming subscriptions in Canada
2x points per $1 spent on eligible gas, transit & ride share in Canada
1x point per $1 spent on all other purchases

Points and how we value them

Points become dollars at each card's best redemption. Here's the value we used, and every other way to spend them.

Loyalty program

Cash back: every dollar it earns counts as a dollar, so there's nothing to convert.

American Express Membership Rewards

We count each point at 1.9¢ a point, what it's worth redeemed for Transfer to Airline Partners, its best value. Every dollar figure above uses that value.

Point redemption options

Nothing to redeem: it pays cash back.

Most Optimal

Transfer to Airline Partners

1.9¢ / point

Fixed Point Travel Program

1.16¢ / point

Transfer to Hotel Partners

1.08¢ / point

Flexible Points Travel Program

1¢ / point

Statement Credits (Cash)

1¢ / point

Gift Cards

0.91¢ / point

Amazon.ca

0.7¢ / point

Merchandise

0.63¢ / point

Insurance and perks

What both cards include comes first in each list.

Insurance

Lost or Stolen Baggage

$1,000

Baggage Delay

$1,000

Car Rental Damage & Theft

Yes

Extended Warranty

1 year

Purchase Protection

90 days

Hotel Burglary Insurance

$1,000

Travel Medical Insurance (64 & under)

Up to $1,000,000

Flight Delay

$500

Car Rental Accident

$100,000 for cardholder, up to $10,000 per Spouse or Dependent Child

Car Rental Personal Effects

$1,000

Trip Cancellation

$1,000

Trip Interruption

$1,000

Mastercard Zero Liability Protection

Yes

Lost or Stolen Baggage

$500

Baggage Delay

$500

Car Rental Damage & Theft

yes

Extended Warranty

1 year

Purchase Protection

90 days

Hotel Burglary Insurance

$500

Travel Medical Insurance (64 & under)

15 days, up to $5M (if under age 65)

Flight Delay

$500

Common Carrier Travel Accident Insurance

$250,000

Mobile Device Insurance

$1,000

Perks

Airport Lounge - Dragon Pass

Pass only - pay $32 USD per visit

World Mastercard Benefits

Including discounting with participating partners and DragonPass airport lounge access.

Amex Experiences™

Access Front Of The Line® Amex Presale & Reserved Tickets to some of your favourite concerts and theatre performances and special offers and events curated for Cardmembers with Amex Experiences™

Our take

Why we like it

This card offers some of the highest cash back rates in Canada for gas, groceries, and recurring purchases, which is pretty hard to beat. While the cash back rates are very high, you need to mind the spend caps set for each category to see if your earning potential is really that high compared to most other credit cards. However, if you're the average person whose spending is generally below $12k per year in groceries, $6k per year in recurring bills and $12k per year in gas, then you'll be doing pretty well, especially with the great insurance and benefit offers.

This card was voted one of the Best Credit Card in Canada by FinlyWealth. The rewards earned on this card for a person with average spending exceed those of other credit cards in Canada by a huge margin! In addition, this card has a good benefits coverage, a flexible amex cobalt bonus points redemption program (1:1 transfer to Aeroplan® or Avios), making it the best candidate to become the main credit card for the majority of people.

Pros

High cashback rates
Premium insurance coverage
Airport lounge membership
Boosted partner cashback
Instant approval and access

Impressive optimization
1:1 Aeroplan point transfer
Generous welcome bonus
Flexible high value redemptions
Comprehensive coverage
Highly ranked
Instant decision. No credit impact.

Cons

High income requirements
Spending caps
Annual fee

Limited acceptance
Lacks valuable coverage categories

More comparisons

Other cards we've put each of these up against.

Legal

*Terms and conditions apply.

If you have 2 separate missed Payments, the applicable rates for your account will be 25.99%. If you have 3 or more separate missed payments, the applicable rates will be 29.99%.

American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. If you apply and get approved for an American Express Card, (I/we) may receive compensation from American Express, which can be in the form of monetary payment.