American Express introduces Cobalt - a ground-breaking credit card that rewards Canadians for their busy lifestyles

The new Cobalt Card features 5x points on eats and drinks, which includes grocery, and 2x points on travel and transit, including taxis.

TORONTO, Sept. 26, 2017 /CNW/ - Today, American Express Canada announced the launch of the Cobalt Card, a new style of credit card designed specifically to meet the needs of millennial consumers in Canada. The new card is uniquely designed with the social lifestyle of young professionals in mind - a generation whose spending habits reveal a passion for food, travel and entertainment.

Cobalt rewards Cardmembers for the purchases they're already making, featuring Canada's current highest ongoing points accelerator for food and drinks, including grocery. Cobalt Cardmembers also earn double the points on travel, including flights, hotels, public transit, taxis, and gas. Additionally, Cardmembers will enjoy many of the perks American Express is known for including access to some of the hottest shows through Front Of The Line and other exclusive offers.

"Cobalt is a card designed by millennials for millennials. This generation enjoys a very social lifestyle and seeks out a wide variety of experiences", said Megan McKee, Vice President, New Product Development for American Express Canada. "With this Card, Canadians get rewarded for the purchases they're already making, whether it's their daily coffee and subway ride to work, or their nights in with takeout and friends."

A recent survey commissioned by American Express found that over half of Canadian millennials go out to eat at least four times a month and are willing to spend up to 24 per cent of their monthly income on dining out. Furthermore, 70 per cent of millennials travel overnight or longer at least twice a year. It's a fact, over one third prioritize these activities, stating they are not willing to give up travel or dining out, even on a tight budget.

With this in mind, the Cobalt Card dials up the rewards earning power along with the ease of redeeming those points. The 5x accelerator on eligible eats and drinks includes everything from coffee shops, grocery stores, fast food chains, take-out, cafes, bars, pubs, casual and upscale restaurants. Similarly, the 2x accelerator covers all things on eligible travel and transit including a subway ride, train journey, hailing a cab, staying at a hotel or a short-term rental, and booking a flight or an all-inclusive vacation, all of which fits seamlessly with millennials' spending habits.

"If you look at the credit card spending of most young urban Canadians today, they are filled with restaurants, coffee shops and cab rides. By recognizing this generation's spending habits, Amex has created a new category of credit cards, one that rewards millennials for the way they actually live their lives," said industry expert Patrick Sojka, the founder of RewardsCanada.ca, a specialist website that analyzes the loyalty and rewards card industry. "I always recommend consumers choose credit cards that enable them to earn and redeem points for things they already do. For those who live that millennial lifestyle, this is exactly what Cobalt offers."

With a monthly fee of just $10, new Cardmembers can earn up to 40,000 bonus points. Cobalt also gives Cardmembers flexibility when it comes to redeeming their points through the Membership Rewards program. From booking travel and flights to anywhere in the world with no blackout dates or seat restrictions, to using these points to pay for purchases they've already made on their Cobalt Card, whether it's a night out, a new outfit, or paying for their music subscription charges, Cardmembers have no shortage of options when it comes to redeeming their points.

American Express Cobalt Card benefit overview:

• Fee: $10 per month of Cardmembership.
  
  
• Bonus of up to 40,000 Points in the first year (2,500 points/month with $500 spend monthly plus additional 10,000 Welcome bonus with $3,000 total spend in first three months, Welcome Bonus offering ending January 30, 2018).
  
  
• Points Earn rate: 5x on eligible eats and drinks, 2x on eligible travel and transit, 1x for every $1 everywhere else.
  
  
• Cobalt Perks Program: ongoing series of offers and opportunities in retail, music and entertainment, travel and more.
  
  
• American Express Invites™ including Front Of The Line^® Advance Access, Front Of The Line^® Reserved Tickets, Front Of The Line^® E-Updates, Special Offers & Experiences for all Cardmembers and Social Access for all Cardmembers.
  
  
• Travel-Related Insurance Benefits including Emergency Medical Insurance (out of province/country), Car Rental Theft and Damage Insurance, Lost or Stolen Baggage Insurance, Hotel/Motel Burglary Insurance, Flight Delay Insurance, $250,000 Travel Accident Insurance.
  
  
• Option to redeem Membership Reward points to pay for purchases charged to the Card, for American Express Travel bookings, to redeem on Ticketmaster.ca, or to redeem for merchandise/gift cards.
  
  
• American Express Service including 24/7 Customer Service, Emergency Card Replacement, Fraud Protection Guarantee, Manage your account online.

Survey Results overview:

• 98% of Canadian millennials surveyed have at least one credit card.
  
  
• 90% of millennials choose credit or debit cards as their preferred method of payment.
  
  
• 54% prefer to use their credit card when making purchase.
  
  
• Over a third of millennials put more than three quarters of their purchases on credit card.
  
  
• 76% of millennials state that they collect rewards points on their credit card.
  
  
• 44% of millennials go to a fast food restaurant at least once a week.
  
  
• 33% of millennials go to a sit down restaurant at least once a week.
  
  
• 33% of millennials order take out at least once a week.
  
  
• 15% of millennials go to a fast food restaurant at least three times a week.
  
  
• 38% of millennials are spending 15-24% of their monthly spending towards food and drink purchases.
  
  
• 56% of millennials go to a coffee shop at least once a week.
  
  
• Over a third (33%) of millennials would not be willing to give up travel or dining out, even if their budget was tight.

For more information or to sign up for a Cobalt credit card visit www.americanexpress.com/ca/en/credit-cards/information/cobalt-card/.

About American Express in Canada

American Express is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. American Express was established in Canada in 1853 and offers award winning products like The American Express^® Gold Rewards Card, The SimplyCash™ Preferred Card from American Express^© and The NEW American Express Cobalt™ Card. Learn more at americanexpress.ca and connect with us on facebook.com/americanexpresscanada, twitter.com/amexcanada and youtube.com/americanexpresscad.

Key links to products, services and corporate responsibility information: charge and credit cards, business credit cards, travel services, gift cards, merchant services, corporate card and business travel.

About the Survey

This survey was conducted using an online panel from August 15 to August 23 by Nielsen Consumer Insights among English-speaking millennials within Canada aged from 25 to 39 years old. Though it is not meaningful to report margin of error for a panel study, the data was weighted using 2016 Canadian Census results to help give a more accurate perspective.

SOURCE American Express Canada

Amanda Betti, American Express Canada, [email protected]; Meghan Edwards, On behalf of American Express Canada, [email protected], 416-300-5720