Canadian Credit Cards: Which Card Pays You the Most on Your Spending?

In the United States? See the U.S. cash-back card comparison, in U.S. dollars.

01The Cards

American Express Cobalt Card

5x on groceries and dining, with flexible points

Points

5x on Sobeys-family grocery stores, other grocery stores, restaurants, bars, cafes and food delivery; 3x on streaming subscriptions; 2x on gas, transit, taxis and ride share; 1x on everything else (Membership Rewards)

Cap

The 5x stops at $2,500 of spending a month in those categories, then 1x

Annual fee

$15.99 a month, charged monthly ($191.88 a year); Quebec residents pay $191.88 once a year

Foreign currency

2.5% on each purchase

Welcome offer

Up to 15,000 Membership Rewards points in your first year: 1,250 for each monthly billing period in which you spend $750

Read the reviewOn your spendingAmerican Express's page

Scotiabank Gold American Express Card

Up to 6x on groceries, no foreign transaction fees

Points

6x on Sobeys-family grocery stores; 5x on other grocery stores, restaurants, bars, cafes and food delivery, movies, theatre and event tickets; 3x on streaming subscriptions, gas, transit, taxis and ride share; 1x on everything else (Scene+)

Cap

The bonus rates stop at $50,000 of spending in them each calendar year, then 1x

Annual fee

$120 a year ($29 for each extra card); the Ultimate Package chequing account rebates it, but costs $30.95 a month unless you keep $6,000 in it or $100,000 across Scotiabank accounts; the Preferred Package gives a $40 rebate from the second year with $15,000 of purchases

Foreign currency

No fee; only the exchange rate

Welcome offer

Up to 65,000 bonus Scene+ points: 40,000 after $2,000 in purchases in the first 3 months and 25,000 more after $7,500 in the first 12 months, for accounts opened by January 3, 2027

Read the reviewOn your spendingScotiabank's page

Card images are the issuers' own. We are not paid by either bank; see how we compare.

02On Your Spending

Put in what you spend in a normal month and choose how you would use the points. The calculator counts each card's points, its caps, its fees and what it charges on purchases in a foreign currency, then puts a dollar value on the points the way you would redeem them.

Figures assume you pay the full balance every month; interest is not counted. Rates are for purchases in Canada. Welcome offers are counted as if all your card spending, purchases in a foreign currency included, were spread evenly through the year: Cobalt's needs $750 of purchases in every billing month and Scotiabank's $2,000 in the first 3 months and $7,500 in the first 12. A year with a few big months and many small ones can earn less than shown; if your spending is lumpy, untick the offer and count only the months you know you will reach. Over a cap, the capped amount is shared across its categories in proportion to spending. Hotel and car bookings through Scene+ Travel (up to 4x) and Amex Travel Online (an extra 1x) are left out, as are both cards' insurance and perks. Both are American Express cards: spending at stores that do not take Amex goes on another card and does not belong here.

03Cobalt or Scotia Gold?

Category by category, the Scotiabank card's rate is equal or higher: the same 5x at most grocery stores and restaurants, 6x instead of 5x at Sobeys-family stores, 5x instead of 1x on movies and tickets, and 3x instead of 2x on gas and transit. It also costs $72 a year less and charges nothing extra on purchases in a foreign currency, where Cobalt adds 2.5%.

Two things can still make Cobalt the better card. The first is how you use the points. A Scene+ point is worth 1 cent off groceries at Sobeys-family and other partner stores or off travel, but only about two-thirds of a cent as an account credit (3,000 points for $20). A Membership Rewards point is worth 1 cent against any purchase on the card, and can be moved to airline programs such as Aeroplan, where some flights give more. The second is the caps: Scotiabank's higher rates stop after $50,000 a year across all its bonus categories together, while Cobalt's 5x has its own $2,500 a month and its gas and transit rate has no cap, so a household with very heavy grocery and gas spending can earn more points with Cobalt.

A normal year after annual fees (no extra cards, no fee waiver) and after the 2.5% Cobalt charges on foreign-currency purchases; welcome offers not counted. Membership Rewards at 1 cent in the first three columns. The last column is the value a Membership Rewards point needs, against Scene+ used on groceries or travel at 1 cent. Run your own budget in the calculator above.

04What Both Cards Leave Out

• Both are American Express cards. Costco takes only Mastercard in Canada, and some grocery chains do not take Amex at all, so most households need a Visa or Mastercard as well.
• The top rates are for purchases in Canada. Abroad, both cards earn 1 point a dollar, and Cobalt adds 2.5% to every purchase in a foreign currency.
• Big-box stores that sell groceries, such as Walmart, are generally not coded as grocery stores, so they usually earn 1x, and gift cards bought at a grocery store may not earn points at all.
• Both cards charge about 22% interest on a balance you carry, which wipes out the points within a few months.
• Insurance on both cards comes with conditions, such as charging the trip or rental to the card; each review links the certificate.

05How We Compare, and How We Make Money

Every rate, fee and offer on these pages comes from the card issuer's own page and is dated. The calculator ranks the cards on the numbers and redemption choice you put in, not on what any bank pays us, and the written conclusions follow the calculator's results. Today we are paid by neither bank. If we are approved for a bank's affiliate program, the link to that card will say so next to the button, and the figures and order on this page will not change.

More Canadian cards are coming in the same format: travel cards that earn Aeroplan, WestJet and hotel points, cash-back cards, no-fee cards, student and starter cards, low-interest cards and secured cards for building credit.

06Questions

07Sources

1. American Express Canada, American Express Cobalt Card and Cobalt benefits and terms (categories, the $2,500 monthly cap, fees, offer), checked November 14, 2026.
2. Scotiabank, Scotiabank Gold American Express Card (categories, the $50,000 yearly cap, fees, offer and its dates, redemption values), checked November 14, 2026.
3. Milesopedia, Amex Cobalt 5x categories: the eligible merchant list (which stores count and which do not take Amex), updated November 7, 2026.