msat

I wonder what sort of sign up reward they'll offer..??

keitherson

Who the hell cares about the bonuses.

1. Will this get me into Delta Sky Clubs
2. Will this get me into Centurion Lounges
3. Does it come with Priority Pass
4. Does it come with Plaza Premium Network
5. Does it come with complimentary hotel/rental car statuses
6. Does anybody really give a hoot about their obvious attempts to get millennial business?

Low Roller

Lots of people care about the bonuses. I agree that it won't replace my biz platinum if it doesn't have good lounge access, but I'd certainly get one if the sign-up/referral bonuses are good enough to make the annual fee worthwhile.

MasterGeek

You can sign-up for the Platinum card to get those benefits. This card is not meant to replace it

And I give a hoot about AMEX getting millenial business, because it means more cardholders out there which would entice more merchants to accept AMEX which would make it easier to earn MR points and also reach the welcome bonus minimum spend requires for all AMEX cards

Low Roller

Good point. I love Amex and would ditch my Visa completely if Amex were more universally accepted. It's great to get 5x points on groceries and dining but the best grocery stores around here don't accept it and neither do most restaurants in this area.

MasterGeek

There might be more AMEX accepting restaurants near you than you'd think. Find your nearby AMEX accepting restaurants and businesses with this AMEX online map tool:
https://maps.americanexpress.com/ca/cards-welcome

Low Roller

No, there are a few and I use it when possible, but there are alot more places that I like to go that don't accept it. Thanks for the link, but the list it generated for my area included several businesses that are no longer in operation or multiple entries for the same business.

keitherson

haha sometimes you shouldn't even ask if a business takes AMEX because you know what their answer will be

Also guys do you know what other card is cobalt-colored? 3 letters. Has a C, S, and R.

anyways despite me being critical I am fully supportive of AMEX coming out with more products and destroying the Canadian banks with their absolute craptastic products and service

KDS777

Interesting, but not for me. And I don't see the point to it actually, except that it is a pure "marketing" effort, it's not like they need "another" offering in their already saturated list of cards for you to choose from.

I have an AMEX platinum card and their Simply Cash card, and haven't gotten any news about this one yet. Geez, they send me 1-2 promotional emails every other day it seems.

As to AMEX acceptance, I rarely find merchants saying they don't take it here in Calgary anymore on the same frequency that they used to, and when I do get that response, I educate them that AMEX has changed their posture regarding interchange fees and that they should call their POS terminal rep. Got my dentist hooked up when they told me they didn't take AMEX. Cited a 5% discount rate as the reason (unverified). He called and they got signed up at under 2%. They matched his VISA rate.

markandrew

My prognosis - it will be placed between Gold and platinum in price point. This is why they removed FYF from Gold Card so that there would not be such a huge nexus between Gold and Cobalt. Since the target group is millennials, I would guess $299, to justify a $399 there will have to be significant tangential benefits such as lounge access whereas the card seems to be leaning towards earn rather than perks.

If Amex is negotiating with Marriott, then the card will be part of their strategy of where SPG cardholders will go unless the Marriott deal is tempting. They have shored up their numbers with the sign up bonus now they have to tell Marriott the card offerings must be worth keeping.

Initial sign up needs to be enticing, but the public offer on Platinum is 50,000 so I will say 40,000.

I also think the card will become part of referral programme but maybe not straight away unless it only allows referral to the same card. Why would Amex reward Platinum cardholders or Biz Plat cardholders for signing people up to a card that Amex hopes there will be buzz about anyway.

I do wonder about the MR transfer partners. 5 points per $ on grocery = 2.5 SPG if that were an option, that is a huge bonus over the SPG branded card. I cannot see Aeroplan having and reluctance whatsoever to selling any number of points to Amex given its predicament.

Oh the anticipation Lets hope it is not a disappointment!

jix

Really? I thought this would be a lower end card given there was no mention of travel benefits like lounge access or travel credit in the video. Other cards in the 300 fee range all have lounge access and priority benefits.

Also, cobalt is a pretty cheap metal no? Much lower than that of gold and platinum.

MasterGeek

Sweet! I'm gonna be educating merchants too about the actual AMEX acceptance fees. One restaurant claimed AMEX would charge 11% when I inquired about why they won't take AMEX

KDS777

Every little bit helps right ?

FWIW, until this June, I worked for a large multi-national North American software company. One of our products was an integrated POS system with our programs. So, this is, from my end anyways, not second hand information, as I have set it up myself.

Low Roller

Yeah, when I asked a Giant Tiger cashier whether they took Amex, she lectured me on how expensive it was and how it would raise prices so much that they wouldn't be able to compete. If I hadn't been so shocked by her tone (how dare I even ask about Amex), I would have mentioned that their two biggest competitors (Walmart and Dollarama) both take Amex and seem to be doing ok.

newfbc

In the early 2000's AMEX had a Cobalt card in the US. It was marketed to Tweens.

Ron.