Credit cards issued by American Express Canada
Cards American Express issues itself, ranked by what each one is worth for your spending, after fees.
Want American Express cards from other banks too? Best American Express credit cards in Canada
Card details updated November 9, 2026 How we rank
What’s in each?
- Light:
- Groceries $400, restaurants $100, gas $100, recurring bills $100, everything else (base rate) $250, foreign currency $50
- Typical:
- Groceries $800, restaurants $250, gas $250, recurring bills $250, travel $150, everything else (base rate) $650, foreign currency $150
- Big:
- Groceries $1,200, restaurants $500, gas $400, recurring bills $400, travel $500, everything else (base rate) $1,600, foreign currency $400
- Yours:
- Your own amounts, saved on this device only
Not sure which kind of card you need? Help me choose
14 American Express Canada credit cards, ranked for you
Ranked by value in year one at $2,500 a month, after fees. How we rank
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Ranked 1. American Express® Gold Rewards Card
American Express Expert Score 7.8 out of 10. Good
Worth in year one $1,885Then each year $6153.4% back on travel, flights and hotels, 1.7% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- $1,020 you’d get The full offer. Up to 60,000 Membership Rewards points.
- Annual fee
- $0 first year Then $250 a year
Income rule not listed
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Ranked 2. American Express Cobalt™
American Express Expert Score 8.9 out of 10. Excellent
Worth in year one $1,651Then each year $1,3968.5% back on restaurants, groceries and food delivery, 1.7% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- $255 you’d get The full offer. Up to 15,000 Membership Rewards points.
- Annual fee
- $191.88 a year
Income rule not listed
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Ranked 3. American Express® Aeroplan® Reserve Card
American Express Expert Score 7.6 out of 10. Good
Worth in year one $1,596Then each year $3966% back on flights, 2.5% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- $1,200 you’d get All of year one’s offer. Up to 85,000 Aeroplan points.
- Annual fee
- $599 a year
Income rule not listed
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Read the full review: American Express® Aeroplan® Reserve Card
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Ranked 4. American Express® Business Gold Rewards Card
American Express Expert Score 8.1 out of 10. Very good
Worth in year one $1,561Then each year $3711.7% back on everything
- Welcome offer
- $1,190 you’d get The full offer. Up to 70,000 Membership Rewards points.
- Annual fee
- $199 a year
Income rule not listed
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Read the full review: American Express® Business Gold Rewards Card
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Best welcome offers right now
What you’d actually get at $2,500 a month.
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American Express® Aeroplan® Reserve Card
$1,200 you’d get
Up to 85,000 Aeroplan points.
All of year one’s offer at your spending
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American Express® Business Gold Rewards Card
$1,190 you’d get
Up to 70,000 Membership Rewards points.
The full offer at your spending
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American Express® Gold Rewards Card
$1,020 you’d get
Up to 60,000 Membership Rewards points.
The full offer at your spending
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American Express® Aeroplan® Card
$700 you’d get
Up to 45,000 Aeroplan points.
All of year one’s offer at your spending
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Marriott Bonvoy™ Business American Express® Card
$560 you’d get
Up to 80,000 Bonvoy points.
All of year one’s offer at your spending
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Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card
$480 you’d get
Up to 70,000 Bonvoy points.
All of year one’s offer at your spending
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Ranked 5. American Express® Aeroplan® Card
American Express Expert Score 8.0 out of 10. Very good
Worth in year one $1,270Then each year $5704% back on flights, 2% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- $700 you’d get All of year one’s offer. Up to 45,000 Aeroplan points.
- Annual fee
- $120 a year
Income rule not listed
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Ranked 6. Marriott Bonvoy™ Business American Express® Card
American Express Expert Score 7.2 out of 10. Good
Worth in year one $1,012Then each year $4524% back on hotels, 1.6% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- $560 you’d get All of year one’s offer. Up to 80,000 Bonvoy points.
- Annual fee
- $150 a year
Income rule not listed
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Read the full review: Marriott Bonvoy™ Business American Express® Card
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Ranked 7. Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card
American Express Expert Score 7.7 out of 10. Good
Worth in year one $900Then each year $4204% back on hotels, 1.6% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- $480 you’d get All of year one’s offer. Up to 70,000 Bonvoy points.
- Annual fee
- $120 a year
Income rule not listed
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Read the full review: Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card
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Ranked 8. SimplyCash® Preferred Card from American Express
American Express Expert Score 8.2 out of 10. Very good
Worth in year one $852Then each year $8524% back on groceries and gas, 2% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- None listed
- Annual fee
- $119.88 a year
Needs $15,000 personal income
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Read the full review: SimplyCash® Preferred Card from American Express
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Ranked 9. American Express® Green card
American Express Expert Score 7.7 out of 10. Good
Worth in year one $635Then each year $4653.4% back on hotels, 1.7% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- $170 you’d get The full offer. Up to 10,000 Membership Rewards points.
- Annual fee
- $0 No annual fee
Income rule not listed
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Ranked 10. SimplyCash® Card from American Express
American Express Expert Score 8.2 out of 10. Very good
Worth in year one $425Then each year $4252% back on groceries and gas, 1.3% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- None listed
- Annual fee
- $0 No annual fee
Needs $15,000 personal income
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Read the full review: SimplyCash® Card from American Express
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Ranked 11. American Express® Aeroplan® Business Reserve Card
American Express Expert Score 6.6 out of 10. Fair
Worth in year one $351Then each year $3516% back on flights, 2.5% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- $0 at your spending Needs more spending. Up to 90,000 Aeroplan points.
- Annual fee
- $599 a year
Income rule not listed
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Read the full review: American Express® Aeroplan® Business Reserve Card
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Ranked 12. Business Platinum Card® from American Express
American Express Expert Score 7.7 out of 10. Good
Worth in year one $99Then each year $992.1% back on everything
- Welcome offer
- $0 at your spending Needs more spending. Up to 120,000 Membership Rewards points.
- Annual fee
- $799 a year
Income rule not listed
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Read the full review: Business Platinum Card® from American Express
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Ranked 13. American Express® Platinum Card®
American Express Expert Score 8.6 out of 10. Excellent
Worth in year one −$7Then each year −$73.4% back on restaurants, food delivery and travel, 1.7% back on everything else
- Welcome offer
- $0 at your spending Needs more spending. Up to 100,000 Membership Rewards points.
- Annual fee
- $799 a year
Needs $40,000 personal income
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Ranked 14. American Express Essential™ Credit Card
American Express Expert Score 7.6 out of 10. Good
Earns no rewards Built for a lower interest rate: 12.99% on purchases. See it ranked under Low interest
- Annual fee
- $25 a year
Needs $15,000 personal income
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Read the full review: American Express Essential™ Credit Card
Showing 14 of 14 cards
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How we rank cards
The list is math only: one set of rules, worked out for the choices you made.
What Year one and Every year mean
Year one is what a card is worth in its first year at your spending: the rewards it earns, plus any welcome offer your spending would reach, minus the first year’s annual fee.
Every year after leaves out the welcome offer and takes off the full annual fee, so a big offer can’t hide a weak earn rate.
We rank by the one you pick. When two cards come out the same, the one with the higher score goes first. Values are estimates, rounded to the dollar.
What’s in each spending choice
Each choice is an example month of spending, split across the kinds of spending cards reward differently. Pick the one closest to yours.
- Light, $1,000 a month: Groceries $400, restaurants $100, gas $100, recurring bills $100, everything else (base rate) $250, foreign currency $50
- Typical, $2,500 a month: Groceries $800, restaurants $250, gas $250, recurring bills $250, travel $150, everything else (base rate) $650, foreign currency $150
- Big, $5,000 a month: Groceries $1,200, restaurants $500, gas $400, recurring bills $400, travel $500, everything else (base rate) $1,600, foreign currency $400
How we value points
Each points program gets one value per point, taken from the program’s own valuation. Cards in the same program use the same value, so two cards that earn the same points are judged the same way.
- Aeroplan: 2 cents a point
- American Express Membership Rewards: 1.7 cents a point
- BMO Rewards: 0.67 cents a point
- British Airways Club: 2 cents a point
- Cathay Asia Miles: 1.5 cents a point
- CIBC Aventura: 1 cents a point
- Desjardins BONUSDOLLARS: 100 cents a point
- Flying Blue: 1.9 cents a point
- Marriott Bonvoy: 0.8 cents a point
- moi Rewards: 0.8 cents a point
- More Rewards: 0.2 cents a point
- National Bank a la carte Rewards: 0.9 cents a point
- PC Optimum: 0.1 cents a point
- RBC Avion: 1.7 cents a point
- Scene+: 1 cents a point
- TD Rewards: 0.5 cents a point
- Triangle Rewards: 100 cents a point
- United MileagePlus: 1.6 cents a point
- VIPorter: 1.5 cents a point
- WestJet Rewards: 1 cents a point
A card whose points we can’t value yet shows its points and sorts after the cards we can value.
What Low interest adds up
Low interest ranks by what a year of carrying a balance would cost: interest at the card’s purchase rate, plus the annual fee. It assumes the balance stays the same all year and leaves out rewards and welcome offers.
A balance transfer offer shows on the card when it has one, but it doesn’t change the order.
Does pay change the order?
No. The order comes only from the math above. We get paid when you apply through some links, and a bank can pay to show a card in a spot marked Sponsored. Pay never moves a card in the ranked list or changes its score.
Help me choose
Four quick questions, then a list that fits. Your answers only set the list. We don’t keep them.
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Cards by network
Rates, fees and offers come from the card issuers and change often. We work to keep this page accurate and current, but it may contain mistakes, so always check the issuer’s terms before you apply. Values are estimates for the spending you picked, rounded to the nearest dollar.
Spot something wrong? We’ll check it with the bank. Suggest a correction