The keeper card series makes the case for why specific cards deserves an ongoing spot in your wallet despite any annual fees or alternative options. While I often write for specifically for business owners who may have high expenses, this article applies to Canadians at just about every spending level.
What Makes a Keeper - Earn Rates
One of the first considerations in my mind for a keeper card is market leading earn rates on common spend categories. While sign up bonus (SUB) are a common target for point collectors (see my article on SUB Hunting), getting the most from your organic spending patterns when there isn't a SUB to target, will help pad out your point stash. If you can find the right cards to use for the right purchases, you can dramatically boost your earning without having to spend anything extra.
The first step is to take stock of the character of your typical ongoing spending. How much of it is on food? What about travel? Subscriptions? Business services?
Note that not every card company defines their categories in the same way, for example they may give a bonus on just grocery instead of food (grocery plus restaurants etc), or just hotels and car rentals instead of travel. And some spending would fail to fall into any category Ex. Car insurance, which we would call "uncategorized spend" which would earn at a cards "base rate".
Pick your biggest 1 or 2 categories and look for cards that reward that spend with high multiplier on a reward currency that you value.
Amex Cobalt
Food and gas are some of the most common high spend categories, especially in Canada these days, and that's why the Amex Cobalt card is my favourite example of a keeper card for big earning, if you're unsure of Amex, check out my Why Amex article.
With a market leading 5x Amex Membership Reward points (MR) per dollar at grocery, restaurant, and food delivery services, and a reasonable target value of 2 cents per point (cpp) when used for travel and a guaranteed 1cpp if you'd rather cash back, this card can get you 5-10% back on one of the expenses we all have every month. This 5x earn rate compares very favourably to all of the popular Cash Back cards, and while it caps at $2500/mo in spending, this cap is actually higher than most competitor cards which drop their earning after $20-25k per year. Furthermore, many of those cashback cards only have an elevated rate on groceries but not other food categories like bars, delivery or coffee shops. And if 5x on food still isn't enough, it also earns an impressive 3x on subscriptions (netflix, spotify etc), 2x on gas, and 1x on everything else. Tip: Some convenience stores code as food on the Amex system, so if you fill up and go inside and grab a snack, instead of earning 2x you might earn 5x on the purchase.
What if I Change My Mind
Sometimes people worry that they'll regret the decision to get a new card, but Amex makes it incredibly easy to dip your toes in. The default sign up bonus is 1250 MR points per month you spend $750 or more. With a cash back redemption this is worth $12.50 and almost completely balances out the $12.99 monthly fee.
So if you spend $750 or more a month in food, subscriptions and gas, its worth trying for the first year to see how much you come out ahead. Anyone who is on the fence, reach out to me to chat about it and I can help you figure out if it makes sense, as there are ways to get even more out of this card if you're motivated (even ways to benefit from it with stores that normally don't take Amex). To sweeten the deal, anyone who decides to use my referral link and reaches out to me to confirm doing so will get additional support. My referral link is always at least as good of a sign up offer as the one publically available from Amex, and my added support makes it much better.
So give it a try, get a feel for where it's accepted and how you can use it. The fee is monthly not annual and the rewards easily pay for it so it's the lowest risk and best earner out there. Personally though, I don't think you'll want to cancel when you save up the points for the first year and see where it can take you.
Only $750 a month of your normal spending using the right tricks will get you enough points for a lie flat business class flight to Lisbon... Where do you want to go?
Conclusion
If you're a Canadian who eats food, has subscriptions, and/or buys gas and might want to enjoy luxury travel in the future, the Amex Cobalt is a clear choice for a keeper card. Even if you decide to use it for cash back, it's high earn rate and ease of implementation are the foundation of your starter earning strategy and when combined with an Aeroplan or Avion card you have an incredibly versatile 2 card setup. Questions or concerns? Looking for help? Reach out for a consult to find out how to make this strategy work for you.
Referral links
With its best in market 5x multiplier, Amex Cobalt is a powerful point earner that can get you on flying for free 5 times faster than much of the competition. Sign up using my referral for the best public offer. Combine your new Cobalt with a TD Aeroplan Visa, available with a waived annual fee for a limited time (or ongoing with an ultimate or professional account at TD). Together these form a low cost sustainable earning duo that balances power with ease.
If you're on the fence, or wondering about other cards reach out to me for a free consult, and if you sign up for a card through my link, let me know and I will walk you through advanced tricks and personalized advice to help you get the maximum benefit both from earning and redeeming points - getting your travel journey going faster than you ever thought possible.
Check out my Keeper Cards series to see other cards worth exploring
Disclaimer
These posts are all made in good intentions and are to the best of my ability accurate at the time of writing. That said, the official terms and conditions and current sign up bonuses should be verified and interpreted in the context of your personal financial situation.
