American Express Canada launched a new no fee card today that earns Membership Rewards Points which happen to be the most valuable points in the Canadian market today! That card is the Choice Card from American Express TM and it comes with a welcome bonus is 10,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend $1,000 in the first three months. It looks like it doesn’t really offer any insurance so this is a card meant for earning those valuable points without worrying about annual fees. I have reached out to American Express to find out if these are Membership Rewards First (Platinum Card), Membership Rewards (Gold Rewards Card) or Select points (Cobalt/Business Edge) or even something else as I can’t find the details on Amex’s site. That being said the way everything is worded on the landing page leads me to believe these will not be MR First or regular MR which means you can’t convert to Aeroplan, British Airways or their other airline partners. There is also no mention of converting to hotels like the Cobalt Card’s MR Select program so I’m wondering if they have made a third Membership Rewards level for this card.
Latest Update: December 10 9am MT – We have further confirmation from Amex that the Choice Card falls into the Membership Rewards Select tier (no Choice like we mentioned yesterday). This is great news as this means you can convert the points from this card to Marriott Bonvoy, making it the only no fee card in Canada that you can do so with. This also means this is a great card that can be used as an entry to American Express and the best card in Canada – the American Express Cobalt Card since the latter is also a Membership Rewards Select earning card. If you are new to Amex and are not approved for the Cobalt Card this new card can be considered a stepping stone for building that history with Amex so that you can get the Cobalt Card and keep the points earned when you do since they are the same type.
The card earns 1 Membership Rewards point per dollar spent on eligible purchases which means it provides a 1% return at a minimum for travel (can go as high as 2% when using Fixed Points for Travel – Amex has confirmed this card has the option) if this card has access to the Fixed Points for Travel program – I can’t see that it does or does not anywhere) or a 0.7% return as a cash back return for Use Points for Purchases.
Here are the details of the card as provided by Amex:
- Choice has no annual fee
- Cardmembers can earn 1 Membership Rewards® point for every dollar in eligible purchases charged to the Card.
- Cardmembers can also use their Membership Rewards points for eligible travel (i.e. flights, hotels and car rentals) and other purchases charged to their Card through the Use Points For Purchases program
o Cardmembers can link their Membership Rewards points account to their Amazon.ca account and shop with points at Amazon.ca - Cardmembers get access to a world of rewards. From travel, shopping and entertainment experiences, you can redeem points for a statement credit towards eligible purchases charged to your Card.
- With American Express® Experiences and Front Of The Line®, Choice Cardmembers can get access to premium virtual content including, dining, retail, wellness and entertainment and can also enjoy presale ticket access to some of the most in-demand concerts, theatre production, dining events and more in Canada
- Throughout the year, Amex Cardmembers can also receive a variety of Amex Offers for special online and in-store shopping deals at top retailers across the country.
You
may also recall this isn’t the first Choice Card from American Express!
They used to have a pair of Choice cards that were circa 2011/2012 or
so and discontinued quite a few years ago. If you are one of the grandfathered cardmembers you will not be able to get this card. American Express did tell me that old ChoicePlus cardmembers were transferred over to the Cobalt Card so there is a possibility those members may be able to get in on the bonus if they want to get this card.