Shop Canada's Best American Express Credit Cards

American Express Credit Cards

One of the elements that attracts clients to American Express Canada is the versatility of their offerings. From lucrative introductory offers to the ability to collect reward points, to say that these credit cards have something for everyone would be no understatement.

Here is a look at Amex Canada’s current roster of credit cards and what they offer.

Card	Interest Rate	Annual Fee	Rewards	Special Offers
American Express Essential Credit Card	8.99%	$0	-	1.99% introductory rate on balance transfers for 6 months
American Express Air Miles Credit Card	19.99%	$0	1 Air Miles reward mile for every $15 spent at Air Miles partners	500 welcome bonus miles
American Express SimplyCash Card	19.99%	$0	1.25% cash back on all card purchases	2.5% cash back for the first 3 months
American Express Blue Sky Credit Card	19.99%	$0	1.25 Blue Sky Points for every $1 in purchases charged to the card	10,000 Blue Sky welcome points
American Express Air Miles Platinum Card	19.99%	$65	1 Air Miles reward mile for every $10 spent in card purchases	2,000 bonus Air Miles reward miles in the first 3 months
American Express SimplyCash Preferred Card	19.99%	$99	2% cash back on all card purchases	5% cash back for the first 6 months
American Express Cobalt Credit Card	19.99%	$120	5 points on eligible purchases	30,000 Membership Rewards welcome points
Mariott Bonvoy Business American Express Card	19.99%	$150	3 Mariott Bonvoy points for every $1 spent on eligible purchases	60,000 welcome Mariott Bonvoy points
American Express Air Miles Reserve Credit Card	19.99%	$299	1 Air Miles reward mile for every $10 in card purchases	2,400 bonus Air Miles reward miles
American Express AeroplanPlus Reserve Card	19.99%	$899	1.25 Aeroplan Miles for every $1 in card purchases	50,000 welcome bonus Aeroplan Miles
Mariott Bonvoy American Express Card	19.99%	$120	5 Mariott Bonvoy points for every $1 spent on eligible purchases	60,000 welcome Mariott Bonvoy points
American Express AeroplanPlus Card	30%	$60	1 Aeroplan Mile for every $1 in card purchases	5,000 welcome bonus Aeroplan Miles
American Express AeroplanPlus Gold Card	30%	$120	1 Aeroplan Mile for every $1 in card purchases up to $10,000	15,000 bonus Aeroplan Miles
American Express Gold Rewards Card	30%	$150	2 points for every $1 spent on eligible travel	25,000 welcome Membership Rewards points
American Express Business Gold Rewards Card	30%	$250	-	-
American Express AeroplanPlus Platinum Card	30%	$499	1.25 Aeroplan Miles for every $1 charged to the card	40,000 bonus Aeroplan Miles
American Express Platinum Card	30%	$699	1 Membership Rewards point for every $1 charged to the card	50,000 bonus Membership Rewards points

 

American Express Benefits and Rewards Programs

Many credit card providers offer rewards programs, and American Express Canada is no exception. Depending on the type of card you have, you can earn American Express Membership Rewards points which can be exchanged for a variety of products and services. Points can be redeemed for merchandise available through the company’s rewards catalogue, gift cards to Amex Canada’s many retail partners, or even be put towards a fabulous dream vacation.

Speaking of vacations, American Express Canada’s Fixed Points Travel Program allows you to use your points to book flights and save money on travel within Canada or to other destinations worldwide. They can be used for economy or business class seats on any airline at any time, even up to the day before departure. In addition, some Amex Canada cardholders are eligible for certain travel insurance benefits; check Amex’s website for more details.

To redeem your reward points for travel, simply login to your account at americanexpress.com, search for and confirm the flight and dates, and redeem a fixed amount of points to save money on the base ticket price. The base price is the total before fees, taxes and other associated carrier surcharges.

If you are an Aeroplan or Air Miles collector, your Amex Canada card can help you earn more reward miles every time you shop. New Amex Canada members are often eligible for bonus miles upon joining. For added flexibility, you can also transfer some of your Membership Rewards points to your Aeroplan account at a one-to-one basis.

Earn more with American Express Canada’s partners

Amex Canada has partnered with many prominent retailers and service providers to help you earn more membership points. If you shop at a participating retailer, you’ll earn one point for every dollar you spend. You can further increase your earning potential by choosing five places where you can earn double the points with every purchase. These five places can be set by logging into your account on Amex’s website.

From hotel chains to car rentals and everything in between, Amex Canada’s partners can help you earn more. The majority of these retailers also offer gift cards and certificates that can be purchased with a predetermined amount of American Express Membership points.

Business Credit Cards

If you are the owner of a business and you travel frequently for work, American Express Canada has just the credit card for you. The Business series of charge and credit cards are designed with all sizes of businesses in mind and allow holders to earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel and selected purchases.

There are many benefits associated with Amex Canada’s business cards. The cards come with a set credit limit for purchases, making it easier to track monthly expenditures. Holders of Small Business cards do not have to repay their entire balance per month and can carry it over to the following billing cycle, if necessary. A minimum payment is required, however, and unpaid balances will be charged interest.

For larger businesses, Amex Canada offers the Corporate credit card series. Designed with the senior executive in mind, these cards provide access to airport lounges around the world and a $100 airline fee credit. You will also receive expense management reporting to help keep your card up-to-date with fraud protection, access to American Express @ Work management tools, and much more.

Corporate customers with Business cards can also apply for Employee cards. With these cards, credit limits can easily be set so employees can seamlessly make work-related purchases. Executives can obtain rewards for employee purchases, receive real-time alerts on all purchases, set individual credit limits and easily track all account activity.

Business, Small Business and Corporate cardholders also have several options available to them for travel. By visiting Amex Canada’s website, you will find tools for optimizing travel management, such as finding the best rates and booking services for accommodations and air and ground transportation.

Account Protection

Should you ever encounter any issues with your account, or if it becomes compromised, be sure to let Amex Canada know about it as soon as possible. Visit the Identity Defence section of their website to learn more about account protection, or call 1-800-869-3016.

You can also apply for Amex Account Protector Ultimate. This unique function protects a balance of up to $20,000 on your credit card should you ever experience any life-altering circumstances. Its features include:

• The ability to help make payments of up to $20,000 on your credit card in the event of loss of employment, injury, illness or death.
• Up to two monthly payment benefits during life cycle events, such as marriage, retirement or purchasing a new home.

The monthly premium for Amex Account Protection Ultimate is 99¢ per $100 of the current month’s outstanding balance plus any applicable taxes. The example below shows how much your premium would be with an outstanding balance of $1,000 on your card, in which case, your monthly premium would be $9.90 plus taxes.

$1,000 x ($0.99 ÷ 100) = $9.90

 

It’s also important to note that the rate of the premium decreases to 69¢ on the next statement following your 70th birthday. Assuming a balance of $1,000, the monthly premium would be reduced to $6.90 plus taxes.

$1,000 × $0.69 ÷ $100 = $6.90

 

History of American Express

The American Express story began in Buffalo, New York back in 1850. It was founded as a merger of the express mail companies owned by John Henry Butterfield, Henry Wells and William G. Fargo. The latter two are better known as the men behind financial services giant Wells Fargo. Several years after its founding, American Express expanded into money orders, which effectively began their transition into a financial services juggernaut. The company would later move its headquarters from Buffalo to New York City in 1874.

In 1890, American Express launched their first-ever traveller’s cheques after then-president J.C. Fargo returned from a European vacation where his letters American letters of credit were not accepted anywhere. This left Fargo feeling frustrated, as he was unable to obtain any cash to cover his trip-related expenditures. The traveller’s cheques were made available to the general public the following year.

Keeping in line with its mandate to provide express mail services, American Express eventually began a railroad express business to coincide with the rise of railways across North America. However, this branch of the company was discontinued in the winter of 1917 after the U.S. government took over and consolidated the country’s rail systems to assist with World War I.

Early American Express Credit Cards

American Express’s first credit card offerings were several years in the making. The idea was considered in 1946 and efforts to introduce a travel charge card began to take shape four years later, when the Diners Club card was first introduced. By the end of 1957, the company took the first steps into officially launching a card of its own, which was scheduled to take place on October 1, 1958. However, a sharp increase in demand led them to issue at least 250,000 cards to their customers well before the official launch. The card’s initial annual fee of just $6 is a far cry from the credit card fees of today, which can sometimes be several hundred dollars.

The Amex Gold and Platinum Cards, now staples of the company’s higher-end offerings and prestige programs, were released in 1966 and 1984, respectively. With an annual fee of $250 – $550 in today’s market – the card was billed as the ultimate in exclusive credit cards at the time and was initially offered by special invitation only. The Optima Card joined the Amex family in 1987, and was the first credit card that did not require cardholders to pay their entire balance off by the end of the month.

American Express Financial Services

In addition to its array of credit cards and traveller’s cheques, Amex was also a financial services provider. The company introduced investment banking services in 1984 when it acquired Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb. The merged company, then known as Shearson Lehman Brothers/American Express, would last a decade until Amex divested itself of its banking division. Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb was spun off into a separate company that was renamed Lehman Brothers Holdings. This company would remain active until September 13, 2008, when it officially filed for bankruptcy protection. It was one of many victims of the 2007-2008 U.S. financial crisis.

What began as an express mail company is now one of the world’s biggest names in credit cards. For over 150 years, American Express has been one of consumers’ first choices for credit and charge cards. Known for its partnership with many renowned loyalty programs, such as Air Miles, the company affectionately known as Amex has a line of credit cards that offers something for everyone.