Amex 2021 changes to their card line in Canada combo thread

Pure speculation, but I don't think we'll see any nerfing of current AMEX reward earnings. Just not a good time to nerf any sort of travel benefits right now (which is what AMEX is good for) given that travel is still rebounding from the pandemic.

What we'll probably see is a reallocation of earning categories to those that more resemble our current lives (i.e., eat out/take out/restaurants/groceries/gas, etc.) while at the same time keeping travel benefits. I have a feeling the current Amex Offers (which are pretty aggressive) were done to give us an idea of what they'll be doing. Definitely won't be earning 10x-13x MR on groceries, but something like that at a lower level (2-3x) will probably come out.

AMEX doesn't make card changes as aggressively as BMO does, and they seem to do them by actually thinking them through.

Edit: https://www.americanexpress.com/en-ca/s ... card/faqs/ Cobalt Changes.

Amex platinum points going down? Or up? What's the rumor lol

shylok wrote: ↑ Amex platinum points going down? Or up? What's the rumor lol

Don’t worry. If Cobalt is up, all cards above (Gold, Platinum) will be up to justify that.

I just heard from an AMEX insider that the Gold card is being discontinued in a week. That's unfortunately all I was told. Does anyone know more about this?

Jon Lai wrote: ↑ I just heard from an AMEX insider that the Gold card is being discontinued in a week. That's unfortunately all I was told. Does anyone know more about this?

If you believed they put a man on the moon
Man on the moon
If you believe there's nothing up his sleeve
Then nothing is cool

Jon Lai wrote: ↑ I just heard from an AMEX insider that the Gold card is being discontinued in a week. That's unfortunately all I was told. Does anyone know more about this?

Personal Gold or Business Gold?
Wow….

Why do we need another thread?

Ricky at P.O.T. had this Amex Gold Card rumour update today (July 11):

FUTURE OF THE AMEX GOLD REWARDS CARD

With all the amazing sign-up bonuses on the American Express personal travel cards, as well as the American Express Cobalt Card now earning points that are transferrable to airlines, we have to wonder about the place of the American Express Gold Reward Card in the lineup.
Already, the refer-a-friend links for Amex Gold cardholders references that July 21, 2021 is the final date for the current refer-a-friend offer. Usually, this means that the offer is imminently changing as of that date.
As confirmed by other sites this weekend, the Amex Gold is set to be decommissioned altogether and discontinued to new applicants, with July 21 appearing to be a likely date for this change.

Current cardmembers will most likely be "grandfathered", so if you've never held the Amex Gold before and would like to earn 30,000 MR points for an annual fee of $150 as part of the current signup bonus, now's the time to apply.

Expect further updates on this over the upcoming week.

PTMBAA wrote: ↑ Why do we need another thread?

Well, my thinking is that the other Amex threads are card specific, tracking offers and changes on each card type over the years, whereas this thread is only about the current 2021 major shake up going on at Amex and how it relates to their card line up as a whole.
One would have to read the Gold Card thread, the Platinum Card thread, the My Choice/Green Card thread, etc to get a picture of what is happening, and this thread provides an overview of the changes across card types.

Kiraly wrote: ↑ Sounds like the Green Card will be a credit card, and not a charge card like it always had been before, and still is where it is still issued. I wonder what will happen to Canadians who still have grandfathered Green charge cards.

Yes, Green Card in Canada will be a credit card as it is taking over from My Choice, which is a credit card., not a charge card. I don't know if they will still allow the older grandfathered Green Cards to still be charge cards or convert them to credit cards.

In the U.S., Green and Gold are both hybrid charge/credit cards that allow one to pay full balance monthly or revolve either in a standard way or with an installment plan. If one only wants a charge card one can 'deactivate' the revolving credit card function, meaning the balance is due in full each month. This allows people who want a charge card to have it, and people who want a credit card to have it. Whereas a standard MasterCard gives one the ability to opt to pay the bill in full each month or not, in the U.S. with former charge cards Amex seems to make more of a distinction by allowing one to opt in and out out of the credit aspect. I have no idea if this concept will make its way to Canada or not.

In the US terms and conditions:
When it comes to paying your bill, you have options. You can:
Pay your bill in full
Pay the minimum amount due and use the Pay Over Time feature to carry a balance with interest
Use Plan It to select large purchases and split them into monthly payments with a fixed fee
There is a limit on the total amount that you can carry as a balance or move into a Plan. Any purchases beyond your limit need to be paid in full when your bill is due

The Pay Over Time feature on your account has two settings: Active and Inactive. At Account opening, the Pay Over Time feature on your Account is set to Active. This means all eligible charges made on your account will automatically be added to your Pay Over Time balance. If the Pay Over Time feature is active at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on the transaction date provided by the merchant or on the date when an eligible Annual Membership Fee is charged to your Account, then we will automatically add the charge to your Pay Over Time balance. The transaction date provided by the merchant may differ from the date you made the purchase if, for example, there is a delay in the merchant submitting the transaction to us or if the merchant uses the shipping date as the transaction date. If the Pay Over Time feature is inactive at 8 p.m. Eastern Time, no new charges will be automatically added to your Pay Over Time balance. To view or change your Pay Over Time setting, visit your online account or call the number on the back of your Card.

August 16th is the date that:

1. Cobalt changes will take effect.

2. My Choice will be rebranded as 'Green Card'.

No word yet on when exactly Gold Card will be changed (or discontinued as the rumour mill is suggesting). It may be grandfathered for existing users, and just not available to new applications. I seem to recall in the U.S, market that Gold Card was removed from the Amex website for new applications a while back for about a year, then re-launched again to new applicants with a new earning structure and a metal card in gold or rose gold. So, if Gold Card is discontinued in Canada, it might be in order to have time to revamp it for relaunch at a later time. In Canada this is what happened with Green Card - it was discontinued years ago, and now is coming back as a relaunch. I think Gold Card is too much of an iconic Amex product for them to discontinue it permanently.

Maybe the 'green' movement in Canada played a role in bringing back Green Card for a new generation - when Amex changed from their 1958 launch purple colour to green around 1969, it was to make it look like money (the money card) as U.S. currency is green. Today they are saying Green Card is made with 99% recycled plastic and is thus a 'green' card.

Gold Card is the oldest Amex card still around as I recall it launched in 1968 as the top range Amex card when the regular Amex card was still purple. Green came along a year or two later as a relaunch of the standard purple coloured card, and Green and Gold were the standard and premier Amex cards from 1970 through 1984, then Platinum Card launched making it a three card ladder, which remained until 2008 (in Canada) when Centurion Card launched, giving us a 4-card ladder.

Does anyone know the CPA Business Gold invite code? This would be the absolute last chance to sign up for it so I might as well sign up and try to hit the MSR.

CPABGR118 Isn't working.
Now that we are at the very end of the Amex Gold life cycle, I would really appreciate it if someone could share it.

Since the Personal Gold card is set to be discontinued, the Business Gold will likely have the same fate. Discontinued but grandfathered. Hopefully Amex is generous enough to grandfather the 2x on 3 suppliers you selected.

Let's assume that the Gold is discontinued. Would it still be eligible to receive the Amex offers?

jdithk wrote: ↑ Let's assume that the Gold is discontinued. Would it still be eligible to receive the Amex offers?

Most likely yes. There is just no more new card members.

Jon Lai wrote: ↑I just heard from an AMEX insider that the Gold card is being discontinued in a week. That's unfortunately all I was told. Does anyone know more about this?

EdisonL299 wrote: ↑
Personal Gold or Business Gold?
Wow….

Since we're still in speculation phase, I'm gonna guess personal first...and business to follow "one day". My guess is that Cobalt would essentially "replace" the Personal Gold. We might see the Edge recalibrated to be positioned in lieu of the Business Gold.

Sort of off topic: it seems we are going to see some exciting changes in Canada credit card market:MBNA has changed its rewards recently, now AMEX and we will see new Costco card probably in September around. Hopefully we will see more competition. First half of 2021 was sort of boring