Amex Cobalt vs TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite: Which Card Earns More for Your Spending?
Both cards are spokes of best credit cards in Canada. The full Cobalt terms are the Cobalt review. The rest of the Aeroplan lineup is best Aeroplan credit cards. Do not compare welcome bonuses in this matchup. They move, and many applicants are excluded. Compare the card you would still hold next September.
- Choose Cobalt if eligible Canadian food is at least a few hundred dollars a month, Amex is accepted, and you are willing to move points (1,000 Membership Rewards become 1,000 Aeroplan).
- Choose TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite if Loblaws, Costco, or other non-Amex merchants are the bill, or you want 1.5 Aeroplan points on gas and Air Canada without a transfer step.
- Choose both only when each card has a job the other cannot do, and both fees clear. Two fees for one grocery shop is a hobby.
How do the published earn rates compare?
| Amex Cobalt | TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $15.99 a month outside Quebec ($191.88). Quebec: $191.88 a year. | $139. Additional cardholder $75. |
| Income published by the issuer | Confirm on the application. Amex did not print a dollar minimum on the benefits page reviewed. | $60,000 personal or $100,000 household. |
| Food and stand-alone grocery in Canada | 5 points per $1, cap $2,500 a month, then 1. | 1.5 Aeroplan points per $1 on eligible grocery. Not a restaurant accelerator on the TD page. |
| Gas and EV charging | 2 points at stand-alone gas stations. EV charging is not in that sentence. | 1.5 Aeroplan points on eligible gas and EV charging. |
| Air Canada | 1 point, unless a separate offer applies. The old 2x travel rate ended in October 2024. | 1.5 Aeroplan points on purchases direct through Air Canada, including Air Canada Vacations. |
| Everything else | 1 Membership Rewards point. | 1 Aeroplan point. |
| Currency of the point | Membership Rewards. Aeroplan transfer is 1,000 to 1,000. | Aeroplan, posted to the programme. |
| Network | American Express. | Visa. |
| Purchase interest | 21.99 percent on Amex's comparison table. | 21.99 percent. Cash advances 22.99 percent. |
As of September 2026, from American Express and TD. A Membership Rewards point and an Aeroplan point are not the same object until you transfer. After a 1:1 transfer they are the same programme currency, and then the valuation guide applies to both.
Which card earns more on a real month?
Sam's month: $700 at a stand-alone grocer that takes Amex, $250 at restaurants that take Amex, $200 at a Loblaw banner that does not, $150 at a stand-alone gas station, $100 on Air Canada, and $400 of other spend that takes Visa everywhere and Amex only half the time. Put the Amex-accepted food ($950) on Cobalt: 4,750 Membership Rewards points, under the $2,500 cap. Gas on Cobalt if the station takes it: 300 points at 2x. Air Canada and the Loblaw shop and half the "other" spend cannot ride the 5x rate. If Sam instead puts the whole month on the TD card — $700 + $250 + $200 grocery, $150 gas, $100 Air Canada — that $1,400 earns 1.5 Aeroplan points (2,100 points) and the $400 of other spend earns 400 points, for 2,500 Aeroplan points with no transfer. Cobalt's 4,750 points from food alone beat that food slice (TD would have earned 1,425 points on the same $950). TD wins the $200 Loblaw shop, the Air Canada dollar, and any merchant that refuses Amex. The household that holds only one card should pick the network that covers the larger bill, not the higher multiplier on a bill that never posts.
What does a year of food look like after fees?
Take $9,600 of eligible food that Amex accepts, and ignore every other category so the comparison is clean. Cobalt earns 48,000 Membership Rewards points and costs $191.88. Transferred, that is 48,000 Aeroplan points. TD earns 14,400 Aeroplan points on the same $9,600 at 1.5 per dollar and costs $139. The gap is 33,600 points for an extra $52.88 of fee. At an illustrative 1 cent per point, the extra points are $336, so Cobalt is ahead by about $283 on this slice alone. At half a cent, the extra points are $168, and Cobalt is still ahead by about $115. At a quarter of a cent, the extra points are $84, and the $52.88 fee gap eats most of it. The illustration is not a quote. It is the reason you price your own redemption before you pay both fees. The fee break-even is the same worksheet with your numbers.
Food that Amex accepts goes on Cobalt. Gas, Air Canada, and anywhere Visa is the only network go on the TD card. You are then paying $191.88 plus $139. Run the year-two test on each card separately. The stack templates show where a third card stops helping.
What else should decide it?
- Income. TD prints $60,000 personal or $100,000 household for Visa Infinite. If you miss it, TD points you to the Aeroplan Visa Platinum instead of pretending the Infinite card is available.
- Checked bags and insurance. A co-brand card is partly an insurance certificate. Read it. Do not assume Cobalt's coverage matches TD's because both "are travel cards." Lounge access is a different product decision: lounges and portals.
- Applications. Two new accounts are two inquiries. If a mortgage is close, read the utilization guide before you apply for either.
- Foreign spend. Neither page reviewed here is a no-markup travel card. Pair the winner with the no-foreign-fee guide if you leave Canada.
Frequently asked questions
Is Cobalt or the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite better for groceries?
On eligible stand-alone groceries in Canada that take American Express, Cobalt's 5 points per dollar beat TD's 1.5 Aeroplan points, inside the $2,500 monthly cap. On a Loblaw banner or Costco, Cobalt often earns nothing because the network is refused. TD's 1.5x grocery rate still depends on Visa's grocery merchant code. "Grocery" on a receipt is not always grocery on the network.
Which fee is lower?
As of September 2026, TD's primary-card fee is $139. Cobalt is $191.88 a year, billed monthly outside Quebec and annually in Quebec. An additional TD cardholder is $75. Cobalt supplementary cards are $0 on Amex's comparison page. The cheaper fee is not the better card if the earn gap on your spend is larger than the $52.88 difference.
Do Cobalt points become Aeroplan points automatically?
No. You transfer them. Amex lists Aeroplan at 1,000 Membership Rewards to 1,000 Aeroplan, minimum 1,000 points. TD deposits Aeroplan points from the purchase. If you will never open the transfer page, the 5x rate is a balance in a programme you are not using.
Can I get the welcome bonus on both?
Maybe, and maybe not. Aeroplan's rules restrict repeat bonuses across issuers in the same card category, and each issuer adds its own "new cardholder" test. This comparison ignores the bonus. Price it separately with the welcome-bonus worksheet on the day you apply, and assume you might be ineligible.
What if I only fly once a year?
A $139 Aeroplan card for one flight is a bag-fee and insurance question, not an earn-rate question. If you will not use the certificate and your food spend can sit on Cobalt or on a no-fee cash-back card, skip the co-brand. The travel-rewards guide is the structure choice before the logo.
Which card is safer if I might carry a balance?
Neither. Both publish 21.99 percent on purchases. A reward of 1.5 or 5 points does not offset a month of interest. Pay the statement in full or use a debit card. Rewards are a rebate on spending you were going to do anyway.
