Summer Fun: Increased Welcome Bonus on 6 Amex Cards Canada!

Some great Summer news from Amex Canada has just been announced as of July 13, 2022: the welcome bonus on 6 Cards has increased! So take your pick if you’ve been thinking about applying for one of the most rewarding credit cards in Canada.

After a dismal update in May when 8 Amex Cards were devalued, the Cards have rebounded with higher than usual welcome bonuses.

Read More: Ugly Update From Amex Canada: 8 Cards Devalued for May, 2022

To take advantage of the increased welcome bonus, be sure to apply before September 20, 2022 and put your extra points towards some summer fun.

Let’s take a look at the Cards that got updates:

Amex Platinum Card Canada

Up from 80,000 points in May, 2022, the Amex Platinum Card Canada has rebounded back to 110,000 points which is where it was in March. 110,000 points is the second highest welcome bonus we’ve seen in the last year on this Card. I don’t think we will see the offer of 150,000 points we saw in summer  2021 anytime soon, if ever. So this is definitely a great time to apply!

New Platinum Cardmembers, earn 90,000 Welcome Bonus points after you charge $6,000 in net purchases to your Card in your first 3 months of Cardmembership.

And with the welcome offer you can also earn a total of 10 points for every $1 on eligible eats & drinks purchases for the first 3 months of Cardmembership (up to 20,000 points) until September 20, 2022. When your welcome offer ends, you’ll continue to earn at the standard earn rates:

• 3 points for every $1 in Card purchases on eligible dining and food delivery in Canada
• 2 points for every $1 in Card purchases on eligible travel
• 1 point for every $1 in all other Card purchases

American Express Gold Rewards Card Canada

The Amex Gold Rewards Card is up to 70,000 points from the 50,000 points offer we saw in May, 2022. The Gold Card has gone back and forth between offering 50,000 and 70,000 points over the last year, so this is certainly a good time to apply.

New Amex Gold Rewards Cardmembers can earn a welcome bonus of 50,000 points when you charge $3,000 in purchases to your Card in your first 3 months of Cardmembership.

And with the welcome offer you can also earn a total of 10 points for every $1 on eligible eats & drinks purchases for the first 3 months of Cardmembership (up to 20,000 points). Offer ends September 20, 2022. When your welcome offer ends, you’ll continue to earn at the standard earn rates:

• 2 points for every $1 in Card purchases at eligible gas stations, grocery stores and drugstores in Canada
• 1 point for every $1 in Card purchases everywhere else

The Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card Canada

The Marriott Bonvoy Card in Canada sees a lot of updates to the welcome bonus so it can be tricky to know when the best time to apply is. Take a look at our welcome bonus tracker below to see the history of welcome bonus offers in this Card over the last 3 years.

With the current offer, the welcome bonus is 75,000 points which is the second best offer we’ve seen on this Card in the last 3 years! I don’t think we will see the unicorn offer of 105,000 points we saw in the summer of 2021 anytime soon, but 75,000 points is a strong offer.

You’ll earn 65,000 welcome bonus points after you charge $1,500 in net purchases to your Card in your first 3 months of Cardmembership. And with the welcome offer, you’ll earn 5 points for every $1 spent on eligible eats & drinks purchases in Canada for the first 3 months of Cardmembership (up to 10,000 points). Offers end September 20, 2022.

And remember, with the Bonvoy Card you’ll earn an automatic status upgrade to Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite when you charge $30,000 to your Card each year. You’ll also receive an automatic 15 Elite Night Credits as a Cardmember which can help you climb the Bonvoy loyalty ladder even faster.

Gold Elite status gets you late checkout and free room upgrades on availability which is a huge perk for hotel lovers.

Amex AIR MILES Reserve Credit Card

Another Amex Card to see an increased welcome bonus with this Amex Canada update is the AIR MILES Reserve Card. With the current offer you’ll earn 4,000 AIR MILES plus a $100 statement credit. That’s up from the offer of 2,400 AIR MILES we saw with the last update, which was not a good offer.

The current 4,000 point offer falls short of the 7,000 AIR MILES offer we saw last summer.

The welcome bonus structure is simple:

• New Amex AIR MILES Reserve Credit Card Cardmembers, get a welcome bonus of 4,000 Bonus Miles and a $100 Statement Credit when you charge a total of $3,000 in purchases to your Card within your first 3 months of Card membership.

American Express Aeroplan Card Canada

The Amex Aeroplan Card also gets an updated welcome bonus with an offer of 70,000 Aeroplan points. This is close to the 2 year high of 75,000 points we saw last summer – which makes it a great time to apply.

With the trend of Amex Canada offering increased welcome bonuses in the summer, you may need to wait until next summer if you don’t apply now!

You’ll earn 45,000 Aeroplan points after spending $3,000 in net purchases on your Card within the first 6 months of Cardmembership. You can also earn a total of 5 Aeroplan points for every $1 on eligible eats & drinks purchases in Canada for the first 3 months of Cardmembership (up to 10,000 Aeroplan points).

Plus you’ll earn 2,500 Aeroplan points for each monthly billing period in which you spend $500 in purchases on your Card for the first 6 months of Cardmembership. That could add up to 15,000 Aeroplan points.

With the current points valuation 70,000 Aeroplan points is enough for a round trip flight from Toronto to Cancun! If you’re looking for a sandy beach vacation, it will be worthwhile to pay the annual fee on the Aeroplan Card and redeem your points for a flight. You’ll still come out ahead comparing to paying cash for a ticket!

At the time of this post, the annual fee on the Aeroplan Card is only $120, meanwhile flights from Toronto to Cancun are going for around $1,000! That means you’ll come out almost $900 ahead by being PointsWise and applying for this Card instead of paying out of pocket for your flight! Put your extra $900 towards some fun on your trip and don’t look back.

• Annual fee: $120
• Round trip plane ticket from Toronto to Cancun via Air Canada: $1,152
• Pay with points using your Aeroplan Card: $1,032 savings

American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card

If you’re looking to travel a little further, consider the Aeroplan Reserve Card with a current welcome bonus offer of 110,000 Aeroplan points.

Here’s how the welcome bonus works:

• You’ll earn 60,000 Aeroplan points after spending $6,000 in net purchases on your Card within the first 6 months of Cardmembership.
• Then you can earn 10 Aeroplan points for every $1 on eligible eats & drinks purchases in Canada for the first 3 months of Cardmembership (up to 20,000 Aeroplan points).
• Plus, you can earn 5,000 Aeroplan points for each monthly billing period in which you spend $1,000 in purchases on your Card for the first 6 months of Cardmembership. That could add up to 30,000 Aeroplan points

The annual fee is much higher, coming in with a sticker shock price of $599, compared to $120 for the entry level Aeroplan Card. However, if you are looking to travel internationally, the annual fee will cover the cost of your plane ticket and then some.

110,000 Aeroplan points is enough for a one-way premium economy class flight reward booking from Toronto to Rome (accurate as of July 13, 2022).

So for the $599 annual fee, you’ll receive 110,000 points which will cover the cost of your flight. Compare that to the cash value of that plane ticket which would cost you a whopping $3,192!

• Annual fee: $599
• Round trip premium economy plane ticket from Toronto to Rome via Air Canada: $3,192
• Pay with points using your Aeroplan Reserve Card: $2,593 savings

Toronto to Rome isn’t the only option for saving money on your next trip with your Aeroplan Reserve Card.

Check Google Flights and price out your trip. Then see how many Aeroplan points it will take to get you there with the Flight Reward Chart. Remember, you’ll earn 110,000 Aeroplan points with the welcome bonus, so any plane ticket that costs over $599, you’ll come out ahead by paying with points.

Conclusion

It’s always an exciting day in the Canadian points world when Amex rolls out an update full of increased welcome bonuses! If you’ve been on the fence about applying for any of these Cards, now is a great time. Be sure to apply before these offers expire September 20, 2022. And check out the links to our Card reviews for each Card to learn more. Happy summer travels!