Scotiabank has released new Summer 2022 offers on some of their most popular no foreign transaction fee credit cards (see Scotia’s winter 2023 credit cards offers).
This includes the Scotiabank Gold American Express card with a welcome bonus of 40,000 Scene+TM points (worth $400 towards travel purchases) and first year annual fee waived!
Also, the welcome bonus offer of 35,000 Scene+TM points on the Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite Card has been extended. Both of these amazing offers are valid until October 31, 2022.
Scene+ points are quite versatile since you can easily redeem 100 points for a $1 off against any eligible travel purchase charged to your card. With a bonus of 35,000 to 40,000 Scene+ points, you can save $350-$400 on travel purchases during your next vacation.
Now, let’s go through the details of each card.
Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card
The Scotiabank Gold American Express card lets you earn Scene+ points on every purchase.
There’s also currently a very generous welcome bonus of 40,000 Scene+ points (worth $400 towards travel purchases) for new cardholders in their first year. To unlock the full welcome bonus, complete the following 2 criteria:
- Earn 20,000 Scene+ points after spending $1,000 in in everyday eligible purchases within the first 3 months.
- Earn an additional 20,000 Scene+ points after spending $7,500 in eligible purchases in the first year.
Breaking it down, you could unlock the full welcome bonus of 40,000 Scene+ points if you spend a minimum of $625/month on your card for an entire year. You would earn 20,000 points on your second month of spend and then the additional 20,000 points after 12 months of spend (or less).
Also, this card does have an annual fee of $120 but it’s waived for the first year! Although, there is a $29 fee for each supplementary card.
Therefore, with no annual fee in the first year, this means that with 40,000 points, you come out ahead with a net value of $400+ in the first year of having the card!
Scotiabank Gold Amex earning rates
In regards to daily spending, here are the Scotia Gold American Express card’s earning rates:
- 6 Scene+ points for every $1 spent at Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, Foodland, FreshCo, Voilà by Sobeys, Voilà by IGA, Voilà by Safeway, Chalo! FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, IGA West, Les Marchés Tradition, Rachelle Béry and Co-Op grocery stores.
- 5 Scene+ points for every $1 spent on eligible grocery stores, restaurants, fast food, drinking establishments & entertainment purchases in Canada. This also includes popular food delivery services.
- 3 Scene+ points for every $1 spent on eligible transit, rideshare, gasoline purchases & select streaming services (like Netflix) in Canada.
- 1 Scene+ point for every $1 spent on other purchases.
The earning rates on the Scotiabank Gold American Express card are quite phenomenal! As of October 2022, you can now earn 6x points at select Sobeys grocery stores like Sobeys, Safeway, IGA and FreshCo. This is the highest grocery earning rate on any credit card in Canada and is simply extraordinary!
Plus, you still earn 5x points on dining and other grocery stores (the only other credit card that can match that earning rate is the Amex Cobalt card) and it’s the equivalent of a 5% return on spending! Plus, this card has one of the highest earning rates on transit or gasoline purchases at 3x points!
Note that these accelerated earn rate of 6x, 5x and 3x Scene+ points on eligible categories is available on up to $50,000 in purchases on the card during a calendar year. Surpassing this threshold, the earning rate decreases to 1 Scene+ point per $1 spent on purchases.
Overall, the accelerated earning rates on the Scotiabank Gold American Express card are some of the best in the market and will help you quickly increase your Scene+ points balance.
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card
Like the Scotia Gold Amex card, the Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite card lets you earn Scene+ points on every purchase.
There’s also currently a very generous welcome bonus of 35,000 Scene+ points (worth $350 towards travel purchases) for new cardholders in their first year. To unlock the full welcome bonus, complete the following 2 criteria:
- Earn 25,000 Scene+ points after spending $1,000 in in everyday eligible purchases within the first 3 months.
- Earn an additional 10,000 Scene+ points after spending $40,000 in eligible purchases annually.
Breaking it down, you could easily unlock the bonus 25,000 Scene+ points with spending $334 per month in the first 3 months of having the card. To unlock the additional 10,000 points, you would need to spend an extra $40,000 ($3,334 per month for 12 months) which is certainly challenging for most people.
Also, this card does have an annual fee of $150. But, the first supplementary card has a $0 annual fee each year, and then each additional card has a $50 fee.
Plus, the Scotia Passport Visa Infinite card comes with 6 free airport lounge passes per year. These passes provide you with access to 1,200+ airport lounges globally with the Visa Airport Companion Program which includes Plaza Premium airport lounges. This benefit alone is worth over $200!!
Scotiabank Passport Visa earning rates
In regards to daily spending, here are the Scotia Passport Visa Infinite card’s earning rates:
- 3 Scene+ points for every $1 spent at Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, Foodland, FreshCo, Voilà by Sobeys, Voilà by IGA, Voilà by Safeway, Chalo! FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, IGA West, Les Marchés Tradition, Rachelle Béry and Co-Op grocery stores.
- 2 Scene+ points for every $1 spent on other grocery stores, restaurants, fast food, entertainment and transit purchases in Canada.
- 1 Scene+ point for every $1 spent on other purchases.
The accelerated earn rate of 3x and 2x Scene+ points on eligible categories is available on up to $50,000 in purchases on the card during a calendar year. Surpassing this threshold, the earning rate decreases to 1 Scene+ point per $1 spent on purchases.
Overall, the earning rates on the Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite card aren’t as competitive compared to the Scotia Gold Amex card. But, since it’s a Visa card, it’s more widely accepted at various stores globally compared to American Express. Also, it comes with 6 airport lounge passes whereas the Scotia Gold Amex card does not.
Now, what is your best option for redeeming your hard-earned Scene+ points?
Best option to redeem your Scene+ points
Previously, these Scotiabank credit cards used to earn Scotia Rewards points. In December 2021, the Scotia Rewards and SCENE loyalty programs merged to become the new Scene+ loyalty program.
These new Scene+ points can be used for a variety of items like movie tickets, gift cards, merchandise, statement credit and more. But like before, redeeming Scene+ points for travel purchases provides the best option for your points.
Apply points against any travel purchase
Your best bet for redeeming your Scene+ points is with the “Apply Points to Travel” option. It allows you to redeem your Scene+ points to offset any type of travel purchase charged to your card within the past 12 months! This includes flights, hotels, cruises, car rentals but also train tickets, Airbnb’s and more.
The flexibility of this option allows you to redeem 100 Scene+ points for $1 off any travel purchase on your card. Note that you need to redeem a minimum of 5,000 Scene+ points towards an “Apply Points to Travel” redemption.
To use the “Apply Points to Travel” option, follow these steps:
- First log into your Scene+ account and click on “Rewards”.
- Next, select the “travel” option and then the “Apply Points to Travel” section.
- From there, select your Scotiabank card (if you have more than one) and you should now see all your travel purchases for a select time period.
- Select which travel transaction you want to redeem your points against and this will show a summary on the side of the screen.
- Finally, click “Continue” to finish the process.
Lastly, it should take 2-3 business days for your redemption to appear as a credit on your Scotiabank card.
No Foreign Transaction fees
Most credit cards and banks will charge a 2.5% foreign transaction fee on purchases not in Canadian dollars.
But, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite & Scotia Gold Amex cards have no foreign transaction fees! This means you will not pay the pesky 2.5% foreign transaction fee on any foreign currency purchases, including online shopping and when travelling abroad. Only the exchange rate applies.
Since July 2022, the Scotiabank Platinum Amex card also has no foreign transaction fees.
Summary
Overall, Scotiabank has come out with some decent offers on it’s credit cards that don’t charge any foreign transaction fees!
The Scotiabank Gold American Express card is offering a welcome bonus of up to 40,000 Scene+ points (worth $400 towards travel purchases) and first year annual fee waiver if you apply before October 31, 2022.
Also, The Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite Card is offering a welcome bonus of up to 35,000 Scene+ points if you apply before October 31, 2022.
Without a doubt, the best use of your Scene+ points is offsetting the cost of any travel purchase with the “Apply Points to Travel” option. With these Scotiabank welcomes bonus offers, you can save $350 to $400 on travel purchases during your next vacation.
Do you plan on applying for either one of these Scotiabank cards? Let me know in the comments below.
Disclosure: Scotiabank is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information, please visit the Scotiabank website.
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