Canada’s 6 Best Scotiabank Credit Cards

Scotiabank Credit Cards: What You Need to Know

When choosing a Scotiabank credit card, you should familiarize yourself with what benefits a Scotiabank credit card can offer, what features to look out for, and how Scotiabank credit cards can fit into an optimized credit card strategy.

Why get a Scotiabank credit card?

Scene+ points are one of the best fixed-value travel rewards programs in Canada because they’re so easy to redeem.

You can use them for statement credit against any travel expense at a flat rate of 1 cent per point – all you have to do is log in to the Scene+ website. Between unparalleled flexibility, a self-serve option, and predictable value, it makes for an awesome rewards program that is useful for anyone.

Also, Scotiabank’s rewards rates on premium credit cards are quite high, setting the standard for many spending categories. They also have very high annual spending limits for the category bonus rates. However, their entry-level cards with no annual fee don’t stand up to their competitors quite as well.

If you already bank with Scotiabank, getting one of their credit cards is a no-brainer. On most cards, you can get your annual fee rebated every year if you have a Scotiabank Ultimate chequing account. This is useful if you plan on keeping a premium card year after year for its benefits and higher everyday earning rates.

What should you look for in a Scotiabank credit card?

Scotiabank’s credit cards have two different types of rewards:

• Scene+ cards earn points that can be used for any travel expenses. Because they’re so flexible, you can essentially treat these points like cash back rewards if you’d like. There are cards that earn Scene+ points on both the Visa and American Express payment networks, so if the program interests you, card acceptance shouldn’t be a big issue.
• Momentum cards earn cash back, which is redeemable once a year on your November statement. These cards are all Visa cards, plus an oddball legacy Mastercard.

For each type of card, Scotiabank offers cards with a wide range of welcome bonuses, everyday rewards, annual fees, perks, and income requirements.

Any of these cards come with the standard benefits for their card tier:

• All Visa Infinite cards have access to Concierge services, the Luxury Hotel Collection, and the Dining Series & Wine Country program
• American Express cardholders are eligible for American Express Experiences, American Express Invites, and some Amex Offers such as Shop Small

In addition, Scotiabank provides a DragonPass membership on its personal and business Passport Visa Infinite cards.

Cardholders get six annual visits to participating airport lounges and restaurants each year. This perk is normally only seen on Visa Infinite Privilege cards, so it’s definitely worth considering one of these cards if you don’t qualify for a top-tier card from another issuer.

Notably, Scotiabank has no foreign transaction fees on many of their travel cards. This significantly sets them apart from other major Canadian credit card issuers – in fact, they’re the only one of the Big 5 banks to offer this benefit.

Also, as with all premium credit cards, keep an eye out for any Scotiabank cards that offer appealing insurance on travel and other purchases. In particular, some of Scotiabank’s cards have a price protection benefit, another rarity amongst credit cards, as well as mobile device insurance and protection against hotel burglary.

Scotiabank occasionally offers First Year Free promotions or elevated welcome bonuses for new signups. However, with high rates on everyday earning, it’s not always worth holding out for a better offer – these cards are good to have if you think you’ll benefit from them.

What’s the optimal strategy for Scotiabank credit cards?

When it comes to maximizing credit cards as a whole, Scotiabank credit cards typically play a secondary, but still significant role in a savvy individual’s wallet compared to the other Big 5 banks’ cards.

While Scene+ points are exceedingly easy to use, their potential upside is rather limited compared to other options on the market. Scene+ points are worth a flat 1 cent per point against travel purchases, but they can’t unlock greater value than that, unlike the points offered by many of Canada’s other Big 5 banks.

Therefore, in an optimized credit card strategy, you’d prioritize credit cards from other issuers (such as American Express or RBC) to earn points in more powerful loyalty programs like Aeroplan, Avios, or Marriott Bonvoy. These points would allow you to book the bulk of your flights and hotels at an impressive value.

Then, you’d use Scene+ points to cover your non-flight travel expenses, such as car rentals or non-chain hotels.

In fact, since Scotiabank allows you to book travel directly on your credit card and then offset the charge using points retroactively (unlike other Big 5 banks, which require you to book through their internal portal), you’d be able to redeem Scene+ points towards a much wider range of travel expenses, like organized tours, train tickets, or Airbnbs.

Overall, it’s important to recognize that a Scotiabank credit card won’t get you the same spectacular flight rewards in premium cabins that you’d get from, say, American Express Membership Rewards credit cards.

However, Scotiabank credit cards continue to play an important supporting role in the optimal credit card strategy for Canadians, thanks to their versatility in being redeemable towards a wide range of travel purchases.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are some questions we frequently hear from readers about the best Scotiabank credit cards in Canada.

How are Scotiabank’s American Express cards different from other American Express cards?

American Express is both a payment network and a card issuer. These cards operate on the Amex payment network, but aren’t issued by Amex.

Although they come with many of the same benefits, they’re entirely independent from Amex as an issuer. Scotiabank is the one approving your application, you manage your card online with Scotiabank and pay bills to Scotiabank, and you’re subject to Scotiabank’s terms and conditions.

Which credit bureau does Scotiabank check?

All recent reports indicate that Scotiabank only checks TransUnion.