Scotiabank Gold American Express^® Card

This is a solid welcome offer, though not necessarily the strongest available. The second spending threshold is very achievable, and the card's strong everyday earning rates make it easy to work toward organically.

This card is an excellent choice for everyday spending, particularly with its strong earning rate in bonus categories. The partnership with Empire grocery stores makes this one of the highest everyday earning rates available in a specific merchant category.

The card also earns points on gas, daily transit, and streaming services—spending categories that often lack rewards coverage elsewhere. Accelerated earning rates are capped at $50,000 per calendar year, after which the earn rate reverts to a standard rate.

This is superior to fixed-value points programs from Canada's other major banks, as most force you to book travel through in-house travel agencies, limiting redemptions to flights, hotels, car rentals, and vacations at set rates.

With Scene+ points, you can apply points to vacation rentals, plane tickets, train tickets, hotel stays, award booking taxes and fees, and more by charging the travel expense to your card and redeeming points to offset the charge. Since you book directly with travel vendors, you earn elite benefits and receive the card's insurance coverage.

This card has no foreign transaction fees,^† an area where Scotiabank leads the Big 5 by a wide margin. That said, you'll only earn 1 point per dollar spent on purchases made in foreign currencies, and Amex isn't accepted quite as widely around the world as other cards.

Despite not being issued by American Express the lender, this card still gets many of the perks of being on the American Express payment network. You'll be able to register for some Amex Offers including Shop Small, use Amex Front of the Line for presale event tickets, and use American Express Invites for exclusive experiences.^†

Check the Amex Offers website and manually register your card if you see offers that appeal to you.

If you're a frequent traveler, the emergency medical coverage here is solid, but note the age restrictions—those 65+ get significantly limited protection, so you'll want supplemental coverage if that applies to you.