The Scotiabank Platinum American Express® Card is Scotiabank's top-tier premium travel and lifestyle credit card. With 2x points on all purchases and 10 airport lounge visits per year, this card is a good fit for high-spending frequent travellers who are seeking a simplified and accessible rewards program in Scene+.

Bonuses & Fees

The Scotiabank Platinum American Express® card is offering a strong welcome bonus of up to 60,000 Scene+ points for new applicants, divided as follows:

• Earn 50,000 Scene+ points upon spending $3,000 in the first three months
• Earn an additional 10,000 Scene+ points upon spending $10,000 in the first 14 months

The card has an annual fee of $399 for the primary cardholder. Supplementary cards are priced at $99 apiece.

Earning Rewards

The Scotiabank Platinum American Express® card offers a uniform 2 Scene+ points per dollar spent on all purchases.

While the 2x earning rate is fairly strong in the context of the wider market, it isn't the most powerful earning rate that Scotiabank offers: the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card comes with a stronger 5x earning rate on groceries, dining, and entertainment, all with a lower annual fee of $120.

On the other hand, a blanket 2x earning rate on all purchases is higher than many other premium cards out there, which generally offer 1.25 points per dollar spent as a base earning rate.

Redeeming Rewards

Scene+ is one of the most flexible fixed-value points programs in Canada. Points have a value of 1 cent per point, and can be easily credited towards any travel expense.

This is far superior to fixed-value points programs from Canada's other major banks, which force you to book your travel through their in-house travel agencies. With those programs, you’re effectively limited to using your points for flights, hotels, car rentals, and vacations.

On the other hand, with Scene+ points, you can apply your points to things like Airbnbs, train tickets, and award taxes and fees. Simply charge the travel expense to your credit card, and then redeem points to "offset" the charge within a 90-day period.

Perks & Benefits

Primary and supplementary cardholders receive a Priority Pass membership with 10 and four complimentary lounge visits per year, respectively. This card doesn't levy any foreign transaction fees, making it one of few cards in Canada to have this benefit. Despite not being issued by American Express, 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.

Insurance Coverage

The insurance on the Scotiabank Platinum American Express® card is as strong as you'd expect for a premium travel credit card. Coverage includes:

• The essential emergency medical insurance of up to $2 million for you, your spouse, and dependent children on unexpected medical illness or injury when travelling out-of-province for up to 31 days (10 days for age 65 and up)

• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance of up to $2,500 and $5,000 per person, respectively

• Flight delay insurance for delays of more than four hours, up to $1,000 per person

• Delayed and lost baggage insurance of up to $1,000

• Rental car collision or damage insurance, which can help you save on the insurance fees usually charged by car rental companies for vehicles with a MSRP of up to $65,000

• Hotel burglary insurance of up to $1,000 in the event of theft

On the purchase protection side, you’ll get extended warranty of up to two more years, purchase protection of 120 days against damage, loss, or theft for new items, and even mobile device insurance of up to $1,000 if a new phone or tablet is lost, damaged, or stolen.