Up to 80,000 Scene+ points 
$261 First-year value The Scotiabank Platinum American Express® Card is Scotiabank’s top-tier premium travel and lifestyle credit card.
With 2x Scene+ points on all purchases and 10 complimentary 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 presently offering a strong welcome bonus of up to 80,000 Scene+ points for new applicants,† divided as follows:
- Earn 60,000 Scene+ points upon spending $3,000 in the first three months†
- Earn an additional 20,000 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.†
How Much Is This Offer Worth?
Here’s a breakdown of what the welcome bonus for the Scotiabank Platinum American Express® Card is worth. Keep in mind that this doesn’t take into consideration the potential value of other card benefits, which we’ll outline in detail below.
We value Scene+ points at 1 cent per point, and using that value, we’d peg a value of $800 on the welcome bonus alone.
Plus, assuming the card’s baseline earning rate of 2 Scene+ points per dollar spent, you’d earn an additional 20,000 Scene+ points for meeting the $10,000 total minimum spending requirement. We’d value these points at an additional $200.
However, once you factor in the card’s $399 annual fee, your net return lowers.
Of course, you can certainly squeeze more value out of the card by leveraging the category earning rates and the card’s other benefits; however, this is unique to each cardholder, and our valuation assumes a minimum amount of value rather than a maximum amount of value.
Earning Rewards
With the Scotiabank Platinum American Express® Card, you’ll earn 4 Scene+ points per dollar spent on hotel bookings, car rentals, and “things to do” booked through Scene+ Travel.†
Beyond that, the card offers a uniform 2 Scene+ points per dollar spent on all purchases.†
Factoring in our valuation of Scene+ points at 1 cent per point, and you’re looking at a 2–4% return on spending.
While the 2x baseline earning rate is fairly strong in the context of the wider market, it isn’t the most powerful earning rate that Scotiabank offers. Rather, the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card comes with a stronger 5–6x earning rate on groceries, dining, and entertainment, all with a lower annual fee of $120.
On the other hand, a blanket 2% return on all purchases is higher than many other premium cards out there, which generally offer 1.25 points per dollar spent as a baseline earning rate.
If you’d like to estimate how much value you’ll earn each month, feel free to use our rewards calculator below.
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 up to 12 months after the date of purchase.
This is far superior to fixed-value points programs from Canada’s other major banks, as most of them 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 at the rates set in the online travel agencies.
On the other hand, with Scene+ points, you can apply your points to things like vacation rentals, plane tickets, train tickets, hotel stays, award booking taxes and fees, and much more. Simply charge the travel expense to your credit card, and then redeem points to “offset” the charge.
The best part of this is that since you can book directly with travel vendors, you’ll get the full entitlement to earning elite benefits, and you’ll also be covered by the card’s insurance coverage (outlined below).
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 manually register for the potentially lucrative Amex Offers, use Amex Front of the Line for presale event tickets, and use American Express Invites for exclusive experiences.†
Be sure to keep an eye out on the Amex Offers website, and then manually register your card if you see anything that catches your eye.
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:
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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)†
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Trip cancellation and interruption insurance of up to $2,500 and $5,000 per person, respectively†
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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†
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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.†
Great review! I’ve been considering applying for the Scotiabank Platinum American Express® Card, and your insights on the benefits and rewards really helped clarify things for me. The travel perks sound particularly appealing. Thanks for sharing!