Review: Scotiabank Passport^® Visa Infinite +* Card

The Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite +* Card is one of the flagship products for the Bank of Nova Scotia, and as such, the bank’s made sure that it’s supercharged with features that its clients, especially those who love to travel, will like.

A highlight among these features is the card’s offering of no foreign transaction fees, a benefit which is becoming a rarity in the Canadian credit card market these days.

However, there’s also loads more to like about this traveller-oriented card, and we’ll talk about these things in the review below.

What we love: no foreign transaction fees, six free airport lounge visits, flexible Scene+ points

What we’d change: stronger earning rates, make Scene+ points transferable to airline/hotel programs

Consistent Welcome Bonus

The welcome bonus for the Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite +* Card consistently ranges from 35,000–40,000 Scene+ points, which are worth up to $350–400 (all figures in CAD) at a value of 1 cent per point.

Its usual welcome bonus is broken into two tranches:

• Earn 20,000–25,000 Scene+ points upon spending $1,000 in the first three months^†
• Earn an additional 10,000 Scene+ points upon spending $40,000 in the first year^†

While the first installment of the bonus is easy enough to accomplish, the second is frankly too difficult for little reward – unless you plan to put all your major expenses on this card.

Then again, as we’ll discuss below, the card doesn’t levy foreign transaction fees, so it’s entirely possible for you to meet the $40,000 requirement if you like to live large during your trips abroad.

Standard Earning Rates

The default earning rates of the Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite +* Card are as follows:

• 3 Scene+ points per dollar spent at Empire Company grocery stores, such as Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, and FreshCo^†
• 2 Scene+ points per dollar spent on transit, groceries, dining, and entertainment^†
• 1 Scene+ point per dollar spent on all other purchases^†

The card’s earning scheme is by no means outstanding; rather, it’s fairly standard for a card at this tier.

However, on the flip side, its elevated earning rate of 2 points per dollar spent on transit, groceries, dining, and entertainment applies to foreign-denominated purchases despite the fact that the card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.

This is notable, as its sister card, the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card, earns a flat 1 Scene+ point per dollar spent on all categories, regardless of category. Plus, you’ll already be coming out ahead since you won’t be paying the 2.5% foreign transaction fee that’s levied by most other cards.

Flexible Scene+ Points

As previously mentioned, the Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite +* Card is linked to the Scene+ program. Scene+ points are typically valued at 1 cent each when redeemed through most methods.

The primary critique of flexible points programs, such as Scene+, is that they often don’t offer the same potential for maximizing value as you might find with airline and hotel loyalty programs.

That said, Scene+ does offer a broad range of redemption options. For one, you can redeem your Scene+ points to save on groceries, entertainment, restaurants, and household supplies, directly at partnered merchants, including:

• Empire Company grocery stores (Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, FreshCo, etc.)
• Cineplex (including The Rec Room and Playdium)
• Home Hardware
• Recipe Unlimited restaurants (Harvey’s, Swiss Chalet, Montana’s, etc.)

However, for the Miles & Points community, the most appealing redemption opportunity is to use Scene+ points to offset any travel purchase made on the card at the standard redemption rate of 1 cent per point.^†

This option allows Scene+ points to be used for travel expenses that other loyalty programs might not cover, such as boutique hotels, low-cost flights, rideshares, tours/activities, and cruise deposits.

Additionally, Scene+ points can also be redeemed for gift cards, merchandise, and statement credits, although the value you’ll derive through these options may be lower than the optimal 1 cent per point rate.

Comprehensive Insurance Benefits

The Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite +* Card provides comprehensive insurance coverage that matches or exceeds similar cards.
As a summary, the card provides coverage as follows:

• Travel emergency medical: Up to $1,000,000 per insured person per trip (25 days for those aged 64 and under; 3 days for those aged 65 and over)^†
• Trip cancellation: Up to $1,500 per insured person or $10,000 per trip^†
• Trip interruption: Up to $2,500 per insured person or $10,000 per trip^†
• Flight delay: Up to $500 per insured person per trip^†
• Delayed/lost luggage: Up to $1,000 per trip^†
• Hotel/motel burglary: Up to $1,000 per burglary occurrence^†
• Rental car collision/loss damage: 48 days; limited to vehicles up to $65,000 MSRP^†
• Common carrier travel accident: Up to $500,000 per insured person or $1,000,000 per occurrence^†
• Purchase security and extended warranty: First 90 days from date of purchase in the event of loss, theft, or damage; and doubles the original manufacturer warranty period for up to one additional year^†

The card’s travel emergency medical coverage is particularly notable as it offers 25 days of coverage for those 64 and under, while other similar cards usually limit their coverage to only 15 days.

What Else Does the Card Offer?

As mentioned, the Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite +* Card is supercharged with travel-oriented features, so let’s take a look at some of those.

No Foreign Transaction Fees

The Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite +* Card is one of the three remaining credit cards being issued in Canada that offer no foreign transaction fees.

Not paying foreign transaction fees saves you 2.5% on all your purchases abroad, and this is on top of the up to 2 Scene+ points you’ll be earning on these purchases.

In terms of merchant acceptance, Visa edges out Mastercard and American Express with its 44 million locations/merchants worldwide, making this card truly a must-have for global travellers.

Six Free Airport Lounge Visits

The Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite +* Card is one of the few cards of its tier to offer free airport lounge access. With this card, you’ll get six visits per membership year for yourself and guests travelling with you.

Access is provided through the Visa Airport Companion app, which is backed by lounge membership provider DragonPass. There are more than 1,300 affiliated lounges you can access with your membership, including Plaza Premium Lounges in Canada.

With DragonPass, visits cost $32 (USD) each, so the six free visits provided are worth $192 (USD) – this feature alone could justify the card’s annual fee.

AVIS Preferred Plus Membership

An often-overlooked feature of the Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite +* Card is its automatic AVIS Preferred Plus Membership, which is otherwise achievable after 10 rentals or $4,000 (USD) spent.

This middle status in the AVIS Preferred program entitles you to:

• Free one-car class upgrade when reserving a midsize or above
• Special hotline for reservations and customer service support
• Discounts in Canada and the US, ranging from 5% up to 25% off the lowest available discountable retail rate

Other Cards to Consider

While the Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite +* Card is already packed with great features, there are similar cards you can also consider.

Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card

In terms of features, there’s some overlap between the Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite +* Card and its sister card, the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card, which commands a cheaper $120 annual fee.

Crucially, the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card also offers no foreign transaction fees and earns Scene+ points.

However, the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card beats out its sister card with its excellent domestic earning rates. With this card, you’ll earn Scene+ points as follows:

• 6 Scene+ points per dollar spent at Empire Company grocery stores, such as Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, and FreshCo^†
• 5 Scene+ points per dollar spent on groceries, dining, and entertainment^†
• 3 Scene+ points per dollar spent on gas, transit, and streaming services^†
• 1 Scene+ point per dollar spent on all other purchases^†

Keep in mind that the earning rates above only apply to purchases in Canadian dollars. Foreign currency transactions in any category earn a flat rate of 1 Scene+ point per dollar spent (converted).

In terms of merchant acceptance, admittedly, Visa has better acceptance abroad, but you’d be surprised at all the places where American Express is accepted, with many countries issuring Amex cards locally, such as Kazakhstan, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

That said, you’re allowed to have more than one Scotiabank card, so why not consider getting both the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card and the Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite +* Card and covering all your bases?

CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card

The CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card is another great travel card. While it doesn’t give you a break on the foreign transaction fees, it makes up for this with other travel benefits.

Among these benefits are four free DragonPass airport lounge visits, comprehensive travel insurance, and a NEXUS fee waiver.

Moreover, the card always offers a juicy welcome bonus ranging from 40,000–45,000 Aventura points. These points can either be redeemed for 1.25 cents per point against any pending travel purchase made on the card (providing $500–563 in value), or they can be redeemed for a round-trip flight using the CIBC Aventura Airline Rewards Chart.

Conclusion

The Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite +* Card belongs to a rare breed of credit cards in Canada that let travellers spend abroad without incurring a 2.5% foreign transaction fee.

But this card is no one-trick pony. While many people are drawn to the savings it provides when travelling abroad, it also comes with a bevy of other traveller-oriented features, such as free DragonPass airport lounge access, AVIS Preferred Plus membership, and great travel insurance.

Truly, as one of Canada’s best travel cards, the Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite +* Card shouldn’t be overlooked and should be part of your credit card arsenal.

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