There are so many credit cards available to Canadians that sometimes it can be a little overwhelming to find which card is right for you. This guide will try to make things a little easier by breaking down the major rewards of all of the different Scotiabank credit cards that are offered in 2020, including sign-up bonuses, fees and the basics of what you need to know when choosing a credit card. Scotiabank offers travel rewards cards, cash back rewards cards, and low interest cards from Visa, Mastercard and American Express. Read below to find out which is the best Scotiabank credit card for you.
Getting started: Know your credit score
Knowing your credit score can be helpful when trying to figure out which credit card is best for you. Credit card companies don’t provide an exact score of what you need to qualify, but do provide general ranges.
I use the free service from Borrowell to track my credit score and get up-to-date reports. It is fast, straight-forward and easy to use.
Knowing if you are in the Excellent or Good range or below is helpful to know when considering which card you want.
Check your credit score now for free
What type of rewards are you looking for
For this review, I’ve split up the Scotia credit cards into 4 categories (click to skip to section):
Not every card type fits to every person. They depend on your spending habits, as well as your travel habits. If you don’t do at least a little bit of travelling every year, than a travel rewards card likely isn’t best for you.
Travel rewards credit cards tend to have the best value on their rewards, but limit you on how you can redeem them. Cash back cards are great because you can spend them however you see fit.
The following reviews look at the major bonuses of all of these cards. These reviews don’t cover some of the extras a lot of cards come with that are somewhat standard. This includes insurance, concierge services and access to airport lounges. Follow the links below each card to find out more about each cards extra perks!
Scotia Rewards Points Travel Cards
These cards are best for people looking to be able to redeem their rewards in the form of travel. Travel rewards tend to be the best bang-for-your-buck reward, at the cost of some flexibility. Scotia offers 5 different travel rewards cards, all with different perks and uses. A few notes:
- Scotia Rewards Points have a value of about $0.01 when spent on travel
- You can redeem other things with Scotia Rewards Points, but the points aren’t as valuable if you do.
Scotiabank Gold American Express Card
| Annual Fee: | $120 |
| Credit Needed: | Good |
| Qualifying Income: | $12,000 |
- Sign up bonus: 20,000 Scotia Rewards points when you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months ($200 value for travel).
- Rewards: 5x Scotia Rewards points for every $1 spent on:
- Grocery stores
- Eating out (restaurants, fast food, drinking establishments)
- Entertainment (movies, theatre, and ticket agencies)
- Rewards: 3x Scotia Rewards points for every $1 spent on:
- Gas stations
- Daily transit
- Streaming services
- Rewards: 1x Scotia Rewards point for every $1 spent on everything else
- Exchange: 0% Foreign currency exchange (You will not pay 2.5% foreign transaction fees on any foreign currency purchases, including online shopping and when travelling abroad. Only the exchange rate applies.)
Gold American Express Review
This card provides one of the best travel rewards program in Scotia’s stable of credit cards. With groceries and dining out being a high percentage of a lot of peoples purchases, you can’t really beat the 5% travel rewards on all of those purchases. And don’t forget about the 0% currency exchange, which can really pay off for Canadians who make a lot of purchases from retailers in the USA.
Learn more and sign-up now for the Scotiabank Gold American Express to receive the bonus!
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card
| Annual Fee: | $139 |
| Credit needed: | Excellent |
| Qualifying income: | $60,000 individual, or $100,000 houeshold, or $250,000 assets managed |
- Sign up bonus: 30,000 Scotia Rewards points when you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months ($300 value for travel).
- Rewards: 2x Scotia Rewards points for every $1 spent on:
- Groceries
- Dining out
- Entertainment
- Daily transit
- Rewards: 1x Scotia Rewards point for every $1 spent on everything else
- Exchange: 0% Foreign currency exchange (You will not pay 2.5% foreign transaction fees on any foreign currency purchases, including online shopping and when travelling abroad. Only the exchange rate applies.)
Passport Visa Infinite Review
While this card provides $100 more worth of value in sign-up bonus, the Scotia Rewards points that you earn on the Gold American Express are just so much better, that it’s hard to find reasons why would pick this card instead. The only other upside is that it is a Visa card, which is accepted more generally the an American Express card.
Learn more and sign-up now for the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card to receive the bonus!
ScotiaGold Passport Visa Card
| Annual Fee: | $110 |
| Credit Needed: | Good |
| Qualifying Income: | $12,000 |
- Sign up bonus: 5,000 Scotia Rewards points upon your first purchase ($50 value for travel).
- Rewards: 1x Scotia Rewards point for every $1 spent
- Rewards: 5% cash back on travel booked through Scotia Rewards Travel Service
ScotiaGold Passport Visa Review
While this card doesn’t offer a lot in terms of sign up bonuses or purchase rewards, the 5% cash back on travel booked through their service can be tempting for those who plan 1 or 2 expensive trips throughout the year. Booking $5,000 worth of travel through their system would alone get you $250 cash back.
Learn more and sign-up now for the Scotiabank Passport Visa card to receive the bonus!
Scotiabank American Express card
| Annual Fee: | $0 |
| Credit Needed: | Good |
| Qualifying Income: | $12,000 |
- Sign up bonus: 5,000 Scotia Rewards points on your first $500 in everyday purchases in your first 3 months ($50 value for travel).
- Rewards: 1x Scotia Rewards point for every $1 spent
Scotiabank American Express Review
For those specifically looking for a no fee, travel rewards credit card, this may be for you. The sign-up bonuses and rewards aren’t great though, and you may be better served by a no-fee cash back card instead.
Learn more and sign-up now for the Scotiabank American Express card to receive the bonus!
Scotiabank Platinum American Express
| Annual Fee: | $399 |
| Credit Needed: | Excellent |
| Qualifying Income: | $12,000 |
- Rewards: 4x Scotia Rewards points for every $1 spent on:
- Gas Stations
- Grocery stores
- Dining
- Entertainment
- Rewards: 1x Scotia Rewards point for every $1 spent on everything else
Platinum American Express Review
That $399 annual fee is pretty outrageous. I’m not quite sure who this card is for. The rewards for the Scotiabank Gold American Express far outweight this card at a lower annual fee. I would pass on this one.
Learn more or sign-up now for the Scotiabank Platinum American Express card!
Scotia Cash Back Credit Cards
Cashback credit cards are a great option to receive flexible rewards for using your credit card. Scotia provides their cash back rewards once a year as a lump sum bonus back to your card. I tend to use cash back cards the most, with the first card on the list as my favorite and most recommended card. Let’s take a look at the fee, and no fee cash back cards that Scotia offers:
Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card
| Annual Fee: | $120 |
| Credit Needed: | Excellent |
| Qualifying Income: | $60,000 individual, or $100,000 household, or $250,000 assets managed |
- Sign-up Bonus: No annual fee in the first-year
- Rewards: 4% cash back on:
- Groceries
- Recurring bill payments
- Rewards: 2% cash back on:
- Gas stations
- Daily transit
- Rewards: 1% cash back on all other purchases
Momentum Visa Infinite Review
This is the primary credit card that I use. Between the sign up bonuses currently being offered and the fantastic rewards categories, this is a card that is well worth the annual fee. I usually receive $500+ cash back every year for this card. Be aware when applying for this card that it requires higher credit and income qualifications than a lot of other cards.
Learn more and sign-up here for the Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite card to receive the bonus!
Scotia Momentum Visa Card
| Annual Fee: | $39 |
| Credit Needed: | Good |
| Qualifying Income: | $12,000 |
- Rewards: 2% cash back on:
- Gas stations
- Grocery stores
- Drug stores
- Recurring bill payments
- Rewards: 1% cash back on everything else
Momentum Visa Review
For people who don’t qualify for the Momentum Visa Infinite card, this card provides great rewards for a fairly low annual fee. Grocery store and gas purchases can really add up over the year, and the 2% reward is a nice bonus. The 1% cash back on everything else makes this a very competitive rewards card.
Learn more and sign-up now for the Scotiabank Momentum Visa card!
Scotia Momentum Mastercard Credit Card
| Annual Fee: | $0 |
| Credit Needed: | Good |
| Qualifying Income: | $12,000 |
- Rewards: 1% cash back on:
- Gas station
- Grocery store
- Drug store
- Recurring payments
- Rewards: 0.5% cash back on all other purchases
Momentum Mastercard Review
While a no-fee credit card is always nice, depending on how much you purchase on your credit card, it’s likely that you’ll earn more cash back with the Scotia Momentum Visa and it’s low annual fee instead. If you plan to spend less than $8,000 a year on your card though, then this card is great for it’s $0 annual fee. The Momentum No-Fee Visa twin to this card may better suit you though, just for the fact that Visa is accepted at Costco, and Mastercard is not.
Learn more and sign-up here for the Scotiabank Momentum Mastercard!
Scotia Momentum No-Fee Visa Card
| Annual Fee: | $0 |
| Credit Needed: | Good |
| Qualifying Income: | $12,000 |
- Rewards: 1% cash back on:
- Gas stations
- Grocery stores
- Drug stores
- Recurring bill payments
- Rewards: 0.5% cash back on all other purchases
Momentum No-Fee Visa Review
This card is a mirror of the above Scotia Momentum Mastercard, except that it’s a Visa card. Again, if you are spending above $8,000 a year on your card, then I would suggest the Scotia Momentum Visa instead. If picking between this card and it’s Mastercard twin, keep in mind that Costco only accepts Visa, and not Mastercard.
Learn more and sign-up here for the Scotiabank Momentum No-Fee Visa card!
Low Interest Cards
I’ve included the low interest card options in this review, in case anyone is curious about them. For the most part, I always recommend paying off your entire balance, and never paying any sort of interest fees on your credit card purchases.
But for those who are interested in low interest rate credit cards, here are the 2 options that Scotia provides.
Scotiabank Value Visa Card
| Annual Fee: | $29 |
| Credit Needed: | Good |
| Qualifying Income: | $12,000 |
- Sign-up bonus: 0.99% introductory interest rate on balance transfers for the first 6 months
- Rate: 12.99% interest rate on purchases and cash back
Value Visa Review
Again, I wouldn’t really recommend a credit card if you are planning to carry a balance and be charged interest. But if you are looking to consolidate debt and there are no non-credit card options, then this is an option to consider to lower your interest payments. Most other Scotia credit cards carry a 19.99% – 22.99% annual interest rate on balances.
Learn more and sign-up here for the Scotiabank Value Visa card to receive the bonus!
No-Fee Scotiabank Value Visa
| Annual Fee: | $0 |
| Credit Needed: | Good |
| Qualifying Income: | $12,000 |
- Sign-up bonus: 3.99% introductory interest rate on balance trasnfers for the first 6 months
- Rate: 16.99% interest rate on purchases and cash advances
No-Fee Value Visa Review
Similar to the card above, this card has no annual fee, but a 4% higher annual interest rate compared to the Value Visa. If you are planning to carry over $800 worth of balance over the year, then the Value Visa is a better choice.
Learn more and sign-up here for the No-Fee Scotiabank Value Visa card to receive the bonus!
Scotia Cards with Other Bonuses
Scotia does provide some other card options that don’t fit in the travel reward, cash back, or low interest categories. These cards provide niche areas of rewards, but can pay off if that is a niche you’re interested in.
SCENE Visa Card
| Annual Fee: | $0 |
| Credit Needed: | Good |
| Qualifying Income: | $12,000 |
- Sign-up bonus: 2,500 SCENE points with your first $500 in everyday purchases in first 3 months (roughly a $25 value)
- Rewards: 5x SCENE points for every $1 spent at Cineplex Theatres
- Rewards: 1x SCENE point for every $1 spent on all other purchases
SCENE Visa Review
This card tends to be a lot of young people’s first credit card, because it’s flashy and they don’t know that there are other options out there. But tying all of your rewards to a movie theatre isn’t a great idea. Again, depending on how you spend your money, you are likely better off with a cashback card like the Momentum No-Fee Visa, or the Momentum Visa. With the extra cash back you earn, you’ll be able to afford more free movies, and still have money to spare.
Learn more and sign-up here for the Scotiabank SCENE Visa card to receive the bonus!
Scotiabank GM Visa Card
| Annual Fee: | $0 |
| Credit Needed: | Good |
| Qualifying Income: | $12,000 |
- Rewards: 5% in GM Earnings on the first $5,000 of everyday purchases ($250 value annually)
- Rewards: 2% in GM Earnings after the first $5,000 in spending
GM Visa Review
Again, another rewards card that has a very specific way on how you can redeem your rewards. If you are planning to buy a GM car in the next few years, these cards could be a benefit to you, but if that’s the case, I would recommend the GM Visa Infinite option below.
Learn more and sign-up here for the Scotiabank GM Visa card!
Scotiabank GM Visa Infinite Card
| Annual Fee: | $79 |
| Credit Needed: | Excellent |
| Qualifying Income: | $60,000 individual, or $100,000 household, or $250,000 assets managed |
- Sign-up bonus: First year annual fee waived ($79 value)
- Rewards: 5% in GM Earnings on the first $10,000 of everyday purchases ($500 value annually)
- Rewards: 2% in GM Earnings after the first $10,000 in spending
GM Visa Infinite Review
For those saving up to buy or lease a new car, this card could work in your favor. The 5% in GM Earnings on the extra $5,000 (compared to the regular GM Visa card) makes the $79 annual fee worth it. While the cash back cards above generally are better as they give you flexibility on how you can spend your rewards, if you know you are purchasing a new GM car in the next few years, this card can really be worth it.
Learn more and sign-up here for the Scotiabank GM Visa Infinite card to receive the bonus!