The world of credit cards is constantly changing. Banks are constantly releasing new cards, while changing and modifying old ones. The Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite credit card has been around for a few years, and has gone through many changes over those years. With all of those changes, it still offers great cash back, great perks, and the best option for a mid range cash back credit card. In this Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite review, I’ll look at all of the pro’s (and cons) of this card.
Learn more about the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite sign up bonus
Annual Cash Back
Let’s start with the major perks of the card; the cash back! Last year, the card went through some changes, modifying the categories that provide cash back. As of February 2020, here are the cash back earnings:
4% Cash Back on Groceries
This is that category that provides me (and most people) the greatest cash back opportunities. A single person can spend anywhere between $200 – $400 a month on groceries – that’s almost $100 – $200 cash back per year, shopping for one person, just on groceries!
4% Cash Back on Recurring Payments
Don’t underestimate your recurring bills that are charged to your credit card. Cell phones, home internet and cable, Netflix/Amazon Prime, subscription boxes – receive 4% cash back on all of these things. These definitely vary person to person, but between my cell phone, home internet, and Netflix, I spend $200 a month on recurring bills, which amounts to another $100 cash back per year for me!
2% Cash back on Gas
This category used to be 4% cash back in previous years for the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite card, but after changes last year, they bumped recurring payments up to 4% (from 2%) and bumped gas down to 2%. This change actually worked great for me. I have a small car and do a lot of city driving with a few longer trips every month or two. This only amounts to about $100 a month in gas purchases for me. So that amounts to about $25 cash back per year for me for this category. This may be less useful for those who drive larger, gas heavier vehicles, but 2% cash back is still quite good.
2% Cash Back on Daily Transit
For those living in cities with car sharing, or those who have a monthly bus pass, this is a new perk for this card that comes in handy. Unfortunately, I live in a city that does not yet have car sharing companies, but taxi’s are still covered. I usually buy about $20 worth of bus tickets per month and maybe $25 worth of cab rides. For me that amounts to about $11 cash back a year for this category. That’s not a ton for me, but for those more reliant on alternative forms of transit, (particularly those of you who use Uber and Lyft a fair bit) this category can pay off.
1% Cash Back on Everything Else
The 1% cash back on all other purchases is my main reward category, as it likely will be for other users of this card. I use my Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite credit card for absolutely every purchase I make, and pay off my bill every month. This maximizes my rewards, builds my credit, and makes it so I pay no interest or late payment fees.
I spend roughly $2500 a month on my credit card. When you minus the estimates on what I spend on the other reward categories mentioned above, ($400 groceries, $200 recurring payments, $100 gas, $45 daily transit) I spend $1,755 a month in the 1% cash back category. That amounts to $210 cash back a year!
Sign Up Bonuses Worth $20
For those of you new to the Scotiabank credit cards, when you sign up for the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite card, you get the following bonus rewards:
No Fee for First Year
You are eligible to waive the first year of the annual fee for the credit card (more on that below). This is a $120 value.
Keep in mind that individuals who are currently or were previously primary or secondary cardholders of a Scotiabank retail credit card in the past 2 years, including those that switch from an existing Scotiabank retail credit card, as well as employees of Scotiabank, are not eligible for the offers
More on the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite sign-up bonus
Insurance and Coverage
I used to not put too much stock in that additional insurance and benefits that you receive when making purchases on a credit card, but all it takes is taking advantage of 1 claim to understand the benefits. And there is 1 new insurance offer that I’m particularly excited about:
New Mobile Device Insurance!
This is the insurance that I’m most excited about. When we carry $1,000+ cell phones in our pockets, purses and bags with us everywhere we go, having insurance can give a little peace of mind. The coverage even covers lost or stolen phones!
For new cell phones, smartphones, or tablets purchased after August 1, 2019 when you charge the full cost of the device OR ALL OF YOUR BILL PAYMENT (on a purchase plan) to your card You may be covered for up to $1,000 in the event your cell phone, smartphone, or tablet is lost, stolen, accidentally damaged, or experiences mechanical failure.
Purchase Security & Extended Warranty Protection
Another great perk that shouldn’t go unnoticed – extended warranty on purchases!
Most items purchased anywhere in the world are automatically insured against theft, loss or damage as long as the full cost of the item is charged to your Scotia credit card.
Coverage extends for the first 90 days from the date of purchase. It is limited to the lesser of the repair cost, replacement cost or original purchase price, and is in excess of any other insurance coverage.
When you charge the full cost of most items to your Card, extended warranty coverage doubles the original manufacturer’s warranty for up to one year.
Travel Insurance
This credit card also provides a variety of travel insurance and perks. These are the types of things you don’t realize that you want or need, until something happens to you, at which point you’ll be relieved that you booked your trip through your Scotia card:
- Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption Insurance
- Travel Emergency Medical Insurance
- Flight Delay Insurance
- Travel Accident Insurance
- Rental Car Collision Loss/Damage Insurance
Fees and Downsides
So I’ve covered everything the card has to offer in terms of cash back, bonuses, perks and insurance, but with the good does come some downside.
$120 Annual Fee (waived first year)
The main downside is that annual fee of the card. While you can waive it in your first year of use as a new account holder, after that it will cost $120 per year. But this is easily off set by the cash back you’ll earn in the year.
Qualifying Income
To qualify for the card, you’ll need to have a minimum annual income of $60,000 or a minimum household income of $100,000 or a minimum assets under management of $250,000. This may disqualify many from being approved for the card.
If you’re unsure whether or not you have the credit score to be approved for a credit card, you can check your credit for free through Borrowell. I use this service to track and monitor my credit status.
Annual Cash Back Payment
This one isn’t a major downside for me, but you are only eligible for your cash back payment once per year (in November). This means you don’t have the flexibility to use your rewards whenever you want, such as cards that provide monthly cash back rewards. Again, not really a big deal, but something to be aware of.
Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Review 2020
Let’s look at the potential cash back earnings for a first time user of this card in their first year:
- 4% Groceries – $200 annual cash back
- 4% Recurring Payments – $100 annual cash back
- 2% Gas – $25 annual cash back
- 2% Transit – $11 annual cash back
- 1% Everything Else – $210 annual cash back
- TOTAL: $546
These are all estimates of course, but you could reap the rewards of almost $550 in cash back in your first year.
If we look at the second year of use, with adding in the $120 annual fee, you are still looking at a total cash back of roughly $425!
On top of that, you get the Mobile Device Insurance, as well as the myriad of other perks that I’ve covered.
I’m on my 3rd year of use with this card, and I still use it as my primary credit card. In my research, even with the annual fee, it still nets me the most cash back rewards of any cash back credit card! I highly recommend this card.