Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card vs CIBC Costco Mastercard: Which one is better?

Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card

4.9

More Details

RECOMMENDED CREDIT SCORE

300

Poor

560

Fair

660

Good

725

Very Good

760

Excellent

CIBC Costco Mastercard

3.4

More Details

RECOMMENDED CREDIT SCORE

300

Poor

560

Fair

660

Good

725

Very Good

760

Excellent

Finly Rebate

+$200 Cash Rebate from FinlyWealth

Now +$200 until Oct 31, 2024

Finly Rebate

N/A

Rewards Breakdown

Annual Rewards

$613.54

Scene+

Welcome Bonus

$450

Scene+

Annual Fee

$120

First Year Value

$1,063.54

$493.54 in years after

Based on $2,000/mo average spending. Calculate your rewards.

Rewards Breakdown

Annual Rewards

$347.33

Welcome Bonus

Annual Fee

First Year Value

$347.33

Based on $2,000/mo average spending. Calculate your rewards.

Insurance Included

Mobile Device Insurance

$1,000

Purchase Protection

90 days

Extended Warranty

Up to a year

Emergency Out of province Medical

$1M, Up to 25 days

Emergency Medical Over 65

$1M, Up to 3 days

Trip Cancellation

$1500/person, $10000/trip

Trip Interruption

$1500/person, $10,000/trip

Lost or Stolen Baggage

$500/person, $1000/trip

Baggage Delay

$500/person, $1,000/trip After 4 hours

Flight Delay

$500/person

Travel Accident

$500K/person, $1M/occurrence

Car Rental Damage & Theft

$65K up to 48 days

Hotel Burglary Insurance

$1000/occurrence

Insurance Included

Mobile Device Insurance

$1,000

Purchase Protection

90 days

Extended Warranty

Up to a year

Extra Benefits

No Foreign Transaction Fees

Avoid the 2.5% foreign transaction fees incurred when spending in non $CAD

American Express Experiences

Concierge Services

Discount

Discount on PriorityPass Membership

Extra Benefits

N/A

Interest Rates

Purchase:

20.99%

Cash Advance:

22.99%

Balance Transfer:

22.99%

Interest Rates

Purchase:

20.75%

Cash Advance:

22.49%

Annual Fee

$120

First Year Waived

Annual Fee

Income Required

Min Personal Income:

$12,000

Min Household Income:

N/A

Income Required

Min Personal Income:

$15,000

Min Household Income:

N/A

Welcome Bonus

Earn 25,000 bonus Scene+ points by making at least $1,000 in everyday eligible purchases in your first 3 months. Plus, for a limited time, you are eligible to earn a 20,000 Scene+ point bonus when you spend at least $7,500 in everyday eligible purchases in your first year.

Welcome Bonus

N/A

Rewards Rate

6 Points on on every $1 you spend at Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland & Participating Co-ops
5 Points dining and at other eligible grocery stores, entertainment purchases which includes movies, theatre, and ticket agencies
3 Point on Rides which includes rideshare, buses, taxis, subways and more
3 Points on eligible streaming services (Netflix, Spotify, Disney+, Crave and more)
1 Point on everything else

Rewards Rate

3% cashback on Restaurants and CostcoGas
2% cashback on Costco.ca purchases (Max $160 yearly)
2% cashback on Gas (Max $100 yearly)
1% on everything else

Loyalty Program

Scene+

Loyalty Program

N/A

Point Redemption Options

Entertainment

1¢ / point

Travel

1¢ / point

Groceries (Sobeys)

1¢ / point

Restaurants

1¢ / point

Merchandise

0.76¢ / point

Gift Cards

0.74¢ / point

Statement Credits

0.7¢ / point

Point Redemption Options

Not Applicable

Is this card worth it?

The Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card is one of our favorite cards. It has a very solid rewards program, earning one of the highest rewards among all credit cards in Canada. In addition, it offers comprehensive travel benefits, including the rare and valuable no foreign transaction fee benefit, making it a great and balanced credit card in terms of both rewards and benefits. The first-year annual fee waiver is the cherry on top, providing even greater value to cardholders.

Is this card worth it?

The CIBC Costco Mastercard offers one of the highest cashback rates on restaurant purchases in Canada, making it an excellent choice for optimizing rewards in this specific category, especially since it has no annual fees. If you use Costco Gas or shop on Costco Online, there is a decent cashback rate as well. However, for other categories, the cashback rate is average. Notably, you will be better off using other credit cards for warehouse Costco purchases, as you will only earn 1% cashback. If you are looking for no annual fee credit cards only, this is a good card to go for.

Pros

No foreign transaction fee saves you 2.5% on all non-CAD purchases.
Rewards cover all high-spending categories, including food, groceries, entertainment, and gas.
Comprehensive coverage of all travel insurance.

Pros

Decent reward rate for a no annual fee credit card
One of the highest cashback rates for restaurant purchases in Canada
Has Mobile insurance

Cons

The card network is American Express, which might not be widely accepted in some countries, making it a bit harder to use the no foreign transaction fee benefit.
Having a lounge pass would have made this card even more perfect, but there is access to a discount code for lounge access pass purchases.

Cons