Scotiabank American Express® Card Review

If you want to earn points that you can use towards entertainment and travel, all for no annual fee, then the Scotiabank American Express Card could be the credit card for you.

To unpack everything there is to know about this no-fee Amex card’s rewards, benefits, downsides, and competitors, check out this informative review.

How You Earn Rewards with the Scotiabank American Express Card

Here are the exact specialized categories that will earn you American Express Membership Rewards points with the Scotiabank American Express Card:

• 3 points per dollar spent at Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland & Participating Co-ops 
• 2 points per dollar spent on dining and at other grocery stores, plus entertainment purchases at places like movie theatres and ticket agencies
• 2 points on rides, including rideshare, buses, taxis, subways and more
• 2 points on eligible streaming services, including Netflix, Spotify, Disney+, Crave and more
• 1 point on everything else

Clearly, this card was made for the budget-conscious everyday spender. Whether you tap your Scotiabank Amex card at partnered grocers, restaurants, the movies, the subway, or link it to your Netflix account, you’ll collect plenty of valuable points.

Redeeming your Rewards with the Scotiabank American Express Card

Speaking of point value, it’s important to talk about what exactly you can spend your Scotiabank American Express Card’s American Express Membership Rewards points on.

Here’s a look at this card’s redemption categories, ranked of course from most valuable to least valuable:

• Entertainment and Experiences: referring to redeeming your points towards entertainment purchases at movie theatres, performances, and concerts.
• Travel: when you redeem your points towards any regular travel or travel booked through a partnered platform.
• Groceries (at Sobeys): redeeming your points towards grocery stores, in this case, Sobeys.
• Restaurants: when you redeem your points at eligible restaurants.
• Merchandise: using your points to purchase eligible everyday items.
• Gift Cards: purchasing an eligible gift card with your points.
• Statement Credits: redeeming your points towards your credit card statement balance.

Despite the order of this list, the first four redemption categories (entertainment and experiences, travel, groceries at Sobeys, and restaurants) actually offer the same value for your points, meaning there are plenty of high-value redemptions to choose from. This makes the Scotiabank American Express card ideal for different types of cardholders, whether you like to use points to complement your trips, your nights out, or your appetite.

6 Benefits of the Scotiabank American Express Card

There’s no better way to determine the value of a credit card than to look at its benefits.

Here’s an overview of all the perks included on the Scotiabank American Express Card:

Top Earning No-Annual-Fee Option

Obviously, the first best perk worth mentioning is the fact that the Scotiabank American Express Card has no annual fee. Along with having low income requirements, this makes the card accessible to all types of applicants.

What makes this card even more tempting is the fact that it's also one of the top earning no-fee credit cards in Canada.

A Generous Scene+ Sign-Up Bonus

A good welcome bonus is sometimes the final incentive you need to commit to a credit card. 

With the Scotiabank American Express Card, you can earn extra Scene+ points when you meet a specified spending requirement on everyday purchases in the first few months of membership. That’s not all, you can earn more Scene+ points when you meet an even higher spending requirement on everyday purchases within that same timeframe.

So, if you plan on running tons of errands in the first few months of receiving your card, you can accumulate more rewards than expected.

A Strong Scene+ Rewards Program

Besides the welcome bonus, the Scene+ rewards program on the Scotiabank American Express Card is already something to brag about.

The points you earn on popular everyday categories like partnered grocers, dining, entertainment, transit, and streaming are already competitive amongst other cards on the no-fee market.

American Express Experiences

American Express Experiences are a standard across Amex issued credit cards. 

Still, it’s worth mentioning that this perk includes the American Express Front Of The Line program which provides cardholders with presales and reservations to the hottest concerts, performances, and restaurants – not to mention the option to reserve blocks of exclusive seating.

Car Rental Discounts

If you’re constantly on the road and in need of a rental car, the Scotiabank American Express Card also comes with a car rental discount off base rates at Avis Rent A Car and Budget Rent A Car across Canada and the U.S.

How do you access these deals? All you’ll need to do is pay with your Scotiabank Amex card.

You can make reservations in advance through each rental company either online or by phone.

A Valuable Insurance Inclusion

The insurance categories on the Scotiabank American Express Card are pretty basic – particularly its inclusion of standard purchase protection and extended warranty insurance.

That said, this card is also equipped with mobile device insurance, a rare and valuable insurance type that protects your most prominent sidekick – your mobile phone.

2 Downsides of the Scotiabank American Express Card

Where there’s benefits, there’s also downfalls.

Here are some of the drawbacks associated with the Scotiabank American Express Card:

Amex Acceptance

As with any American Express credit card, one of the most prevalent cons is the network's lower acceptance rate. 

Compared to other networks like Mastercard and Visa, American Express cards are less widely accepted around the world (particularly within Europe) and at small-scale retailers. Travellers and small-business shoppers beware!

Minimal Insurance Coverage

While it’s nice that the Scotiabank American Express Card includes valuable mobile device insurance alongside useful purchase protection and extended warranty insurance, it still doesn’t offer cardholders a ton of protection.

This is especially true for those using the Scotiabank Amex for travel redemptions. In this case, it would be helpful if the card came with some travel-specific insurance to support your trips.

Comparison to other Top No-Fee Points Cards

There are a couple of other high-ranking no-fee points credit cards on the Canadian market that are worth comparing to the Scotiabank American Express Card.

After reviewing all of these no-fee options, you can make an informed decision about which budget-friendly contender is best for you.

Here’s a sneak peak at these upcoming comparisons:

Scotiabank Amex vs American Express Green Card

Another Amex no-fee contender is the American Express Green Card, your eco-friendly option for flexible rewards and redemptions.

While the rewards program is extremely versatile, offering an American Express Membership Rewards point on every dollar spent on all purchases, this reward rate falls particularly low compared to the rates offered by the Scotiabank American Express Card on specialized everyday spend categories. Still, it’s important to note that American Express Membership Rewards points are typically worth more than Scene+ points, making the card more valuable in the long run, especially if you're redeeming your points towards travel.

The coverage on the Amex Green Card is nothing special, offering standard extended warranty and purchase protection insurance. Unlike the Scotiabank Amex, it doesn’t offer any valuable protections like mobile device insurance.

As for benefits, both cards come with American Express Experiences, but instead of a rental car discount (which you receive with the Scotiabank Amex), the Amex Green Card provides cardholders with extra points on Amex Travel Online purchases – making this card a superior no-fee travel option.

Ultimately, the American Express Green card is the better choice for budget-conscious travellers who will use their flat-rate American Express Membership Rewards points towards travel redemptions, and those who want to earn extra points on their Amex Travel Online bookings. Otherwise, if you want better insurance, more point-potential on popular categories, and are happy to collect Scene+ points to redeem towards both travel and everyday expenses and experiences, then the Scotiabank American Express Card is still the better no-fee option.

Scotiabank American Express Card vs CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card

Let’s talk travel some more.

The CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card is a great contender for travellers who want to avoid annual credit card fees. 

With this card, you can earn an Air Canada Aeroplan point on every dollar you spend on eligible gas, electric vehicle charging, groceries, and Air Canada purchases. You’ll technically earn more points on everyday spend categories like groceries with the Scotiabank American Express Card, and your Scene+ points will also offer more redemption value across more categories overall, but if you happen to be a traveller who wants to use their rewards towards Aeroplan flights and car rentals, plus earn points specifically on Air Canada travel bookings – then the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card is a solid choice.

Another aspect of the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card that makes it well-suited for travellers is the fact that it offers a couple of travel-oriented insurance coverages, specifically car rental damage and theft insurance, and travel accident insurance.

Regarding benefits, you’ll swap Amex Experiences and a car rental discount for flight discounts and extra Aeroplan points at partnered brands and online retailers through the Aeroplan eStore.

There’s a slightly higher income requirement on the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card, but it takes your entire household income into account and is still pretty low overall.

So, you might pick the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card instead of the Scotiabank American Express Card if you’re a frequent Air Canada traveller who wants extra travel insurance, travel-focused earnings and Aeroplan redemptions, and perhaps even to avoid Amex’s low acceptance rate.

Scotiabank American Express Card vs MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard

Now for a Mastercard competitor.

The MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard earns you MBNA Rewards points on every dollar you spend on restaurant, grocery, digital media, membership, and household utility purchases. While many of these everyday categories differ from those offered by the Scotiabank American Express Card, the Scotiabank Amex still optimizes groceries purchases at partnered grocers (like Sobeys) even more. Even though MBNA Rewards points are worth more overall, both cards offer the same redemption rate for travel and the Scotiabank American Express Card offers more valuable redemption categories (including entertainment, groceries, and restaurants). 

As far as insurance goes, the two cards offer the same three coverage categories – purchase protection insurance, extended warranty insurance, and mobile device insurance. However, you can get a higher coverage amount under mobile device protection with the MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard.

Conveniently, both cards also offer car rental discounts as a benefit, but the MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard also boasts a rare annual birthday bonus that earns you extra points based on your points earned in the 12 months leading up to your birthday month.

Unlike the Scotiabank American Express Card, the MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard has no income requirements.

Therefore, the MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard could be for the no-fee card for you if you want to avoid Amex acceptance rates, plus you want a little more mobile device coverage, and a rare birthday bonus. Alternatively, the Scotiabank American Express Card is the better card for flexibility, since Scene+ points have more redemption options.

Scotiabank American Express Card vs Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card

Last but certainly not least, we need to compare one no-fee Scotiabank card to another.

The Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card offers points per dollar spent at places like Cineplex, Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, and Foodland and participating co-ops. In comparison to the Scotiabank American Express Card, you could earn more points on purchases made at partnered grocers, plus extra points on dining, transit, and streaming.

A disappointing factor about the Scotiabank Scene+ Visa is that it offers no insurance coverage, whereas with the Scotiabank American Express Card, you get extended warranty, purchase protection, and mobile device insurance.

For benefits, the Scotiabank Scene+ Visa only offers the same car rental discount at Avis Rent A Car and Budget Rent A Car as the Scotiabank American Express Card. The Scotiabank American Express Card also grants you Amex Experiences – which comes with tons of its own perks.

There’s also the added catch that the Scotiabank Scene+ Visa has higher income requirements – making it less accessible to some applicants.

So, it’s safe to say that you’ll actually get a better, more extensive rewards program with the Scotiabank American Express Card, plus better coverage (as opposed to none), and more comprehensive benefits through the American Express Experiences perk. That said, if you want a no-fee Scotiabank card that avoids Amex acceptance rates, you can still find some decent value through the Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card.

Final Verdict

The Scotiabank American Express Card is a top option for a no-fee card that earns cardholders plenty of Scene+ points on multiple everyday spend categories, plus tons of ways to redeem those points.

Still, there are plenty of other no-fee cards on the Canadian market that offer better travel perks, more benefits, and sometimes superior coverage – depending on what you’re looking for.

Overall, it’s a great no-fee option that’s sure to please budget-conscious everyday spenders, travellers, and entertainment enthusiasts.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the income requirements for the Scotiabank American Express Card?

After reading through our review, you might be wondering what the Scotiabank American Express Card’s income requirement is.

As of now, the card requires applicants to have a personal income of $12,000.