Scotiabank American Express® Card Review

With American Express' personal cards, you can see if you will be approved before you apply, without impacting your credit score. To make this decision, Amex runs a soft credit check instead of a hard credit check.

Most lenders perform a hard credit check when you apply for a new card, which can temporarily impact your credit score. A soft credit check, however, does not affect your credit score.

Instant decisions are only available for personal card applications and the soft credit check process is not available for applications done by phone. 

Obviously, one of the first best perks 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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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!

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.