Scotiabank Platinum 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.

Signing up for a credit card always feels better when there’s a welcome bonus involved. With the Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card, you can expect an intro offer of extra Scene+ points when you hit a specified spending cap on everyday eligible purchases in the first few months of membership. Additionally, you can earn even more points when you spend a specific amount in everyday eligible purchases in your first 14 months of membership. That’s two exciting ways to collect tons of Scene+ points right from the start.

Perhaps one of the biggest perks of the Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card is that it has no foreign transaction fees, making it one of the best no foreign transaction fee credit cards in Canada. This means that you can shop internationally without incurring any extra charges (which on other cards is typically about 2.5%). This particular perk is rare, and extremely valuable for travellers and online shoppers. 

The Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card grants you 10 visits to Priority Pass and Plaza Premium lounges, plus 4 visits for supplementary cardholders. Note that after you use up these complimentary visits, you will be subject to a fee.

To gain entry at participating Priority Pass lounges, you’ll need to present your Priority Pass Membership Card or Digital Membership Card to reception. 

To visit Plaza Premium lounges, provide reception with your Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card.

With this access, you’ll be able to visit more than 1200 Airport VIP lounges across the globe – no matter which class or airline is on your ticket. Once inside, enjoy a soothing atmosphere stocked with complimentary snacks and refreshments, internet, and conference spaces.

With 13 comprehensive coverage categories, it’s safe to say that the Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card allows you to travel and tap your card with peace of mind. These categories include valuable protections like emergency medical over 65, trip interruption and trip cancellation coverage, plus mobile device insurance. You’ll also notice generous coverage values across most categories.

Compared to other credit cards on the market, the Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card is equipped with low interest rates for both cash advances and purchases. These rates are about half the value of some of the interest rates you'll see (on average) on other cards.

Switching to a low-interest credit card like the Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card is optimal for those who worry about needing to carry a balance from time to time. This way, you can catch up on your payments without collecting many large extra charges along the way.

At over 8,500 locations spread across 147 countries, the Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card allows you to reap the benefits of becoming a Hertz #1 Club Gold Member.

This membership provides prompt services (by bypassing the rental counter), minimal paperwork, and other premium privileges (like rental car pre-selection) at participating Hertz rental car locations. 

Whether you need a last-minute restaurant reservation, tickets to a nearly sold-out show, or help picking out an epic anniversary gift – there’s a credit card concierge service for that.

The Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card gives you access to 24/7 support that specializes in travel and lifestyle bookings. 

As long as you’re prepared to pay the bill, your concierge is ready to do all the planning.

Instead of being tied to specific travel platforms like you are with other points loyalty programs, Scene+ points allow you to make flexible travel arrangements through any travel provider. 

Here’s how to secure a covered booking:

• Book your eligible trip using your Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card.
• Keep an eye out for when your trip expense is posted to your card.
• Once you see your trip on your statement, log into sceneplus.ca.
• Tap “Apply Points to Travel” to cover any eligible trip costs within 12 months of the date of the purchase.

The Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card’s annual fee certainly sits on the higher end of the spectrum. To get the most out of this fee, you’ll need to make sure you’re prepared to take advantage of all the card’s perks.

Speaking of annual fees and perks, for such a high yearly cost, it can be argued that the Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card could come with more premium perks like free checked baggage, travel credits, and priority boarding (benefits offered by competitors of a similar price-range).

Compared to other credit card networks like Mastercard or Visa, American Express is less widely accepted as a source of payment – specifically in places across Europe or small-scale retailers.