Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite* Privilege Card Review

In all honesty, this new Scotiabank contender is tempting enough to make you trade in your current travel credit card – perhaps even your Amex Platinum.

Sounds too good to be true? You’ll understand once you see the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card’s jaw-dropping trip-oriented rewards program, extensive travel perks, and comprehensive insurance coverage.

To learn more about Scotiabank’s newest release, keep reading.

How You Earn Rewards with the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card

To start things off, here’s a closer look at the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card’s rewards program.

With this card, you’ll earn:

• 3x the Scene+ points per dollar spent on eligible travel purchases, plus an extra 3x points on hotel bookings, car rentals, and experiences when you book through Scene+ Travel, Powered by Expedia
• 2x the Scene+ points per dollar spent on eligible dining and entertainment
• 1x the Scene+ points per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases

Based on these earn categories, with the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card, cardholders have the perfect companion to cover their trips, restaurant visits, and activities. 

Redeeming your Rewards with the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card

Since the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card accumulates Scene+ points, there are multiple redemption opportunities through this loyalty program, such as: 

• Entertainment: Using points to fund visits to activity zones like Rec Room or Playdium.
• Travel: Applying points towards flights, hotel stays, car rentals, and all other arrangements booked through Scene+ Travel.
• Groceries (Sobeys): Redeeming Scene+ points towards purchases made at partnered grocers, like Sobeys.
• Restaurants: Using points to eat in or dine out.
• Merchandise: Paying for eligible merchandise with points through Scene+ Apple and Best Buy storefronts and catalogues.
• Gift Cards: Using points to purchase eligible gift cards.
• Statement Credits: Redeeming points as cash towards your statement balance.

The above categories are conveniently ranked from most valuable to least valuable, so you know how to optimally redeem your points towards future purchases. You can learn more about the Scene+ points value through our page here.

10 Benefits of the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card

Now that we’ve covered rewards, let’s dive into this card's perks.

As a cardholder, you can expect:

1) A Boast-Worthy Welcome Bonus

When you sign up for the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card, you’re welcomed with the potential to earn 80,000 Scene+ points (expires Oct 31, 2025).

For a better picture of how you can pocket these extra points, here’s a brief breakdown on how this promotional offer works:

• In the first 3 months, when you spend at least $3,000 in everyday eligible purchases, you’ll receive 30,000 bonus Scene+ points.
• In the first 6 months, when you spend a minimum of $20,000 in everyday eligible purchases, you’ll be rewarded with another 30,000 Scene+ points
• Finally, when you make at least one eligible purchase that is posted to your account during the 14th month after the first month the account was opened, you can collect an additional 20,000 bonus Scene+ points

Altogether, the value of these bonus points add up to $800 – talk about an enticing way to get started!

2) Impressive Point Potential

Aside from the welcome bonus points, the everyday point potential of the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card is impressive in its own way, earning cardholders strong Scene+ points on eligible travel bookings. This category’s value then doubles when you book hotel stays, car rentals, and experiences through Scene+ Travel.

If that wasn’t enough, the card also supports foodies and activity enthusiasts with decent reward rates on eligible dining and entertainment.

3) No Foreign Transaction Fees

Nothing’s more travel-friendly than no foreign transaction fees.

With the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card, forgo the usual 2.5-3% added fee on purchases when you're travelling outside of Canada.

4) An Annual Travel Credit

Just when you thought travelling with the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card couldn’t get any better, primary cardholders also receive an annual travel credit of $250 (the highest in Canada), applicable towards their first vacation booking of the year through Scene+ Travel.

This credit can be applied to any featured flights, hotels, rental cars, or packages.

5) Ample Airport Lounge Access

Looking to wind down before you’re miles high? The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card also provides cardholders with 10 complimentary Dragon Pass airport lounge visits per year at over 1,200 locations worldwide, including exclusive dining and retail offers. 

6) An Avis Status Lift

For superior treatment as you’re trying to snag a rented set of wheels, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card also provides cardholders with an Avis President’s Club membership. 

This membership unlocks line bypass at rental facilities and exclusive car-class upgrades.

7) Getaway Upgrades

Through the Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection, members can collect exclusive benefits at thousands of hotels, including premium perks at over 60 Sandman, Sandman Signature, and Sutton Place Hotels across Canada.

Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege cardholders are also eligible for exclusive benefits at over 200 Relais & Chateaux restaurant and hotel properties around the world – pampering both guests and gourmet palates.

8) On-Call Concierge Services

With the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card, Visa Infinite Privilege concierge assistance is also available 24/7 to help with any bookings, arrangements, or planning.

9) Priority Travel Perks

Sometimes, first-class travel happens before takeoff. Experience priority security and taxi lanes, plus discounts on valet and parking services at select Canadian airports.

10) Comprehensive Insurance Coverage

To compliment all of these amazing perks, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card also provides 13 comprehensive insurance categories.

Valuable protections include trip interruption and trip cancellation insurance, hotel burglary insurance, car rental damage and theft insurance, and emergency medical coverages with up to $5 million insured (within eligible time frames). 

2 Downsides to the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card

Of course, along with perks, every credit card comes with its downsides.

When considering the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card, keep these drawbacks in mind:

1) A High Annual Fee

While the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card’s annual fee of $599 isn’t quite as high as the American Express Platinum Card's fee of $799, it still comes pretty close.

That said, if you make use of all the benefits provided by this card, as with the American Express Platinum Card, the annual fee can be completely offset by the card’s overall potential value.

2) High Annual Income Requirements

Something that’s a bit more restrictive than a high annual fee, is the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card’s high annual income requirements.

To be eligible for this card, you need to have either a personal annual income of $150,000 or a household annual income of $200,000.

Comparison to Other Top Travel Credit Cards

As always, to help you truly decide whether the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card is the right fit for you, we’re going to compare it against a couple of the best travel credit cards in Canada.

Here’s a quick look at the comparisons we’ll be making:

Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card vs Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card

We figured the best place to start is to compare one Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card to another.

Compared to the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card is much more affordable annually, plus it comes with much lower annual income requirements, making it accessible to a wider selection of applicants.

In terms of its rewards program, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card earns cardholders solid Scene+ points at partnered grocers like Sobeys, Safeway, and Foodland, plus the same amount of points per dollar spent on dining and entertainment. Unlike the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card also optimizes groceries from un-partnered retailers and eligible transit services. While the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card also earns cardholders additional points on hotel, car rental, and experience bookings made through Scene+ Travel, these bonus points don’t accompany an overall travel category, as they do with the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card. That said, travel optimization is still superior with the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card.

In terms of coverage, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card also tends to be more extensive and comprehensive across most shared categories, particularly protections like emergency medical insurances. Unlike the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card also includes mobile device insurance.

While both cards share benefits like no foreign transactions fees, Visa Infinite Exclusive Benefits, and concierge services, certain shared categories hold better value through the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card. For example, while the two contenders share Dragon Pass airport lounge access, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card offers 10 free visits and the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card only offers 6. Likewise, both cards come with Avis status lifts, but the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card rewards cardholders with a higher membership tier. In addition to these shared categories, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card goes on to add more valuable benefits like its annual travel credit and its priority travel perks.

Ultimately then, if you want a no-foreign-transaction-fee travel card that’s more affordable and accessible with more specialized earn categories available, apply for the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card (get more information here). Otherwise, if you want a more premium version of the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card, complete with better travel point-potential, more comprehensive and extensive insurance coverage, and more benefits, consider the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card instead. 

Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card vs American Express Platinum Card

We referenced the American Express Platinum Card a couple of times in this review, so it's only fair that we bring it out for a proper comparison.

As mentioned, the Amex Platinum Card’s annual fee is quite a bit steeper than the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card – but that’s to be expected since, technically, the Amex Platinum still comes with more perks overall.

Conveniently, the American Express Platinum Card also has no annual income requirements, the same thing cannot be said for the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card.

As for reward programs, the Amex Platinum earns cardholders decent points per dollar spent on eligible dining and food delivery purchases – a rate that’s similar to dining rate provided by the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card. However, the Amex Platinum Card earns members fewer points per dollar spent on eligible travel purchases (even before the bonus Scene+ Travel points provided by the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card). On top of all of this, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card has more specialized earn categories overall, with the addition of entertainment optimization.

You’ll also want to consider that, when it comes to redeeming points towards travel, generally, American Express Membership Rewards points are more valuable than Scene+ points.

Now on to coverage, you’ll see that the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card offers more extensive and comprehensive insurance coverage than the American Express Platinum Card. Specifically, categories like lost or stolen baggage insurance, hotel burglary insurance, emergency out of province medical insurance, and trip interruption insurance have higher coverage values. The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card also adds categories like mobile device insurance and emergency medical over 65 insurance to its roster.

If it’s benefits you’re going for, while both premium cards comes with concierge services, status lifts, travel credits, and priority travel perks, the American Express Platinum Card ultimately includes more perks overall, like unlimited airport lounge access through the American Express Global Lounge Collection, a dining credit, complimentary hotel benefits, a Nexus Program rebate, and trip and legal assistance. Still, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card has some more enticing offers like no foreign transaction fees and a slightly higher annual travel credit.

In conclusion, if you want a premium travel credit card that emphasizes perks, accessibility, and travel redemption value, consider the American Express Platinum Card. On the other hand, if you’d rather a premium credit card that has a better rewards program, better coverage, and some important travel perks like no foreign transaction fees, all for a lower annual fee, then stick to the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card.

Final Verdict

The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card has made its debut just in time for 2025’s high-traffic travel season. This contender meets traveller needs with its lucrative trip-oriented rewards program, comprehensive and extensive travel coverage, and valuable perks like no foreign transaction fees, lounge access, and an annual travel credit.

If this upgraded version of the Scotiabank Passport Visa is too expensive, you can also check out what we consider to be the best overall travel credit card in Canada, the original Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card.

Or let’s say you want to go premium but don’t have the income to support a successful Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card application, in that case, stick with the tried-and-true American Express Platinum Card for more travel perks overall (as long as you can front the extremely high annual fee).