Best Scotiabank Credit Cards in Canada
As the third largest bank in Canada, the Bank of Nova Scotia—A.K.A. Scotiabank—offers an impressive roster of credit cards to suit their customers’ needs. There are currently 18 credit cards to choose from, and we’ve rounded up the best in 10 categories to help you choose the one that’s right for you.
Best Scotiabank Travel Credit Card: Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card and Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite*Card
Best Scotiabank No Foreign Transaction Fees Credit Card: Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card and Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card
Best Scotiabank No-Fee Travel Credit Card: Scotiabank American Express® Card
Best Scotiabank Cash Back Credit Card: Scotia Momentum® Visa Infinite*Card
Best Scotiabank No-Fee Cash Back Card: Scotia Momentum® No-Fee Visa*Card
Best Scotiabank Low Interest Credit Card: Scotiabank Value® Visa*Card
Best Scotiabank No Annual Fee Credit Card: Scotiabank Value® No-Fee Visa*Card
Best Scotiabank Credit Card for Students: SCENE®* Visa*Card
Best Scotiabank U.S. Dollar Credit Card: Scotiabank® U.S. Dollar VISA* Card
Best Scotiabank Business Credit Card: Scotia Momentum for Business Visa Credit Card and Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Business Card
Best Scotiabank Travel Credit Card and Best Scotiabank No Foreign Transaction Fees Credit Card
Scotiabank Gold American Express®Card
With the Scotiabank Gold American Express®Card you do not pay any foreign transaction fees. This is great news for frequent travelers.
The earn rate is incredible. You get 5 Scotia Rewards points per $1 spent at grocery stores, restaurants, fast-food, and bars. That includes Skip the Dishes and subscriptions like Hello Fresh. You also earn 5 points per $1 on entertainment—think movies, theatre, and ticket agencies.
You earn 3 points per $1 on gas and daily transit, plus select streaming services. All other purchases earn you 1 point per $1.
If those earnings don’t impress you, maybe the signup bonus will. You’ll earn 50,000 Scotia Rewards points when you charge $1,000 in the first 3 months. That’s worth up to $500! Charge $7,500 in the first 12 months, and you’ll get an additional 20,000 points.
And what can you do with all those points? Turns out, they’re pretty flexible. You can redeem them for a statement credit to cover any travel-related expense or book travel through Scotiabank’s online portal.
Throw in a comprehensive travel insurance package and Priority Pass membership, and you’ve got yourself a powerful and versatile travel rewards card. For an annual fee of $120, the new and improved Scotiabank Gold American Express®Card packs quite a punch.
Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite*Card
The Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite*Card offers 2 points for every $1 spent on grocery store, dining, entertainment, and transit purchases, and 1 point per $1 on everything else. That’s hardly best-in-class, so why does the Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card tie for best Scotiabank travel credit card?
Two reasons: a very lucrative bonus point offer and no foreign transaction fees.
Let’s start with the bonus points. You earn 40,000 Scotia Rewards points when you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months. That’s worth up to $400, is easy to obtain, and is a solid reason to try this card for a year.
But wait, there’s more. Every year you charge $40,000 to your Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card, you’ll get 10,000 bonus points, plus an extra 2,000 points for every extra $10,000 charged. If you can hit the $40,000 minimum each year, the 10,000 bonus points will nearly cancel out the $139 annual fee.
If that wasn’t enough, the Scotiabank Passport® Visa*doesn’t charge any foreign transaction fees. It comes with a suite of travel insurance benefits, Visa Infinite benefits, and includes six free airport lounge passes.
The Best Scotiabank No-Fee Travel Credit Card
Premium travel credit cards have their target audience, but you don’t have to commit to an annual fee to enjoy travel rewards. The Scotiabank American Express® sports a golden combination: it has no annual fee, and offers a signup bonus.
You’ll earn 5,000 Scotia rewards points when you spend $500 in the first 3 months.
Of course, the rewards don’t stop there. You’ll earn 1 point for every $1 you spend with the Scotiabank American Express® points are redeemable for travel any time, with no restrictions.
When you do take a trip, the included travel insurance package will have you covered. You get travel emergency medical, trip interruption, travel accident, and rental car collision loss/damage insurance. For no annual fee, that’s impressive.
Best Scotiabank Cash Back Card
The Scotia Momentum® Visa Infinite* Card offers one of the highest cash back rates in the market. You’ll earn 4% cash back on groceries, recurring bill payments, and subscription services. Gas and daily transit purchases earn you 2%, and all other purchases yield 1% cash back. It’s easy to ramp up the value by setting up all your recurring bill payments on this card.
The Scotia Momentum® Visa Infinite*Card includes a travel insurance package and access to all the Visa Infinite benefits, including a 24/7 concierge. It also offers new mobile device insurance up to $1,000.
Welcome offer: No annual fee in the first year, including on supplementary cards
The $120 annual fee is waived for the first year, so you have nothing to lose by trying it out. That being said, people who spend a lot on groceries and recurring bill payments will get value from the Scotia Momentum® Visa Infinite* Card even with the annual fee.
Best Scotiabank No-Fee Cash Back Card
It’s a basic no-annual fee card that pays 1% cash back on eligible grocery store, gas, and drug store purchases, along with recurring bill payments. The rate on other purchases is 0.5%.Want cash back rewards but can’t stomach an annual fee? Meet the Scotia ® Visa Infinite*’s little sister: the Scotia Momentum® No-Fee Visa*Card.
There is an introductory offer: Earn 5% cash back on all purchases for the first 3 months (up to $2,000 in total purchases) and 1.99% on balance transfers for the first six months. If you have to carry a balance, this offer can mean big savings. And speaking of savings, the Scotia Momentum® No-Fee Visa* also saves you 25% off Avis car rentals.
Fun fact: Scotiabank also offers a Mastercard version of this card.
Best Scotiabank Low Interest Credit Card
Scotiabank Value® Visa*
When you’re carrying a balance, interest rate is your card’s most important feature. Scotiabank Value® Visa*Card offers a low rate of 12.99% on purchases, cash advances, and balance transfers. For the first 6 months, get cash advances for a 0.99% introductory rate.
Carrying a balance on the Scotiabank Value® Visa* instead of a typical credit card can save you hundreds in interest. The difference between 12.99% and 19.99% can really add up.
Transferring higher-interest balances to this card can be a smart way to take advantage of the low rate and repay your debt quicker.
This card carries a low $29 annual fee, but for cardholders with a balance, the interest savings are more than worth it. As a bonus, the Scotiabank Value® Visa* Card saves you 25% on AVIS rental cars.
Best Scotiabank No Annual Fee Credit Card
Scotia Momentum® Mastercard®* Credit Card
A low-introductory purchase rate card with no annual fee, the Scotiabank Momentum® Mastercard*includes a 25% discount on AVIS rental cars.
But here’s where the card really shines: for the first 6 months, there’s a 7.99% introductory rate on purhcases. This presents a great opportunity to save on onterests for the first 6 months.
Anyone looking into carrying a balance for the first 6 months to make a purhcase with lower interest rates should consider getting the Scotiabank Momentum® Mastercard* to capitalize on this opportunity.
Best Scotiabank Credit Card for Students
Scotiabank’s SCENE®* Visa* Card isn’t exclusively for students, but cinema-lovers among their ranks will appreciate this card’s simple and lucrative rewards structure.
In case you didn’t know, Scene is Cineplex’s rewards program. Members earn Scene points when they buy movie tickets. Points can be redeemed at Cineplex theatres for free movies and food, and at select restaurant chains.
The SCENE®* Visa* Card takes things up a notch. It pays 1 Scene point for every $1 spent on everyday purchases and 5 Scene points per $1 spent at Cineplex theatres or Cineplex.com.
Plus, it comes with a welcome bonus of 2,500 Scene points with your first $500 in everyday purchases in first 3 months.You can redeem for a FREE movie with just 1,250 points.
Student or not, 1 free movies for no annual fee is a sweet deal. Anyone who goes to Cineplex theatres (or makes purchases on their website) regularly would be smart to carry this card just for the 5 Scene points per $1.
Best Scotiabank U.S. Dollar Credit Card
The Scotiabank ® U.S. Dollar VISA* Card is a good solution for people who frequently travel to the U.S. or make purchases in U.S. Dollars.
When making U.S. Dollar purchases with most Canadian credit cards, you pay the exchange rate plus a 2.5% foreign transaction fee. This means you’re paying 2.5% more for every transaction. The Scotiabank ® U.S. Dollar VISA* takes the guess work out of the conversion and ditches the 2.5% fee for U.S. Dollar purchases.
The U.S. price you see is exactly what’s charged to your card. If you have a U.S. Dollar bank account, you can pay your card from that account without dealing with any exchange rates.
There’s a $35 annual fee, but for frequent U.S. shoppers, the recouped 2.5% on every transaction will quickly cancel out the fee. You also enjoy peace of mind with purchase security and extended warranty on purchases made with the card.
Best Scotiabank Business Credit Card
Scotia Momentum for Business Visa Credit Card
The Scotia Momentum for Business Visa Credit Card is a cash back card tailored to meet the needs of business owners.
It pays 3% cash back on the first $50,000 you spend each year at gas stations, restaurants, office supply stores, and on recurring bill payments. On all other purchases and after the $50,000 cap, you earn 1%.
The annual fee is $49, and business owners can order up to 6 supplementary cards ($29 each) for partners or employees. Every card linked to the account earns cash back, and purchases made with each card are clearly labeled on the statement. This makes it easy to assign spending accounts while keeping records organized.
Besides the attractive cash back rate, the Scotia Momentum for Business Visa Credit Card has an enticing balance transfer introductory offer. For the first 6 months, pay just 2.99% (22.99% after that). This is an excellent opportunity to transfer higher-interest balances and funnel the interest savings into debt payments.
Scotia Momentum for Business Visa cardholders also enjoy travel emergency medical and rental car collision loss/damage insurance. A somewhat unique benefit is a slightly extended grace period: 25 days instead of the typical 21.
Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite Business* Card
The new Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Business Card is a premium travel rewards card for business owners.
We’ll say this up front: there’s a $199 annual fee. But before you scoff, take a minute to consider the benefits.
First of all, you can earn up to $500 in bonus offers in your first year. Here’s how it works: earn 40,000 Scotia Rewards points when you charge $5,000 in the first 3 months. Those points are worth up to $400 and are easy to obtain. To get the other 15,000 points, you have to charge $60,000 to the card in the first 12 months. That’s more of a challenge, but business owners putting though all their expenses may not have a problem.
Besides the extremely lucrative signup bonus, you’ll earn 1.5 points for every $1 you spend. Anyone who earns the full 50,000 signup bonus would have to charge at least $60,000 in their first year, which means they’d earn 90,000 points on their purchases. If you’re keeping track, that’s 140,000 points in one year—worth up to $1,400 in travel!
The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Business Card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, which means big savings for frequent travelers. It also includes complimentary airport lounge access and a comprehensive insurance package.
Best Scotiabank Credit Cards in Canada
Best Scotiabank Travel Credit Card: Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card and Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite*Card
Best Scotiabank No Foreign Transaction Fees Credit Card: Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card and Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card
Best Scotiabank No-Fee Travel Credit Card: Scotiabank American Express® Card
Best Scotiabank Cash Back Credit Card: Scotia Momentum® Visa Infinite*Card
Best Scotiabank No-Fee Cash Back Card: Scotia Momentum® No-Fee Visa*Card
Best Scotiabank Low Interest Credit Card: Scotiabank Value® Visa*Card
Best Scotiabank No Annual Fee Credit Card: Scotiabank Value® No-Fee Visa*Card
Best Scotiabank Credit Card for Students: SCENE®* Visa*Card
Best Scotiabank U.S. Dollar Credit Card: Scotiabank® U.S. Dollar VISA* Card
Best Scotiabank Business Credit Card: Scotia Momentum for Business Visa Credit Card and Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Business Card
Scotiabank Credit Card FAQs
How to get a credit card at Scotiabank?
The best way to get a Scotiabank credit card is to either apply online or at branch. The first step would be to review the credit card options available and choose one that meet your needs. You can review our article on the top Scotiabank credit card by category
If you visit the branch, please bring the following items with your completed application.
- Last 3 months pay slips or job letter
- If self-employed, 6 months of bank statements, receipts or invoices, and last 2 years of tax returns and financial statements (if available)
- Two of the following pieces of identification: passport, driver’s license, or ID card
- Two of the following utility bills: telephone (excluding mobile phone bills), electricity.
- Confirmation of existing loans, credit card debt, disclosed assets and savings
Can you go over your credit card limit Scotiabank?
First and foremost, it is not recommended to go over your credit limit since it could impact your credit card utilization rate and your credit score.
If you go over your credit limit, there are 2 potential scenarios:
- Your credit card issuer might just decline the transaction.
- Some credit card issuers may approve the transactions that exceed your credit limit, however they usually charge an over-limit fee of up to $30 the first time you go over your limit and the same or more if you do it again.
Perhaps it might be worth applying for a credit limit increase.
If you would like to submit a request to increase to your credit limit, you have three options:
- Online: Log in to your Scotia OnLine® account to make your request
- By Phone: 1-800-367-6466 for (Canada/USA)
- In person at your Scotiabank branch
What is minimum payment due in credit card Scotiabank?
The minimum payment due for Scotiabank credit card is 3% of your outstanding balance. Please review your online banking account or credit card statement to confirm the amount and payment due date.
Does Scotiabank have secured credit card?
The Scotiabank does not have a secure credit card. One great option for a secure credit card is Refresh Financial, read our review here.
Author Bio
Mohamed Konate is a personal finance expert, blogger, and marketing consultant based out of Toronto. He is a former financial services professional who worked for many years at major Canadian financial institutions where he managed the marketing strategy around various financial products ranging from credit cards to lines of credit. Mohamed is passionate about personal finance and holds a Bachelor in Business Administration from the University of Quebec (Montreal) and a Master in International Business from the University of Sherbrooke (Quebec).He is also the author of the Canadian Credit Card Guidebook.
You may also like..
