The Scotiabank Gold American Express credit card is a unique card. It is one of the few American Express cards in Canada to be issued by a bank other than American Express (if this is confusing, remember that American Express is both a financial institution and a payment network).
This card is also unique for its strong earning rates for food, including grocery and restaurants, as well as entertainment purchases. Couple that with no foreign transaction fees and the flexible Scene+ loyalty program, and you’ve got a card worth consideration for your collection.
Let’s explore everything you need to know about the Scotiabank Gold American Express card to see if this credit card is a good fit for your wallet.
Overview
Welcome Bonus
The Scotiabank Gold American Express credit card currently has a welcome offer in which cardholders can earn up to 40,000 Scene+ points:
- Earn 20,000 Scene+ points upon spending $2,000 in the first 3 months
- Earn 20,000 Scene+ points upon spending $7,500 in the first year
Plus: You can earn an additional $100 FlyerFunds Rebate on the Scotiabank Gold American Express card when you apply through Frugal Flyer Rebates!
The Scotiabank Gold American Express card earns up to 6x Scene+ points at Empire grocery stores and charges no foreign exchange fees on purchases made in foreign currencies.
In 2025, we awarded this card as the Best Fixed Value Points Credit Card.
Check out our Scotiabank Gold American Express card review for more details.
40,000 Scene+
$7,500
$500+
$120
No
Jul 1, 2025
This offer has an expiry date of Jul 1, 2025.
This card has a personal or household annual income requirement of $12,000.
Earning Rates
The Scotiabank Gold American Express card offers some pretty spectacular bonus point categories to accelerate your points earnings on eligible purchases which makes it a great card to use regularly as a “daily driver”.
These categories include:
- 6 Scene+ points for every dollar spent at Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, Foodland, FreshCo, Voilà by Sobeys, Voilà by IGA, Voilà by Safeway, Chalo! FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, IGA West, Les Marchés Tradition, Rachelle Béry and Co-Op.
- 5 Scene+ points for every dollar spent on “eat in & eat out” purchases, including purchases at eligible grocery stores, restaurants, fast food, and drinking establishments (bars and clubs). This also includes food delivery and meal box subscription services.
- 5 Scene+ points for every dollar spent on “watch & cheer” purchases, including eligible entertainment purchases, such as movies, theater purchases, and ticket agencies.
- Up to 4 Scene+ points for every dollar spent on hotel bookings, car rentals, and things to do with Scene+ Travel, Powered by Expedia.
- 3 Scene+ points for every dollar spent on “ride & drive” purchases, including eligible gas and daily transit purchases, such as rideshare services, buses, taxis, and more.
- 3 Scene+ points for every dollar spent on “listen & stream” purchases, including eligible streaming services.
Most notable is the 5x Scene+ points on any grocery or restaurant purchases. This is the highest earning rate in this category in Canada, with only a couple of other cards offering the same bonus.
With an earning rate on eligible purchases at Sobeys-affiliated grocery stores of 6x Scene+ points, this card is the best credit card for grocery purchases in Canada. Not to mention, it is also one of the best credit cards to use for dining out in Canada.
The 6x, 5x, and 3x multipliers are only in effect for up to $50,000 in total spending between those two categories per calendar year. Any spend done in those two categories beyond $50,000 in a calendar year will earn 1 Scene+ point per dollar spent.
Annual Fee
The Scotiabank Gold American Express card has an annual fee of $120. Scotiabank quite often offers an annual fee rebate as part of their welcome offers, so check out the terms and conditions of the current offer to see if that rebate applies.
Customers who have a Scotiabank Preferred Package account or a Scotiabank Ultimate Package account can also receive a rebate on the annual fee; double-check the benefits of your account to understand how this benefit works.
The Scotiabank Preferred Package account offers unlimited debit and Interac e-Transfer transactions. Account holders are entitled to one free monthly ATM withdrawal in Canada and a full annual fee rebate on eligible Scotiabank credit cards (up to $150).
Up to $500 welcome bonus + $75 FlyerFunds on approval
Chequing
Monthly fee waived with a minimum daily closing balance of $4,000 $16.95
Benefits
No Foreign Transaction Fees on Purchases in Foreign Currencies
Finding the best way to make purchases in foreign countries is an important part of traveling. Many countries take credit cards, however, almost all credit cards issued in Canada charge an additional 2.5% foreign transaction fee on all foreign currency transactions. This means that you will be spending an additional $2.50 per $100 spent on foreign currency purchases.
The reality is that credit cards with no foreign transaction fees are a rarity in Canada, and the Scotiabank Gold American Express card is one of the best Canadian credit cards that offers no foreign transaction fees as a benefit.
With the Scotiabank Gold American Express card, you will pay no additional foreign transaction fees. Instead, you will pay only the exchange rate set by American Express for the currencies being converted. This also applies to any online shopping purchases you make in a foreign currency.
Not having to worry about the added foreign transaction fee when you are traveling is a strong benefit of the Scotiabank Gold American Express card, as you will be saving on every foreign currency purchase over using a credit card that does not offer this benefit.
Insurance Coverage
The Scotiabank Gold American Express card comes with a strong package of insurance coverage, on par with premium-level cards like World Elite and Visa Infinite. Most importantly, it has a comprehensive travel insurance package that includes emergency medical coverage, trip cancellation/interruption, flight delay, lost/delayed baggage, and car rental insurance.
The following insurance coverages are available as part of the benefits of the Scotiabank Gold American Express card:
- Travel emergency medical insurance: $1,000,000 per person per trip (up to 25 days for cardholders aged 64 and under; up to 3 days for cardholders aged 65 and over)
- Trip cancellation insurance: $1,500 per person, up to $10,000 per trip
- Trip interruption insurance: $1,500 per person, up to $10,000 per trip
- Travel accident insurance: $500,000 of accidental death and dismemberment coverage
- Car rental theft and damage insurance: Comprehensive coverage for cars up to $65,000 MSRP
- Flight delay insurance: $500 coverage per person for reasonable purchases when delayed or missed connection for 4 hours or more
- Delayed and lost luggage insurance: $1,000 total coverage per trip
- Hotel burglary insurance: $1,000 total coverage for stolen items
- Mobile device insurance: $1,000 coverage for theft, loss, or accidental damage to your mobile device
- Purchase security: Coverage for accidental physical damage or theft for 90 days from the date of purchase (Maximum lifetime limit of $60,000)
- Extended warranty protection: Extend the manufacturer’s original warranty up to one additional year
Refer to the Scotiabank Gold American Express certificate of insurance for complete details and conditions.
Amex Offers
If you hold any other credit card issued by American Express, you will likely be familiar with Amex offers. These offers appear on your dashboard from time to time, with rebates and deals on shopping, dining, travel, and more.
With the Scotiabank Gold American Express card, you will also get access to many of these offers since the card is part of the American Express payment network.
Unlike with Amex-issued cards where offers appear in your online account, you need to manually register offers on Amex Connect to be eligible.
We’ve seen some phenomenal offers in the past through Amex, including the popular Shop Small promotion, discounts on Marriott Bonvoy hotel stays, and more, so it is definitely worth watching Amex Offers to see if you can register to your card to save on any future purchases
Redeeming Scene+ Points
Scene+ is the loyalty program that is tied to many of Scotiabank’s credit products, including the Scotiabank Gold American Express card.
Scene+ points can be redeemed in a variety of methods, including for travel, a statement credit, movie tickets at Cineplex theaters, shopping, dining, entertainment, and gift cards.
The best way to get the most value out of your Scene+ points is to redeem them for travel. Thankfully, the Scene+ program allows members to redeem these points for flexible travel purchases, meaning that you can redeem points against a flight, hotel, rental car, and other travel expenses that you have booked separately on your Scotiabank Gold American Express card.
When redeeming for travel, the actual cash value of Scene+ points is 1 cent per point. This means that, for example, 10,000 Scene+ points are worth $100 when redeemed for travel. And with the refundable hotel trick, you shouldn’t ever be redeeming Scene+ for less than 1 cent per point 😉
Comparable Credit Cards
One of the Scotiabank Gold American Express card’s strongest perks is its earning rate on grocery and restaurant purchases, which equates to a 5% return if redeemed for travel. With that in mind, let’s look at a couple of cards that have comparable earning rates and benefits.
American Express Cobalt Card
The American Express Cobalt card is a great alternative as it also earns 5 Membership Rewards points on grocery and restaurant purchases. Membership Rewards points are worth much more than 1 cent per point when transferred to partnered frequent flyer and hotel loyalty programs.
The American Express Cobalt card gives cardholders the opportunity to earn 5x Membership Rewards on eligible restaurant, food delivery, and grocery store purchases.
In 2025, we selected this card to receive the award Best Points Credit Card for Grocery Purchases.
Check out our American Express Cobalt card review for more details.
15,000 Membership Rewards
$9,000
$330+
$156
Yes
–
Since both cards are within the American Express network, card acceptance will be the same whether you decide to use the American Express Cobalt or the Scotiabank Gold American Express card for your purchases.
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card
As we’ve mentioned, there aren’t a lot of competitive credit cards that offer no foreign currency exchange fees in Canada. The best alternative available would be the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card as it also has no foreign exchange fees, saving you 2.5% on all transactions.
The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card offers benefits such as no foreign transaction fees and six annual complimentary airport lounge access passes.
In 2025, we awarded this card as the Best Overall Travel Credit Card and Best Credit Card for Foreign Transactions.
Check out our Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card review for more details.
40,000 Scene+
$40,000
$550+
$150
No
Jul 1, 2025
The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card also offers six complimentary airport lounge access passes per year through DragonPass. Ultimately, the no foreign transaction fees and complimentary lounge access make this card a great all-around solution for anyone who considers themselves a traveler.
We’ve previously compared the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card vs the Scotiabank Gold American Express card, so give that article a read if you are uncertain about which one to choose.
Who is the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card Best For?
There are three main aspects that I would consider evaluating when determining if the Scotiabank Gold American Express card is right for you:
- How much do you value flexibility in redeeming miles and points?
- What is your typical monthly spend on groceries and restaurants?
- Do you often make purchases in foreign currencies (online or in-person)?
These three elements are where the Scotiabank Gold American Express card really shines.
Personally, I love the flexibility that comes with redeeming Scene+ points for travel purchases and the no foreign transaction fees. For those aspects alone, this card is absolutely worth it for me. The card also only has a minimum income requirement of $12,000, making it one of the best credit card options for Canadians with a lower income.
If any of the above statements resonate with you, we highly recommend adding the Scotiabank Gold American Express card to your wallet. If you are going to apply, why not earn an additional $100 through FlyerFunds Rebates?
Conclusion
The Scotiabank American Express Gold credit card makes its mark in the Canadian credit card market with its strong earning rates, no foreign exchange fees, and easy-to-redeem rewards program. It truly is one of the best credit cards that are available to Canadians and one that we recommend adding to your wallet.
If you are interested in seeing what other Scotiabank credit cards the FlyerFunds Rebates program is offering cash back on, click to see all current Scotiabank credit card rebates.
Josh Bandura
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Are the multipliers only for purchases made in Canada? I tried foreign restaurants, ride shares, etc and I only got the 1x.
Last I heard, there was no bonus multiplier on foreign transactions.