Review: Scotiabank Gold American Express Card

The Scotiabank Gold American Express credit card is a unique card indeed. It is the first American Express card in Canada to be issued by a bank other than American Express (if this is confusing, remember that Amex is both a bank/issuer and a payment network).

What else makes the card unique is 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+ Rewards program, and you’ve got a card worth consideration for your collection.

Let’s dive into our Scotiabank Gold American Express card review and look at everything the card has to offer.

Overview

Welcome Bonus

The Scotiabank Gold American Express credit card currently has a welcome offer in which cardholders can earn up to 45,000 Scene+ points:

  • Earn 25,000 Scene+ points upon spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
  • Earn 20,000 Scene+ points upon spending $7,500 in the first year

Plus: You can earn an additional $200 FlyerFunds Rebate on the Scotiabank Gold American Express card when you apply through Frugal Flyer Rebates!

Scotiabank Gold American Express Card
Apply Now Learn More Earn $200 in FlyerFunds upon approval.
Scotiabank Gold American Express Card

The Scotiabank Gold American Express card earns Scene+ Rewards points and gives cardholders the opportunity to earn 5x Scene+ points on grocery, restaurant, and entertainment purchases. This card charges no foreign exchange fees.

Check out our Scotiabank Gold American Express card review for more details.

BONUS
45,000 Scene+
MINSPEND
$7,500
NET VALUE
$450+
ANNUAL FEE
$120 (FYF)
FOREX FEES
No
EXPIRY
Oct 31, 2024

This offer has an expiry date of Oct 31, 2024.

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+ Rewards 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+ Rewards 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+ Rewards points for every dollar spent on “watch & cheer” purchases, including eligible entertainment purchases, such as movies, theater purchases, and ticket agencies.
  • 3 Scene+ Rewards 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+ Rewards points for every dollar spent on “listen & stream” purchases, including eligible streaming services.

Most notable is the 5x Scene+ Rewards 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+ Rewards 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+ Reward 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.

Scotiabank Preferred Package
Apply Now Learn More
Scotiabank Preferred Package

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).

SPECIAL OFFER
Up to $600 welcome bonus + $125 FlyerFunds on approval
ACCOUNT TYPE
Chequing
MONTHLY FEE
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.

See the table below for more details on each insurance offering.

InsuranceDetails
Travel Emergency Medical InsuranceCoverage for 25 consecutive days of up to $1 million for each of you, your spouse, and your dependent children.
Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption InsuranceCoverage of $1,500 per person for travel expenses (maximum $10,000 per trip). Must charge at least 75% of trip costs to the card.
Flight Delay InsuranceCoverage of $500 for flight delay of 4 hours or more. Must charge 75% of ticket cost to the card.
Delayed and Lost Baggage InsuranceCoverage of $1000 lost or stolen luggage. Must charge the full cost of the airplane, train, bus, or cruise ticket to the card.
Travel Accident InsuranceCovered against accidental loss of life or dismemberment. Must charge 75% of ticket cost to the card.
Rental Car Collision Loss & Damage InsuranceCoverage of damaged or stolen vehicles up to the full cost of the vehicle. Must charge the full cost to the card, the rental period cannot exceed 48 days and the vehicle cannot cost over $65,000.
Hotel & Motel Burglary InsuranceCovered against theft of personal property if your room is broken into, up to $1,000. 
Purchase Security & Extended Warranty ProtectionCoverage of damaged or stolen vehicles up to the full cost of vehicle. Must charge the full cost to the card, the rental period cannot exceed 48 days and the vehicle cannot cost over $65,000.

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.

American Express Connect offers for Scotiabank Amex credit cards

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+ Reward Points

Scene+ Rewards, previously known as the Scotiabank Rewards program, is the program that is tied to many of Scotiabank’s credit products, including the Scotiabank Gold American Express card.

Scene+ Rewards 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.

scene points redemption options

The best way to get the most value out of your Scene+ Rewards 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 😉

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+ Rewards 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 through FlyerFunds Rebates?

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.

American Express Cobalt Card
Apply Now Learn More
American Express Cobalt Card

The American Express Cobalt card earns Membership Rewards points and gives cardholders the opportunity to earn 5x Membership Rewards on eligible restaurant, food delivery, and grocery store purchases.

In 2024, we selected this card to receive the award Best Credit Card for Grocery Purchases.

Check out our American Express Cobalt card review for more details.

BONUS
15,000 Membership Rewards
MINSPEND
$9,000
NET VALUE
$174+
ANNUAL FEE
$156
FOREX FEES
Yes
EXPIRY

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. 

Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card
Apply Now Learn More Earn $150 in FlyerFunds upon approval.
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card

The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card earns Scene+ Rewards points and offers cardholders benefits such as no foreign transaction fees and six complimentary airport lounge access passes annually.

Check out our Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card review for more details.

In 2024, we awarded this card as the Best Foreign Transaction Credit Card.

BONUS
35,000 Scene+
MINSPEND
$40,000
NET VALUE
$200+
ANNUAL FEE
$150
FOREX FEES
No
EXPIRY
Oct 31, 2024

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.

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

Josh Bandura

Co-Founder at Frugal Flyer
Josh has been involved in the miles and points game since 2015 but has scaled up his knowledge and points earning potential in recent years. With a consistent attitude of "min-maxing" in many aspects of his life, Josh has transferred this mindset over to the miles and points game. Always looking for the next big opportunity, he aims to share content on a variety of topics including his travels, miles and points, and most importantly, how to get the most out of your credit cards

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2 comments on “Review: Scotiabank Gold American Express Card

  1. Are the multipliers only for purchases made in Canada? I tried foreign restaurants, ride shares, etc and I only got the 1x.

    Reply