A new elevated welcome bonus offer on the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card is here for the summer and early fall! The new offer provides up to 35,000 bonus Scene+ points which is a 5,000 point boost over the previous offer. The offer is promoted as up to 45,000 points in the first year as you can also earn a 10,000 point bonus if you spend $40,000 on the card annually.
This card is considered the best No Foreign Transaction fee cards in Canada and is one the most well rounded credit cards in Canada – it provides a great balance of points earning, flexible redemption options, travel benefits and insurance coverage.
The 35,000 (up to 45,000) bonus points offer
The new welcome bonus offer on the card is broken down as follows:
- Earn 35,000 bonus Scene+ Rewards points by making at least $2,000 in everyday eligible purchases in your first 3 months.
- Plus, as a Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite cardholder, you are eligible to earn an annual 10,000 Scene+ Rewards point bonus when you spend at least $40,000 in everyday net eligible purchases annually. (As this is a permanent feature of the card that is awarded annually, we feel it should not be included as part of the welcome bonus but Scotia does do so, so we do list it as well)
Click here to apply for the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card
Earning Points
The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card earns Scene+ points as follows:
- 3 Scene+ points for every $1 charged to your account on all eligible purchases1 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.
- 2 Scene+ points for every $1 you spend at eligible grocery stores, dining, entertainment and daily transit
- 1 Scene+ point for every $1 you spend on all other eligible everyday purchases
The earn rates of 3 and 2 points per dollar are capped at $50,000 combined spending annually across those accelerated categories. If you reach the $50,000 cap, the earn rate is 1 Scene+ point per dollar on all spend above that amount.
Redeeming
Travel redemptions
Falling into the Rewards Canada “Travel Points” category in our annual credit card rankings means the points earned are part of the credit card’s semi-proprietary reward program, in this case Scene+ and not a totally separate co-brand program like Aeroplan or AIR MILES. For the vast majority of Canadians this is a good thing since you are not bound by the restrictions and limitations that frequent flyer programs and programs like AIR MILES put on flights and in fact you are not limited to only flights but any travel. This card falls into the book any travel anywhere category of Travel Points cards which means you don’t have to redeem via Scene+ Travel. All you have to do is book your travel whether it be aircanada.com, westjet.com, expedia.ca or anywhere else including your trusted travel agent and when that charge shows up on your statement you simply call up Scotia or go online and redeem points against the charge.
Points are redeemed at a rate of 100 points for $1. That is the beauty of this card and many like it, you don’t have to have the full amount of points to begin to enjoy the rewards! If you buy an airline ticket for $600 and have 30,000 points you can choose to redeem those points for a $300 credit which means your flight only cost $300. You also get 12 months after the travel charge posts to your account to redeem points so you can continue to pay off that vacation with points up to a year after! There aren’t too many card programs in Canada that give you that amount of time to redeem after the fact. Another benefit of this’ book travel on your own’ is you can be on vacation and buy travel on the card (say a rail ticket) and then redeem points when you get home. Essentially the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card falls into the category of most flexible travel rewards cards.
Grocery Redemptions
Now that Empire Company Limited stores like Sobeys, Safeway, IGA and more are part of Scene+ you can redeem the points earned on this card directly at the till to help pay for your groceries. The redemption rate is 1,000 for $10 which means you receive the same return as you would if redeemed for travel. This is a great option from the card and the Scene+ program especially given with the inflation we are seeing in the nation.
Scene+ Partner Redemptions
You can also redeem the points earned on this card at all eligible Scene+ partners including Cineplex and Home Hardware plus their dining partners like Harvey’s, Swiss Chalet and more. Depending on the partner the redemption rate is 100 points to $1 up to 1,000 points for $10 which means you receive the same return as you would if redeemed for travel or groceries. Once againg this is a great option from the card and the Scene+ program as you don’t lose any value across any of these primary redemption options. You don’t have to worry about redeeming 1,000 points at Home Hardware thinking their could be better value for travel or groceries – that’s not the case here!
Cash Back Redemptions
There are also non-travel redemption options in the Scene+ program. Probably the second most popular after travel would be their Points for Credit option which is essentially a cash back option. This works in the same vain as the travel rewards option although with a different redemption rate. Basically you can apply points to receive a cash back credit on a non-travel charge. The redemption rates are as follows:
| Cash Back Credit | Points Required | Rate of Return |
|---|---|---|
| $20 | 3,000 | 0.667% |
| $30 | 4,500 | 0.667% |
| $50 | 7,500 | 0.667% |
| $75 | 11,000 | 0.681% |
| $100 | 14,500 | 0.689% |
| $150 | 21,500 | 0.697% |
| $300 | 43,000 | 0.698% |
| $500 | 71,500 | 0.699% |
For the points earned as 1 point per dollar your cash back return are the rates seen above and for your 2 points per dollar it will be double that and 3 points per dollar will be triple that. Not the most ideal seeing there are cash back cards that have better returns but at least the option is here on this card since it is primarily a travel rewards card.
Other Redemptions
You can also redeem Scene+ points for merchandise directly from Apple and Best Buy or via their own merchandise catalog. The last redemption option is using points to redeem for gift cards for dozens of stores, restaurants and more. All these redemption options also come in at a lower value than the above redemptions (Except for gift cards for Scene+ partners) but it is nice to have them as an option!
Airport Lounge Membership + 6 annual passes
The card also offers free Visa Airport Companion membership which allows access to over 1,300 business class lounges Worldwide including Plaza Premium lounges. Normally the pass costs US$99 per year plus your entry fee into each lounge of US$35. The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card also gives you six complimentary lounge access passes each year valued at a total of US$210. As you can see the lounge benefit is worth over C$400 alone which more than covers the $150 annual fee on the card.
Wrapping it up
When you apply for the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card and are approved you can earn up to 45,000 Scene+ points in your first year, those points are worth $450 towards travel, groceries movies and more. On top of the welcome bonus, you don’t have to worry about paying foreign transaction fees with this card, get great airport lounge access benefits and excellent insurance coverage!
Click here to apply for the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card
*See Card Provider’s website and Card Application for complete card details, terms and current offers. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accuracy of information
