A reminder that the enhanced grocery earn rates on select Scotia Scene+ credit cards kick in today. For most of the cards you will earn an extra point over the existing grocery store earn rate at stores operated by Empire Company Limited. These stores include Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland and more. Along with the better earn rates there are several other changes being implemented on the cards as detailed below.
The Scotiabank card changes
Unless noted, all other earn rates, benefits, insurance etc. remain the same on these cards.
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card
The well rounded Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card will see the following changes:
- The card will earn 3X Scene+ points for each dollar 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
- The annual fee for the primary card is changing from $139 to $150.
- Interest rates on the card are being bumped up by 1%
This card continues to be well rounded with these changes simply by getting this better earn rate at Empire stores. It is unfortunate to see the annual fee being bumped up but Scotia had the space to do so as some of this card’s competitors already charge $150 for the primary card.
Scotia Gold American Express Card
The top card from Scotiabank will see the following changes:
- The card will earn 6X Scene+ points for each $1 CAD 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.
- Mobile Device Insurance will be added as of October 1
- Interest rates on the card are being bumped up by 1%
This is huge – 6 points per dollar at these grocery stores equates to a 6% return when those points are redeemed for travel. This is the highest earn rate in Canada for groceries when you don’t take into account something like the Cobalt card’s ability to convert to Aeroplan and other programs.
Scotia SCENE Visa Card
The original Scene card that is your entry level card option for the Scene+ program will change as follows:
- The card will earn 2X Scene+ points for each dollar 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.
- The accelerated earn rates on purchases1 at Cineplex theatres and online at CIneplex.com are changing from 5X Scene+ points to 2X Scene+ points for each dollar charged to your account.2
So we do see a devaluation here for what this card was originally intended for – movies. However in the end cardholders should end up earning more points with the new increased earn rate of 2 points per dollar at all the Empire stores,
Scotiabank American Express Card
The no annual fee American Express Card in Scotia’s portfolio not only undergoes changes as of tomorrow but will have the following adding on October 1:
- The card will earn 3X Scene+ points for each dollar 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.
Despite losing all of its travel insurance on July 1 this no fee card stands to move up the ranks thanks to its increased earn rates!
Additional points earning
You have to remember that you will earn additional Scene+ points at all of Empire’s stores simply by showing your Scene+ loyalty card with bonus offers that may be available. This is aa program that has extremely strong grocery store earning when you use their credit cards! I mean 6 points per dollar alone on the Gold American Express is a 6% return before all the other points you can earn.
Wrapping it up
The combination of Scotia, Scene+ and the Empire group of stores has become a powerhouse when it comes to loyalty programs and your grocery shopping. It’s just too bad a lot of Canadians are unaware of what the Scene+ program is now. It was quite apparent looking at the replies on Twitter to Safeway announcing the switch that many don’t know what the program has evolved into. We are doing our best here at Rewards Canada to get the word out and I know a lot of our readers are fully aware of how good Scene+ is now but alas we only make up a small portion of the Canadian population.