Review: Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card

The Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card has seemingly been flying under the radar of Miles & Points enthusiasts. This is not too surprising given that the card is tethered to the Scene+ program, which likewise doesn’t get quite as much love as airline and hotel loyalty programs like Aeroplan and Marriott Bonvoy.

However, the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card has a slew of great benefits that shouldn’t be overlooked – from its 5-6x earning multiplier at grocery stores and restaurants to its no foreign transaction fee feature, and more.

In this review, we’ll take a deep dive into this underrated card.

What we love: no foreign transaction fees, great domestic earning rates, flexible Scene+ points

What we’d change: apply earning rates to foreign purchases, make Scene+ points transferable

Low Income Requirement and Affordable Annual Fee

One of the standout features of the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card is its low minimum income requirement of just $12,000 per year, which is significantly lower than the $60,000–$80,000 typically required for Visa Infinite or World Elite Mastercard products.

This makes the card accessible to students, newcomers to Canada, or anyone starting out in an entry-level or part-time job.

The $120 annual fee is also more affordable than most premium rewards cards in its class, many of which charge $139 or more. Better yet, the fee is often rebated in the first year as part of the welcome offer, lowering the barrier to entry even further.

Consistent Welcome Bonus

The welcome bonus of the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card consistently ranges from 40,000–50,000 Scene+ points, which is worth up to $400–500 (all figures in CAD). The all-time high offer on the card was for 50,000 Scene+ points, and is currently available.

The Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card has a consistent welcome bonus

Generally speaking, at least part of the welcome bonus on Scotiabank’s suite of Scene+ cards has an easy-to-achieve minimum spending requirement, including on the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card.

The second half of the bonus is somewhat more difficult to earn; however, the good thing is that you usually have a full year to fulfill the requirement, which you can stagger as needed or fulfill it all when you have trips abroad. After all, as we’ll discuss below, this card doesn’t levy foreign transaction fees.

Everyday Earning: One of the Best in the Country

A standout feature of the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card is its accelerated earning rates for purchases made within Canada.

On domestic purchases, the card earns Scene+ points as follows:

• 6 Scene+ points per dollar spent at Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, FreshCo, and other eligible Scene+ partner merchants†
• 5 Scene+ points per dollar spent on groceries, dining, and entertainment†
• 3 Scene+ points per dollar spent on gas, transit, and streaming services†
• 1 Scene+ point per dollar spent on all other purchases†

There are only a handful of cards that offer 5x rewards at restaurants and grocery stores. In fact, among American Express cards, this card’s only rival is the well-regarded American Express Cobalt Card.

Admittedly, the Cobalt Card earns better rewards, since its Membership Rewards (MR) points can be converted to a handful of hotel and airline programs, like Marriott Bonvoy and Aeroplan; however, the card’s 5x “Eats and Drinks” spending category has a limit of $2,500 a month, which you can easily breach if you have a big family or spend a lot of money dining out.

In contrast, the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card has an accelerated earning limit of $50,000 a year, which is much higher than the Cobalt Card’s overall limit.

Plus, if you do your grocery shopping at Empire Company stores, such as Sobeys, Safeway, and FreshCo, you’ll earn an extra Scene+ point per dollar spent, corresponding to a total of 6% back in rewards.

The Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card has excellent earning rates

The 3x earning rate on gas, transit, and rideshares is nothing to scoff at either. This includes purchases on Presto in Ontario, Compass in Vancouver, and even Uber or Lyft rides.

Even better, you can later redeem Scene+ points to offset many of these transit charges—more on that in the redemption section.

One thing to note about the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card is that it only earns a flat rate of 1 Scene+ point per dollar spent (after conversion) on foreign purchases. In other words, none of its accelerated earning multipliers apply outside Canada.

That’s one area where its sister card, the Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite* Card, comes out ahead, which earns 2 Scene+ points per dollar spent (after conversion) on transit, groceries, dining, and entertainment outside Canada, despite also being a no-foreign-transaction-fee card.

Flexible Scene+ Points: No Portals, No Headaches

Scene+ points might not have the glitz of airline or hotel currencies, but they’re simple, flexible, and consistently valuable.

You can redeem them at a fixed rate of 1 cent per point toward a wide range of purchases, including groceries, dining, hotels, flights, car rentals, public transit, and even rideshare services like Uber and Lyft.

Clearly the redemption opportunity of most interest for the Miles & Points community is the ability to redeem Scene+ points against any travel purchase charged to the card at the standard rate of 1 cent per point.†

What really sets Scene+ apart is that you don’t need to go through a specific travel portal to unlock full value.

You can book directly with your preferred airline or hotel, charge the expense to your card, and then redeem points against the transaction afterward, up to 12 months.

This avoids inflated portal prices, limited availability, and the headache of dealing with a third-party customer service rep when plans change.

Personally, the biggest perk of booking direct is that you preserve your hotel elite status benefits—something most third-party bookings strip away. Whether it’s room upgrades, free breakfast, or late checkout, you’ll still enjoy these perks when you book through the hotel directly.

Some other fixed-value programs, like the TD Rewards, reduce the redemption rate if you don’t book through their proprietary portal. So you’re forced to choose between losing status perks or accepting a weaker return on your points.

Scene+ avoids that compromise entirely.

Sure, this isn’t the program to use for booking aspirational first class flights or high-end luxury hotels. But for simple, flexible redemptions that actually fit real-life spending, Scene+ gets the job done.

Aside from travel, Scene+ points can also be redeemed at:

• Empire Company grocery stores (Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, FreshCo, etc.)
• Cineplex (including The Rec Room and Playdium)
• Home Hardware
• Recipe Unlimited restaurants (Harvey’s, Swiss Chalet, Montana’s, etc.)
• Gift cards, merchandise, and statement credits (generally at a lower redemption value)

These non-travel redemptions won’t always offer the same level of value, but they do give you added flexibility when needed.

Comprehensive Insurance Coverage

The Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card provides comprehensive insurance coverage that matches or exceeds similar cards.

As a summary, the card provides coverage as follows:

• Travel emergency medical: Up to $1,000,000 per insured person per trip (25 days for those aged 64 and under; 3 days for those aged 65 and over)†
• Trip cancellation: Up to $1,500 per insured person or $10,000 per trip†
• Trip interruption: Up to $1,500 per insured person or $10,000 per trip†
• Flight delay: Up to $500 per insured person per trip†
• Delayed/lost luggage: Up to $1,000 per trip†
• Hotel/motel burglary: Up to $1,000 per burglary occurrence†
• Rental car collision/loss damage: 48 days; limited to vehicles up to $65,000 MSRP†
• Common carrier travel accident: Up to $500,000 per insured person or $1,000,000 per occurrence†
• Mobile device insurance: Up to $1,000†
• Purchase security and extended warranty: First 90 days from date of purchase in the event of loss, theft, or damage; doubles the original manufacturer warranty period for up to one additional year†

The card’s travel emergency medical coverage is particularly notable, as it offers 25 days of coverage for those 64 and under, while other similar cards usually limit their coverage to only 15 days.

What Else Does the Card Offer?

The Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card comes with a plenty of great benefits that make it stand out from other cards that fall within the same annual fee price range.

No Foreign Transaction Fees

One of the most appealing travel features is that this card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, saving you 2.5% on every purchase made in a currency other than CAD.

Yes, it’s an Amex, and yes, acceptance can vary—especially in certain parts of Europe or at small independent shops. But you’d be surprised how widely it’s accepted in countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and South Korea, especially at chain retailers or hotels. When in doubt, always pack a Visa or Mastercard backup.

Amex Offers

As an American Express card, the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card is also eligible for Amex Offers, which let you earn statement credits or discounts at participating merchants.

The annual Shop Small campaign is always a highlight (well, at least it used to be), and other offers throughout the year can easily help offset the annual fee without much effort. Just make sure to check your offers regularly, as some of the best ones disappear fast.

Concierge Service by Ten Lifestyle

A final feature that’s also worth noting is the card’s concierge service provided by Ten Lifestyle.

Sure, similar Visa and Mastercard products provide concierge services as well, but the service being offered by Ten Lifestyle is more dedicated and personalized.

Ten Lifestyle’s concierge service can assist you in booking restaurants, making travel reservations, sourcing personalized gifts, and more – and not just within Canada, but also elsewhere in the world. As a matter of fact, the service has specialists for each geographic region, who provide personalized recommendations.

Other Cards to Consider

There’s a lot to love about the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card, but there are also similar options to consider.

Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite* Card

The main reason to consider the Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite* Card over the Gold Amex is wider global acceptance, since Visa is accepted in more places than American Express—especially in Europe or at smaller merchants abroad.

Beyond that, its biggest edge is the included Visa Airport Companion Program with six complimentary lounge visits per year, which can be a nice travel perk if you’re flying a few times annually and don’t have another lounge access card.

That said, the card’s earning rates are lower overall:

• 3 Scene+ points per dollar spent at Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, FreshCo, and other eligible Scene+ partner merchants
• 2 Scene+ points per dollar spent on transit, groceries, dining, and entertainment
• 1 Scene+ point per dollar spent on all other purchases

As mentioned above, this card’s elevated 2x earning rate for transit, groceries, dining, and entertainment applies to transactions denominated in foreign currencies as well.

While that 2x abroad can be useful, it’s not nearly as strong as the 5–6x rates offered by the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card within Canada.

If lounge access and universal acceptance are priorities, this card could be a good complement—but for most domestic spending, the Gold Amex still comes out ahead.

American Express Cobalt Card

Similarly to the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card’s 5x category multiplier for groceries, dining, and entertainment, the American Express Cobalt Card offers 5 Membership Rewards (MR) points per dollar spent at restaurants, bars, delivery services, and grocery stores.

But as mentioned, this 5x “Eats & Drinks” elevated earning rate is limited to the first $2,500 spent each month. After exceeding this limit, you’ll earn 1 MR point per dollar spent.

What may make the Cobalt Card more attractive to you is that it earns Amex Membership Rewards points, which can be transferred to Aeroplan, Marriott Bonvoy, Delta SkyMiles, Air France KLM Flying Blue, and the The British Airways Club, among other valuable loyalty programs.

However, keep in mind that the Cobalt Card tacks on a 2.5% foreign transaction fee when you’re travelling abroad, so you could consider pairing it with the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card to have all your bases covered at home and abroad.

Conclusion

The Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card is one of the most underrated credit cards in Canada.

It offers features that deserve more attention, especially its strong domestic earn rates of up to 6% back, and its rare perk of no foreign transaction fees, saving you 2.5% on every purchase abroad.

What makes it especially appealing is how accessible it is. With a modest $12,000 income requirement and an annual fee that’s often rebated in the first year, this card punches well above its weight for students, newcomers, or anyone just starting out in the Miles & Points game.

Sure, it’s not the best card for business class flights or luxury hotel redemptions—but that’s not what it’s trying to be.

It’s a one-size-fits-all kind of card that fits the way most of us actually spend.

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