Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card Review

The Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card is the entry level no fee card from the bank's Scene+ Visa card offers. As part of the Scene+ program this no fee card is a great option for travel, grocery, dining and movie rewards.

The review of the Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card review is broken down into the following sections:

Overview

The Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card was revamped in 2022 and thanks to those changes it entered our Top Travel Rewards Credit Cards rankings for the very first time in 2023. Here at Rewards Canada we now rank it as the fourth best No Annual Fee Travel Rewards Card overall and as the best no annual fee Visa card. With higher than average earn rates in the no fee category combined with strong redemption value this card should be high on people's lists who want a flexible rewards no fee Visa card.

The card is categorized as a Travel Anywhere card which means you don't have to book via Scene+ Travel if you don't want to, you can book any travel how you want when you want and when the charge shows up on your statement you can redeem points against the charge.

Recommend reading: Scene+ is not just for movies – it’s also for travel, groceries & more

Costs & Sign up Features

As a no fee card, the Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card has no monthly or annual costs associated with it!

Typically, the standard welcome bonus offer on this card is 5,000 Scene+ points however right now there is an elevated bonus of up to 7,500 Scene+ points. You'll receive 2,500 points when you spend $250 on the card in the first three months and then an additional 5,000 bonus points if you spend $1,000 in the first three months.

The interest rate on the card is 19.99% on purchases. 22.99% on cash advances and balance transfers. These rates are now below many cards at this level as most banks have moved to 20.99% on purchases. The card has a very low minimum personal annual income requirement of only $12,000.

Earning

The card earns Scene+ Points as follows:

• 2 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 Cineplex theatres or at cineplex.com.
• 1 Scene+ point for every $1 you spend on all other eligible everyday purchases

Point Valuation Chart

Spending Category	Points earned per dollar spent	Rate of return when booking any travel on your own	Rate of return Cash Back
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	2%	1.33% to 1.398%
Cineplex	2	2%	1.33% to 1.398%
All other spending	1	1%	0.667% to 0.699%

Redeeming

The Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card participates in the Scene+ program which provides numerous rewards options for your points. The primary reward is redeeming for travel however you also get the same value when redeeming for groceries, dining, movies and select gift cards. Other redemption options include statement credits, merchandise and gift cards.

Travel

When it comes to travel, you have two options for redeeming your Scene+ points. You can choose to book travel via Scene+ Travel and redeem points during the payment process. When you book via Scene+ Travel you can choose to redeem as little as 1 point for 1 cent off your purchase and can redeem as many points as you like up to the total cost of the booking

You can also choose to book travel on your own and use the Apply Points to Travel redemption option. All you have to do is book your travel how you want with whomever you want. Whether it is aircanada.com, westjet.com, expedia.ca or anywhere else including your trusted travel agent you book with them 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 with the Apply Points to Travel redemption. That's the beauty of this card and others 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!

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.

There are also great non-travel redemption options in the Scene+ program that provide the same value as travel redemptions:

Groceries

You can redeem points right at the till when you shop for groceries at participating Sobeys, FreshCo, IGA, Foodland, Safeway, Les Marches Tradition, and Thrifty Foods locations. The redemption rate is 1000 Scene+ points for $10 off.

Dining

Scene+ lets you redeem 500 points for $5 when paying for your meal at Harvey’s, Swiss Chalet, East Side Mario’s, Montana’s BBQ & Bar, Bier Markt, and Kelsey’s Original Roadhouse.

Movies

The original redemption option from the old Scene program is still available in the new Scene+ program and that is movies! This has changed over the past few years and now you simply redeem 100 points for $1.00 towards movie tickets. You can also redeem 500 points for $5 towards food and drinks at the movies or 100 points for $1 off movie rentals or purchases at the Cineplex Store

Select Gift Cards

You also have an option to redeem points for gift cards from stores and retailers that participate in the Scene+ program at the same value as all of the above redemption options. For example you can redeem 1,000 points for a $10 Sobeys Gift Card, 5,000 points for a $50 Home Hardware Gift Card and so on.

Points for Credit

Another popular redemption option for those who have a Scene+ credit card is Points for Credit which is essentially a cash back option. This works in the same way as the any 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%

 

Right away it doesn't look like those rates a great but you have to remember that you earning up to 2 points per dollar spent. Hypothetically speaking if all your points are earned only in the 2x category those cash back rate of returns come in right around 1.4%. That's a pretty good cash back return for a no fee credit card!

You can also redeem Scene+ points for merchandise directly from Apple and Best Buy or via their own merchandise catalog. You can also redeem for gift cards for dozens of non-Scene+ merchants. All these additional redemption options come in at a lower value than redeeming for those detailed in this review but they are nice to have them as an option as well!

Features and Benefits

Like the majority of no annual fee cards the Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card does not have any card specific features or benefits.

Insurance

The Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card does not come with any insurance coverage.

What is good about this card

The earn rates are great! This card has some of the better earn rates in the market for a no annual fee card. Earning 1 to 2 points per dollar translates to 1 to 2% return for many of the redemption options. With a lot of no fee cards only providing 0.5 to 2% returns this card can get you more bang for your buck.

The Scene+ program's redemption options are another good thing about this card. The range of flexible rewards options that retain the maximum value make this card attractive for those looking to redeem for travel, groceries and more.

The welcome bonus is pretty decent for a no annual fee card! To be able to earn up to 7,500 points in the first year worth $75 towards travel, groceries etc. is a good deal.

What is not so good about this card

No extra features or benefits - yes, this is a no fee card so you can't expect it to provide a lot of extras however there are no fee cards in the market that do provide some extra benefits. Notably, several no fee World Elite Mastercard cards provide quite a few benefits but those cards do have high annual income requirements to be able to get them.

The card has no insurance coverage and if this is something you require that isn't provided via another card in your wallet you may need to look at a different card. There are no fee cards on the market that do provide more insurance coverage but in some cases you also have to meet pretty high income requirements to be able to get those cards.

Who should get this card

• Consumers who bank at Scotia and want to keep all financial products with one bank
• Consumers who want a no fee card with strong earn-redeem value on many everyday purchases
• Consumers who have Scene+ as one of their primary loyalty rewards program and want a no fee Visa card to supplement their Scene+ American Express card.
• Consumers who like having multiple redemption options with their points

Conclusion

The no fee Scotiabank Scene+ Visa card has also been a front running card when it came to students and movie lovers. That's all changed thanks to the revamped Scene+ program and now we have a card that is great for any Canadian that is looking for a no fee Visa card. It is the best no fee Visa card in the market based on its earn-burn capabilities and the sheer flexibility of the Scene+ program. Whether its travel rewards, grocery rewards or the traditional movie redemptions this is the no fee Visa card to get.

 

Latest card details:

Other cards to consider if you are looking at this card:

• American Express Green Card
• CIBC Aeroplan Card
• CIBC Aventura Visa Card
• MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus Mastercard
• Rogers World Elite Mastercard
• Scotiabank American Express Card
  

This review was first posted on March 28, 2023 and is updated on a regular basis.

 

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