Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Review (And How To Earn Scene+ Points Fast)

creditcardGenius Team
updated on Jul 17, 2025
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The Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card is your ticket to free movie theatre tickets, cheaper grocery runs, and discounted travel costs. This card is made for Scene points lovers.

Scene+ is one of the most popular loyalty programs in Canada, and for good reason You can earn points in so many ways and redeem them all over the country, making Scene+ one of the most flexible rewards programs around.

Below, we review the features of the Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card, its pros and cons, and much more.

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Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card: The basics

Here's an overview of what the Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card has to offer:

Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card
Annual fee$0
Welcome bonus5,000 bonus points (terms)
Income requirements$12,000 personal income
Earn rate1.05%
Rewards* 2 points per $1 spent at Sobeys, Safeway, Home Hardware, and Cineplex
* 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
Special perks* Save up to 20% at AVIS car rental locations worldwide
* Free additional card for friend/family member

Pros and cons of the Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card

Before you fill out a credit card application, take a second to see the biggest perks and drawbacks of the Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card:

Pros:

  • Up to 5,000 Scene+ points as a welcome bonus
  • Up to 2 points per $1 spent on purchases
  • 4 ways to redeem points for high value
  • No annual fee
  • Add another cardholder for free
  • Rewards worth up to 1 CPP (cents per point)
  • Members-only deals and pricing at partner grocery stores and pharmacies

Cons:

Looking for a premium card that earns Scene+ points? Consider the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card. Yes, there's a $120 annual fee, but you get up to welcome bonus points worth up to $500. You'll also earn up to 6 points per $1 spent, 12 types of insurance, and not have to worry about foreign transaction fees.

Who is the Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card best for?

So, who is the Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card for? Anyone who loves going to the movies.

Spending as little as $500 a month on this card would give you 6,000 Scene+ points for the year ‒ enough for four free general admission tickets or three enhanced tickets.

It provides a return on par (or better, depending on where you live) with some of the best no fee cards. Spending just $105 per month with this card can earn enough points for one free general admission or 3D ticket a year.

Finally, because it has no annual fee, this card is easy to carry in your wallet and a great complement to category-based cards.

However, if you’re not a moviegoer, your points won't be worth as much. You're better off considering other no fee cash back options instead.

What can you do with Scene+ points?

Scene+ is the rewards program for Scotiabank, Sobeys, and Cineplex. It’s free to join and allows you to earn Scene+ points.

Here’s how you can redeem your hard-earned points:

  • Movies and concessions at Cineplex: Redeem 100 points for $1 off your purchase
  • Groceries at Safeway, Sobeys, Foodland, and more: Redeem 1,000 points for $10 off
  • Scene+ Travel, powered by Expedia: Redeem 100 points for $1 off
  • Home Hardware purchases: Redeem 1,000 points for $10 off
  • Entertainment at The Rec Room and Playdium: Redeem 500 points for $5 off, or 1,000 points for $10 off at the Rec Room
  • Dining at Harvey's, Swiss Chalet, Montana’s, and more: Redeem 500 points for $5 off
  • Gift cards for over 60 popular brands: Redeem 1,000 points or more for physical or digital gift cards in varying amounts

If you’re on the fence about whether or not Scene+ is worth it, remember that you can always sign up for the program without applying for the Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card.

Try out the program for a few months to see how much value you get from it, and then apply for the card if you really want to accelerate your earnings.

FAQ

What are the perks of Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card?

In addition to earning Scene+ points at a faster rate, you’ll get a hefty welcome bonus and a discount on Avis car rentals. Additionally, Scotiabank offers the option to get another card for a friend or family member for free.

Is Scene+ owned by Scotiabank?

Scotiabank doesn’t own the Scene+ program outright, but it partners with Cineplex and Empire Company. The Empire Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sobeys and focuses on food retailing and serves the needs of Canadians.

What stores can I use my Scene+ card in?

With more than 3,300 locations to earn and redeem points, you can use your Scene+ card at stores like Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Needs, Home Hardware, and more. You can also use it when shopping online via Rakuten.

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Editorial Disclaimer: The content here reflects the author's opinion alone. No bank, credit card issuer, rewards program, or other entity has reviewed, approved, or endorsed this content. For complete and updated product information please visit the product issuer's website. Our credit card scores and rankings are based on our Rating Methodology that takes into account 126+ features for each of 229 Canadian credit cards.

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Showing 3 comments

Kate
Kate
March 3, 2019
I have also bad experience with this bank: I opened the scene credit card around six months ago. A woman from customer service connected my scotia scene credit card and my scene points card with errors, so now my credit card is connected to the wrong scene points card. I am spending a lot monthly and supposed to get a lot of points, however; I am calling every other week to the scene and Scotia bank customer service, and for the more than six months they cannot fix your issue. Very very unprofessional Scotiabank workers who don't care about your needs.
creditcardGenius Team
creditcardGenius Team
March 4, 2019
I'm really sad to hear about your bad customer service experience. It's especially frustrating when the issue is ongoing. I hope this gets resolved for you sooner rather than later.
UMAR
UMAR
May 18, 2018
After reviewing this article, I can't help but comment on my most recent experience with Scotiabank: I was a holder of the Scene visa card for a couple of years and decided to cancel the card and close my account since there were better offers around. I went ahead and cancelled my card and payed off the balance over the phone - since that's the only way they do it. However, the representative failed to actually 'close' my account on their system and it turned out that I had a nominal amount outstanding that they didn't inform me about. Eventually I ended up receiving a letter from a collections agency telling me that I owe Scotiabank a certain amount. I was pretty shocked to learn that I was in arrears and went to a branch and made the payment the day I received that letter. However, this 'mistake' by the Scotia representative negatively impacted my credit score (I was lucky that my score has always been exceptional, otherwise the impact could have hurt me). Since then I expected Scotiabank to own up to their mistake but they found no evidence that I had asked them to close the card since the representative made no notes on our phone call. I questioned what procedures they have in place to protect a customer from suffering due to the negligence or incompetence of a service representative employed by the bank; and it seems there are none for this particular scenario. I'm currently in the process of bringing up this complaint with OBSI simply in order to prompt the bank to enforce better standard operating procedures that enable the protection of their customers. Be careful when you enter into a credit card agreement with this bank.
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