As one of Canada’s largest grocers, Sobeys operates grocery stores across Canada under various brands. There’s more than a good chance many of you at least occasionally drop in to one of their stores when you go shopping for groceries.
And now as co-owners of Scene+ (along with Cineplex and Scotiabank), Sobeys stores have said goodbye to Air Miles and have replaced it with Scene+ as their rewards program.
So how can you save on groceries at Sobeys? And how can you earn the most rewards possible? Here’s our Sobeys shopping guide.
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Overview of Sobeys
Sobeys was originally founded in 1907 in Stellarton, Nova Scotia. Initially, Sobeys was merely a meat delivery company, but has since expanded to become the second largest grocer in Canada.
The company is part of the Empire Company conglomerate, which owns quite a few grocery brands. In total, there are over 1,500 grocery stores that are part of the Sobeys/Empire chain – here are the major brands.
Sobeys
The primary brand is Sobeys itself. You can find locations in every province in Canada.
They were originally only located in Atlantic Canada until the 1980s, at which point they started to expand across the county, starting with Southern Ontario.
Safeway
Safeway was purchased by Sobeys in 2013. Previously, they were the Canadian division of American Safeway, Inc.
They have locations from Thunder Bay all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
Foodland
Foodland runs smaller, independent grocery stores, mostly in rural Atlantic Canada and Ontario.
IGA
The IGA brand was purchased in 1998. In Quebec, IGA is the main Sobeys brand. There are some IGA stores located in Western Canada as well.
FreshCo
FreshCo is a discount grocery chain. In Ontario, some of these stores were rebranded Price Chopper locations.
An expansion is underway of this brand in Western Canada.
Lawtons
A drugstore chain, Lawtons stores are located across Atlantic Canada.
Needs convenience stores
Sobeys operates an extensive network of convenience stores across Atlantic Canada with Needs.
Many also include a gas station run either by Ultramar, Shell, or Fast Fuels.
Voilà by Sobeys
For those who prefer to do their grocery shopping online, Sobeys has their own grocery delivery service with Voilà by Sobeys.
Their service is available across the country, with all their major brands.
Here’s where you can learn more about Voilà.
Voilà
How to save money at Sobeys
As a major grocery retailer in Canada, there’s more than a good chance you at least do some shopping at their stores.
Here are some ways you can save money while shopping at Sobeys.
1. Collect Scene+ points on every visit
Sobeys dishes out Scene+ rewards on grocery purchases. In the past, they used to offer Air Miles, and they were one of the biggest retailers you could earn Air Miles with.
But in June of 2022, Sobeys became an owner in Scene+, alongside Cineplex and Scotiabank.
And now, Scene+ has replaced Air Miles as Sobeys reward program everywhere except Quebec, which will convert to Scene+ in the near future.
How do you earn Scene+ points on purchases? There is no base earn rate. Instead, you earn rewards based on personalized offers you receive from Sobeys.
Here’s a sampling of my current offers.
These can also be supplemented by offers where you earn a lump sum of points when you reach a set amount in one transaction – here’s an example of one such offer this week.
There’s one last way. Many items in their weekly sales flyer (more on that below) offer bonus Scene+ points.
A quick summary on your options to redeem Scene+ points
How can you redeem your Scene+ points? There are plenty of options, but there are 4 in particular that offer the best value.
Each one of these gives each of your points a value of 1 cent each. The only difference between these options is the minimum number of points you need to redeem.
| Redemption | Minimum Points To Redeem | Savings |
|---|---|---|
| Groceries At Sobeys | 1,000 | $10 |
| Cineplex Movie Tickets | 100 | $1 |
| Cineplex Concessions | 500 | $5 |
| Travel Through Expedia For Scene+ | 100 | $1 |
| Recipe Unlimited Restaurants | 500 | $5 |
You can use your points to save on your groceries. And it’s simple too. At the register, simply tell the cashier (if they don’t ask you first) that you would like to redeem your Scene+ points to help pay for your grocery bill.
2. Scan the Sobeys flyer
Like just about every store, Sobeys has an extensive weekly sales flyer to help save you even more.
And as we mentioned before, many items listed will earn you bonus Scene+ points.
You can view the flyer for your local store here – here’s some offers from mine, with one featuring a Scene+ offer.
3. Check for “choose your rewards” offers
Every once in a while, Sobeys offers a choose-your-own-rewards coupon.
Here’s an example of one. Spend $125 and you can either get 1,000 Scene+ points or a $10 gift card.
Each is worth the same amount – it’s up to you what you prefer. I personally would rather just take the Scene+ points – this way you don’t have to worry about remembering to use the gift card or just flat out losing it.
And in my experience, you don’t have to actually bring the coupon – it’s taped to the registers at my local store – if you meet the spend threshold the cashiers will ask you which reward you want.
Want to see more tips to save on groceries? Here are 51 ways to save money on groceries.
Earn more Scene+ points with Scotiabank credit cards
Scotiabank is an owner of Scene+ too. And they issue a lineup of Scene+ credit cards to earn points everywhere (5 personal cards to be precise).
All but one of them (the Scotiabank American Express Platinum Card) has a special earn rate just for Sobeys grocery stores, so you can earn even more rewards on your grocery shopping.
Here’s an overview of these 4 cards.
| Credit Card | Welcome Bonus | Earn Rates | Annual Fee, Income Requirements | Apply Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotiabank Gold American Express Card |  $60 GeniusCash + Up to 50,000 bonus points, first year free (terms) |
* 6 Scene+ points per $1 spent at Sobeys, Safeway, FreshCo and more * 5 Scene+ points per $1 spent on groceries, dining, and entertainment * 3 Scene+ points per $1 spent on gas, select streaming services, and transit * 1 Scene+ point per $1 spent on foreign currency purchases * 1 Scene+ point per $1 spent on all other purchases |
* $120 * $12K personal |
Apply Now |
| Scotiabank American Express Card | 7,500 bonus points (terms) | * 3 Scene+ points per $1 spent at Sobeys, Safeway, FreshCo and more * 2 Scene+ points per $1 spent on grocery, dining and entertainment, gas, daily transit, and select streaming services * 1 Scene+ point per $1 spent on all other purchases |
* $0 * $12K personal |
Apply Now |
| Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card | 5,000 bonus points (terms) | * 2 points per $1 spent at Sobeys, Safeway, Home Hardware, and Cineplex * 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases |
* $0 * $12K personal |
Apply Now |
| Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card | $30 GeniusCash + 35,000 bonus points (terms) |
* 3 Scene+ points per $1 spent at Sobeys, Safeway, FreshCo and more * 2 Scene+ points per $1 spent on groceries, restaurants, entertainment, and daily transit * 1 Scene+ point per $1 on all other purchases |
* $150 * $60K personal/$100K household |
Apply Now |
1. Best Scene+ credit card
×1 Award winner 
GC: $60
1x Award winner
The title of best Scene+ credit card belongs to the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card. Why? It offers the most rewards of all Scene+ credit cards.
Here’s what you’ll earn for rewards on your purchases:
- 6 Scene+ points per $1 spent at Sobeys, Safeway, FreshCo and more
- 5 Scene+ points per $1 spent on groceries, dining, and entertainment
- 3 Scene+ points per $1 spent on gas, select streaming services, and transit
- 1 Scene+ point per $1 spent on foreign currency purchases
- 1 Scene+ point per $1 spent on all other purchases
Based on spending $2,000 per month (some of which includes Sobeys), and you’re looking at earning 58,800 points per year.
But the goodies don’t end there. It’s a rare credit card that charges no foreign exchange fees. Travel outside the country and you won’t have to pay the typical 2.5% fee other credit cards charge.
It also includes 12 types of insurance, for an annual fee of $120.
2. Best no fee Scene+ credit card
If you prefer a no annual fee credit card, Scotia has a pair of them that earn Scene+ rewards. The best of these is the Scotiabank American Express Card.
Here’s what you’ll earn for rewards:
- 3 Scene+ points per $1 spent at Sobeys, Safeway, FreshCo and more
- 2 Scene+ points per $1 spent on grocery, dining and entertainment, gas, daily transit, and select streaming services
- 1 Scene+ point per $1 spent on all other purchases
Pretty impressive for a no fee card. These earn rates translate into 34,800 points earned per year.
It’s a no fee card, so it isn’t filled with goodies, but it does include 3 types of insurance.
3. Best no fee Scene Visa card
If you’re not enamoured with getting an Amex card, Scotiabank does offer a pair of Visa cards that earn Scene+ as well.
The no fee card is the Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card. Here’s what you’ll earn on purchases:
- 2 points per $1 spent at Sobeys, Safeway, Home Hardware, and Cineplex
- 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
Not as good as the others, but compared to other no fee cards, it still offers a minimum of 1% back on all purchases, and you’ll earn 25,200 Scene points per year.
4. Best Scene+ credit card with premium perks
GC: $30
Looking for premium perks with your Scene+ credit card? The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card is here for you.
First, the rewards.
- 3 Scene+ points per $1 spent at Sobeys, Safeway, FreshCo and more
- 2 Scene+ points per $1 spent on groceries, restaurants, entertainment, and daily transit
- 1 Scene+ point per $1 on all other purchases
Not the most impressive rewards on this list, giving you 32,400 Scene+ points per year. But still quite good.
But the perks make up for that. First, it charges no foreign exchange fees. You’ll save 2.5% on every purchase that isn’t made in Canadian dollars.
It also offers airport lounge access with Visa Airport Companion. You’ll get a membership and 6 free passes to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide.
To top it off, you’ll get 11 types of insurance, for an annual fee of $150.
Other top credit cards for groceries
Want more options? Prefer not to collect more Scene+ points? There are plenty of options when it comes to earning tons of rewards on groceries.
Here are some of our top credit cards for grocery shopping.
| Credit Card | Welcome Bonus | Earn Rates | Annual Fee, Income Requirements | Apply Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Express Cobalt Card | Up to 15,000 bonus points (terms) | * 5 points per $1 spent on eligible groceries and restaurants * 3 points per $1 spent on eligible streaming services * 2 points per $1 spent on eligible gas, transit, and ride share purchases * 1 point per $1 spent on foreign currency purchases * 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases |
* $155.88 * None |
Learn More |
| MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard | $150 GC Boost + 30,000 bonus points (terms) |
* 5 points for every $1 spent on restaurants, groceries, and select recurring bills (up to $50,000 spent annually per category) * 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases |
* $120 * $80K personal/$150K household |
Learn More |
| SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express | 10% cash back for the first 3 months + $50 (terms) | * 4% cash back on gas and groceries * 2% cash back on all other purchases |
* $119.88 * None |
Learn More |
| Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card | $20 GeniusCash + 10% cash back for the first 3 months, first year free (terms) |
* 4% cash back on groceries and recurring bill payments * 2% cash back on gas and transit * 1% cash back on all other purchases |
* $120 * $60K personal/$100K household |
Learn More |
| Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card | $125 GeniusCash + 10% extra cash back for the first 2 months (terms) |
* 2% cash back on purchases in up to 3 Money-Back Categories * 0.5% cash back on all other purchases |
* $0 * $12K personal |
Learn More |
| SimplyCash Card from American Express | 5% cash back for the first 3 months (terms) | * 2% cash back on gas * 2% cash back on groceries (up to $300 cash back annually) * 1.25% cash back on all other purchases |
* $0 * None |
Learn More |
What are your tips for saving at Sobeys?
As it’s a major grocery retailer, there’s a good chance you visited a Sobeys store recently.
What are your tips for saving money at Sobeys?
Let everyone know in the comments below.
FAQ
What brands does Sobeys operate?
Sobeys (with their parent Empire), operates quite a few different brands. They include:
- Sobeys,
- Safeway,
- Foodland,
- FreshCo, and
- Lawtons.
What are some top credit cards for shopping at Sobeys?
Scotiabank Scene+ credit cards offer plenty of rewards when you shop at Sobeys. Card options include:
- Scotiabank Gold American Express Card
- Scotiabank American Express Card
- Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card
- Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card
What rewards program is Sobeys part of?
Sobeys used to be part of the Air Miles program. However, in June 2022, Sobeys became an owner in Scene+, and now offers Scene points for rewards.
What do you earn for rewards on purchases at Sobeys?
At Sobeys stores, shoppers earn Scene+ points on purchases. Points are earned on personalized offers and through specials in the weekly flyer.
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