Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Changes Coming August 1 – Good Or Bad?

creditcardGenius Team
updated on Nov 23, 2021
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We detailed some changes coming to the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card, with the biggest ones being a change in earn rates and no foreign transaction fees.

But it wasn’t the only Scotiabank credit card destined to see some changes on August 1, 2019.

The Scotia Momentum® Visa Infinite* Card, our top rated cash back card is also getting revised.

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Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite to come with mobile device insurance

The biggest change to the card is it’ll now come with mobile device insurance.

Mobile device insurance covers you for up to a set amount if your phone is lost, stolen, or damaged. This amount usually depreciates over time as your phone gets older.

All you have to do is either charge the full cost of the device to the credit card, or pay the monthly plan with your credit card if your phone was included as part of the plan.

Not many Canadian credit cards offer this type of insurance, making it a rare cherry on top of an already delicious card.

Related: Best Travel Insurance Credit Cards In Canada For 2019

Details of the other changes coming

Of course, it’s not the only change coming…

The other big change is the earn rates. Starting August 1, 2019, the new earn rates for cash back are:

Old earn rate New earn rate as of 08/01/19
* 4% on gas and grocery
* 2% on drugstore and recurring bills
* 1% on all other purchases
* 4% on groceries and recurring bills
* 2% on gas and transit
* 1% on all other purchases

There are still 2 categories earning 4% and 2 categories earning 2% ‒ they’ve just been shuffled a bit.

The travel insurance is also getting a slight change with the addition of trip cancellation insurance for $1,500. Aside from that, there’ll be no other changes to the insurance package.

The last change is to the annual fee. It will be increasing from $99 to $120.

Is Scotia Momentum Visa still a top cash back?

With all that in mind, we have to ask ourselves…Is the card worth it?

For most people, the answer is yes. Unless you’re a big gas or drugstore spender, you probably won’t see much change in your rewards.

And, the mobile device insurance makes up for the increased annual fee of $120.

4.4 Genius Rating
3.2 (77) User reviews
Annual fee
$120.00 $0
1st year waived
Welcome bonus
$159
10% cash back
Annual rewards
$498
GC Ends: Oct 31, 2025
Credit Card Genius Cash IconGC: $20
Scotia Momentum® Visa Infinite* Card
Instant approval: Yes
Credit estimate:
4.4 Genius Rating
3.2 (77) User reviews
Annual fee
$120.00 $0
1st year waived
Welcome bonus
$159
10% cash back
Annual rewards
$498
GC Ends:
Oct 31, 2025
Credit estimate:
 (725 - 759)
Instant approval: Yes

If you want to try the card out, it currently has a first year free offer so you can see how it works for you.

However, if you don’t like the changes coming, our rate your wallet tool can help you find something more suitable for you.

Related: Scotiabank Gold Amex With No Foreign Exchange Fees Starting August 1, 2019

Alternative cards to consider

If you don’t like what’s coming, here are some alternate Scotiabank credit cards to consider in its place.

Credit Card Welcome Bonus Earn Rate Annual Fee Apply Now
Scotiabank Gold American Express 15,000 points (terms) * 5 points per $1 on restaurants, groceries, and entertainment
* 3 points per $1 on gas, transit, and select streaming services
* 1 point per $1 on all other purchases
$120 Apply Now
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite 25,000 points (terms) * 2 points per $1 spent on dining, gas, transit, and entertainment
* 1 point per $1 everything else
$139 Apply Now

Scotiabank Gold American Express

The other Scotiabank card seeing changes soon, the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card, will offer 5 points per $1 spent on groceries, restaurants, and entertainment purchases, as well as 3 points on gas, select streaming services and transit purchases.

When redeemed for travel through Scotia Rewards, that up to a 5% return on your spending.

To top it off, it’s also getting no foreign transaction fees as well.

4.7 Genius Rating
3.2 (60) User reviews
award seal ×1 Award winner
Annual fee
$120.00 $0
1st year waived
Welcome bonus
$500
50,000 Scene+ points
Annual rewards
$588
GC Ends: Oct 31, 2025
Credit Card Genius Cash IconGC: $60
Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card
Instant approval: Yes
Credit estimate:
4.7 Genius Rating
3.2 (60) User reviews
award seal 1x Award winner
Annual fee
$120.00 $0
1st year waived
Welcome bonus
$500
50,000 Scene+ points
Annual rewards
$588
GC Ends:
Oct 31, 2025
Credit estimate:
 (660 - 724)
Instant approval: Yes

Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite

For something a little different, consider the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card.

You’ll earn 2 Scotia Rewards points per $1 on gas, dining, entertainment, and transit purchases.

And while your total rewards are a step-down, it comes with some phenomenal travel insurance, Priority Pass membership, and 6 free passes.

To top it off, it also comes with no foreign exchange fees to boot.

3.9 Genius Rating
3.0 (46) User reviews
Annual fee
$150.00
Learn more
Welcome bonus
$350
35,000 Scene+ points
Annual rewards
$324
GC Ends: Oct 31, 2025
Credit Card Genius Cash IconGC: $30
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card
Instant approval: Yes
Credit estimate:
3.9 Genius Rating
3.0 (46) User reviews
Annual fee
$150.00
Learn more
Welcome bonus
$350
35,000 Scene+ points
Annual rewards
$324
GC Ends:
Oct 31, 2025
Credit estimate:
 (660 - 724)
Instant approval: Yes

What are your thoughts?

What are your thoughts on these changes?

If you have the card, do you like what you see, or are you thinking of switching to something else?

If you don’t have it, is this card more appealing to you now?

Let us know in the comments below.

creditcardGenius is the only tool that compares 126+ features of 229 Canadian credit cards using math-based ratings and rankings that respond to your needs, instantly. Take our quiz and see which of Canada's 229 cards is for you.

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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 18 comments

Jack Radecki
Jack Radecki
August 27, 2019
This is a clawback to the rewards I used to enjoy. Plus the rates are increased. Give me a break. I am going to the bank tomorrow to show them my grief.
creditcardGenius team
creditcardGenius team
August 30, 2019
Hi there, We're sure you and many others agree! Thanks for letting us know your opinion, and feel free to leave a review on the card here: https://creditcardgenius.ca/credit-cards/scotiabank-momentum-visa-infinite Thanks for commenting.
Troy
Troy
July 11, 2019
I contacted Scotiabank and received a reply from the office of the president. (seems like another tier of customer service.) The gentleman thanked me for the feedback and then informed me the decision is from corporate. More less a waste of time. I have been reviewing all card options and it seems most are also around $120.00 in fees. I wonder how long before Meridian follows the rest?
J Smith
J Smith
August 13, 2019
Interesting to know how one would assume "Meridian follows the rest" in the future? Did you mean "rest" as in federally regulated chartered 1 (big) banks like Scotiabank? Believe Scotiabank's increase of fees on Momentum Visa Infinite from $99+30 to $120+50 for couples' annual fees and replace of 4% gas & 2% drug bonuses with (less desired here) recurring bills & transit respectively, etc. always geared towards increasing future company profit for rewarding bonuses to executives and their shareholder-owners et al. Whereas last checked Meridian was/is a provincially regulated credit union. Also, last heard that credit unions appear to have philosophy different from those banks and similar to Meridian's "We put our Members first. Because we are owned by our Members, we only work for you. That means we can take our profits and return them to you in the form of better products and services, so you always get the best from us." Imho, one such better product and service for increasing Meridian membership would be their credit card :- E.g., Their 4%gas&groceries Meridian Visa Infinite with *wider* insurances and any time redemption options are (still) *both better* than Scotiabank's Momentum VI offerings with "November statement redemption only"! However, should Meridian VI be unavailable to you (e.g., signup excludes Quebec with different regulations, etc.) and/or prefer to get your 4% gas bonuses from a bank then perhaps take a look at the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite whose (still) $99 annual fee you can actually get *waived* with $100K minimum of CIBC savings and investment or $6K minimum balance into the CIBC Smart Plus Account. Do check with actual Meridian and CIBC representatives and their online documentations respectively for further details like latest fees, promotions, restrictions etc.
Serge MINVILLE
Serge MINVILLE
June 29, 2019
It's very easy to see that we are shortchanged on this one.. I applied the new rates on the 2017-2018 years..$1306.64 versus $1197.64 for the new rates..add $50.00 more for me and my wife card and I lost $159.00.. That's a way to thank me to use the card for over $70,000.00 for that particular year.. (usually spent $75 K to 80 K a year)..I start looking somewhere else
Jason
Jason
June 26, 2019
Good grief. The only real enticement I saw getting this card was for the 4% cash back on Gas. Switching this to recurring bills was an obvious ploy from Scotiabank to capitalize on a guaranteed monopoly of money where people could possibly miss a payment and incur fees as a result. Might have to consider the American Express cobalt, instead.
Ron
Ron
June 25, 2019
It is incredible how they can say that they are delivering more value for evolving lifestyles and are helping us earn more cash back when in reality they are just increasing the annual fee and reducing the cash back percentages on items the majority of Canadians spend money on. The recurring bills only apply if you have them on pre-authorized, however the majority of pre-authorized payments charge 3% to 5% for this feature, therefore eliminating the advantage of the 4%. I've had many credit cards and every time they make changes it's to the detriment of the card owner, ex. trip cancellation or mobile device insurance. We need to remember that these are insurance coverages and usually carry a deductible and take a while to see the money. Not a good look for Scotiabank. I wonder if the CEO, CFO,COO etc. are also taking a reduction to help bolster the bottom line.
ESTHER WONG
ESTHER WONG
June 25, 2019
gas drop from 4% to 2% is huge. I have my auto and home insurance, phone / internet bill as reoccurring so that's pretty much the same as gas bill. it probably end up breakeven for me but the increase in fees is quite a lot. As previous mentioned, buying gas gift card in grocery store will be an option to maintain the 4%
Troy
Troy
June 24, 2019
I don't like the changes. Gas was a big reason I chose this card a year ago. I thought of using the recurring bill payments option to make up for the gas, however, when I went to register my first monthly bill, I was informed that a 1.75% charge would be billed as well to my credit card along with the bill amount.. As for the added benefits, I feel their yearly fee increase more than make up for those. Anyone looking for a decent card for gas cash back might want to look at the one that RBC has partnered with Petro-Can. Meanwhile I certainly plan on letting Scotiabank know my opinion.
Bill
Bill
June 23, 2019
$170 in fees for two cards is excessive. Will be looking for an alternative now. Will not be buying a new cell phone in the near future, so that does nothing for us.
Vishal
Vishal
June 22, 2019
One of the biggest reasons for getting this card was the 4% cash back for gas which sadly is reduced to 2%. Another factor was the price was reasonable but has now increased to $120. I might start considering other alternatives.
John
John
June 22, 2019
These changes are good for Scotiabank, not for the card holder. Gas purchases are big, I don't use transit, device insurance is of no value on my end and I am not switching bills to come off of a credit card. I am looking to make a change.
john
john
June 21, 2019
The mobile phone insurance is completely useless. Most people have their phones on their phone plans in Canada, so this won't kick in. The loss of 4% on gas purchases is huge, and the others are not useful in the slightest. I for one (someone who has had a Scotiabank Infinite for over 5 years) will be getting rid of it and moving on to something else as my primary card.
Dominic Cesario
Dominic Cesario
June 21, 2019
I don't like this change. Gas purchases was one of the tipping points that I chose this card for. I may have to reconsider this card and look at alternatives.
Vab
Vab
June 24, 2019
Look at the Meridian Cash back visa infinite.... It has way better insurance coverage with the cash back earn rate same as the current scotiabank cash back visa infinite.
Arief
Arief
June 5, 2019
Mobile device insurance is not a good addition. How often people buy cellphone compared to groceries and gas? Transit is also not a good one. Most and big spending is not in transit. The only better addition is trip cancellation. Again, the question is how often people cancel the trip.
creditcardGenius Team
creditcardGenius Team
June 11, 2019
Hi Arief, thanks so much for giving us your opinion. Although you give good arguments, I think that mobile device insurance can be useful when you least expect it – although we do spend more on groceries and gas, it's good to know that if ever something happened to your $1,000+ device, you're covered for most of the cost of either repairing or getting a replacement. As for transit, in Toronto, for example, the cost of a monthly pass is nearly $150. Not the highest expense, but that still comes up to $1,800 per year. Earning rewards on every little bit surely helps :)
Jarrod Baker
Jarrod Baker
May 30, 2019
Buy gas gift cards at the grocery store. This way you get to keep the 4% on gas as well as the other perks.
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