Major Updates Here To Scotiabank American Express Cards

creditcardGenius Team
updated on Feb 10, 2023
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If you’re in the market for a new credit card, especially an Amex card, Scotiabank’s lineup of American Express cards offer a unique mix of perks and rewards with the Scene+ program.

Scotiabank American Express cards have just seen some upgrades you’ll want to be aware of.

And all of these are also offering some GeniusCash to boot.

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Scotiabank Platinum American Express – now with no foreign exchange fees

By far the biggest set of changes belongs to the Scotiabank American Express® Platinum Card.

A very premium Scotiabank credit card, it has updated rewards, insurance, interest rates, and perks.

First, the rewards. It previously offered up to 4 points per $1 spent on a few categories, and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.

But now it’s offering a flat 2 points per $1 spent on everything. In a world where we’ve seen many flat rate cards go to bonus categories, this is a rare change in the other direction.

As for insurance, it’s gaining mobile device coverage. This insurance is becoming more common among credit cards and it offers an easy way to get any potential repairs you might need done for a reduced cost (or even for free).

If you tend to carry a balance from time to time, this is now one of the best low interest credit cards in Canada. It’s offering permanent low interest rates of 9.99% across the board.

But the biggest change of all – it’s joining an exclusive club of credit cards that charge no foreign exchange fees. Now you don’t need to worry about getting shafted by the 2.5% that most credit cards charge for making a purchase that isn’t in Canadian dollars.

Add it all up and Scotiabank has a winner on its hands. It’s too early to say at this point, but it should be in contention for a few annual awards in the new year.

5.0 Genius Rating
2.8 (5) User reviews
Annual fee
$399.00
Learn more
Annual rewards
$480
80,000 Scene+ points
Annual savings
$800
Offer Ends: Jan 1, 2026
Scotiabank American Express® Platinum Card
5.0 Genius Rating
2.8 (5) User reviews
Annual fee
$399.00
Learn more
Annual rewards
$480
80,000 Scene+ points
Annual savings
$800
Offer Ends:
Jan 1, 2026
Credit estimate:
 (660 - 724)
Instant approval: Yes

A new welcome offer

With this revamped product comes an updated welcome bonus – it’s being doubled in size. It previously offered 30,000 points as part of signing up.

But now it’s ballooned to an incredible 60,000 points as such:

  • 50,000 points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months, and
  • 10,000 points after spending $10,000 in the first year.

Scotiabank American Express

Scotia’s best no annual fee credit card got some changes too – the Scotiabank American Express® Card.

First, it has a new rewards structure. The card previously offered 1 point per $1 spent on all purchases.

And now, you’ll get these new rates:

  • 2 points per $1 spent on grocery, restaurant, entertainment, gas, daily transit, and select streaming services, and
  • 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.

That’s a marked improvement over what was offered before.

It also saw some changes in the insurance department. It lost all the travel insurance it used to provide.

In its place comes mobile device insurance. It’s becoming more common, but is quite rare for a no fee credit card.

3.8 Genius Rating
3.0 (5) User reviews
Annual fee
$0.00
Learn more
Welcome bonus
$50
5,000 Scene+ points
Annual rewards
$348
Offer Ends: Apr 30, 2026
Scotiabank American Express® Card
3.8 Genius Rating
3.0 (5) User reviews
Annual fee
$0.00
Learn more
Welcome bonus
$50
5,000 Scene+ points
Annual rewards
$348
Offer Ends:
Apr 30, 2026
Credit estimate:
 (725 - 759)
Instant approval: Yes

A new welcome bonus

This card is also getting an updated welcome bonus. It used to offer 5,000 points as part of signing up.

Just like its Platinum counterpart, the welcome bonus has doubled, meaning you can get up to 10,000 points as such:

  • 5,000 points after spending $750 in the first 3 months, and
  • 5,000 points when you spend $5,000 in the first year.

Scotiabank Gold American Express future changes

There are no major changes to the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card.

But they’re coming in October 2022.

It appears to be in conjunction with Sobey’s new ownership stake in the Scene+ program. As of October 1, 2022, you’ll earn 6 points per $1 spent at Sobeys stores.

Scotiabank Gold Amex rate update for Sobeys

Nothing else is changing with the rewards – you’ll still be earning 5 points per $1 spent at all other grocery stores.

It is also gaining one new feature at that time – mobile device insurance. Looks like Scotia is starting to really push for this in its lineup.

A bunch of new stuff being added with nothing taken away? An excellent upgrade courtesy of Scotiabank and (we presume) Sobeys.

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: Dec 31, 2025
Credit Card Genius Cash IconGC: $100
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:
Dec 31, 2025
Credit estimate:
 (660 - 724)
Instant approval: Yes

A modified welcome bonus

There is a slight change to the welcome bonus to this card. It’s going down a bit, from 45,000 to 40,000 points.

However, it is also offering the first year free for an easy way to test drive the card.

A $100 GeniusCash offer

Like the other cards, we're also offering GeniusCash on approval. In this case, we're giving new cardholders $100 when they get approved using the offers page.

Your thoughts on Scotiabank’s changes

Overall, Scotiabank has done well with these changes. They’re all upgrades over what was previously being offered.

Will you get any of these Scotiabank cards?

Let us know in the comments below.

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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 228 Canadian credit cards.

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