Head-to-Head: CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite vs. Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +

For anyone looking to save a bit of cash on their next trip abroad or even just on their next trip to the grocery store, the right credit card can make a big difference.
Both CIBC and Scotiabank offer flexible travel-focused Visa Infinite cards, giving you different ways to save on your next trip and on expenses closer to home:
The CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card and the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card offer cardholders the opportunity to earn points on every purchase they make.
Both cards are a great choice for someone looking to accumulate points that can not only be used for travel, but also have the flexibility to save you money on day-to-day expenses.
To see how these two cards compare, let’s check out their stats in the following six categories:
Welcome Bonus
The first category that we’ll compare for these two cards is their welcome bonuses, since both cards typically offer a helpful stack of points to give your account a head start.
Since the offers tend to fluctuate a few times a year, we’ll compare the current welcome bonuses with each card.
CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card
The CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card is currently offering new card members a welcome bonus of up to 45,000 Aventura Points, broken down as follows:
- 15,000 Aventura Points when you make your first purchase on the new card
- 30,000 Aventura Points after you spend at least $3,000 in the first 4 months of card membership
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card
Comparatively, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card is offering new cardholders up to 35,000 Scene+ points through its welcome bonus, earned as follows:
- 25,000 Scene+ points after you spend $2,000 in the first 3 months as a cardholder
- Opportunity to earn an annual bonus of 10,000 Scene+ points when you spend at least $40,000 on the card each year
Advantuage: CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card
After consideration, we’re giving this category to the CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card since it offers 45,000 Aventura Points for a total spend of only $3,000.
Comparatively, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card does offer 40,000 Scene+ points as its first tier for only $2,000 (which is excellent!), but the next tiers are immediately less accessible, requiring a spend of $10,000 and $40,000, respectively.
Ultimately, we’re choosing CIBC here for the more easily accessible welcome bonus structure.
Minimum Income Requirement
CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card
The CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card has a minimum income requirement of $60,000 personal or $100,000 household income.
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card
The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card has a basically identical minimum income requirement at:
- $60,000 individual income
- $100,000 household income
- or assets under management of $250,000 or more
Draw
Since both of the cards are Visa Infinite cards, it’s no surprise that they come with the same minimum income requirements, making this category a tie.
Annual Fee
CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card
The annual fee for the CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card is $139; however, this is often waived for the first year.
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card
The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card has an annual fee of $150, which can be waived if you hold an eligible Scotiabank bank account, such as an Ultimate Package chequing account or the Preferred Package chequing account.
Advantage: CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card
We’re giving this second category to the CIBC Aventura® Visa* Card since its annual fee is lower than the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card, and it’s often waived for the first year without the need to be a CIBC customer first.
Earning Points
The CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card and the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card each earn a different type of flexible, travel-focused points.
With the CIBC card, you can earn Aventura Points, and with the Scotiabank card, you can earn Scene+ points.
With the CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card, you can earn 1 to 2 Aventura Points per $1 spent, depending on the category:
| Category | Points |
|---|---|
| Travel booked through the CIBC Rewards Centre | 2 |
| Gas stations, EV charging, grocery stores, and drug stores | 1.5 |
| All other purchases | 1 |
With the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card, you can earn up to 4 Scene+ points per $1 spent:
| Category | Points |
|---|---|
| Hotels and car rentals booked through Scene+ Travel, Powered by Expedia | 4 |
| Sobeys, Safeway, Foodland, participating IGA, and more | 3 |
| Dining out, other grocery stores, ad eligible entertainment and transit purchases | 2 |
| All other purchases | 1 |
It’s also worth noting that you can actually earn Scene+ points without a credit card. This is because Scene+ is also the loyalty program for Sobeys, IGA, Foodland, Rachelle Béry, and other partnered grocery stores, and you can earn points on your purchases at participating stores by simply having a free-to-get membership card.
Advantage: Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card
The winner here is the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card, thanks to its notably higher earning rates across many popular categories.
We also love that even people without a co-branded credit card have the opportunity to join Scene+ and earn points when they shop at Sobeys, IGA, Foodland, Freshco, Rachelle Béry, Les Marchés Tradition, and more.
Redeeming Points
As we mentioned above, each of the two cards represents a different rewards program, so they each offer slightly different ways to redeem their associated points.
CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card
The CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card offers the following redemption options and values:
- Travel booked through CIBC by Expedia (1 cent per point)
- Statement credit for pending travel expenses using Shopping with Points (~1 cent per point during promotion)
- Flights redeemed using the CIBC Aventura Flight Rewards Chart (up to 2.3 cents per point)
- Investment products (0.83 cents per point)
- Gift cards (~0.71 cents per point)
- Merchandise (value fluctuates based on item)
- Statement credit (0.63 cents per point)
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card
On the other side of this comparison, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card lets you redeem your Scene+ points as follows:
- Travel booked through Scene+ Travel by Expedia (1 cent per point)
- Statement credits for travel purchases made in the last 12 months (1 cent per point)
- Credit for groceries, dining, entertainment and more at eligible merchant (1 cent per point)
- Gift cards (~0.75 cents per point)
- Credit card statements (0.67 cents per point)
Draw
After consideration, we decided to call this category a tie since both the CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card and the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card offer unique and valuable redemption opportunities.
On the one hand, the CIBC card offers the highest redemption value of either card (up to 2.3 cents per point) when you redeem your points for a flight through the Aventura Flight Rewards Chart. On the other hand, the Scotiabank card provides incredible convenience by letting you use your points (at 1 cent per point) to instantly save at eligible grocery stores.
Given these options, choosing the best card in this category really depends on how you prefer to use your points and where you want to save. If you’re saving up for a flight, the CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card offers the best value, but if you prefer to save on day-to-day expenses, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card might be the better choice.
Perks and Benefits
CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card
CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card comes with the following benefits:
- 4 complimentary airport lounge visits through the Visa Airport Companion app
- NEXUS application fee rebate
- Mobile device insurance
- Comprehensive travel insurance
- 12-month free trial of Skip+ subscription
- Save up to 10 cents per litre on gas through a partnership with Journie Rewards
- Purchase security and extended warranty
- and more
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card offers cardholders the following perks:
- No FX fees (save 2.5% on foreign currency transactions)
- 6 complimentary airport lounge passes (with DragonPass and Visa Airport Companion)
- Extensive travel insurance coverage
- Discounts on Avis car rentals
- Purchase security and extended warranty
- and more
Advantage: Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card
The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card takes this category thanks to its 6 (!) complimentary airport lounge passes and its ability to save you 2.5% on foreign transaction fees.
There are very few credit cards in the Canadian market that offer zero foreign transaction fees, so this perk is quite unique and can save you a good amount of money when you travel and whenever you purchase something online in a foreign currency.
Bottom Line
Now that we’ve explored all the important categories, we’re left to decide: which card is the best?
Comparing both the CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card and the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card, we found that each card stands out in its own way, so choosing a singular winner wouldn’t really be fair.
If you can only get one new credit card and you’re looking to save money on a flight, you may want to focus your attention on the CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card, which offers the highest redemption value, free airport lounge access, excellent travel insurance, and more.
Alternatively, if you’re looking to save on travel and international credit card purchases, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card offers no FX fees, easy travel redemptions (though for a lower value than the CIBC card), complimentary airport lounge access and travel insurance. This card also offers convenient redemption options for cardholders staying close to home, with its ability to exchange points for free groceries, dining, and entertainment.
Ultimately, the best card is the one that suits your spending and redemption preferences, whether that’s saving on flights around the world or keeping your grocery bill under control.
If you’d like to see how other CIBC and Scotiabank cards compare, consider taking a read through some of our other comparisons:
Frequently Asked Questions about CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite vs Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +
Here are frequently asked questions in the milesopedia community about this card.
Which card is easier to unlock the welcome bonus on?
The CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card offers the easier path. Its welcome bonus of up to 45,000 Aventura Points can be earned after a first purchase and $3,000 in spending within the first 4 monthly statement periods.
The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card offers 40,000 Scene+ points after spending $2,000, but additional bonus points require spending $10,000 and $40,000. For most households, CIBC’s bonus is simpler and easier to earn.
How do the earn rates stack up for typical spending?
Scotiabank Passport wins on category bonuses. It earns 4 points per $1 on hotels and car rentals, 3 points per $1 at grocery partners, and 2 points per $1 on dining and entertainment. CIBC Aventura earns 2 points per $1 on travel through the CIBC Rewards Centre and 1.5 points per $1 on gas, groceries and drug stores. For grocery- and dining-heavy households, Scotia delivers a noticeably higher effective return.
Which card has the lower annual fee?
The CIBC Aventura charges $139 per year, often waived in the first year through digital offers. The Scotiabank Passport charges $150 per year, waivable when you hold an eligible Scotiabank chequing account package. Net of typical first-year waivers, both cards effectively cost $0 in year 1. After that, CIBC is $11 cheaper annually, but the Scotia FX advantage usually outweighs the difference for travellers.
What is the deciding factor for most travellers?
It comes down to two things: foreign exchange and lounge access. Scotia Passport charges 0% FX fees and includes 6 complimentary lounge visits. CIBC Aventura charges the standard 2.5% FX fee and includes 4 DragonPass lounge visits plus a $160 NEXUS rebate. If you spend more than $5,000 a year in foreign currency, Scotia saves you over $125 annually on FX alone. If you primarily travel in Canada and the U.S. with Aeroplan goals, CIBC’s transferable points may suit you better.
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