American Express Canada and Scotiabank offer two cards for frequent travellers:
Welcome to our comparison of two titans of Canada’s high-end credit card sector: the prestigious American Express Platinum Card® and the brand-new Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card. Let’s see which one is the best.
The welcome bonus offered by each of these cards varies according to the promotions.
Here’s how the current offer is structured:
With this welcome offer from the American Express Platinum Card®, you can earn up to 100,000 Membership Rewards points:
Based on our Membership Rewards points valuation (1.7 cents per point), this welcome bonus corresponds to a value of $2,040.
With this welcome offer for the Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card, you can earn up to 80,000 Scene+ points:
Based on our valuation of Scene+ points (1 cent per point), this welcome bonus corresponds to a value of $800.
The offer from the American Express Platinum Card® provides significantly more points and value compared to its counterpart.
American Express Platinum Card® requires no minimum income.
The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card requires at least $150,000 in annual income or $200,000 in family income.
Like the vast majority of American Express cards, American Express Platinum Card® requires no minimum income and is therefore more accessible to all.
The American Express Platinum Card® has an annual fee of $799.
The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card has an annual fee of $599.
At first glance, it’s the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card that costs less in annual fees than the American Express Platinum Card®.
However, American Express Platinum Card® comes with a $200 Annual Travel Credit and a $200 annual credit for certain restaurants, bringing the net cost of the membership to $399.
In addition, the Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card has an annual travel credit of $250, bringing the annual fee down to $349 net.
If these credits are well used, the two cards have only a slight difference of $50 in this category. But the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card still wins!
The American Express Platinum Card® and ScotiaBank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege cards offer different point accumulation options.
With the American Express Platinum Card®, you earn:
Each Membership Rewards point is valued at 1.7 cents. This value can be even higher if you transfer them to another loyalty program to make an advantageous redemption, such as for a business class flight ticket or an expensive hotel room.
The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card earns:
Each Scene+ point has a maximum value of 1 cent.
For its value, American Express Platinum Card® wins this battle. Additionally, its points have another type of value, as Membership Rewards points are flexible and can be transferred to other programs, as we explain below.
Both cards are made for travellers.
However, their loyalty programs are completely different:
As a result, the way points are used is different.
With the American Express Platinum Card®, you can apply its Membership Rewards points to reimburse any travel purchase charged to the card (airline tickets, hotels, Airbnb, car rentals, etc.), where 1,000 points = $10 in reimbursement.
You can also use the American Express fixed rate chart for specific flights.
Scene+ points and travel:
You can apply them to travel purchases in two ways, thanks to the fixed redemption rate where 1,000 points = $10 credit:
The two ways of using points for travel are relatively similar for the 2 cards.
With the American Express Platinum Card®, you can apply Membership Rewards points to everyday purchases charged to the card.
The usage rate is 1,000 points = $10.
A minimum of 1,000 points (minimum $10) must be applied.
You can redeem 1,000 Scene+ points for a $10 discount at the IGA/Sobeys checkout.
Points can also be used to purchase gift cards on the Scotiabank/Scène+ website, starting from 1,000 to 1,400 points for a $10 card.
Scene+ points can also be redeemed for:
With the American Express Platinum Card®, whether you want to use your points for travel or everyday purchases, you’ll get the same value: 1,000 points = $10 less to pay out of pocket.
This is not the case if you want to use Scene+ points for a statement credit on anything, where using your Scene+ points is not advantageous at all.
With the American Express Platinum Card® you can transfer your points to other rewards programs:
You cannot transfer your Scene+ points to other programs.
Once your Scene+ points are in your Scene+ account, they are permanently linked to this program. You cannot transfer them or use them elsewhere.
Membership Rewards points from the American Express Platinum Card® are highly flexible and can be transferred elsewhere at a great advantage.
This flexibility is not available with the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card.
With the American Express Platinum Card® you and a guest have unlimited free access to many airport lounges around the world:
The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card gives you 10 free airport lounge passes per year, from the date you join the program. The card is linked to the DragonPass / Visa Airport Companion networks.
Once all 10 accesses have been used, the cost is USD 32 per person for entering alounge.
Secondary cardholders also benefit from 10 free accesses per year. This can be very advantageous, especially since the additional card only costs $199 per year.
If you travel regularly, it’s easy: the American Express Platinum Card® will open the doors of numerous lounges around the world for you and one guest (or up to two children, depending on the lounge), as well as in Canada in the Plaza Premium lounges, Air France Lounge, National Bank Lounge or the WestJet Elevation Lounge.
With the American Express Platinum Card®, you enjoy the following benefits:
The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card offers you the following benefits:
Read all about it in our article on How to maximize the travel benefits of this card.
The American Express Platinum Card® offers greater value to frequent travellers, making their airport experience easier, as well as for those staying in hotels and dining at top restaurants. The elevated status with popular hotels, automatically and effortlessly obtained, can be very useful while travelling.
The insurance offered by the two cards is similar in many respects, but the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card has a slight advantage. Depending on your priorities, you may prefer one or the other. What’s more, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card comes with practical mobile device insurance.
So? Which Card is the winner?
The American Express Platinum Card® is the best because it has:
The Scotiabank Platinum American Express® Card is a good compromise and stands out from the crowd:
Savings are here (if you don’t see the sign-up form, please click here):
