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Credit card rewards are an excellent way to get a little something back with every purchase, whether it’s for groceries or booking a hotel for an international trip.
Furthermore, many cards offer an interesting range of benefits and privileges that can enhance your travel experiences, secure your purchases, and help you save even more.
Two travel cards, two very different philosophies. The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +*MD Card rewards you with Scene+ points, 6 airport lounge accesses, and a solid welcome bonus. The Wealthsimple Visa Infinite + Card focuses on simplicity: 2% cash back on everything, no foreign transaction fees, no tracking required. Both waive foreign exchange fees, which alone puts them ahead of most cards in Canada. The question is which one truly matches your spending habits.
In this comparison, we will see how these two cards, which offer different reward styles, compare across the following 6 categories:
To begin our comparison, we will examine the welcome bonus offered by each of these credit cards, as it often helps kickstart your rewards balance.
Regarding welcome offers, the Wealthsimple Visa Infinite + Card currently offers no bonus to new cardholders.
This is not surprising, however, as the Wealthsimple Card is quite new and there is still a waiting list of people who wish to sign up.
Conversely, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card generally offers an advantageous welcome offer to new cardholders.
These offers vary, but as an example, the card currently offers up to 60,000 Scene+ points as a bonus, distributed as follows:
For this first category, we crown the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card the winner, as it allows new cardholders to earn up to 60,000 Scene+ points, valued at over $600 when redeemed for travel, groceries, and more.
For comparison, the Wealthsimple Visa Infinite + Card currently offers no welcome offer to new cardholders; however, it would not be surprising if this changes once the waiting list is cleared.
The minimum income requirements for the Wealthsimple Visa Infinite + Card are as follows:
The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card has the following minimum income requirements:
In terms of minimum income, both cards essentially have identical requirements, entirely consistent with what one would expect for a Visa Infinite Card.
We therefore declare this category a tie.
The annual fee for the Wealthsimple Visa Infinite + Card is $240/year. For Quebec residents, this fee is paid in full upfront, while residents of the rest of Canada will be charged $20 per month.
Note: these fees may be waived if you hold at least $100,000 in assets with Wealthsimple or if you have at least $4,000 in eligible direct deposits to your Wealthsimple checking account each month.
The annual fee for the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card is $150; however, it can be waived if you hold an eligible Scotiabank bank account, such as the Ultimate Package checking account or the Preferred Package checking account.
We believe the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card wins this category because its annual fee is lower ($150 vs. $240 for the Wealthsimple Visa Infinite + Card) and it offers more accessible ways to have these fees waived entirely.
That said, if you meet the requirements to have the Wealthsimple Card’s annual fee waived, this category would then be a tie.
The Wealthsimple Visa Infinite + Card and the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card offer two different types of rewards: cash back and Scene+ points.
Depending on your reward preferences, each of these options presents significant potential interest. Let’s examine each program to see what can be expected from these expenses.
With the Wealthsimple Visa Infinite + Card, you earn a base rate of 2% cash back on all your purchases.
Additionally, Wealthsimple now offers targeted limited-time offers of up to 10% cash back at select retailers.
For example, during a recent promotion, eligible cardholders saw the following “cash back bonus” offers:
Furthermore, accessing your cash back is easy, as it is automatically deposited into your Wealthsimple checking account each month.
With the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card, you can earn up to 4 Scene+ points per dollar spent:
Given that Scene+ points can be redeemed at 1 cent each, these accumulation rates correspond to a return of 4%, 3%, 2%, and 1% respectively.
For the accumulation category, we believe both cards are quite well matched.
With the Wealthsimple Visa Infinite + Card offering cash back and the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card offering Scene+ points, we can compare the value of their accumulation rates to see how they stack up.
Since Scene+ points are generally worth 1 cent each, the Scotiabank card’s accumulation rates are worth more than 4%, 3%, 2%, and 1%. Compared to the Wealthsimple card’s base accumulation rate of 2%, as well as its cash back potential of up to 10%, the Scotiabank card takes the lead for loyal Sobeys customers and travelers who regularly book via Scene+ Travel. For everyone else, Wealthsimple’s accumulation rate is simply very good on most of what they actually buy.
As mentioned above, the Wealthsimple Visa Infinite + Card and the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +*MD Card offer different types of rewards: one provides cash back and the other Scene+ points.
There are therefore bound to be differences in how cardholders can access and enjoy their rewards; let’s see how this plays out.
Using the cash back earned with your Wealthsimple Visa Infinite + Card is extremely simple, as you actually don’t have to do anything.
With the Wealthsimple Visa Infinite + Card, you must also open a Wealthsimple checking account, and you retain full control over when and how you redeem your cash back. You can transfer it at any time to any of your Wealthsimple accounts for maximum flexibility.
Redemption with the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +*MD Card is a bit more complex, but in return, you benefit from several redemption options.
Once you have accumulated Scene+ points, you can redeem them in the following ways:
In the reward redemption category, it’s a bit difficult to choose a winner because it depends heavily on personal preferences.
On one hand, cash back is wonderfully simple (who doesn’t love a cash bonus to reduce monthly expenses?), but on the other hand, Scene+ allows you to choose where you redeem your points, change as needed, save for larger redemptions, and enjoy travel without ever spending cash.
As indicated above, Scene+ points can generally be redeemed at 1 cent each, giving the Scotiabank card a consistently better accumulation rate. That said, Wealthsimple’s 2% rate is comparable to the Scotiabank card for everything except eligible groceries and eligible travel expenses.
Furthermore, Wealthsimple’s new promotional rates, offering up to 10% cash back at certain merchants, are very attractive, and we believe it is likely that the list of eligible merchants will expand, making this a feature to watch closely.
All this to say that we declare this category a tie, as both cards offer similar redemption value, and the best card is ultimately the one that gets you the rewards you prefer to redeem.
The Wealthsimple Visa Infinite + Card offers cardholders the following benefits:
With the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card, you can enjoy the following benefits:
In terms of benefits and privileges, we find that these two cards are excellent and very similar.
With the Wealthsimple Visa Infinite + Card and the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card, we particularly appreciate the no foreign transaction fee feature, as it is quite rare with Canadian cards and can save you a significant amount when traveling.
However, we believe the Scotiabank card has a slight advantage in this category thanks to its additional offer of 6 complimentary airport lounge accesses. Not only is this very pleasant when traveling, but it also represents considerable value and remains quite rare for a Visa Infinite card.
Now that we have reviewed our 6 comparison categories, it’s time to determine the big winner: the Wealthsimple Visa Infinite + Card or the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card.
We like that both cards have no foreign transaction fees, offer travel insurance, and other similar benefits. But, competitively and for most Canadians, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +*MD Card is the better choice. The welcome bonus alone can be worth $600, the annual fee is $90 lower, and the 6 complimentary airport lounge accesses add tangible travel value. If you already spend a lot at Sobeys banner grocery stores, the 3x accumulation rate tips the scales.
On the other hand, we appreciate Wealthsimple’s hassle-free rewards system, which allows you to earn 2% on everything, as well as occasional bonuses of up to 10% cash back. The Wealthsimple Visa Infinite + Card finds its place for a specific type of cardholder: someone who doesn’t want to do any calculations, who already banks with Wealthsimple (or can have their pay deposited there to waive fees), and who spends heavily in categories where Scene+ only gives 1x.
Since the Wealthsimple Visa Infinite + Card and the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card are both interesting cards, with similar features and accumulation rates, you just have to decide if you prefer cash back or Scene+ points, and you’re ready to start accumulating!
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