
Welcome offer
The Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card only requires a minimum income of $12,000.
For a limited time, you can earn up to 45,000 points in the first year, which is a $450 value for travel purchases including Airbnb. Plus, the first year is free!
With the Scotiabank® Gold American Express® Card, you earn 6X Scene+ points on every $1 you spend at Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, Foodland, FreshCo, Voilà by Sobeys, Voilà by IGA, Voilà by Safeway, Chalo! FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, IGA West, Les Marchés Tradition, Rachelle Béry and Co-Op.
Also, you earn 5 points per dollar for:
- grocery stores
- Restaurants
- Entertainment
And 3 points per dollar on gas, transit and streaming services purchases.
You can redeem your points on travel purchases (flights, hotels, all-inclusive and even Airbnb). You can also use your points as cash back rewards with Scene+.
The Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card is a no foreign transaction fee card. It has Premium travel and purchase insurance, Concierge services, Exclusive Benefits American Express (Front of the Line Program).
5 points / dollar
With the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card, you can earn 5 points/dollar at:
- grocery stores and supermarkets
- restaurants (including food outlets, beverage outlets and fast food outlets and food delivery outlets such as Good Food or Hello Fresh)
- entertainment venues (including cinemas, theatre, ticket agencies, and groups, orchestras and other artists).
In addition, as of October 1, 2022, you earn 6 points for every $1 in purchases at Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, Foodland, FreshCo, Voilà by Sobeys, Voilà by IGA, Voilà by Safeway, Chalo! FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, IGA West, Les Marchés Tradition, Rachelle Béry and Co-Op.
3 points / dollar
With the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card, you can earn 3 points/dollar at:
- gas stations (and Automated Fuel Dispensers)
- daily transit (including Local and Suburban Commuter Passenger Transportation, including Ferries, Passenger Railways, Taxicabs and Limousines, Bus Lines, Transportation Services)
- Select Streaming Services (such as Netflix)
1 point/dollar
Everywhere else, and abroad, you earn 1 point/dollar with your Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card.
Gift cards in grocery stores
The fact that you can earn 5 points / dollar in grocery stores is very appealing because it’s a place where you can find a lot of gift cards!

So you can earn 5 points / dollar for many other stores: SAQ, Amazon, Gap, Aldo, Home Depot, etc.
To learn more about the strategy of earning points with gift cards, read this article!
Annual limit
The annual purchase limit in the 3 and 5 point/dollar categories is $50,000. Once you cross this limit, you earn 1 point/dollar.
Also abroad, you earn 1 point/dollar in all categories.
A Scene+ card
The Scene+ program is Scotiabank’s travel points loyalty program.
The other major cards in the Scene+ program are the Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card and the Scotiabank Scotiabank Platinum American Express® Card. This allows you to have another source of Scene+ points earning: it is possible to have a single Scene+ account regrouping your different credit cards.
Enough to earn many points both through credit card application bonuses and with your purchases!
An American Express card
As this card is part of the American Express network, you will access the American Express online offers, including Shop Small.
It’s handy if you don’t have (or no longer have) American Express cards from American Express Canada!
Simply register your card on this page.

Using Scene+ points
You can apply your Scene+ points directly to your travel purchases (flights, hotels, Airbnb, car rentals, etc.) charged to the card: 10,000 Scene+ points = $100.
Therefore, 45,000 Scene+ points = $450.
This is one of the cards we recommend in these strategies:
You must redeem at least 5,000 points or $50 (after this threshold, the redemption ratio is 100 points = $1).
By using your Scene+ points for travel expenses, you are guaranteed a return of 1-5% depending on your purchases.
Reliable concierge service
If you need help with your restaurant reservations or finding tickets for a show, the concierge service – provided by American Express – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
I have used it several times to get a table in “sold-out” restaurants. Or to make me a list of things to do/see in a city I was planning to visit (Seoul, South Korea).
Access to American Express Invites
As it is an American Express card, you also have some benefits offered to cardmembers such as “American Express Invites”.

You can get to the Front of the Line for many experiences: concerts, theatres, restaurants, cinema, fashion and shopping.
To sign up for the service once you get your Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card, it’s here!
Reliable travel insurance
With the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card, you have reliable travel insurance:
Travel Emergency Medical Insurance
Coverage is provided
- for eligible persons under age 65 for up to 25 consecutive days
- and for eligible persons age 65 and older for up to 3 consecutive days.
Trip Cancellation / Trip Interruption Insurance
Charge at least 75% of your trip costs to your Card and get trip interruption insurance at no extra cost.
You, your spouse, one travelling companion and your eligible dependent children travelling with you, are automatically insured for up to $1,500 per person for eligible expenses (maximum $10,000 per trip)
Flight delay insurance
Charge at least 75% of the full ticket cost to your Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card and you’ll be eligible for reimbursement of necessary expenses, such as hotel accommodations, meals, and other emergency items.
You may be reimbursed for eligible necessary and reasonable living expenses incurred during the period of a delayed flight or missed connection which lasts four hours or more to a limit of $500 per insured person on the same trip.
Delayed and Lost Baggage Insurance
Charge the full cost of your airplane, train, bus or cruise ship tickets to your Card. If your checked luggage is delayed or lost – you’re covered.
The lost luggage benefit is limited to the lesser of the value of the covered luggage or the actual replacement cost of the lost or stolen covered luggage, to a combined maximum of $1,000.
The delayed luggage benefit is limited to $1,000 for all insured persons on the same trip for the cost of replacing eligible essential items if your checked luggage is not delivered within four (4) hours from your time of arrival at your final destination.
Travel Accident Insurance
Charge at least 75% of your ticket cost to your Card and you’re insured against accidental loss of life or dismemberment.
You, your spouse and eligible dependent children will be automatically insured against accidental loss of life, or dismemberment – up to a maximum of $500,000 (to a maximum of $1,000,000 per occurrence).
Rental Car Collision Loss/Damage Insurance
Charge the full cost of your eligible rental car to your Card and you’re automatically insured if your rental is damaged or stolen.
Note that the rental period cannot exceed 48 consecutive days and vehicles costing over $65,000 are not covered.
Hotel/Motel Burglary Insurance
Use your Card to pay for your stay at any hotel or motel in Canada or the U.S.
When you check into any hotel or motel in Canada or the United States and pay the entire bill with your Scotiabank Gold American Express CardIn the event of a break-in to your room, you, your spouse and dependent children traveling with you will be eligible for theft of personal property coverage.
Should your claim exceed the amount reimbursable by the hotel, and/or any applicable insurance protection, your coverage picks up the balance, up to a maximum of $1,000.
Other attractive insurance
Purchase Security & Extended Warranty Protection
Most items purchased with your Card are insured against theft, loss or damage for 90 days from the purchase date and the manufacturer’s warranty is doubled for up to one year. (Maximum lifetime liability of $60,000)
Bottom line
This is the best card to earn Scene+ points.
This Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card will be very interesting for many profiles:
- Those who do not want to pay a foreign currency conversion fee
- Those who want reliable insurance
- Those who do not have the required income for other premium cards as it requires a $12,000 income only.
- Those who can earn many points through grocery shopping (think gift cards!)
- Those who already have one or more Scene+ cards in their wallet
- Those who have a Scene+ points balance (earned with the Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card) and would like to cancel their current card … and still keep their Scene+ points through this new card
With this great offer, you can earn up to 45,000 points (a $450 value). And the first year is free (which is rare for this card)!