One of the rare upsides of the pandemic is that if you are not traveling, you can be accumulating a huge stash of travel rewards points so your next trip (or trips) can be heavily discounted. If you haven’t started yet, you’ve already lost a full year… so it’s time to take action now. And even if you have been earning already, these 2 great Scotiabank travel credit cards could be the right options for you.
Both cards have seen their welcome bonus increased in March (and of course, welcome bonuses are the key to getting over $1,000 in travel rewards each year as we do).
That doesn’t mean they are the best credit cards in Canada right now, it’s just that we wanted to tell you about these brand-new offers.
For example, in terms of travel rewards value, there are at least 7 cards with higher welcome bonuses right now:
Best credit card offers
(September 2023)WELCOME BONUS
(
VALUATION)Best
for
good earn rate
airport lounges
for simple points
valuable or simple
and travel benefits
and 4
and 4
and 4
card
rewards
travel insurance
without min. income
hotel points
cash back bonus
lounge access
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Best credit card offers
(September 2023)
Card:
Bonus: spend $1k in 2 mos. (see QC offer)
WELCOME BONUS
Rewards: ≈ $418
Card fee: $0 $149
Best for: No FX fee good earn rate
& flexible rewards
Card:
Bonus: spend $7.5k in 3 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
Rewards: ≈ $1713
Card fee: $699
Best for: Unlimited access to airport lounges
and flexible rewards
Card:
Bonus: spend $5k in 6 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
Rewards: $725
Card fee: $0 $139
Best for: Highest offer for simple points
and 1st year free
Card:
Bonus: spend $5k in 6 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
Rewards: ≈ $900
Card fee: $120
Best for: Versatile rewards valuable or simple
great beginner's card
Card:
Bonus: spend $7.5k in 12 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
Rewards: ≈ $780
Card fee: $0 $139
Best for: Valuable Aeroplan pts and travel benefits
$5k spend option also available
Card:
Bonus: spend $3k in 4 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
Rewards: $547
Card fee:
Best for: Flexible rewards and 4
airport lounge passes
Card:
Bonus: spend $3k in 4 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
Rewards: $547
Card fee:
Best for: Flexible rewards and 4
airport lounge passes
American Express® Gold Rewards Card
Card:
Bonus: spend $1k/mo for 12 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
Rewards: ≈ $1180
Card fee: $250
Best for: Valuable rewards and 4
airport lounge passes
Card:
Bonus: spend $500/mo for 12 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
Rewards: ≈ $900
Card fee: $156
Best for: Best overall card
in Canada
RBC® British Airways Visa Infinite‡
Card:
Bonus: spend $6k in 3 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
Rewards: ≈ $840
Card fee: $165
Best for: Great airline rewards
for big spenders
Card:
Bonus: spend $7.5k in 1y (or $1k)
WELCOME BONUS
Rewards: $775
Card fee: $120
Best for: Very good travel insurance
and earn rate
American Express® Aeroplan®* Card
Card:
Bonus: spend $1k/mo for 10 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
Rewards: ≈ $630
Card fee: $120
Best for: Valuable Aeroplan pts without min. income
and lower min. spend
Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card
Card:
Bonus: spend $1.5k in 3 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
Rewards: ≈ $477
Card fee: $120
Best for: Very lucrative hotel points
for specific hotels
Card:
Bonus: spend $3.5k in 3 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
Rewards: $350
Card fee: $0 $139
Best for: Highest ever cash back bonus
ever seen in Canada
American Express® Aeroplan®* Reserve Card
Card:
Bonus: spend $2k/mo for 6 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
Rewards: ≈ $900
Card fee: $599
Best for: For Air Canada lounge access
& other AC benefits
Terms and conditions apply. Flytrippers editorial opinion only. Financial institutions are not responsible for maintaining the content on this site. Please click "See More" to see most up-to-date information.
Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card
The Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card is one of the best credit cards in Canada for many travelers.
Here’s why it’s great (detailed post to come soon; subscribe to our free travel rewards newsletter):
- Its new welcome bonus offer is worth $230 in travel rewards based on our Flytrippers Valuation
- The welcome bonus requires a low minimum spend of $1,000 in 3 months (that’s just ≈ $77/week)
- It earns a whopping 5 points per dollar (5%) on groceries (and 3% on gas, transit, and streaming services)
- Scotia points are literally the easiest type of travel rewards, as they can be applied to any travel expense
- It is one of the very few cards in Canada with no foreign transaction fees (2.5% in savings)
- It has some of the best travel insurance coverage for those with a lower income
- It has a very low minimum income requirement of $12,000 only
If you can spend a bit more each month, I would strongly consider the American Express Cobalt™ Card which also earns 5 points per dollar on groceries (even 6 points per dollar actually by transferring to Marriott for even more value) and also has an increased welcome bonus worth ≈ $706 (with a higher spending required but no minimum income).
The American Express Cobalt™ Card is simply one of the very best cards in Canada, and it now has its best-ever welcome bonus offer. It’s the card I used the most myself when I’m not unlocking the many new welcome bonuses I get each year.
But in case you don’t want to spend as much, the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card is by far the best alternative. You can also consider the other best credit cards in Canada for groceries in case you don’t want to do as I did (which is to change for one of the grocery stores that accept American Express in Canada).
Here’s how the card deal works (and download our free checklist for when you get a new card to avoid common mistakes):
- Apply for the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card
- Spend $1,000 in 3 months
- Get 35,000 Scotia points
- Use for a $350 discount on any travel purchase
- By deducting the $120 fee, you’ll have gotten $230 in value
- Re-evaluate the card in one year, as always
Have any questions? Ask us in the comments below.
Scotia Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card
The Scotia Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card is one of the best credit cards in Canada for those who enjoy airport lounge access.
Here’s why it’s great (detailed post to come soon; subscribe to our free travel rewards newsletter):
- Its new welcome bonus offer is worth $171 in travel rewards based on our Flytrippers Valuation
- The welcome bonus requires a low minimum spend of $1,000 in 3 months (that’s just ≈ $77/week)
- It gives you 6 annual free airport lounge passes around the world
- It is one of the very few cards in Canada with no foreign transaction fees (2.5% in savings)
- Scotia points are literally the easiest type of travel rewards, as they can be applied to any travel expense
- It has some of the best travel insurance coverage in Canada
- However, it has a minimum income requirement of $60,000
While not many of you are in need of airport lounge passes right now, given how it will almost certainly be easy to travel this fall at the latest (and next winter), you’d likely be able to use the 6 passes within the year pretty easily.
That said, if you earn over $60,000 per year, there are many other higher offers in terms of rewards value among the best credit cards in Canada. For example, if you want even more value, the aforementioned American Express Cobalt™ Card is by far the best offer in Canada right now (≈ $706).
Of course, there’s always the Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card (≈ $357) if you don’t have it yet: it’s the card that every Canadian traveler should have (the welcome bonus gives you 8 free hotel nights in many cool destinations, like Bali). If you prefer sticking to a Visa card, the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Card* ($327) will give you points (and credits) that are almost just as easy to use as Scotia points (or easier).
Here’s how the card deal works (and download our free checklist for when you get a new card to avoid common mistakes):
- Apply for the Scotia Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card
- Spend $1,000 in 3 months
- Get 31,000 Scotia points
- Use for a $310 discount on any travel purchase
- By deducting the $139 fee, you’ll have gotten $171 in value
- Re-evaluate the card in one year, as always
Have any questions? Ask us in the comments below.
Scotia Momentum® Visa Infinite* Card
The Scotia Momentum® Visa Infinite* Card does not have an increased welcome bonus, but they at least continued the previous (good) one.
It is one of the best offers for cashback (even though cashback is definitely not the way to go if you want to maximize your rewards):
- Its welcome bonus offer is worth $200 in cashback (min. spend $2,000 in 3 months)
- The welcome bonus requires a low minimum spend of $2,000 in 3 months (that’s just ≈ $77/week)
- It earns a good 4% on groceries (and 1-2% elsewhere)
- It comes with free supplementary cards the first year to earn faster
- It has some of the best travel insurance coverage in Canada
- However, it also has a minimum income requirement of $60,000
Other cashback alternatives include the BMO CashBack® World Elite®* MasterCard®* ($200 welcome bonus) that will soon earn 5% back on groceries (but with very low monthly caps) and the American Express® AIR MILES®* Platinum Card ($227 welcome bonus as AIR MILES Cash Rewards) that is still higher as cashback, even if you are way better off using AIR MILES for travel to get more value (like with all rewards programs).
There is also the SimplyCash™ Preferred Card from American Express® which has an even higher welcome bonus ($301) but requires twice the spending to maximize it.
Here’s how the card deal works (and download our free checklist for when you get a new card to avoid common mistakes):
- Apply for the Scotia Momentum® Visa Infinite* Card
- Spend $2,000 in 3 months
- Get $200 cashback
- The first year fee is waived
- Re-evaluate the card in one year, as always
Have any questions? Ask us in the comments below.
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Summary
The 2 best Scotiabank credit cards for travelers have just seen their welcome bonuses increased significantly, so it could be a good time to get them if you were considering these as part of your travel rewards strategy.
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