Scotia Rewards Program Review

The Scotia Rewards program is a points-based system where members are awarded one Scotia Rewards point for every $1 in purchases charged to your ScotiaGold Passport Visa account or ScotiaGold Passport for business Visa account.

Scotia Rewards

The Scotia Rewards Program offers the following benefits to members:

• Complimentary full-service travel centre
• Redeem points for flights, hotels, holiday packages, cruises, rail tickets and car rentals
• Fly anywhere with no blackouts or seating restrictions
• Book with “points only” or “points plus cash”
• Use points to cover taxes and surcharges
• Points do not expire

When using the Scotia Rewards Travel Service, the portion charged to your card earns you 5% cash back on flights, cruises and holiday packages.  This is a unique feature that’s not found in other travel programs like TD Travel Rewards or RBC Rewards.

Redeeming Scotia Rewards Points

Members can redeem Scotia Rewards online in the Rewards Shop.  There are a wide variety of items available, including merchandise, gift cards, and travel.  Scotia Rewards also offers a way to redeem points for investment dollars.

Related: Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Is The Best Cash Back Card

Each Scotia Rewards point is worth less than 1 cent upon redemption.  Here are a few examples of redeeming points for gift cards:

• $50 Apple iTunes gift card – 7,000 points
• $100 Scotia Rewards investment dollars – 12,500 points
• $100 Visa prepaid gift card – 13,500 points

Members can redeem points for gift cards at merchants like Esso, Starbucks, HBC, The Home Depot, Future Shop, Cineplex, Winners and Shoppers Drug Mart.

Scotia Rewards Visa cards

There are two Scotia Rewards Visa cards available to members.  Each card provides all the regular advantages of a VISA card, plus the exclusive benefits of the Scotia Rewards program.

ScotiaGold Passport Visa

• Earn Scotia Rewards Points.  One point for every $1 you spend
• Travel anywhere, any time with no restrictions.
• Earn 30,000 Scotia Rewards bonus points worth $300 in travel
• Comprehensive Travel Insurance
• 5% cash back on travel purchased through Scotia Rewards Travel Service
• $99 annual fee

Based on $2,600 in monthly spending, ScotiaGold Passport Visa card holders will receive $513 worth of travel rewards in the first year, after subtracting the annual fee.  Members will earn $213 each subsequent year.

ScotiaGold Passport for business Visa

• Free Scotia VISA Cheques for balance transfers, or to pay insurance premiums, medical/dental bills and utility bills.
• Credit limit of up to $500,000 for secured and $50,000 unsecured.
• 5% cash back on travel purchased through Scotia Rewards Travel Service
• $120 annual fee
• $50 annual fee per additional card
• 50% off the annual fee on your personal ScotiaGold Passport Visa card

Final Thoughts

Scotia Rewards has some unique features in their travel program, including the 5% cash back rebate on travel purchased through the Scotia Rewards Travel Service.  I also like the variety of rewards available in the Rewards Shop, including the investment dollars option.

When comparing Scotia Rewards with other travel rewards programs, the credit cards don’t match-up very well.

The ScotiaGold Passport Visa doesn’t have the earning power of some of the best travel rewards credit cards in Canada, like the Capital One Aspire World MasterCard, and even most of the CIBC Visa cards.

For small business credit cards, the ScotiaGold Passport for business Visa lacks the punch that a card like the TD Business Travel Visa delivers.