Scotiabank SCENE Visa Card Review
My Scotiabank SCENE Visa review has been completely updated. The Scotiabank SCENE Visa was/is a popular credit card for people who loved movies. Naturally, many students gravitated toward this card, which is why the Scotiabank SCENE Visa is one of the best Scotiabank credit cards in Canada.
Best of all Scene+ is an incredibly flexible rewards program that will appeal to many people. Read my Scotiabank SCENE Visa Card review now for the full details.
Scotiabank SCENE®* Visa* Card
- No annual fee
- 5,000 Scene+ points when you spend $750 in the first 3 months
- Earn 2 Scene+ points per $1 spent at Cineplex™ theatres, cineplex.com and Empire owned grocery stores
- Earn 1 Scene+ point per $1 spent on all other purchases
The first thing to understand is that the Scotiabank SCENE Visa is one of the best no fee credit cards in Canada. It comes with a decent welcome bonus which is significant since most no fee cards don’t give you anything when you sign up.
The earn rate is good if you go to the movies a lot since you’ll earn 2 Scene+ points per $1 spent at Cineplex and Empire owned grocery stores such as Sobeys, Safeway, and Foodland. The regular earn rate of 1 Scene+ point per $1 spent on all other purchases is pretty standard.
When this card was originally released, it was clearly designed for students who typically go to the movies the most. That’s one of the reasons why this card is one of the best student credit cards. Obviously, if you don’t go to the theatre or pay to stream movies online much, this might not be the best card for you.
Besides earning points towards movies, you do get one additional major benefit which is up to 25% off base rates at participating AVIS and Budget locations in Canada and the U.S.
No travel insurance or extended warranty is included with the Scotia SCENE Visa, but this is a card with no annual fee, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that there are limited additional benefits.
How the Scene+ points program works
The decision for Scotiabank to merge SCENE with Scotia Rewards to become a single program is interesting. While it makes sense to have a single loyalty program, it’s a bit weird that Scotia decided to go with the Scene branding instead of merging Scene right into Scotia Rewards. The good news is that the name change makes no difference since the changes are positive for users of both programs.
You can use your Scene+ points on the following:
- Travel
- Movies
- Participating restaurants
- Gift cards
- Merchandise
- Statement credits
Having more redemption options is never a bad thing. Under the old SCENE program, you could only use your points on movies and participating restaurants. You can now use your points on travel and much more. For an in-depth look, check out my Scene+ guide now.
How the Scotiabank SCENE Visa Card compares to others
When reading my Scotiabank SCENE Visa card review, it’s essential to see how this card compares to others. What’s interesting is that this card could easily be compared to student, no fee, and travel credit cards. Let’s look at some other cards to see what they offer.
The American Express Green Card is arguably the most comparable card. It has no annual fee and comes with a 10,000 American Express Membership Rewards points welcome bonus. Membership Rewards points can be used on travel or statement credit at the same value of Scene+. The only drawback is that the American Express Green Card earns a straight 1 point per $1 spent. There’s no increased earn rate.
Although it’s a cash back card, the Tangerine Money-Back Card is worth considering since you’ll earn 2% cash back on up to three categories of your choice. All other purchases earn you 0.5% cash back. This card is great for people who prefer straight cash over points. That said, this card does have a minimum income requirement of $12,000, so you won’t qualify if you don’t have an income.
One other card worth highlighting is the American Express Cobalt Card. American Express doesn’t have a minimum income requirement, and as you’ve already learned, American Express Membership Rewards points can be incredibly valuable. The American Express Cobalt Card has a crazy high earn rate of 5 points per $1 spent on eats and drinks, 3 points per $1 spent on travel, 2 points per $1 spent on streaming services, and 1 point per $1 spent on everything else. The catch is, there’s a monthly fee of $12.99.
Final thoughts
My Scotiabank SCENE Visa card review is positive. The card is clearly aimed at people who love movies and it rewards them for visiting the theatre. The overall benefits aren’t the best, but you can still earn massive amounts of points at Cineplex Theatres.
This was one of my two student cards. I’ve still kept the card even now that I have much better travel cards. Not only to keep the credit history. But I love movies. And 5x SCENE points is unmatched. I only redeem for movies on premium non Tuesday tickets. And on those redemptions, I find you get around 1.5 cents per pt. That’s pretty good for a no fee card.
James,
Heh, this card for people just like you =D
I opened the scene credit card around six months ago. A woman from customer service connected my scotia scene credit card and my scene points card with errors, so now my credit card is connected to the wrong scene points card. I am spending a lot monthly and supposed to get a lot of points, however; I am calling every other week to the scene and Scotia bank customer service, and for the more than six months they cannot fix your issue.
Very very unprofessional Scotiabank workers who don’t care about your needs.
Kate,
Terrible customer service is easily one of the most annoying things possible. Since SCENE is going to devalue their program on April 19th, it might be worth looking into a new credit card.
Thank you, you think I should get a new scene credit card or consider a completely different credit card? And what is gonna happen with my points, I spent a few thousand $$$ but received no points?
Kate,
I would apply for a different credit card since SCENE points are being devalued come April 19th. Keep the SCENE card until you get your points then cancel it.
I got a Scene Scotiabank card but never awarded any Scene points. Contacted service center 3 times. Still unresolved. They never call me back . It’s a scam . They just want to sell the cards without any points
Thank you for the advice, most likely I will do that. And now I have to find a new credit card that is as good as scene one.
The Scotiabank and Scene card program do not honour their undertakings to provide bonus points. I have had several instances where, after using the Scene card at a restaurant, I received immediate follow-up email informing me that I would receive 20 times the points when I next use the card at the same restaurant. However, with my subsequent follow-up visits, I never got the bonuses. I then contacted customer service and after a long delay, finally got a reply that I had to present the original email that promised the bonuses, as well as the receipts for my purchases at the restaurants – this despite the fact that it was their own system glitches that caused the failure to award the bonuses in the first place. I had since thrown away the receipts and deleted the email, so I am out the bonuses. Maybe other cardholders will have better luck and receive the bonus points without any issues.
Hi, this Scene rewards program is a scam misleading people! The Scene bonus points will not be transfer to the Scotia Rewards program. I’ve spent hours on the phone with representatives and on line trying to convert them. The Scotia rewards customer servise representative, after questioning me on my most private financial information for 30 minutes, finality lied to me saying they couldn’t do it because of a technical issue. My guess is that they don’t want to do it since this rewards progran is going bankrupt because people stopped going to the movies because of the COVID-19 lockdown.
Andrew,
You can convert things on your own online – https://www.scotiarewards.com/en-CA/Partner/Scene