Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card

Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card

Apply Now
CIBC Costco Mastercard

CIBC Costco Mastercard

Apply Now

Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card vs CIBC Costco Mastercard: Which one is better?


Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card

Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card

4.9


RECOMMENDED CREDIT SCORE

300
Poor
560
Fair
660
Good
725
Very Good
760
Excellent

CIBC Costco Mastercard

CIBC Costco Mastercard

3


RECOMMENDED CREDIT SCORE

300
Poor
560
Fair
660
Good
725
Very Good
760
Excellent

Finly Rebate

Now $150 until Nov 24, 2024

Finly Rebate

N/A

Rewards Breakdown

Annual Rewards

$644.5

Scene+


First Year Bonus

$450

Scene+


Annual Fee

$120


First Year Value

$1,094.5

$524.5 in years after

Based on $2,000/mo average spending. Calculate your rewards.

Rewards Breakdown

Annual Rewards

$347.33


First Year Bonus

$0


Annual Fee

$0


First Year Value

$347.33

Based on $2,000/mo average spending. Calculate your rewards.

Insurance Included

  • mobile device insurance

    Mobile Device Insurance

    $1,000
  • extended warranty

    Extended Warranty

    Up to 1 year
  • purchase protection

    Purchase Protection

    90 days

  • lost baggage

    Lost or Stolen Baggage

    $500/person, $1000/trip
  • hourglass timer

    Baggage Delay

    $500/person, $1,000/trip After 4 hours
  • car insurance

    Car Rental Damage & Theft

    $65K up to 48 days
  • heart lock

    Travel Accident

    $500K/person, $1M/occurrence
  • burglar

    Hotel Burglary Insurance

    $1000/occurrence
  • travel accident medical

    Emergency Out of province Medical

    $1M, Up to 25 days
  • travel accident medical

    Emergency Medical Over 65

    $1M, Up to 3 days
  • cancel airplane

    Trip Cancellation

    $1500/person, $10000/trip
  • pause

    Trip Interruption

    $1500/person, $10,000/trip
  • hourglass timer

    Flight Delay

    $500/person

Insurance Included

  • mobile device insurance

    Mobile Device Insurance

    $1000
  • extended warranty

    Extended Warranty

    Up to a year
  • purchase protection

    Purchase Protection

    Up to 90 days

Extra Benefits

  • exchange money

    No Foreign Transaction Fees

    Avoid the 2.5% foreign transaction fees incurred when spending in non $CAD
  • concierge

    Concierge Services

  • discount

    Discount

    Discount on PriorityPass Membership
  • Amex logo

    American Express® Experiences

Extra Benefits

N/A

Interest Rates

Purchase:

20.99%

Cash Advance:

22.99%

Balance Transfer:

22.99%

Interest Rates

Purchase:

20.75%

Cash Advance:

22.49%

Annual Fee

$120

$0

First Year Waived

Annual Fee

$0

Income Required

Min Personal Income:

$12,000

Min Household Income:

$12,000

Income Required

Min Personal Income:

$15,000

Min Household Income:

N/A

Welcome Bonus

Earn 25,000 bonus Scene+ points by making at least $1,000 in everyday eligible purchases in your first 3 months. Plus, for a limited time, you are eligible to earn a 20,000 Scene+ point bonus when you spend at least $7,500 in everyday eligible purchases in your first year.

Welcome Bonus

N/A

Rewards Rate

  • 6 Points per $1 spent at Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland & Participating Co-ops
  • 5 Points per $1 spent on eligible dining, other grocery stores, entertainment purchases including movies, theatre, and ticket agencies
  • 3 Points per $1 spent on rides which includes rideshare, buses, taxis, subways and more
  • 3 Points per $1 spent on eligible streaming service payments (Netflix, Spotify, Disney+, Crave and more)
  • 1 Point per $1 spent on all other eligible purchases

Rewards Rate

  • 3% cash back on Restaurants and Costco Gas
  • 2% cash back on Costco.ca purchases (Max $160 yearly)
  • 2% cash back on Gas (Max $100 yearly)
  • 1% on everything else

Loyalty Program

Loyalty Program

N/A

Point Redemption Options

  • entertainment popcorn

    Entertainment

    1¢ / point
  • travel - plane

    Travel

    1¢ / point
  • groceries

    Groceries (Sobeys)

    1¢ / point
  • food location

    Restaurants

    1¢ / point
  • online shop

    Merchandise

    0.76¢ / point
  • gift card

    Gift Cards

    0.74¢ / point
  • cash coins

    Statement Credits (Cash)

    0.7¢ / point

Point Redemption Options

Not Applicable

Is this card worth it?

The Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card is one of our favorite cards. It has a very solid rewards program, earning one of the highest rewards among all credit cards in Canada. In addition, it offers comprehensive travel benefits, including the rare and valuable no foreign transaction fee benefit, making it a great and balanced credit card in terms of both rewards and benefits. The first-year annual fee waiver is the cherry on top, providing even greater value to cardholders.

Is this card worth it?

The CIBC Costco Mastercard offers one of the highest cashback rates on restaurant purchases in Canada, making it an excellent choice for optimizing rewards in this specific category, especially since it has no annual fees. If you use Costco Gas or shop on Costco Online, there is a decent cashback rate as well. However, for other categories, the cashback rate is average. Notably, you will be better off using other credit cards for warehouse Costco purchases, as you will only earn 1% cashback. If you are looking for no annual fee credit cards only, this is a good card to go for.

Pros

  • No foreign transaction fee saves you 2.5% on all non-CAD purchases.
  • Rewards cover all high-spending categories, including food, groceries, entertainment, and gas.
  • Comprehensive coverage of all travel insurance.

Pros

  • Decent reward rate for a no annual fee credit card
  • One of the highest cashback rates for restaurant purchases in Canada
  • Has Mobile insurance

Cons

  • The card network is American Express, which might not be widely accepted in some countries, making it a bit harder to use the no foreign transaction fee benefit.
  • Having a lounge pass would have made this card even more perfect, but there is access to a discount code for lounge access pass purchases.

Cons

  • Doesn't come with a lot of benefits
  • Doesn't earn much on Costco Warehouse purchases!

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