Scotia Amex Gold vs RBC ION Visa: Which one is better?

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Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card vs RBC ION Visa: Which one is better?

Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card

4.9

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RECOMMENDED CREDIT SCORE*

300

Poor

560

Fair

660

Good

725

Very Good

760

Excellent

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RBC ION Visa

2.7

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RECOMMENDED CREDIT SCORE

300

Poor

560

Fair

660

Good

725

Very Good

760

Excellent

Get your free credit score

Finly Rebate

$100 Cash Rebate from FinlyWealth

Finly Rebate

N/A

Rewards Breakdown

Annual Rewards

$644.5

Scene+

First Year Bonus Value

$400

Scene+

Annual Fee

$120

First Year Value

$924.5

$524.5 in years after

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

Rewards Breakdown

Annual Rewards

$258.39

RBC ION Avion

First Year Bonus Value

$35

RBC ION Avion

Annual Fee

First Year Value

$293.39

$258.39 in years after

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

Insurance Included*

Extended Warranty

Up to 1 year

Purchase Protection

90 days

Lost or Stolen Baggage

$500/person, $1000/trip

Baggage Delay

$500/person, $1,000/trip After 4 hours

Car Rental Damage & Theft

$65K up to 48 days

Travel Accident

$500K/person, $1M/occurrence

Mobile Device Insurance

$1,000

Hotel Burglary Insurance

$1000/occurrence

Emergency Out of province Medical

$1M, Up to 25 days

Emergency Medical Over 65

$1M, Up to 3 days

Trip Cancellation

$1500/person, $10000/trip

Trip Interruption

$1500/person, $10,000/trip

Flight Delay

$500/person

Insurance Included

Extended Warranty

Up to a year

Purchase Protection

90 days

Extra Benefits*

No Foreign Transaction Fees

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

Concierge Services

Discount

Discount on PriorityPass Membership

American Express® Experiences

Extra Benefits

Gas Discount

save 3¢/L on fuel and always earn 20% more Petro-Points at Petro-Canada

Extra points

50 Be Well points for every $1 spent on eligible products at Rexall

Interest Rates*

Purchase:

20.99%

Cash Advance:

22.99%

Balance Transfer:

22.99%

Interest Rates

Purchase:

20.99%

Cash Advance:

22.99%

Annual Fee*

$120

Annual Fee

Income Required*

Min Personal Income:

$12,000

Min Household Income:

$12,000

Income Required

Min Personal Income:

N/A

Min Household Income:

N/A

Welcome Bonus*

Earn 20,000 bonus Scene+ points by making at least $2,000 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

Get 6,000 Avion points upon approval

Rewards Rate*

Earn 6x Scene+ points on every $1 you spend at Sobeys, Safeway, Freshco, Foodland and more
Earn 5x Scene+ points for every $1 you spend on dining, food delivery and other eligible grocery stores. Includes popular food delivery and food subscriptions.
Earn 5x Scene+ points for every $1 you spend in Canada eligible entertainment purposes. Includes movies, theatre and ticket agencies stores.
Earn 3x Scene+ points for every $1 CAD you spend in Canada on eligible gas and daily transit options. Includes rideshares, buses, subway, taxis and more
Earn 3x Scene+ points for every $1 CAD you spend in Canada on eligible select streaming services
Plus earn 1 Scene+ point for every $1 spent on all other eligible everyday purchases
Earn additional benefits + up to 4x Scene+ points for every dollar you spend on hotel bookings, car rentals, and things to do with Scene+ Travel, Powered by Expedia

Rewards Rate

1.5 points for every dollar in grocery, rides, gas, electric vehicle charging, streaming, digital gaming, subscriptions and more
1 point for all other purchases

Loyalty Program*

Scene+

Loyalty Program

RBC ION Avion

Point Redemption Options*

Travel

1¢ / point

Merchandise

0.76¢ / point

Gift Cards

0.74¢ / point

Statement Credits (Cash)

0.7¢ / point

Entertainment

1¢ / point

Groceries (Sobeys)

1¢ / point

Restaurants

1¢ / point

Point Redemption Options

Gift Cards

0.72¢ / point

Merchandise

0.7¢ / point

Travel

0.6¢ / point

Statement Credits (Cash)

0.58¢ / point

Most Optimal

Transfer to WestJet

1¢ / point

Financial Products

0.83¢ / point

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?

We actually don't like this card. It neither offers great benefits nor rewards, even for a free card. It's a very average card with many better and worse alternatives, both paid and free.

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

Good savings on gas if you are a regular petro-Canada gas customer.

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

Insurance coverage is the most basic.
Reward categories are not the best.
Avion reward points are generally less valuable.
Many other cards with no annual fee are available that are all-around better cards than ION Visa.