Scotiabank Value® Visa* Card

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  Balance Protection

  optional

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  Car Rental Discount

  Avis car rental discount up to 25% worldwide

If you’re looking for a simple, low-fee, low-interest credit card – one that doesn’t need all the coverage, rewards or benefits – then the Scotiabank Value Visa Card might be the best choice for you.

This is the credit card for those who don’t care about all the added perks; the types of cardholders who just want a low-interest card they can count on.

Does the Scotiabank Value Visa Offer Rewards?

Instead of having a list of enticing rewards, the Scotiabank Value Visa Card lures in its customers with much lower interest rates compared to other credit cards on the market.

5 Benefits of the Scotiabank Value Visa Card

To make up for the last section, we’ve compiled this comprehensive list of the Scotiabank Value Visa Card’s benefits.

Here’s what makes this low-interest credit card appealing:

Forgo the First Year Fee

It’s already helpful that the Scotiabank Value Visa Card’s annual fee is considered low, but what’s even better is that the cost is completely waived during your first year of membership. 

Balance Transfer Welcome Bonus

If you thought the waived first year fee was good, you’ll be even more pleased to hear that the Scotiabank Value Visa Card offers a generous welcome bonus. As an introductory offer, avoid interest rates on balance transfers for the first several months of membership. After this promotional period ends, you can still partake in this card’s low balance transfer rates overall.

Low Interest Rates

Speaking of those low-interest rates, perhaps the most important aspect of the Scotiabank Value Visa Card is how little you’ll be expected to pay back in every interest category. Enjoy the same low-interest rates on cash advances, purchases, and balance transfers.

An Additional Card for Free

Why keep all these budget-friendly rates to yourself? The Scotiabank Value Visa Card allows you to get a supplementary card at no extra cost to share your low-interest benefits with a friends or family member.

Car Rental Savings

It’s true that this card doesn’t come with a ton of benefits, but it does come with a useful one. Planning to take a road trip? Then take advantage of worldwide Avis car rental discounts.

3 Downsides of the Scotiabank Value Visa Card

Since it’s such a straightforward card, the Scotiabank Value Visa Card is bound to fall short in a couple of categories.

Here are some of this card’s drawbacks:

No Rewards

It’s no secret that this card is lacking in the rewards department. Since the Scotiabank Value Visa Card comes with an annual fee (although low), it makes sense that some applicants are hesitant to sign up, especially considering there are other similar low-interest cards equipped with rewards programs (which we’ll explore later).

Barely Any Benefits

Similarly, the Scotiabank Value Visa Card doesn’t offer much in terms of benefits, but like we mentioned above, you can tap into car rental discounts with Avis.

Limited Insurance

The insurance category doesn’t compensate much for what’s lacking in the previous two categories, but for a price you do have the option to add balance protection to your card – which provides coverage to help you make minimum payments towards your balance or assists in paying it off completely.

Comparison to Other Low Interest Credit Cards

If you’re not convinced that the Scotiabank Value Visa Card is the right low-interest credit card for you, then allow us to compare this card against some of its top competitors. You may even find that some of the following cards tack on more perks that would make your application worthwhile.

Here’s a sneak peek at our side-by-side comparisons:

MBNA True Line Mastercard

The MBNA True Line Mastercard, like the Scotiabank Value Visa Card, lacks a rewards program but excels in some other areas.

First, the MBNA True Line Mastercard has no annual fee, unlike the Scotiabank Value Visa Card. Second, it offers an even lower purchase interest rate than the Scotiabank Value Visa Card, plus no interest on balance transfers for the first year of membership (whereas the Scotiabank Value Visa Card has the same intro offer lasting just shy of a year).

In terms of base interest rates on cash advances and balance transfers (once you use up the promo) though, these categories are a bit higher than the Scotiabank Value Visa Card, especially for cash advances. This makes the Scotiabank Value Visa Card a better deal for saving money on cash advance interest rates, and a good long-term option for lower balance transfer interest.

The MBNA True Line Mastercard also doesn’t come with any insurance or benefits, it’s strictly a low-interest credit card.

So, if you’re mainly focused on acquiring low interest rates on purchases, and don’t care for any extra perks (even the few offered by the Scotiabank Value Visa Card), then the MBNA True Line Mastercard might be a better alternative (especially since it has no annual fee). For balance transfers, considering the MBNA True Line Mastercard has a longer introductory offer with no interest rates in this category for up to a year, it's a great option for someone who wants at most a year to pay off their balance transfers (since the Scotiabank Value Visa Card only offers this promotion for 10 months rather than 12). But, if you plan on taking longer than a year to pay off your balance transfers, the Scotiabank Value Visa Card is superior with a lower ongoing interest rate even after the promotional period takes place.

CIBC Select Visa Card

Another Visa low-interest contender is the CIBC Select Visa Card which shares a few similarities with the Scotiabank Value Visa Card. 

For starters, both cards come with the same annual fee and that same fee is waived for the first year of membership. Plus, they offer identical interest-free welcome bonuses on balance transfers (but the CIBC Select Visa Card’s offer does come with a small transfer fee). Additionally, they both don’t offer any rewards, and have the same interest rates on both purchases and cash advances.

The CIBC Select Visa Card doesn’t have any benefits, but it does offer travel accident insurance for budget-conscious cardholders who might like to take the odd trip.

So, ultimately, if you’re a casual traveler looking for low interest and don’t mind missing out on benefits, this could be the card for you.

Desjardins Flexi Visa Card

Like the MBNA True Line Mastercard, the Desjardins Flexi Visa requires no annual fee. It’s also a low-interest credit card that helps cover some gaps in benefit and insurance coverage, offering 9 types of insurance, including sought-after trip interruption and trip cancellation insurance (which is rare for a no-fee card). The biggest downside is that the travel insurance only lasts up to 3 days.

There’s no welcome bonus or extra benefits, but the Desjardins Flexi Visa’s interest rates on purchases and cash advances are the lowest we’ve seen so far – making it one of the best no-fee, low-interest credit cards in Canada.

Therefore, this card might be a top contender for you if you want extremely low-interest at no cost, plus travel coverage on some shorter weekend trips.

Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card

These next couple of cards offer more perks, but these perks come with a higher price tag.

We’ll start with the Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card. For a steeper annual fee (if you can spare it), you can get your hands on the lowest interest rates featured on this list. The next best part? This card also comes with a rewards program, offering points on all eligible purchases – accompanied by a point-oriented welcome bonus.

The next selling point is the insurance coverage, which comprehensively covers 13 categories, including valuable trip interruption and trip cancellation, plus emergency medical over 65.

So far, there hasn’t been a card with many benefits, but that shortcoming also ends here. Enjoy perks like no foreign transaction fees on international purchases, access to airport lounges, status upgrades, and exclusive American Express experiences.

There is an annual personal income requirement, but this is considered low compared to other premium cards.

All in all, if you can spend the extra money yearly, you're buying into some of the lowest interest rates, decent rewards, extensive coverage, and boast-worthy benefits. 

Desjardins Odyssey Visa Infinite Privilege Card

The Desjardins Odyssey Visa Infinite Privilege Card is a close competitor to the Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card in terms of premium low-interest credit cards. That said, its interest rates are a bit higher by comparison, but still lower than those of the Scotiabank Value Visa Card. It also has some very high income requirements, which may make the card less accessible to some applicants.

While the Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card has it beat for insurance coverage types, the Desjardins Odyssey Visa Infinite Privilege Card still offers a nice spread of important travel protections like trip cancellation insurance, trip interruption insurance, and emergency medical over 65 coverage.

In terms of benefits, you’ll also see some airport lounge passes, some luxury hotel and travel Visa Infinite Exclusive benefits, plus car rental discounts (something you get a taste of with the Scotiabank Value Visa Card).

As for rewards, the Desjardins Odyssey Visa Infinite Privilege Card offers a couple of different cashback rates on specified categories – the most valuable being restaurant, entertainment and transit purchases, followed by travel and grocery purchases.

Overall, this is a great card if you have the extra cash for the annual cost, meet the hefty income requirements, want to earn cashback on popular spending categories, and enjoy low-interest rates. 

How to apply for the Scotiabank Value Visa Card

If you still think the Scotiabank Value Visa Card is the right card for you, here’s a step-by-step guide on how you can apply:

1. Visit the Scotiabank official website.
2. Once you’re there, select “Credit Cards” from the drop-down menu.
3. From there, the best option is to click “Card types” then choose “Low interest credit cards.”
4. The Scotiabank Value Visa Card will be the first thing you see on the following page, select “View more card details” to do a final review on everything the card has to offer.
5. After a thorough review, hit the “Apply Now” button to begin the application process.
6. In this process, you’ll be asked to agree to all terms and conditions, provide personal and financial information (like your name, birthdate, and income), verify your identity, and create a username and password for your Scotiabank account.
7. Once you’ve filled out all the required information and have looked everything over, you can press submit.

You can bypass the navigational part of this process by selecting the “Apply Now” button beneath the Scotiabank Value Visa Card featured on this blog post. This will take you directly to your application.

Final Verdict

Ultimately, if you're looking for a basic low-fee, low-interest credit card that offers minimal perks, and a nice welcome bonus, without any added complexities, then the Scotiabank Value Visa Card is a great choice.

If you find you're missing out on rewards programs, extra coverage, or bigger benefits, then you may want to browse the competitors we’ve mentioned in the comparison section. Bear in mind, however, that the best cards that cover all these categories typically come with a higher annual fee, which isn’t always budget-friendly.

Frequently Asked Questions

What credit score do you need to apply for the Scotiabank Value Visa Card?

It’s estimated that you’ll need a recommended “good” credit score to apply for the Scotiabank Value Visa Card. A “good” credit score is a score of about 660.

What is the Scotiabank Value Visa Card’s credit limit?

The Scotiabank Value Visa Card has a minimum credit limit of $500.

What are the Scotiabank Value Visa Card’s interest rates?

The Scotiabank Value Visa Card has an interest rate of 13.99% on cash advances, purchases, and balance transfers (after the introductory promotional period).