Scotiabank Value® Visa* Card
3.9/5
0% interest on balance transfers for the first 10 months (13.99% after that)
Card Details
Interest Rates
Cash Advance: 13.99%
Purchase: 13.99%
Balance Transfer: 0% first 10 months, 13.99% after
Annual Fee
$29
Annual Income
Personal: N/A
Household: N/A
Credit Score
Good
Welcome Bonus
0% introductory interest rate on balance transfers for the first 10 months (13.99% after that; annual fee $29). Plus no annual fee in the first year.
Card Type
N/A
Our Rating
3.9/5
Voted Best Overall Low Interest Credit Card in 2024
Institution
Scotiabank
Rewards
This card does not earn rewards on purchases but instead offers a much lower interest rate.
Insurance & Benefits
Insurance
Coverage
Balance Protection
optional
Benefits
Details
Car Rental Discount
Avis car rental discount up to 25% worldwide
Pros & Cons
Pros
- 0% interest on balance transfers for the first 10 months.
- 13.99% interest rate on purchases, balance transfers, and cash advances.
Cons
- No rewards on daily purchases
- Limited insurance
Scotiabank Value® Visa* Card Review
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 customears 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:
| Scotiabank Value® Visa* Card | MBNA True Line® Mastercard® | CIBC Select Visa* Card | Desjardins Flexi Visa | Scotiabank Platinum American Express® Card | Desjardins Odyssey Visa Infinite Privilege | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Welcome Bonus | 0% interest on balance transfers for the first 10 months (13.99% after that) | 12 months 0% promotional interest rate | Balance transfer 0% interest for up to 10 months with a 1% transfer fee | N/A | Up to 60,000 Scene+ points ($600 value) | N/A |
Earn Rates | This card does not earn rewards on purchases but instead offers a much lower interest rate. | No Rewards on This Card | No rewards earned on this card | No rewards earned on this card |
|
|
Insurance Included | 1 type
| None | 1 type
| 9 types
| 13 types
| 10 types
|
Perks | 1 perk
| None | None | None | 8 perks
| 7 perks
|
Annual Fee | $29 | $0 | $29 | $0 | $399 | $395 |
Income Requirements | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | $12,000 personal | $200,000 personal or $200,000 household |
Apply Now | Apply Now | Apply Now | Apply Now | Apply Now | Apply Now | Apply Now |
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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:
- Visit the Scotiabank official website.
- Once you’re there, select “Credit Cards” from the drop-down menu.
- From there, the best option is to click “Card types” then choose “Low interest credit cards.”
- 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.
- After a thorough review, hit the “Apply Now” button to begin the application process.
- 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.
- 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).