Mahjong piece scene + loyalty has started to fall into place in the program.
On the one hand, the company is stealing the Sobeys partnership from under the nose of the sick Air Miles program. On the other hand, Scene +’s main partner and major shareholder, Scotiabank, is fighting hard to create a place for itself in the increasingly-competitive Canadian loyalty market.
What does this mean for you? Bank of Nova Scotia is making it clear in no uncertain terms that it plans to supercharge its credit card suite to make it more attractive to customers.
Scotia Amex Gold: Sobeys Grocery Store 6x Views + Points
I have already covered the changes to Scotiabank’s credit card portfolio on July 1, 2022. These include, but are not limited to:
As it turns out, these upgrades are not savings for the Amex-powered Scotiabank portfolio. From October 1, 2022, exciting changes are taking place in both the Baseline Red Card and its high-class cousin, the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card.
As we can see, the earnings rate of Gold Card is going up Cost 6 dollars per scene + points Participating Sobeys-affiliated grocery stores: Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, Foodland, FreshCo, Voilà by Sobeys, Voilà by IGA, Voilà by Safeway, Chalo! FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, IGA West, Les Marchés TradItIon, Rachelle Béry and Co-Op.
The basic “red” Scotiabank American Express card is also improving somewhat. Its increased earnings rate per dollar cost is 2 cents + point, coming July 1, 2022, it will be further increased. Cost 3 dollars per scene + points On the same list of Sobeys-affiliated grocery stores.
This is equally great for moviegoers and travel enthusiasts, because it means that Visual +, a great program to achieve both, is trying to gain market share from its competitors by encouraging you to use their products.
The revenue they have increased in detail will make the Scotiabank Gold American Express card the most competitive in the market, especially when one considers that it does not pay any foreign transaction fees.
The inability to transfer points to competing partners such as Airplane makes American Express cobalt cards, which earn Cost 5 MR points per dollar, A little stronger in my eyes. However, the new Scotia Amex Gold earnings rate is really fantastic.
Scotiabank Visa Card: Up to 3x View + Points at Sobeys Grocery Store
However, love does not stop with Scotiabank’s Amex card. Their co-branded Visa cards that earn Scene + points will also receive a similar upgrade. Let’s take a look:
Scotiabank Passport Visa Unlimited Card
Welcome bonus
25,000 Scotia award points
Annual fee
$ 139
First year value
$ 121
While it is unfortunate that the annual fee for Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite will increase from $ 139 to $ 150, it can be easily offset by getting a free card in the first year.
Alternatively, if you have the liquid capital you need, you can open a Scotiabank checking account that waives credit card fees. Still, the Cost 3 dollars per scene + points A welcome addition.
In the case of the co-branded Scotiabank Scene + Visa card, it will no longer just be a card to remove from the drawer on movie night.
Instead, it needs to start earning 2 views + points cost per dollar In the Sobeys suite at the grocery store, it makes a no-fee card without the need for any income that earns 2x more frequently locally. Not too bad.
+ A beautiful future for the scene?
All of these improvements to Scene + co-branded credit cards are so exciting because the program is now becoming the most versatile in Canada.
The ability to bring your own travels to any scene + the denominated card makes them much more powerful to keep in your wallet, as you can choose to spend points for the type of travel you want at 1 cents per point (cpp) flat.
One feels compelled to ask the question: Is this increase in scene a sustainable future for the Sobeys-Cineplex-Scotiabank Trinity?
The ability to burn at 1cpp on your favorite trip is undoubtedly a surprise, but the IT of the Visual + app is still not perfect, and I have read or heard (or lack) multiple complaints from travel enthusiasts about customer service provided by Scotiabank and Scene + Call Center Being.
I certainly wish the scene success + because it surpasses Air Miles and competes among Canada’s top loyalty programs, but it would be terrible if this program followed the next trajectory. Multiple underestimation of Air Miles has ultimately turned it into one that customers have treated cautiously and partners have publicly avoided and should therefore avoid.
View + One of the best ways to keep customers at peace is to invest in superior customer service and IT, which is not something that customers are observing right now.
Conclusion
Changes in Scotiabank’s credit card portfolio show that they want a competitive advance in the market and that banks and Scene + partners are ready to work for their customers.
In particular, the Scotia Gold Amex Sobeys-affiliated grocery store increases its earnings rate by 6x Scene + points, making it one of the best grocery returns you can find on any Canadian credit card.
Here it is to be hoped that the story of Scene + will not try to lower the price of travel or increase the price of complimentary movie tickets. Until then, I say guys go out and give Scotiabank’s revised products a spin – some other financial institutions should take note.
Until next time, never let your point balance dry up.
