Review: Scotiabank Scene Visa

Update: This article was updated on Nov. 1, 2017, to reflect the fact that Scotiabank downgraded its welcome bonus for this card.

The Scotiabank Scene Visa card is the first credit card I ever signed up for, back when I was still a struggling university student.

I remember the day I put in my application: my financial adviser was telling me about the perks of the Scene Visa and I immediately stopped her when she said free movies. This was the card for me.

After learning about the additional benefits of this $0 annual fee card, it seemed like a no-brainer choice.

But graduating from school and entering the workforce means it’s time to review whether this card is still right for me  —  and whether it’s better than other rewards cards out there.

Let’s have a look.

The features

The Scene Visa card features a number of perks that make it one the most popular $0 fee credit cards in Canada — perfect for students and those who love entertainment.

So what makes the card so great for the aforementioned audience? Here’s a breakdown:

• The card features a $0 annual fee, and no additional fees for supplementary cards.
• Enjoy a welcome bonus of 4,000 Scene points when $500 in purchases are made on the card within the first three months of activation.
• Earn one Scene point per dollar on everyday purchases made on the card.
• Earn five Scene points per dollar spent on the card at Cineplex and cineplex.ca.
• Redeem your points at a number of different restaurants, stores, and venues. You can get so much more with your point than just movie tickets.
• Save up to 20% on car rentals at participating AVIS locations worldwide.
• Experience less time at the checkout counter with Visa payWave, mobile wallet, Apple Pay, and Visa Checkout (online).
• Optional card protection that offers assistance if you are faced with disability, job loss, illness, loss of life, and more (comes at an additional cost).

Aside from just movie tickets and over-priced popcorn and fountain pop, you are able to redeem your points at a myriad of different restaurants, retail stores, and entertainment venues. These include Swiss Chalet, Harvey’s, Montana’s, East Side Mario’s, Milestones, Bier Markt, Kelsey’s, as well as Fionn MacCool’s and D’Arcy McGee’s.

If going out to eat is not your thing, there are plenty of opportunities to put your points toward shopping sprees at Sport Chek. Whether you plan to reap the benefits of your points with money off of a new snowboard for the winter, or you are just obsessed with a sneaker fad currently going on, there is no shortage of things to put our Scene points toward at the retailer.

Going to infinity and beyond food and movies, you are also able to redeem your Scene points for concerts, sporting events and a number of other live outings through Fanxchange.

I recently cashed in my accumulated points to see Green Day (for the third time this year I may add, no shame), and I didn’t pay a cent. Cineplex also offers additional unique benefits, such as live screenings of Met performances, WWE special events, and Xbox big screen parties at their theatres for a set amount of points.

Some of the places mentioned above also reward you with points on top of those that you are already earning on your Scene Visa card when you pay with your card. So, by using your card at these locations, you are not only going to earn one Scene point per dollar, but you will also earn a substantial amount of bonus points. Sometimes these bonus points can add up to 500 or 1,000 extra Scene points.

So how do these points add up? Well, typically, 1000 points equals a free movie or concession combo. A thousand points also equates to $10 that can be spent at one of the restaurants of your choice, or on some gear from Sport Chek. Points for Fanxchange lose a little of their value, with 2,250 equaling $15 for live events.

How it stacks up against the competition

The reason the Scene Visa card is so popular is that it is fairly unique; no other cards offer Scene reward points or something equivalent. Even putting the reward points aside, as a student card, it competes well, given its $0 annual fee, a solid return rate (1,000 Scene points can be redeemed for a movie ticket, which is worth as much as $12.99) and a low interest rate.

If you’re not much a movie buff, however, and prefer pure cash back, there are better cards in the rewards category. The Tangerine Cash Back credit card, for instance, offers a better reward rate given its 2% cash-back in three merchant categories and its base reward rate of 0.5%.

Still, this is a fantastic rewards card — and certainly one of the most competitive among the no-free cards in Canada. Between free movies, live concerts or restaurants, it offers a lot of opportunity to cash in your Scene points for entertainment.

Drawbacks

One of the downsides of this card is that when you redeem points at a restaurant, there is a cap on how much you can redeem at a given time ($350). However, $350 in dining equals 35,000 points, so unless you are saving for an extremely long time, or are charging a ton of purchases to the card, chances are you won’t have many opportunities to redeem more than $350 at a time.

Which brings me to the card’s next downside; it takes a while for points to accumulate. If you go by the ratio of 1 Scene point for every dollar spent on the card, that means 1 free movie, which costs 1,000 Scene points to redeem, costs $1000. The trick to accumulating points as quickly as possible is to keep an eye out for point incentives on the Scene.ca website and use your existing Scene card in conjunction with your Scene Visa card.

Who’s this card for?

This card is for anyone who loves a good night out and can see themselves cashing in on the benefits of free movies and dinners. The Scene Visa is also a great card for someone just starting out in the credit card world, such as a student. The card requires a minimum balance of $500 and an average credit score, making it much more accessible than premium credit cards.

Final verdict

The tagline for the Scene Visa card should seriously be “Are you not entertained?” From a night out at one of your favorite restaurants, to a classic movie and popcorn date, or even seeing your favorite band in concert, all courtesy of the Scene points you’ve accumulated, there is no way you can’t find some way to treat yourself with this card.

While it may take some time to accumulate points on the card, the $0 annual fee, and relatively low interest rate, make this a perfect low commitment credit card that can grant you some pretty cool rewards