Scene+ Guide Canada: How to Earn and Redeem Points

Scene+ is the loyalty program linked to Scotiabank’s debit and credit cards, with partners that include Sobeys, Safeway, FreshCo and Foodland grocery stores, Cineplex and Home Hardware. In Scotiabank’s words, it lets members “earn and redeem Scene+ points for groceries, entertainment, movies, travel, shopping, dining, and banking”, and there are no membership fees to join. Points are earned in two ways: on every eligible purchase paid with an eligible Scotiabank debit or credit card, and by scanning the Scene+ membership card at partner locations.

This guide is part of the rewards programs hub, which also covers PC Optimum, Aeroplan, Blue Rewards (formerly Air Miles) and the bank points programs.

Earning Scene+ points

With Scotiabank credit cards

Scotiabank says its cards earn “up to 6X the points” at Scene+ partners. The rates below are from each card’s Scotiabank page; Scotiabank’s Scene+ cards page shows which cards are open to new applicants, and the issuer’s own pages describe any current welcome offer, its spending requirement and its conditions.

The Passport Visa Infinite+ and Gold American Express pages both say the annual fee is “Waived with an eligible bank account”. The Scotia Passport Visa Infinite review covers that card’s travel benefits.

With Scotiabank debit cards

Debit purchases earn points too. Scotiabank’s FAQ says you need a Scene+ ScotiaCard debit card linked to one of four eligible bank accounts: the Ultimate Package, the Preferred Package, the Preferred Package for Students and Youth, or a Private Banking account; the Scotiabank review covers those accounts and their fees.

At partners

Scotiabank says scanning your membership card at partner locations earns additional points. At Home Hardware, for example, the membership card earns points and paying with an eligible Scotiabank card earns more.

Scotiabank’s FAQ says points earned at Home Hardware can be combined with points earned from other partners.

Redeeming Scene+ points

Travel can also be redeemed with the Apply Points to Travel feature, and Scene+ Rakuten lets members shop online at over 750 stores. For Shell, Scotiabank values points at $10 for every 1,000 points redeemed for fuel at participating Shell locations, and adds that “Actual value may be lower depending on how you choose to redeem your Scene+ points.”

Points for Credit details. Scotiabank applies the credit to the card’s balance, not to a particular purchase, and a request can’t be cancelled or changed once submitted. In Scotiabank’s words, “even if you redeem for Points for Credit you are still responsible for making any monthly minimum payment applicable to your eligible Scotiabank Scene+ credit card account by your payment due date.”

Expiry and transfers

Scotiabank’s FAQ says Scene+ points “will not expire as long as your Scotiabank product that is eligible for the Scene+ program remains open.” If you close that product, the points stay in your Scene+ account and you remain a member, but they expire after 24 months of inactivity. The full rules, including those for members without a Scotiabank product, are in the Scene+ program terms and conditions on sceneplus.ca.

Scene+ points are non-transferable, so each member’s points stay in their own account.

Does a card’s annual fee pay for itself?

Whether the Gold American Express card’s fee is covered by its extra points depends on how much is spent at Sobeys-family stores. The comparison below is a worked illustration with made-up spending, valuing points at the grocery redemption rate and leaving out points from scanning the membership card, offers and other spending.

The same steps (points per dollar × annual spend × the value per point, minus the fee) work for any spending pattern and any redemption in the table above.

Scene+ compared with other programs

Whether points of any kind beat cash back for your spending is covered in whether credit card rewards are worth it, and the best grocery credit cards compares grocery earn rates across issuers.

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