Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card Review 2024

Editor’s note: This review was originally written by FT back in 2014. Back then, he concluded this card is one of the best rewards card in Canada. We now set out to examine its status in 2024.

The Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite is Canada’s highest awarded cash back credit card. Our review will illustrate why the card has attained its elite status as the Moneysense and CreditCardGenius Best Overall Cash Back Card, as well as a few potential drawbacks and limitations. You can also check out our comparison between all cash back credit cards in Canada here.

Visa Infinite cards are the top tier of card offerings from Visa. With a hefty income requirement for eligibility and the second-highest annual fee on the market in Canada, they’re harder to get than your average no-or-low-fee credit card. Is the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite worth it? Let’s break it down:

Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Review: The Numbers

• Annual Fee: $120, and $50 per subsequent card (first annual fee waived for both).

• Income Requirement: The Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite card requires a minimum annual income of $60,000, a minimum household income of $100,000 or at least $250,000 in assets under management. 

• Interest Rate: 20.99% on purchases, or 22.99% on cash advances.

Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Welcome Bonus

The current welcome bonus for the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite is among the more generous Visa Infinite cash back offerings:

1. Customers who open a new credit card account by October 31, 2022 have their initial annual fee waived (a $120 value).

2. Customers then receive 10% cash back on the first $2,000 charged to their card within the first 3 months, meaning that they receive up to $200 cash back, for a total welcome bonus worth $320.

Earn Rate

The earn rate is where the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite really shines, especially if you spend a lot on groceries and bills. For up to the first 3 months, for any amount spent on grocery store purchases, recurring bill payments, and subscription purchases, you receive 10% cash back.

Purchases of gas or daily transit (up to a total spend of $25,000) net you 2% cash back (up to $500 total cash back), while all other purchases give you 1% with no cash back limit.

We’ve taken a look at the other cash back cards, and the 3% earn rate really stands out. Only one other card offers an equivalent earn rate (we’ll take a closer look at it shortly).

Insurance Coverage

The Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite offers comprehensive insurance coverage for travelling cardholders. It’s not the most generous out there, but it’s pretty good, especially if you’re under 65. Here are the details:

• Trip cancellation insurance: Automatic coverage up to $1,500 per person, up to $10,000 total

• Trip interruption insurance: Automatic coverage up to $2,000 per person, up to $10,000 total

• Travel emergency medical insurance: Up to $1,000,000 in emergency medical coverage for the first 15 consecutive days of the trip, for travellers under 65.

• Flight delay insurance: Up to $500 per traveller for a delay of more than 4 hours.

• Lost/Delayed baggage insurance: A combined maximum of $500

• Travel accident insurance: Automatic insurance of up to $500,000 ($1,000,000 per incident)

• Rental car collision/loss/damage insurance: Automatic coverage for up to 48 days

• 90-day purchase insurance: Most purchases made on your Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite are automatically covered against theft, loss, or damage, for up to 90 days

• Mobile Device insurance: up to $1000 to cover a lost, stolen, broken, or accidentally damaged device if you use your card to pay for the device, or if you charge all of your wireless bills for the device to your card.

• Up to 1-year extra warranty: When you charge the full cost of an item to your card, extended warranty coverage doubles the original manufacturer’s warranty for up to a year.

Other Perks

The Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite doesn’t overwhelm you with additional perks, but that’s understandable since it’s a cash-back card and not specifically a travel card. If you’re looking for a card with lots of perks, this isn’t the one for you (and that’s fine, it does other things very well)

• Visa Infinite Concierge Service

• Visa Hotel Collection

• Visa Infinite Dining and Wine Country Program

• Save up to 25% off base rates at participating AVIS locations and at participating Budget locations in Canada and the U.S. when you pay with your Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card.

Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite vs Other Cash Back Visa Infinite Cards

We’ve done some competition analysis and determined that the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite is one of the two best cash back Visa Infinite cards. The CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite, the nearest equivalent, offers a similar welcome bonus of 10% cash back on up to $2,000 in the first four months, plus the first-year fee waived, for a total value of $320. Technically, that means they give you an extra month to spend that $2,000, but otherwise the offers are the same.  

The CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite matches the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite’s 5% earn rate, except they offer the 4% rate on groceries and gas, while bills and dining earn money back at 2% per dollar spent. If gas is a major expense for you or you’re more likely to use your card for gas than bills, then you may want to consider the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite instead.

Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite vs. the Scotia Momentum No-Fee Visa

If you bank with Scotiabank and want to keep your Visa in the family, it helps to know how the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite stacks up against the other Scotiabank cash back options.  Our team put the Infinite up against Scotiabank’s no-fee option so we could see exactly what you’re getting for that $120/year:

• The Scotia Momentum No-Fee Visa card gives you 1% cash back on eligible gas, grocery and pharmacy purchases, plus recurring bill payments.

• All other purchases earn 0.5% cash back.

So, when you break it down, the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite gives you:

• 4 times the cash back on groceries and bills

• Double the cash back on nearly everything else, including gas (rewards for pharmacy purchases look to be the same on both cards).

In addition, the Scotia Momentum No-Fee Visa’s welcome bonus is half that of the Infinite card, giving you 5% cash back on your first $2,000 spent. They do have an additional welcome interest rate of 7.99% on everyday purchases in the first 6 months, which is less than half the normal rate but not enough to offset the value of the Infinite card. If the idea of paying $120/year for a card still doesn’t appeal, you can check out our review of some more of the best no-fee cash back credit cards for some competition analysis.

FAQ

Scotia Momentum Infinite Review: Canada’s Most Awarded Card for a Reason

Our editorial team agrees: the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite is one of the best cash back Visa Infinite cards on the market. With strategic spending, you can max out your cash back possibilities and make the savings more than worth the cost of the card, especially considering that the first year’s fee is waived. Our Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite review process yielded clear results: this card deserves the awards and is entirely worth the hype. 

Our Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite review can give you the facts, but you should still review your own priorities and spending habits whenever you’re in the market for a new card. If groceries and bills are high-spending categories for you, and if you meet the minimum income requirements, the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite is an excellent choice. If you spend most of your money in other categories, another card may be a better fit. 

As always, be sure you do your homework before making any decisions. The Million Dollar Journey blog has loads of content that can help you narrow down your choices.