Photography courtesy Shutterstock.
Picking a credit card is about as easy as selecting what shoes to pack on vacation — you need a variety, but you don’t want to go overboard — so how do you decide? I’ve always been pretty conservative when it comes to credit cards. In the past I had my one low-interest Visa I used for most purchases and a department store credit card I hardly used. In the last couple years the more I found myself travelling, the more I knew I was missing out on rewards.
At the beginning of this year as I was planning my honeymoon I was determined to find a credit card that would really maximize my rewards and not limit me, especially when it came to redeeming travel. I knew I wanted to go with American Express because of their extensive rewards and coverage for travellers in particular. But even then AmEx itself has so many different cards it can be difficult to figure out which one you should go with.
At the same time I was in the bank discussing mortgage stuff, our advisor suggested I consider the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card. It didn’t take me long to agree this was the perfect travel credit card I had been waiting for! What sealed the deal? Their extremely flexible way to use travel rewards.
For example you could book a flight (with any airline or booking agency) using your credit card and then apply your reward points to that travel purchase (100 Scotia Reward Points = $1 in travel). You can also use your points directly to make a travel purchase — like a hotel stay or flight — and your points even cover taxes and surcharges, so you could potentially be paying nothing! Or if you don’t have enough points, you can put as much as you can and then just pay the difference. It’s so flexible.
Other travel perks include:
- Exclusive access to their complimentary concierge service that can help you book your travel arrangements 24/7
- Up to 20% off hotel rates at over 18,000 hotels worldwide
- Low price airfare alerts when booking through the Scotia Rewards program
- Up to 25% off qualifying car rentals with 131 companies worldwide
- Comprehensive insurance coverage automatically applied for up to 25 consecutive days of travel and includes trip interruption and cancellation, delayed or lost luggage insurance, rental car collision insurance and more
- Discounted membership to over 600 VIP lounges in more than 100 countries and 300 cities worldwide
And to top it off they’ve made it easy to accumulate points quickly. At eligible gas stations, restaurants and grocery stores, you earn 4X the points for every dollar spent. Trust me, it adds up quickly.
As with any credit card, it’s important to read the fine print. The interest rate on this card is high (19.99% on purchases), so I don’t recommend keeping a balance. Also there is an annual fee of $99, something you need to budget as well. That being said, I’m really happy with this card and can’t wait to start redeeming my points!
Currently they’re offering 30,000 bonus points for signing up (equal to $300 in travel). Learn more and apply for the Soctiabank Gold American Express.
—Stephanie Gray
