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Scotia Infinite Momentum Visa card: An analysis of if it makes sense to get
January 6, 2019
1:58 pm
User230
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Scotia has a promo on their Momentum Infinite Visa card.

200 if meet spending requirement and 55 dollars through a cash back website.

Plus, first year free worth 99 dollars.

I looked at whether it made sense to me.

The promos are enticing but:

-Scotiabank has a bad reputation.
-Scotiabank does check income sometimes which is a hassle to bring in.
-Last time I heard need to go into a branch to set up preauthorized payment.
-Main reason I will not bite on this offer is Scotiabank's reputation.

The numbers:

I'm not considering the short-term benefits of about 300 dollars. I want to see if this can be a long-term card.

It's a 4% gas and 4% groceries. I currently have 3% gas and 3% grocery with no annual fee with the PC MC.

It has reoccurring and Pharmacy. I can get with Tangerine card or go with 1.75% with Rogers MC.

1% everything else. Rogers MC defeats.

I've never used benefits of a CC. Also, I can get it through other cards or combo of cards what this card offers so this is not something I consider.

Basically,

1% on Gas and Grocery difference is the only thing it really offers me.

So, what do I need to spend?

99/0.01 = 9,900 to break even.

On Gas and/or Groceries to make this card make sense. Which for me it would be close each year.

Than add in the factor of having to manage another card. This card doesn't make sense.

I would make less than 100 a year to have this extra card. Which doesn't make sense with Scotia Banks reputation.

Did I miss anything? What do you people think of Scotiabank?

Info. about offer and card were found here:

https://forums.redflagdeals.com/merged-scotia-momentum-visa-infinite-4-gas-groceries-2-drug-store-1061129/

and here:

https://forums.redflagdeals.com/scotiabank-scotiabank-momentum-visa-infinite-fyf-10-back-first-3-months-2234292/

January 6, 2019
2:49 pm
Retep
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Lol. They have lousy service too. Sometimes their online forms are so difficult to understand I would imagine they could easily be misinterpreted by them in so many different ways..they will always win.

I had planned on dumping iTrade but recently looked at their GIC rates and was thinking of keeping them as either my wife or I or our POA could handle all transactions as rarely do you need their assistance. I would move all of our TFSA GICs to them. Any one could control our accounts if you know how to access. We only have TFSA GICs with them. But only if they work with a POA, executor and if they put your funds into trust when death is reported.**

I had to some forms for iTrade that had to be certified at a BNS branch. And first branch treated us like bank robbers when we entered and they did not even know that they owned iTrade. Reception kept our forms and told us to wait....but not polite and didn’t say what we were waiting for. As she continued to read the forms, that were none of her business, as only the signature needed verification, asked for the forms back and we left. We went to an other branch a bit further away....2 old white haired bank robbers! A teller called us over as there was no reception in this branch. I told her what we needed and that BNS owned iTrade and she stamped the forms and signed as a witness to our signature. The funny thing was...we had not yet signed the forms....nor did she ask us too. We signed them at home and mailed them in with no further problems. What a hassle!
So screw BNS.

I had a mortgage with them years ago and when it was to be renewed I could do better at any other bank. But their policy was to NOT match competition. So I transferred the mortgage to save money. When the mortgage officer came back from sick leave she asked me why I left. I told her...her very honest reply was BNS only makes offers to attract new business but nothing to keep existing customers. She offered me a better rate but not as good as what I negotiated at another bank and the deal was done so the offer was redundant. She also asked me to write their head office, which I did, as she was very reasonable to deal with.
So screw BNS.

I also have a BNS cash back Mastercard that was originally aquired from Sears/Chase. Every year I get a letter to increase my credit limit but only if I call them and answer some questions. Didn’t Chase give them all my details? But one day I logged on and it offered me an increase by clicking Yes. I did and no questions! I recently changed to paperless statements and even though they use the same system as iTrade they don’t send an email to say it is ready.....but iTrade does. I phoned about it as they are working with MasterCard to set up a reminder that the statement is ready. Why offer paper less statements? So half assed! I think I need a variety of cards and will replace the BNS card with an Amex cash back card.
So screw BNS.

** I am not going to bother checking with them. And your points have only reinforced why I should NOT continue with iTrade.
So screw BNS.

Any one else feel the same way about BNS???

It is a worth while effort to turn on ALERTS on your Credit Cards and Bank/Credit Union Accounts.

January 6, 2019
3:23 pm
Peter
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I have their Passport Visa Infinite for my business, mainly for the no-forex fee feature. I've had no problems with Scotiabank (from application to payments), but for day-to-day spending I hope to not have to deal with customer service from any bank or financial institution. Their online interface suits my needs. I don't have direct experience with Scotiabank regarding any other products.

When it comes to purchases such as groceries it just comes down to the math (and acceptance, if you compare against an Amex) in my opinion, and that's a bit different for everybody. I do factor in the sign-up bonus, because credit cards change all the time and thus I re-evaluate any card for years 2+ against what else is available, trying to factor in the imprecise calculation of the inconvenience factor of switching and maintaining multiple cards.

January 6, 2019
3:27 pm
AltaRed
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I can only say I am happy with Scotia iTrade (came to them from their predecessor E*Trade) as my primary discount broker (also have a BMO Investorline brokerage account). I moved my banking to BNS eventually as well to be consolidated at one FI, albeit I don't have any of their credit cards.....yet.

Both BMO IL and Scotia iTrade still rate highly in discount brokerage reviews as regards those from big banks. Blanket +ve or -ve opinions across a multi-function FI are probably not appropriate vis-a-vis discount brokerage vs full service brokerage vs banking vs credit cards vs mortagages, etc. I find broad based blanket opinions essentially non-credible.

January 7, 2019
10:15 am
savemoresaveoften
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For myself, I won't pay CC companies a fee to use their cards. I am helping them make $ by charging my purchase using their cards, so they have to pay me, as simple as that.

The mentioned PC one is nice if you shop at No Frills, Loblaws etc for groceries. The Esso Optimum pt program with the PC card is weak as I would rather collect Esso pts to redeem for car washes in the winter. Rogers CC not too bad since that comes in handy for foreign purchases. If you have a Canadian Tire gas bar nearby and need premium gas for your car, their card offer good perks too.

Not endorsing any of the mentioned names, just stating out the obvious.

January 2, 2024
5:09 pm
hwyc
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Previous entry made 5 yrs ago. How is this card stack against the other candidates in the cash back category today? Don't think I would qualify its requirement if I were to apply today.

The 4% cash back on groceries did help offsetting food inflation somewhat in the past two years. Recently I was given access to the SelectPay 6 month plan at 0% interest & 0% fee. This also helps keeping interest earning cash a bit longer in my poccession sf-smile

At this point, I think I will keep the card for as long as the cash back is enough to breakeven the $120 annual fee.

January 2, 2024
6:40 pm
althisa
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hwyc said

The 4% cash back on groceries did help offsetting food inflation somewhat in the past two years. Recently I was given access to the SelectPay 6 month plan at 0% interest & 0% fee. This also helps keeping interest earning cash a bit longer in my poccession sf-smile

At this point, I think I will keep the card for as long as the cash back is enough to breakeven the $120 annual fee.  

SelectPay looks like a By Now Pay Later plan
https://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/personal/credit-cards/selectpay.html
Enjoy the flexibility of buying now and paying little by little.
Turn eligible credit card purchases1 of $100 or more into fixed monthly payments with Scotia SelectPay2 during checkout or after purchase.

0% interest 0 fee sounds too good to be true, even for 6 months.
Is it a special offer to sign up for SelectPay?

January 3, 2024
6:59 pm
Loonie
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It's not too good to be true, from Scotia CC's point of view, if they have calculated that enough potential customers won't pay it off in six months. They could be paying interest at high rate on this indefinitely. A lot of people are really struggling right now.

My credit card bill last month informed me that if I paid the minimum every month, it would take me 60+ years to pay it off!

January 3, 2024
9:20 pm
NorthernRaven
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Some of the banks have premium banking packages which will give you their high-end Visa cards for free. Quite often there are two packages, one around $16/month and the top one around $30/month. That's a ridiculous price to pay in cash, but some of them waive the monthly fee if you maintain a minimum chequing balance, which was a fairly good bargain, at least until interest rates went up and you were forgoing more money with that dead balance.

Scotia's middle "Preferred" banking package waives CC fees up to $150, for a dead balance waiver of $4000. For some people who can actually use the various goodies in these banking packages, in can be worth a look (and interest rates can't stay high forever). I've had TD's Ultimate banking package ($5000 min balance waives a $30 fee), which gives me their $139 cashback Visa, a safe deposit box, and so on. I've been debating unwinding that for other products and free up that $5000, but their Visa has a nifty roadside assistance component so I haven't as of yet.

June 4, 2024
10:02 pm
crediphile
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NorthernRaven said
Some of the banks have premium banking packages which will give you their high-end Visa cards for free. Quite often there are two packages, one around $16/month and the top one around $30/month. That's a ridiculous price to pay in cash, but some of them waive the monthly fee if you maintain a minimum chequing balance, which was a fairly good bargain, at least until interest rates went up and you were forgoing more money with that dead balance.

Scotia's middle "Preferred" banking package waives CC fees up to $150, for a dead balance waiver of $4000. For some people who can actually use the various goodies in these banking packages, in can be worth a look (and interest rates can't stay high forever). I've had TD's Ultimate banking package ($5000 min balance waives a $30 fee), which gives me their $139 cashback Visa, a safe deposit box, and so on. I've been debating unwinding that for other products and free up that $5000, but their Visa has a nifty roadside assistance component so I haven't as of yet.  

The Preferred banking package only waives the CC annual fee up to $150 for the first year only now. https://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/personal/bank-accounts/chequing-accounts/package-features.html I guess they changed it. We already get the annual fee waived for the first year when opening the CC so this package is totally redundant. And plus you have to have the bank account opened on or before you opened the credit card account. I guess the only one that you can get to get the annual fee waived is the Ultimate Package now for a dead balance waiver of $6K, the same as the CIBC Dividend Infinite card.

June 4, 2024
10:14 pm
crediphile
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hwyc said
Previous entry made 5 yrs ago. How is this card stack against the other candidates in the cash back category today? Don't think I would qualify its requirement if I were to apply today.

The 4% cash back on groceries did help offsetting food inflation somewhat in the past two years. Recently I was given access to the SelectPay 6 month plan at 0% interest & 0% fee. This also helps keeping interest earning cash a bit longer in my poccession sf-smile

At this point, I think I will keep the card for as long as the cash back is enough to breakeven the $120 annual fee.  

Depending on your spending pattern, if you have a gas car or an EV that you charge on the road a lot and likes to dine out a lot, this card is not as good as the CIBC Dividend Infinite Visa card which has the same qualifying income requirement, same annual fee, same dead balance for fee waiver ($6K) but pays 4% on gas/EV charging and pays 2% on restaurant. But on the other hand, if you pay recurring bills a lot you have an EV that you charge mostly at home, then this Scotia Momentum Infinite card is better because it pays 4%, the highest among all cashback cards in Canada. So it all depends.

CIBC was also lot more generous in giving 10% cashback on all purchases in the bonus offer period with no problem whereas this Scotia card advertises that it gives 10% bonus cashback rate during the bonus offer and are now recanting it when I inquired further. Overall not impressed with this Scotia. It's cheap, customer service is lot worse. When I called, one of the customer service just hung up on me. After all it's a smaller bank. CIBC is a lot better.

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