Who this card is for
A good fit if you…
- Households that spend enough on groceries and pre-authorized bills for a 4% pair to clear a Visa Infinite fee once the first-year waiver ends.
- People who want cash back, not Scene+. Passport and Gold American Express are the Scene+ products; Momentum is the cash-back ladder.
- Applicants who meet the personal, household, or assets-under-management figures in eligibility and have not held a Scotiabank personal credit card in the past two years if they care about the welcome offer.
- Scotiabank customers who will pay the statement in full and would rather keep cash back in the same bank as their chequing account.
Skip it if you…
- Anyone who held a Scotiabank personal credit card in the past two years and is applying only for the 10% welcome. Current eligibility excludes current and former primary or secondary cardholders, product-changers, and Scotiabank employees.
- Light grocery spenders. Year two of this fee is a membership in a club you visit once a week with a small bill.
- Scene+ collectors who wanted 6x at Sobeys. That is Scotiabank Gold American Express, not Momentum.
- People who will revolve a balance. The purchase rate is currently listed with a note to verify 21.99% on Scotiabank’s page — either way, 4% cash back will not win.
Pros and cons
Pros
- 4% cash back on grocery and recurring payments is a sharper bills-and-shop pair than TD’s 3% Infinite stack, if those two buckets are actually large.
- The current special offer waives the primary (and additional-card) annual fee in the first year, which is why year one can look fine even before the 10% welcome.
- The welcome offer currently pays 10% cash back on a capped slice of purchases in the first three months — a simple cash bonus, not a points estimate.
- Features mention travel insurance and mobile device insurance, which is more than some Infinite cash-back cards bother to say (still read the certificate; no full insurance package is listed).
- Visa Infinite acceptance is straightforward at Canadian merchants that still skip American Express.
Cons
- After year one, the annual fee returns unless a new promotion says otherwise. Grocery and PAPs have to keep working.
- The feature list is thin on the rest of the earn stack.
- The two-year Scotiabank-card exclusion is among the strictest of the cards we track. A Passport or Gold Amex in the last 24 months can kill the 10% offer.
- Additional cards currently carry their own annual fee (also first-year waived on the special offer).
- Momentum is cash back. It will not book a lie-flat seat the way Aeroplan or a well-used Passport can.
Fees and value: is the annual fee worth it?
First-year snapshot (estimate)
- Annual fee
- $120
- Estimated welcome bonus value
- Up to $300 cash back bonus (15% × $2,000) plus first-year fee waiver value
- Bonus minus fee (estimate)
- $180
This is a simple comparison of the estimated welcome-bonus value against the annual fee. It ignores rewards on spending, credits you have to remember to use, and interest if you carry a balance. Offers change — verify with the issuer.
The fee table shows a paid Infinite card; the detail line currently says the first year is waived with a special offer, including the additional-card fee. The first-year snapshot on this page compares estimated welcome-bonus value with the headline fee — it does not assume the waiver, so year one can look better in real life than the snapshot if you actually get that waiver.
Year two is the full fee versus 4% groceries and recurring payments. Do the boring math: those two categories times 4%, plus whatever Scotiabank currently pays on the rest of the statement, minus the ongoing fee.
If that net loses to the lower-fee Momentum Visa or to Tangerine, do not keep Infinite for the metal. Offers change; the detailed welcome text currently names an offer window.
Pay in full.
Rewards and earn rates explained
Rewards program: Cash Back
This card pays cash back, not Scene+ points. The current features highlight 4% cash back on grocery and recurring payments.
That is the product’s personality: supermarket plus the bills you have set to autopay. Recurring means the merchant flags the charge as recurring — a bill you pay manually in the app can miss 4%.
Grocery coding has the usual traps: a warehouse club, a restaurant inside a grocer, or a meal kit may not count. Read Scotiabank’s live rate table for the rest of the stack.
Redeem cash back according to Momentum rules (the welcome text currently mentions a $25-class minimum to redeem regular cash back). If you want Scene+ at Sobeys-family stores instead, that is Gold American Express.
If you want 4% grocery and gas on a CIBC Visa, that is Dividend Infinite.
Welcome bonus: how to unlock it
Get 15% cash back on up to $2,000 in purchases in the first three months. Plus 0% introductory balance-transfer rate for first 12 months (2% fee; 22.99% after). First-year annual fee waived (primary and additional cards).
The current offer pays 10% cash back on up to a listed amount of eligible purchases in the first three months, with bonus cash back redeemable about four months after open, marketed as a $200-class cash bonus. Detailed text currently names an offer window and says additional conditions apply.
Eligibility is strict: current or former primary or secondary Scotiabank personal cardholders in the past two years, people who switch from an existing Scotiabank personal card, and Scotiabank employees are not eligible. That catches almost everyone who already has Passport, Gold Amex, or another Momentum.
Hit the 10% cap with grocery and bills you would pay anyway. Do not product-change into Infinite and expect the bonus.
Welcome bonus eligibility: Individuals who are currently or were previously primary or secondary cardholders of a Scotiabank personal credit card in the past 2 years, including those that switch from an existing Scotiabank personal credit card, as well as employees of Scotiabank, are not eligible for the Offer.
FAQ
Is the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card worth it in 2026?
It is worth it when grocery and recurring bills are large enough that 4% minus the ongoing fee still beats a cheaper Momentum or a $0 card, and when you qualify on income. It is not worth it as a Scene+ substitute or as a card for someone who already held a Scotia card and only wanted the 10% window.
Is the annual fee waived in the first year?
Our current annual-fee detail describes a first-year waiver on a special offer, for the primary card and the additional-card fee. That is an offer, not a permanent $0 Infinite. Confirm it on Scotiabank’s page, and budget for the full fee in year two.
Momentum Visa Infinite vs the Scotia Momentum Visa Card?
The Momentum Visa currently lists a much lower fee and a 2% everyday mix on groceries, delivery, drugstores, gas, transit, recurring bills, and streaming, with 1% elsewhere. Infinite is the 4% grocery-and-recurring product with Visa Infinite income. Choose Infinite only if the extra grocery/PAP rate, after the fee, still wins.
Momentum Visa Infinite vs CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite?
Dividend Infinite pays 4% on grocery, gas, and EV charging, then 2% on transit, dining, recurring payments, and CIBC Expedia travel. Those 4% and 2% rates, except 2% on CIBC by Expedia, apply until $50,000 in annual card purchases or $20,000 in the bonus categories, whichever comes first.
Momentum leads with 4% grocery and recurring. Choose CIBC if fuel is as large as the shop; choose Momentum if you already bank at Scotia and the PAP bucket is the second engine.
Does this card charge foreign-exchange fees?
Most Canadian Visa Infinite cards add a foreign-conversion fee on foreign-currency purchases. Momentum is a domestic cash-back card, not Passport. For overseas spend, compare Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite, and confirm Scotiabank’s current FX rate in the agreement.
Compare related cards and guides
More Canadian credit card lists that match this product, plus a few cards people usually compare it with.
- Scotia Momentum Visa Card review · Scotiabank · $49 annual fee
- CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card review · CIBC · $120 annual fee
- Scotiabank Gold American Express Card review · Scotiabank · $120 annual fee
