The Scene+ Rewards loyalty program is one of the more prominent rewards programs in Canada, especially with their variety of partners in grocery stores, cinemas, and more. This loyalty program makes it easy to earn flexible points through a variety of methods and is also considered one of the easiest programs to redeem points for the maximum value.
The Scene+ rewards program replaced the Scotia Rewards program in December 2021.
Let’s look at how you can quickly earn and redeem Scotiabank Scene+ Rewards points for the maximum value towards your next vacation.
Earning Scene+ Rewards Points
Scene+ Rewards members can earn points via four methods: credit card welcome bonuses, organic credit card spending, non-credit card spending, and through making purchases on Rakuten Canada.
Credit Card Bonuses
As with many miles and points programs, the quickest way to earn Scene+ points is through credit card sign-up or welcome bonuses.
Below is a table containing all of the credit cards that earn Scene+ Rewards points and their respective welcome bonus:
| Credit Card | Welcome Bonus | Net Value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card | 40,000 Scene+ | $400 | Apply |
 | Scotiabank Gold American Express Card | 40,000 Scene+ | $280 | Apply |
 | Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card | 60,000 Scene+ | $201 | Apply |
 | Scotiabank American Express Card | 7,500 Scene+ | $75 | Apply |
 | Scotiabank Scene Visa Card | 7,500 Scene+ | $75 | Apply |
Frugal Flyer offers cash back rebates on all Scotiabank credit cards that earn Scene+ Rewards points. This means if you are considering applying for the Scotiabank Gold American Express card, the Scotiabank Platinum American Express card, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card, the Scotiabank American Express card, or the Scotiabank Scene Visa card you can earn additional cash back on top of the welcome bonus.
Ensure you take advantage of these cash back rebates on Scotiabank credit cards to further increase the value of your sign-up bonus.
Credit Card Spending
While all of the above credit cards earn Scene+ points at various rates depending on the Scotiabank credit card and the category of spend, there is one standout scenario that beats all other credit cards in Canada.
The Scotiabank Gold American Express credit card offers 6x Scene+ points at Empire grocery stores in Canada (such as Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, FreshCo, and more). This makes it the undisputed best grocery credit card in Canada and the card also earns 5x Scene+ points at all other grocery stores not under the Empire brand. Not to mention, there are crafty ways to increase your grocery spending with the PayPower Card.
While you can build your Scene+ Rewards loyalty program points balance over time through your credit card usage in day-to-day life, we highly recommend getting the Scotiabank Gold Amex card and using it for all of your grocery purchases.
Non-Credit Card Spending
Scene+ is more than just a credit card rewards program and as such, has multiple partners that you can earn points with:
| Scene+ Partner | Earning Rate |
|---|---|
| Empire Grocery Stores (including Sobeys, FreshCo, IGA, Foodland, Safeway | Various; Earn through digital offers, in-store events, and promotions |
| Scotiabank Bank Accounts | Various; Review details of various Scotiabank banking and debit card products |
| Scene+ Travel powered by Expedia | Earn 3 Scene+ points for every dollar spent on hotel and car rentals |
| Restaurants (including Harveys, Swiss Chalet, East Side Mario’s, Montana’s BBQ & Bar, Bier Markt, and Kelsey’s Original Roadhouse) | Earn 1 Scene+ point for every $3 spent on dine-in or take-out food orders |
| Cineplex & Cineplex Store | Earn 5 Scene+ points for every dollar spent on movie and entertainment purchases at Cineplex Theatres and at the Cineplex Store |
| The Rec Room & Playdium | Earn 1 Scene+ point for every dollar spent on eligible purchases |
Simply present your Scene Rewards card at the point of sale to earn points on any in-store purchase at the above retailers.
Rakuten Canada
As part of the new Scene+ program, members can link their rewards account to their Rakuten Canada account to earn Scene+ points instead of cash back directly on all of their online purchases.
As a cashback portal, Rakuten Canada rewards customers for shopping at any of their partnered retailers via quarterly payouts. If you link your Scene+ account, any cash back earned will be paid via Scene+ points directly to your Scene+ account on a quarterly basis.
If you are interested in earning Scene+ Rewards points on your Rakuten purchases, in addition to up to 20% more cash back from certain retailers, you can link rewards programs here.
Redeeming Scene+ Rewards Points
Scene+ Rewards members can redeem points via five methods: book any way travel, grocery & liquor purchases, Cineplex & The Rec Room purchases, a statement credit, and gift cards or merchandise.
The best redemption value you can expect to get from your Scene+ Rewards points is 1 cent per point which is possible with a few of the methods below.
Book Any Way Travel
As a Scene+ Rewards member, you are able to redeem your points towards any travel purchases that you have made on your Scene+ earning credit card. Travel purchases can include flights, hotel bookings, rental cars, and more.
This redemption method can be used for a full redemption (e.g. cashing out 40,000 Scene points on a $400 travel purchase) or for a partial redemption (e.g. cashing out 8,000 Scene points on a $400 travel purchase). Scene points are cashed out at a rate of 1 cent per point with this method.
In order to redeem points towards your travel expenses, click the “Apply Points to Travel” redemption option once logged into your Scene+ account. Here you will see a list of your valid travel expense transactions that were made on your Scene+ Rewards credit card. You can filter via time period, up to within the last 12 months.
From there, you can click on the “Redeem” check box and finalize the transaction to redeem your Scene+ Rewards. The redemption will show up as statement credit on your credit card within a few business days.
If you don’t have any travel expenses that you wish to redeem against, you can also use the refundable hotel trick. Simply put, you can book a refundable hotel, redeem your points, and then cancel the hotel booking to liquidate your points to cash. For more information, check out the link below.
Related: How to Perform the Refundable Hotel Trick
Redeeming points for Book Any Way travel is the best way to redeem your Scene+ Rewards points since it essentially converts your points to cash and gives you the opportunity to use that cash as you best see fit.
Grocery & Liquor Purchases
Scene+ Rewards points can be redeemed at any Empire brand grocery or liquor store to reduce the cost of your purchases. Scene points are cashed out at a rate of 1 cent per point with this method.
Simply present your Scene+ card and let the cashier know that you would redeem Scene points towards your purchase and the dollar amount that you wish to redeem (a minimum of $10 and then in increments of $10). The points will then be applied towards your purchase in real-time and thus reduce the cost of your total purchase by the amount redeemed.
This is also a good redemption for your points since it results in points being redeemed at the best rate possible. Plus, if you are so inclined, it gives you a great option to stock up on nice bottles of liquor at a price that cannot be beaten.
Cineplex, The Rec Room, & Playdium Purchases
Scene+ members can redeem points for various purchases at Cineplex, The Rec Room, and Playdium including things such as free movie tickets and food and drink. Scene points are cashed out at a rate of 1 cent per point with this method.
Scene+ Rewards members can redeem points for either the full value or partial value of their purchases at Cineplex, The Rec Room, and Playdium.
There are a few options when it comes to redeeming points at Cineplex:
- Minimum 100 points for $1 towards a movie ticket
- Minimum 500 points for $5 towards food and drink
- Minimum 100 points for $1 towards movie rentals or purchases at online store
On the other hand, redemptions are much more standardized at The Rec Room and Playdium:
- Minimum 500 points for $5 towards games, foods, music, and tickets at the Rec Room
- Minimum 500 points for $5 towards game tokens and snacks at Playdium
If redeeming your Scene+ points at any of these properties are of interest to you, this redemption can make sense since it does result in the same cent per point valuation as redeeming against travel expenses.
Statement Credit
Redeeming Scene+ for statement credit is not an ideal redemption method. However, if you must, you can initiate statement credit by navigating to sceneplus.ca (either directly or from your Scotiabank account by clicking ‘View Scene+ Rewards’ and then ‘Redeem credit’).
Alternatively, once you are logged into sceneplus.ca you can select “Points for Credit”.
From there, you can select the card that you want to redeem the credit on and the number of points you are looking to cash out. Once selected, you can confirm the transaction and the statement credit will be posted on your account in the next few business days.
As you can see in the screenshot above, the cents per point valuation gets marginally better the more points you redeem but still maxes out at an approximate rate of 0.70 cents per point. This makes it a not great redemption, especially when you consider how easy it is to get 1 cent per point out of your Scene Rewards.
Gift Cards & Merchandise
Scene+ Rewards is no different when it comes to offering gift cards and merchandise as a redemption option. Redemption rates vary when purchasing gift cards and merchandise, depending on the item that is selected.
Similar to pretty much all other miles and points programs, redeeming for merchandise is not worth it within the Scene+ program. You would be much better off redeeming against travel expenses (whether legitimate or via the refundable hotel trick) and buying your merchandise or gift cards with cash if that is what you truly wanted to redeem for.
Frequently Asked Questions
The base value of a Scene+ Rewards point is 1 cent per point.
Scene+ Rewards points can be redeemed for book any way travel, grocery & liquor purchases, Cineplex & The Rec Room purchases, a statement credit, and gift cards or merchandise.
Redeeming your Scene+ Rewards points at Empire grocery or liquor stores, Cineplex, the Rec Room, or for Book Any Way travel is the best use for your points. All of these redemptions are worth 1 cent per point, which is the typical value of a Scene Rewards point.
Scene+ Rewards points will expire if you do not complete a qualifying transaction for 24 months. However, if you hold a Scotiabank Scene+ product such as a credit card, your points will never expire as long as that product remains open.
No, you cannot transfer your Scene+ Rewards points to another Scene+ member.
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