No foreign transaction fees
Most Canadian credit cards charge a foreign transaction fee of 2.5% on purchases made in a foreign currency. For a business spending $10,000 per month on cross-border suppliers, SaaS subscriptions, travel, or U.S. vendor payments, that is $3,000 in fees per year. The Passport Visa Infinite Business waives this fee entirely.
The savings scale directly with foreign-currency spend volume. At $199 per year, the annual fee is recovered at roughly $8,000 in annual foreign-currency purchases (2.5% FX savings = $200). Every dollar above that is net savings compared to a card that charges the standard fee.
Earn rates
The card earns one flat rate: 1.5 Scene+ points per dollar on every eligible business purchase. There are no bonus categories and no category caps to track, which suits businesses whose spending does not concentrate in the consumer categories that most rewards cards favour.
| Spending category | Earn rate |
|---|---|
| All eligible business purchases | 1.5x Scene+ |
| Foreign-currency purchases | 1.5x Scene+, no 2.5% FX fee |
Scene+ points are worth about 1 cent each redeemed for travel through Scene+ Travel or as a statement credit against a travel purchase.
What your monthly spend earns
| Category | Monthly spend | Rate | Monthly pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| All eligible business purchases | $2,500 | 1.5x | 3,750 |
| Total | $2,500 | 3,750 pts |
45,000 Scene+ points per year from card spend. At a typical redemption value of ~1 cent per point, that is approximately $450 in value annually. Net of the $199 annual fee (before FX savings): ~$251.
Benefits
| Benefit | Details |
|---|---|
| No foreign transaction fees | No 2.5% fee on purchases made in a foreign currency. Applies to all transactions, including online purchases billed in USD or other currencies. |
| Airport lounge passes | Complimentary airport lounge passes included annually. Verify current number and eligible lounges directly with Scotiabank, as terms may change. |
| Visa Infinite Business benefits | Access to Visa Infinite Business program benefits including travel and lifestyle perks. |
| Scene+ redemptions | Points redeem against travel, entertainment, dining, and more through the Scene+ program. |
Travel insurance on the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Business Card
The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Business Card scores 69 of 100 on the figures its certificate publishes, joint 26th of the 59 Canadian cards compared. Emergency medical is capped at $1,000,000 for trips up to 25 days. At 65 the longest covered trip falls from 25 days to 10.
| Emergency medical | $1,000,000 · age 0–64: 25 days; age 65+: 10 days · 180-day stability window |
|---|---|
| Trip cancellation | $2,500 per person · $10,000 per account |
| Trip interruption | $2,500 per person · $10,000 per account |
| Flight or trip delay | $500 per person · after 4 hours |
| Baggage delay | $1,000 per person · after 4 hours |
| Rental car collision or damage | Pays first · rentals to 48 days · vehicles to $65,000 |
You must charge 75% of the trip cost to the card for the coverage to apply. A booking made with points still qualifies. You have 90 days from the incident to report a claim. Dependent children are covered to age 21.
Every figure from the certificate, with its own wording
| Emergency medical | limit: $1,000,000 (per Insured Person) age 0–64: 25 days; age 65+: 10 days pre existing stability days: 180 days (365 days where the person is 75 years of age or older; the period is measured in the days prior to the date the Trip was booked) |
|---|---|
| Trip cancellation | per person: $2,500 per account: $10,000 (per Trip for all Insured Persons on the same Trip) covered reasons: death of an Insured Person, a Travelling Companion, an Insured Person’s Immediate Family Member or a Travelling Companion’s Immediate Family Member occurring after the Trip is booked and within 31 days prior to the scheduled Trip departure date (first Medical Covered Cause for Cancellation only; enumeration truncated at 40 words. Further Covered Causes include Accidental Bodily Injury or sudden and unexpected sickness, Hospitalization, jury duty, government travel advisory, employment transfer, delay, natural disaster, quarantine or hijacking, and call to service) |
| Trip interruption | per person: $2,500 per account: $10,000 (per Trip for all Insured Persons on the same Trip) |
| Flight or trip delay | per person: $500 (expenses must be incurred within 48 hours of the delay or denied boarding) trigger hours: 4 hours (no alternative transportation may be made available within 4 hours of the scheduled departure time of the original flight) |
| Baggage delay | per person: $1,000 (maximum payable per Trip for all Insured Persons on the same Trip, not a separate per-person amount; Essential Items must be purchased no later than 96 hours after arrival at the Final Destination) trigger hours: 4 hours (measured from the Insured Person's time of arrival at the Final Destination) |
| Lost, stolen or damaged baggage | per person: $1,000 (maximum per Trip for all Insured Persons on the same Trip, not a separate per-person amount; covers theft or permanent misdirection of Checked Luggage by a Common Carrier) |
| Travel accident | limit: $500,000 ($500,000 for the Cardmember or Spouse and $50,000 for Dependent Children for loss of life; maximum payable is $1,000,000 for Loss resulting from any one occurrence) common carrier only: Yes (at least 75% of the cost of the Ticket must be charged to the Account and/or paid with Scotia Rewards points) covers 24h: No (coverage is in force only while travelling directly to the point-of-departure terminal, making the ticketed trip, travelling directly from the point-of-arrival terminal, and while at a travel terminal immediately before or after the trip) |
| Hotel or motel burglary | $1,000 (applies only within Canada and the United States, requires evidence of forceful entry, and the full cost of the room must be charged to the Account) |
| Emergency travel assistance | offered: Yes (administered by Active Claims Management (2018) Inc., operating as Global Excel Management; 416-977-1552 locally or collect from other countries) |
| Rental car collision or damage | is primary: Yes (the rental agency's collision damage waiver or loss damage waiver must be declined) limit basis: the actual cash value of the damaged or stolen vehicle as well as any valid and documented Loss of Use, reasonable and customary towing charges, and administration charges vehicle value cap: $65,000 (manufacturer's suggested retail price excluding all taxes, at the time and place of loss) max rental days: 48 days (if the rental period exceeds 48 days no coverage is provided, even for the first 48 days; coverage applies to one rental vehicle at a time) excluded classes: vans, other than mini-vans as described above, trucks, pick-up trucks or any vehicle that can be spontaneously reconfigured into a pick-up truck, off-road vehicles, motorcycles, mopeds or motorbikes, campers, trailers or recreational vehicles, vehicles not licensed for road use (enumeration truncated at 40 words. Further excluded categories: mini-buses or buses, antique cars, hand-made or low-production vehicles, vehicles with a manufacturer's suggested retail price over $65,000, tax-free cars, vehicles towing or propelling trailers, and exotic vehicles) territory: This coverage is available on a 24-hour basis anywhere in the world, except where prohibited by law, or where the coverage is in violation of the terms of the rental contract in the jurisdiction in which it was formed. |
| Purchase protection | days: 90 days (the full Purchase Price must be charged to the Account and/or paid with Scotia Rewards points; coverage is in excess of other insurance) |
| Extended warranty | years added: 1 year (doubles the period of repair services provided by the original Manufacturer's Warranty, capped at 1 additional year) cap: $60,000 (maximum lifetime liability shared with Purchase Security) |
Figures above are from the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Business Card Certificate of Insurance, effective 2021-07-01, underwritten by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (Manulife) and First North American Insurance Company, under Group Policy BNS749 issued to The Bank of Nova Scotia. Checked against the certificate for 13 coverage types. Terms change without notice; verify with the issuer before relying on any figure.
Good fit if
- Your business regularly pays in foreign currencies — U.S. suppliers, SaaS subscriptions, international travel bookings — where eliminating the 2.5% FX fee directly reduces operating costs.
- You want a business card without a complex earn structure: no category caps, no program transfers required, no airline affiliation.
- You already accumulate Scene+ points personally and want to consolidate business spend into the same program.
If that describes you, apply for the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Business Card. Not sure yet? Book a free conversation and we will walk through it together.
Less useful if
- Your business spends almost entirely in Canadian dollars — the no-FX-fee advantage disappears, and the earn rate is not competitive with category-optimized business cards.
- You fly Air Canada regularly and want Aeroplan points — a co-branded Aeroplan business card earns more effectively toward Air Canada redemptions.
- You want lounge access or airline status benefits — this card is a no-FX-fee and earn product, not a premium travel benefits card.