The Scotia Passport annual fee is $150 a year for the primary card, and the card’s main selling point is that it charges no foreign transaction fee. This page lists every published fee, shows how much foreign spending and lounge use it takes to cover the fee, and explains the chequing-package rebates. It is general education, not financial advice.
YieldMaple checked Scotiabank’s Passport Visa Infinite+ product page on October 6, 2026. The first-year fee waiver and Priority Pass lounge passes that older versions of this page described are not part of the current card or offer.
Related: Full Scotia Passport review · Best travel credit card · Compare with RBC Avion.
Scotia Passport fees at a glance
| Feature | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $150 a year (better on this row) | No first-year waiver on the primary card in the current offer |
| Additional cards | $0 for the first additional card and $50 a year for each one after that | Share the account's lounge visits |
| Foreign transaction fee | None (better on this row) | none: only the exchange rate applies to foreign-currency purchases |
| Interest rates | 20.99% on purchases and 22.99% on cash advances | Only if a balance is carried |
| Lounge access | 6 complimentary lounge visits a year through the Visa Airport Companion Program (run by DragonPass) | each person counts as one visit, so a cardholder plus one guest uses 2 of the 6 |
| Extra lounge visits | US$32 per person per visit | Beyond the six included visits |
| Minimum credit limit | $5,000 | Visa Infinite card |
Source: Scotiabank's Passport Visa Infinite+ product page, checked October 6, 2026. Cash-advance, over-limit and returned-payment fees are set out in Scotiabank's application disclosure statement and were not re-checked for this page.
The primary card costs $150 a year, and additional cards cost $0 for the first additional card and $50 a year for each one after that. Purchases and cash advances carry interest of 20.99% on purchases and 22.99% on cash advances. The card’s minimum credit limit is $5,000, and Scotiabank lists an income requirement of personal income of $60,000 to $80,000 or more, household income of $100,000 to $150,000 or more, or $250,000 to $300,000 or more in assets under management.
Is the Scotia Passport annual fee waived in the first year?
No. Scotiabank’s current offer does not waive the primary card’s annual fee in year one; its only fee waiver is a $50 supplementary card annual fee waiver on the first supplementary card for new clients.
What the offer does include is 25,000 bonus Scene+ points when you spend at least $2,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months, for accounts opened between August 4, 2026 and November 1, 2026. Scotiabank values those points at $250 in travel points. The annual spending bonus adds 10,000 bonus Scene+ points each year you spend $40,000, plus 2,000 points for every additional $10,000 that year, which is how Scotiabank reaches up to 35,000 bonus Scene+ points (the welcome bonus plus the annual spending bonus). Not eligible for the welcome points: anyone who held a Scotiabank personal credit card (primary or secondary) in the past 2 years, including people switching from one, and Scotiabank employees.
How much foreign spending covers the $150 fee?
About $6,000 a year of foreign-currency spending covers the fee, measured against the 2.5% that Scotiabank calls the typical foreign transaction fee.
Worked examples, using the typical fee most Canadian cards charge (hypothetical spending amounts):
- $3,000 of foreign spending a year saves about $75, half the fee.
- $6,000 saves about $150, the break-even point.
- $10,000 saves about $250, or $100 more than the fee.
Scotiabank publishes its own average: $132 a year in foreign transaction fee savings per active account. That is below the annual fee, so for a typical cardholder the no-foreign-fee feature alone doesn’t cover the cost. Online purchases from US or overseas merchants billed in foreign currency count toward the savings too, not just travel.
What are the 6 lounge visits worth?
The card includes 6 complimentary lounge visits a year through the Visa Airport Companion Program (run by DragonPass), at over 1,200 airport lounges, and the membership is valued at about $358.
A more conservative yardstick is the price of a visit beyond the included six, US$32 per person per visit. By that measure all six visits are worth about US$192 a year to someone who would otherwise pay for them, and nothing to someone who doesn’t use lounges.
Two rules shrink the allowance in practice. Scotiabank’s terms give 6 complimentary visits per membership year on the primary cardholder's membership, usable by any cardholder on the account for themselves and accompanying guests, so supplementary cardholders draw from the same pool. And each person counts as one visit, so a cardholder plus one guest uses 2 of the 6.
Worked example, year one (hypothetical traveller): $6,000 of foreign spending saves $150, the welcome points are worth $250 in travel points, and 4 lounge visits would cost US$128 if paid for. Before counting the lounges, that is $250 ahead in year one. From year two the welcome points are gone, so the same traveller breaks even on foreign spending and the lounge visits are the only gain.
Can the Scotia Passport annual fee be rebated?
Yes, through a Scotiabank chequing package: Ultimate Package holders get a rebate of up to $150 a year on the annual fee, and Preferred Package holders can get $40 a year, from the first anniversary after June 22, 2026, if at least $15,000 in purchases posted to the card in the previous 12 statement periods.
The packages have their own costs. The Ultimate Package costs $30.95 a month unless you have a $6,000 minimum daily closing balance all month, or a $100,000 Total Relationship Balance. The Preferred Package costs $16.95 a month, waived with a $4,000 daily closing balance. The Preferred rebate is also narrower than it looks: the first annual fee charged after the June 22, 2026 change is not eligible — the first annual fee charged after June 22, 2026 gets no Preferred Package rebate.
Scotia Passport vs other travel cards: annual fees
| Feature | Annual fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Scotia Passport Visa Infinite | $150 (better on this row) | No foreign transaction fee; 6 complimentary lounge visits a year through the Visa Airport Companion Program (run by DragonPass) |
| Scotiabank Gold American Express | $120 | Foreign transaction fee: none — only the exchange rate applies |
| Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card | $0 | Foreign transaction fee: 2.5% |
| American Express Cobalt | $191.88 a year | $15.99 a month ($191.88 a year) outside Quebec; Quebec residents pay $191.88 once a year |
| American Express Aeroplan Reserve | $599 | Rises to $799 on annual fees charged on or after January 12, 2027 |
| American Express Platinum | $799 | Lounge access: more than 1,550 lounges at 500+ airports in 140 countries (Amex figure as of June 2026) |
Fees from each issuer's own product page, as recorded in YieldMaple's rate sources (checked September and October 2026). Foreign transaction fees are shown only where YieldMaple has checked them.
Within Scotiabank’s own lineup, the Scotiabank Gold American Express costs $120 and also has no foreign transaction fee (none — only the exchange rate applies), but it includes no complimentary lounge visits; Scotiabank’s page for that card lists only a discount on a Priority Pass membership. The no-fee Tangerine Money-Back card costs $0 yet charges 2.5% on foreign purchases. The American Express Cobalt costs $15.99 a month ($191.88 a year) outside Quebec; Quebec residents pay $191.88 once a year. The American Express Aeroplan Reserve costs $599 and moves to $799 on annual fees charged on or after January 12, 2027, and the American Express Platinum costs $799 with more than 1,550 lounges at 500+ airports in 140 countries (Amex figure as of June 2026).
Who the Scotia Passport fits, and who it doesn’t
It tends to fit people who spend in other currencies every year, use a few airport lounge visits, and shop at Sobeys-group stores, where the card earns 3 Scene+ points per $1 at Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo and other Sobeys-group grocers. Other grocery, dining, entertainment and daily transit earn 2 Scene+ points per $1 at other grocery stores and on dining, entertainment and daily transit, and everything else 1 Scene+ point per $1 on all other purchases.
It fits less well for:
- People who spend almost entirely in Canadian dollars. The no-foreign-fee feature is then worth little, and a no-fee card such as the Tangerine Money-Back pays 2% in two categories you choose (three if rewards go to a Tangerine Savings Account) and 0.5% on everything else.
- Air Canada loyalists. Aeroplan cards earn directly toward Air Canada flights and, at the premium end, include complimentary access to Maple Leaf Lounges and Air Canada Cafés in Canada and the United States.
- Heavy restaurant and grocery spenders who rarely travel. The Amex Cobalt earns 5 points per $1 at eligible restaurants, coffee shops, bars, stand-alone grocery stores and food delivery in Canada, with the fee details in the Amex Cobalt fees breakdown.
For a full look at the card’s insurance and rewards, the Scotia Passport review covers the rest. Readers comparing it with Wealthsimple’s own card can start with our complete Wealthsimple guide.