Scotia Passport vs RBC Avion (2026): Fees, FX, Lounges

Scotia Passport vs RBC Avion is a comparison of two Visa Infinite travel cards with similar income tests and different strengths. The Passport, which Scotiabank now sells as the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite+, removes the foreign transaction fee and adds airport lounge visits. The RBC Avion Visa Infinite costs less and pays in points built for booking flights. This page sets the two side by side using each bank’s own documents, so you can match the features to your own trips. It is general education, not financial advice.

Each card has a full write-up: the Scotia Passport Visa Infinite review and the RBC Avion Visa Infinite review. Related comparisons: Amex Cobalt vs Scotia Passport and Amex Aeroplan Reserve vs RBC Avion.

Scotia Passport vs RBC Avion at a glance

YieldMaple checked the Scotiabank and RBC card pages, RBC’s Information Box and both insurance documents on October 8, 2026. Every figure below comes from those sources.

In sentences: the Passport’s fee is $150 a year, and the Avion’s is $120 a year. The Passport’s foreign transaction fee is none: only the exchange rate applies to foreign-currency purchases, while RBC converts Avion purchases at an exchange rate that is 2.5% over a benchmark rate on foreign-currency transactions. The Passport includes 6 complimentary lounge visits a year through the Visa Airport Companion Program (run by DragonPass), and RBC’s Avion Visa Infinite page lists none. The welcome offers are 25,000 bonus Scene+ points when you spend $2,000 in the first 3 months on the Passport and up to 70,000 Avion points on the Avion. The Passport earns 3 Scene+ points per $1 at Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo and other Sobeys-group grocers and 1 Scene+ point per $1 on all other purchases; the Avion earns 1.25 Avion points per $1 on travel-related purchases and 1 Avion point per $1 on all other eligible purchases. Extra cards cost $0 for the first additional card and $50 a year for each one after that on the Passport and $50 each on the Avion. Emergency medical cover lasts for the first 25 consecutive days of a trip if you are under 65, and the first 3 consecutive days if you are 65 or older on the Passport, and for the first 15 consecutive days of a trip if you are under 65, and the first 3 consecutive days if you are 65 or older on the Avion. The income tests are 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 for the Passport and $60,000 personal or $100,000 household income for the Avion.

Which card costs less each year?

The RBC Avion Visa Infinite has the lower listed fee: $120 a year, against $150 a year for the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite+.

The gap is $30 a year. Extra cards narrow or widen it depending on the household. The Passport’s supplementary cards cost $0 for the first additional card and $50 a year for each one after that, and an additional Avion card costs $50. For a couple with one extra card, that puts the yearly totals at $150 for the Passport and $170 for the Avion.

The Passport fee can drop for Scotiabank chequing customers. With an Ultimate Package account, Scotiabank lists a rebate of up to $150 a year on the annual fee. With a Preferred Package account, the rebate is $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 details are in the Scotia Passport annual fee guide.

How much do foreign transaction fees cost on each card?

The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite+ adds nothing beyond the exchange rate, and the RBC Avion Visa Infinite adds 2.5% to every purchase in a foreign currency.

Scotiabank describes the Passport’s fee as none: only the exchange rate applies to foreign-currency purchases, and calls 2.5% the typical fee the card replaces. RBC’s Information Box for the Avion says foreign-currency transactions are converted at an exchange rate that is 2.5% over a benchmark rate on foreign-currency transactions.

A worked example shows the size of the difference. On a trip with $4,000 of spending in foreign currencies, the Avion’s conversion markup comes to $100. The same spending on the Passport carries no foreign transaction fee.

That gives a break-even point between the two fees. The Passport costs $30 a year more, and foreign-currency spending of $1,200 a year avoids that much in markup. Scotiabank’s own figure for the average saving is $132 a year per active account.

Does either card include airport lounge access?

The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite+ does: it includes 6 complimentary lounge visits a year through the Visa Airport Companion Program (run by DragonPass). RBC’s page for the Avion Visa Infinite lists no lounge visits.

Scotiabank says the network covers over 1,200 airport lounges. The visits are 6 complimentary visits per membership year on the primary cardholder's membership, usable by any cardholder on the account for themselves and accompanying guests. Guests count against the same allowance: each person counts as one visit, so a cardholder plus one guest uses 2 of the 6. For two people travelling together, that works out to 3 lounge stops a year. After that, each visit costs US$32 per person per visit. Scotiabank puts the value of the membership and passes at about $358.

On the RBC side, RBC's Avion Visa Infinite page points to the Avion Visa Infinite Privilege card for global airport lounge access. That card costs $399 a year and includes six lounge visits per membership year. Lounge-focused cards are compared in the travel credit card guide for Canada.

What are the welcome offers in October 2026?

RBC lists up to 70,000 Avion points on the Avion, and Scotiabank lists 25,000 bonus Scene+ points when you spend $2,000 in the first 3 months on the Passport.

The two offers are built differently:

• RBC Avion Visa Infinite: three parts. 35,000 Avion points on approval, then 20,000 bonus points when you spend $5,000 in your first 6 months, then 15,000 one-time anniversary bonus points. Together that is 70,000 points. RBC values the full offer at up to $1,500 in travel and says it is enough for two round-trip flights anywhere in Canada or the US, or four round trips within or to an adjacent province, territory or U.S. state, with taxes and fees extra. The offer is for applications by November 25, 2026.
• Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite+: one part. The spending target is $2,000 in the first 3 months, on accounts opened between August 4, 2026 and November 1, 2026. Scotiabank values the points at $250 in travel points. Not eligible: anyone who held a Scotiabank personal credit card (primary or secondary) in the past 2 years, including people switching from one, and Scotiabank employees.

The Avion’s spending target is higher, and its anniversary part only arrives after a full year with the card. Scotiabank’s headline for the Passport is up to $1,250 (Scotiabank's own estimate of welcome points, annual bonus, points earned, FX savings, lounge membership and supplementary-card savings). Part of that headline is the annual spending bonus: 10,000 bonus Scene+ points each year you spend $40,000, plus 2,000 points for every additional $10,000 that year. Both offers can change; the bank’s page on the day you apply is the one that counts.

Which card earns more on everyday spending?

The Passport earns more in its bonus categories: 3 Scene+ points per $1 at Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo and other Sobeys-group grocers, and 2 Scene+ points per $1 at other grocery stores and on dining, entertainment and daily transit. The Avion’s only raised rate is 1.25 Avion points per $1 on travel-related purchases.

Outside those categories the two match: 1 Scene+ point per $1 on all other purchases on the Passport and 1 Avion point per $1 on all other eligible purchases on the Avion. The Passport’s bonus rates apply to the first $50,000 of 3X and 2X purchases each calendar year, then 1 point per $1.

Here is an example household that spends $1,000 a month on food. The first row puts all of it at Sobeys-group grocers, the second row at other grocers and restaurants, and the third row on the Avion at any merchant:

In that example the Passport earns between 24,000 and 36,000 points, depending on the store, and the Avion earns 12,000 points. The dollar values use each bank’s flat travel rate: 20,000 points for $200 off travel (Scene+ Travel or Apply Points to Travel) for Scotiabank, and 100 points = $1 for RBC. Avion points can be worth more than that flat rate on flights, which the next section covers. RBC also lists partner offers for linked cards: 3 cents a litre off fuel and 20% more Petro-Points and Avion points at Petro-Canada with a linked card, and a free 12-month DashPass subscription from DoorDash.

Avion points vs Scene+ points: what are they worth?

Scene+ points have one flat travel value, while Avion points have a flat rate for most travel and a separate flight schedule that can return more per point.

Scotiabank’s travel example for Scene+ is 20,000 points for $200 off travel (Scene+ Travel or Apply Points to Travel), which is 1 cent a point. Travel charged to the card can be paid off with points afterwards, within 12 months of the travel purchase date. Other listed uses include 1,000 points for $10 off Cineplex movie tickets and 3,000 points for a $20 account credit on an eligible Scotiabank card. The card also earns an extra 3 Scene+ points per $1 on hotels and car rentals booked through Scene+ Travel.

Avion points used for hotels, car rentals and other travel convert at 100 points = $1, which is also 1 cent a point. Flights work differently. RBC describes fixed-points pricing: flight prices may go up, but the points needed stay the same. Its example is 65,000 points for a round-trip ticket to a European city such as Paris, which RBC shows as a travel value of $1,300. At that ceiling, a point covers up to 2 cents of ticket price; a cheaper ticket for the same points returns less. Taxes and fees are extra on RBC’s schedule.

Avion points also leave RBC. They convert to WestJet Rewards, American Airlines, British Airways and Cathay Pacific, and flights can be booked on over 500 airlines, with no blackouts or seat restrictions. On expiry, RBC states that Avion points never expire.

Travel insurance on each card

Both cards carry travel insurance, with different limits. The Passport figures come from Scotiabank’s card page and certificate of insurance; the Avion figures come from RBC’s card page and its insurance product summary.

The Passport’s medical cover is up to $2 million, for the first 25 consecutive days of a trip if you are under 65, and the first 3 consecutive days if you are 65 or older. RBC lists the Avion’s package as emergency medical insurance RBC describes as unlimited, plus travel accident, trip cancellation and mobile device insurance, and its medical cover runs for the first 15 consecutive days of a trip if you are under 65, and the first 3 consecutive days if you are 65 or older. For travellers under 65, the Passport covers a trip 10 days longer.

Trip cancellation cover is up to $1,500 per person and $10,000 per trip on the Passport and $1,500 per covered person per trip, to an overall maximum of $5,000 on the Avion. Trip interruption cover is up to $2,500 per person and $10,000 per trip on the Passport and $5,000 per covered person per trip, to an overall maximum of $25,000 on the Avion. Flight delay cover is up to $500 per insured person on the Passport and up to $250 per day, per covered person on the Avion. Rental car collision cover applies to rentals of up to 48 consecutive days on the Passport and to rentals of up to 48 consecutive days on the Avion. The Avion’s summary also lists up to $1,500 of mobile device cover for two years from the purchase date. Each insurer’s certificate has the conditions and exclusions that decide a claim.

What does each card charge in interest?

Both cards charge about the same: Scotiabank lists the Passport at 20.99% on purchases and 22.99% on cash advances, and RBC lists the Avion at 20.99% on purchases.

RBC’s cash advance rate on the Avion is 22.99% on cash advances (21.99% for Quebec residents). The Passport has a minimum credit limit of $5,000. Every comparison on this page assumes the balance is paid in full each month, because interest at these rates is larger than the points either card pays.

The verdict: pick by where the trips go

• The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite+ fits spending in foreign currencies, where its fee is none: only the exchange rate applies to foreign-currency purchases, travellers who will use a Visa Airport Companion Program membership with six complimentary lounge visits a year, and trips longer than the Avion’s medical cover allows.
• The RBC Avion Visa Infinite fits travellers who want the lower fee of $120 a year, the larger welcome offer of up to 70,000 Avion points, and points that book flights on over 500 airlines, with no blackouts or seat restrictions.
• Where the Avion loses: every foreign-currency purchase is converted at an exchange rate that is 2.5% over a benchmark rate on foreign-currency transactions, and lounge visits sit on a card that costs $399 a year.
• Where the Passport loses: its fee is $30 a year higher, its welcome offer is smaller, and Scotiabank’s page lists one flat travel rate for Scene+ points, with no fixed-points flight schedule like the one RBC describes.

Card terms change often. YieldMaple last checked every figure on this page against Scotiabank’s and RBC’s own documents on October 8, 2026.