This is Scotiabank's no-fee Scene+ Visa with a student application path, and the numbers match the regular card: $0 a year, 2 Scene+ points per dollar at Sobeys-family grocers, Home Hardware and Cineplex, and 1 point everywhere else. Points redeem at a fixed 1 cent per point (cpp) on travel and groceries, which keeps the math simple for a first card.
I'd point a student to it if they already shop at Sobeys, Safeway, IGA or FreshCo and want points they can use without learning a program. The catches are real: there is no insurance of any kind, foreign purchases carry a 2.5% fee, and Scotiabank itself suggests that students with a steady income above $12,000 a year look at its other cards.
Welcome offer
The Scene+ Visa for students is offering up to 5,000 bonus Scene+ points in your first 3 months, verified on the Scotiabank page on October 13, 2026, for accounts opened between July 2 and November 1, 2026. It is the same offer the regular Scene+ Visa carries: 2,500 points after $250 in everyday eligible purchases, and another 2,500 once you reach $1,000 within the same 3 months.
Each bonus is credited about 8 weeks after the qualifying purchases post. Anyone who held a Scotiabank personal credit card in the past 2 years, as primary or secondary cardholder or through a product switch, is excluded, and so are Scotiabank employees.
The $250 tier is the easy one on a student budget; the $1,000 tier works out to about $333 a month for 3 months. If you are also opening a Scotiabank student chequing account, the Scene+ Student Banking Bundle can add 30,000 Scene+ points on top (see Perks), so open all three accounts before November 1, 2026.
Fees & eligibility
The annual fee is $0, and additional cards are also $0. Scotiabank prints no minimum income for the student card; instead, its suitability note says the card might not be right if you have a steady income of more than $12,000 a year, because you may qualify for other cards. The minimum credit limit is $500, and no maximum is published.
Canadian citizens and permanent residents can apply online. International students apply in person by appointment and need a study permit (IMM 1442) valid for at least another six months, plus enrolment in a post-secondary program that starts within six months, or at least 30 days left if the program is under way. You also need to be the age of majority in your province: 18 in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, PEI, Quebec and Saskatchewan, 19 elsewhere.
Purchases carry 21.99% interest and cash advances 22.99%, which also covers balance transfers. Scotiabank's fee schedule lists a 2.5% foreign currency conversion fee, so this is not the card for a semester abroad.
Earning rewards
Earning matches the regular Scene+ Visa. 2x points per dollar applies at Sobeys-family grocers (Sobeys, Safeway, participating IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Thrifty Foods and others), Home Hardware and Cineplex; everything else earns 1x.
Hotels and car rentals booked through Scene+ Travel, Powered by Expedia earn up to 4x: 1 point per dollar on the card plus an extra 3 from Scene+ Travel. Other grocery chains earn the 1x base, so the 2x grocery rate depends on where you shop.
Redeeming rewards
Scene+ points have a fixed value. 20,000 points take $200 off travel through Scene+ Travel or Apply Points to Travel, which covers travel charged to the card in the past 12 months, and 10,000 points take $100 off at eligible grocery stores. That is 1 cpp on both, and the grocery option is the practical one on a student budget.
Other options are weaker or narrower: 5,000 points for $50 off at Home Hardware, 1,000 points for $10 off Cineplex tickets, and 3,000 points for a $20 account credit, which is only about 0.67 cpp. Points do not expire while you hold an eligible Scotiabank Scene+ product.
Perks & benefits
The everyday perks are partner discounts: up to 10 cents per litre in value at Shell Canada stations with a linked card, up to 25% off base rates at participating Avis and Budget locations in Canada and the US, 10% off GigSky data plans, and Scotia SelectPay installment plans. There is no lounge access, travel credit or status.
The student-specific extra is the Scene+ Student Banking Bundle. Open this card (or one of four other eligible Scotiabank student cards), a Preferred Package for Students and Youth chequing account and a Money Master Savings Account between July 2 and November 1, 2026, complete two qualifying activities in the chequing account within 60 days, and Scotiabank deposits 30,000 bonus Scene+ points within 6 months. The bundle excludes anyone who held a Scotiabank credit card or a Scotiabank chequing account in the past 2 years.
Insurance
The student Scene+ Visa comes with no embedded insurance, the same as the regular card. The product page lists only optional, paid Scotia Credit Card Protection, which helps cover your balance after events such as job loss or illness, and Scotiabank notes the card may not suit people who want built-in insurance.
That means no emergency medical, trip cancellation, delay, baggage, rental car, purchase protection, extended warranty or mobile device coverage. If you are buying a laptop or phone for school, a card with purchase protection is the better one to pay with.
My take
I'd get the Scene+ Visa for students if you shop at Sobeys-family grocers and want a free first card with simple fixed-value points; I'd skip it if you need purchase protection or plan to spend much in foreign currency.
What I like for a student is that nothing here costs money or takes effort: $0 a year, about 1% back on everything and roughly 2% at the partner banners, all at 1 cpp. The welcome offer is small at about $50, so the bigger prize is the 30,000-point bundle bonus if you were opening a Scotiabank student account anyway.
What I'd weigh is what's missing. There is no insurance at all, and if you would rather have cash, the student Momentum No-Fee pays 5% on the first $2,000 for 3 months. Scotiabank doesn't say what happens to the card after graduation, so I'd treat it as a starter card and revisit once your income passes $12,000 a year.
The good
- No annual fee and no minimum income printed
- Points worth a fixed 1 cpp on travel and groceries
- Eligible for the 30,000-point Scene+ Student Banking Bundle
The catch
- No embedded insurance at all
- 2.5% foreign transaction fee
- 2x grocery rate only at Sobeys-family banners