Scotiabank passport infinite

[dnao2]

Current LOC with scotia and using the visa passport for $99 that is waived.  Has anyone tried or been able to get the new visa passport infinite and having it waived either? Same card but with 2:1 points , no foreign exchange currency fee, and travel lounge access.  $139/yr card.  

 

Note: I did try but they told me you need annual salary of 60k and fee cannnot be waived.  Just curious as this card does seem pretty good. 

[thestar10]

I tried but was unsuccessful. Have heard that some people have been able to get it but not standard across all advisors. As a resident, you will likely have 60k income in pgy1 (including stipends)

[dnao2]

I agree.  As R1 I have just around that amount.  But I would forgo it if I can’t waive the fee 

[thestar10]

I was (mistakenly) was referring to the momentum Visa in my previous post. Hmm. I will try with my advisor.

[Snowmen]

I'm with Scotia but had to get an account with another bank for provincial grants since Scotia could not process them. For fun, I tried to negotiate a higher-tier credit card and the advisor said the reason they couldn't do the upgrade wasn't because the bank didn't want to (40$/year doesn't matter for them) but rather because they negotiate these agreements with the credit card companies. If Visa and Scotia have a deal that they'll wave the income requirements for the Gold Passport, they'll wave them for this one but Scotia most likely cannot "force" them to waive them for higher-tier cards too even if Scotia is willing to waive the fee.

(That is unless Scotia work in a different way than that other bank)

I also tried to get the Infinite Momentum Visa card when I got my LOC and couldn't because of the same reason as you guys: I couldn't meet the income requirement.

[thestar10]

Update: Able to get this card. pending paperwork.

[NeuroD]

26 minutes ago, thestar10 said:

Update: Able to get this card. pending paperwork.

What's the hype? Worse points then the amex gold. Worse (no cashback) compared to the momentum. Only benefit is forex.

[Snowmen]

3 hours ago, PhD2MD said:

What's the hype? Worse points then the amex gold. Worse (no cashback) compared to the momentum. Only benefit is forex.

A lot of places don't take AmEx.

[dnao2]

5 hours ago, thestar10 said:

Update: Able to get this card. pending paperwork.

what?! How!! >_<  I mean OK, PGY2 does make >60k.   Was the fee waived too?

[thestar10]

Lounge access is worth it. For-exchange is nice. I apply the points to flights which is essentially cashback. It's a bump from the plain passport. 

[NeuroD]

21 minutes ago, thestar10 said:

Lounge access is worth it. For-exchange is nice. I apply the points to flights which is essentially cashback. It's a bump from the plain passport. 

Is it real lounge access, or is it the kind where they waive the annual membership but you still have to pay $40+ for each visit?

[Eudaimonia]

8 minutes ago, PhD2MD said:

Is it real lounge access, or is it the kind where they waive the annual membership but you still have to pay $40+ for each visit?

6 free visits per year for you or your traveling buddies. But how many Canadian airports have the lounges? 

[NeuroD]

18 minutes ago, Eudaimonia said:

6 free visits per year for you or your traveling buddies. But how many Canadian airports have the lounges? 

So if your tracking with your spouse, can you use 2 passes at the same time? Now that's interesting.

[dnao2]

16 minutes ago, PhD2MD said:

So if your tracking with your spouse, can you use 2 passes at the same time? Now that's interesting.

I believe it says that you get 6 free vouchers.  Basically you can give one to your travelling buddy but it will be used against your quota. The other advantage over the prev. passport is that certain items are 2 points to $1 rather than the 1:1. 

[ArchEnemy]

8 hours ago, thestar10 said:

Update: Able to get this card. pending paperwork.

Were you able to get your annual fees waived?

I agree that the lounge access and 0% Forex makes this card very attractive.

However, if one is all about trying to minimize spending, I think the combination of Momentum Visa Infinite + Gold Amex will still beat this card in terms of overall cashback/travel points. 

[thestar10]

Signing the paperwork for it next week. My understanding is that I will.

I agree if you are purely focused on minimizing the spending, that combo may be slightly better but the momentum infinite really only just covers the grocery stores that don't take amex and the extra 1% at drug stores/recurring payments. 

Its 250 US for a 10 pass, Priority Pass membership so the rough value provided by the card is probably ~160-180 US= 200-230 CAD. You would have to spend roughly 7000 CAD at the 4% cash back level to get the equivalent benefit. Granted thats assuming you use them all. I definitely will, so the card is a no-brainer for me 

 

 

[LostLamb]

FYI the priority lounges have been pretty disappointing thus far, only bonus is the “unlimited” booze (drink responsibly, you don’t want them to bar you from boarding the plane!).

To answer an earlier question, you can use multiple free passes per visit. Not sure if it’s more than 2 (you and a buddy). 

[NeuroD]

8 minutes ago, LostLamb said:

FYI the priority lounges have been pretty disappointing thus far, only bonus is the “unlimited” booze (drink responsibly, you don’t want them to bar you from boarding the plane!).

To answer an earlier question, you can use multiple free passes per visit. Not sure if it’s more than 2 (you and a buddy). 

Food wasn't good?

[LostLamb]

Food sucked. 

And I read the guestbook in one of them and many people commented on disappointment with the food. 

Some pasta salad, sandwiches with little filling (meat or egg or vegetable), some grocery store type pastries, bowls of chips and pretzels. Nothing that you can pack and go (probably on purpose!!!).