Choose Passport if…
- You spend meaningfully abroad — the 2.5% saved beats any earn-rate difference
- Six free lounge visits would actually get used
- You shop Sobeys/Safeway/IGA (3× turns groceries into travel)
Credit cards · Head to head
Scotiabank Passport vs RBC Avion
Two different bets: Passport pays you on every dollar spent abroad (no FX fee), Avion pays you on how you redeem (a real award chart, plus the only unlimited medical maximum in the field). Where your money goes picks the winner.
Verified at the issuer · June 12, 2026
Head to head
| Scotiabank Passport VI+ | RBC Avion VI | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $150 — waived with an eligible Scotia account | $120 |
| The signature feature | NO foreign-transaction fee — saves 2.5% on everything abroad | UNLIMITED medical maximum + a published award chart |
| Earn | 3× Sobeys-family · 2× dining/groceries/transit · 1× else | 1.25× travel · 1× else |
| Lounge access | 6 free visits/yr (Visa Airport Companion) | None |
| Travel medical | 25 days under 65 ($2M) · 65+: 3 days | 15 days under 65 (UNLIMITED max) · 65+: 3 days |
| Current offer | 60,000 Scene+ structure — window closes July 1, 2026 | Up to 70,000 Avion — apply by July 15, 2026 |
| Redemption | Scene+ at fixed value (travel, groceries, statement) | Air Travel Redemption Schedule — long-haul from 35,000 pts |
| Income requirement | $60k / $100k household / $250k AUM route | $60k / $100k household |
Choose Avion if…
- You redeem deliberately — the 35,000-point long-haul chart rewards planning
- The unlimited medical maximum matters to you (within its 15/3-day windows)
- You can apply before July 15 — the 70,000-point offer is the kicker
Both drop to 3 days of medical at 65+ — the genuinely senior-friendly cards are on the retiree page. Field rankings on best travel cards.
Frequently asked questions
How much is Passport's no-FX worth against Avion's richer points?
On foreign spending, everything. $8,000/yr of travel and foreign purchases pays $200 in FX fees on Avion and $0 on Passport — a gap Avion's 1.25× earn can't close (the extra quarter-point on travel is worth maybe $25 on that volume). Spend mostly in Canada and the calculus flips: Passport's earn advantage at Sobeys-family stores decides it instead, and Avion's lower fee plus award chart get their chance.
What's special about Avion's award chart?
Predictability: the published Air Travel Redemption Schedule prices a long-haul Canada/US round trip from 35,000 points against up to a $750 ticket — up to 2.1¢/point, fixed, no award-seat roulette. It's the rare big-bank program where the redemption value is knowable before you earn. Scene+ is simpler but flatter: fixed ~1¢ everywhere. Maximizers lean Avion; simplicity leans Scene+.
Both offers expire in July — which deadline matters more?
Avion's, structurally: its 70,000-point offer (apply by July 15) is unusually rich for a $120 card and has no first-year waiver to soften waiting. Passport's 60,000 window closes July 1 but its headline includes the annual $40k-spend bonus — the pure welcome is 50,000. Miss both and the cards remain what they are: the steady-state comparison above is the durable answer.
Educational comparison, not credit advice. All figures verified at scotiabank.com and rbcroyalbank.com (insurance from certificates) on June 12, 2026; both current offers expire in July 2026 and terms change without notice.