Momentum Visa Infinite vs SimplyCash Preferred 2026

Net annual value uses the published spend profile on How we rank (rewards minus annual fee, no welcome bonus). Cash back is 1:1.

Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card:

• 4% cash back on Groceries & recurring bill payments (bills, subscriptions)
• 2% cash back on Gas, EV charging, daily transit (bus/taxi/rideshare), food delivery
• 1% cash back on All other purchases

The Scotiabank issuer page (verified 2026-11-02) states 4% grocery and recurring-bill cash back and 2% gas/EV/transit/food-delivery cash back each apply up to an annual spend limit of $25,000, then 1%. That $25,000 limit is not stored in our earn-rate data, so our score and calculator do not apply it. On the published spend profile, grocery + bills is under $25,000 and gas is under $25,000.

SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express:

• 4% cash back on Gas (eligible stations in Canada)
• 4% cash back on Grocery (Up to $1,200 cash back/year ($30,000 spend), then 2%)
• 2% cash back on All other purchases

Issuer footnotes on the Amex compare-cash-back page: grocery bonus applies at stand-alone grocery stores in Canada; gas bonus at stand-alone gas stations in Canada. Superstores, warehouse clubs, alcohol retailers, and general merchandise stores are excluded. Grocery caps reset on the cardmembership anniversary. We model the grocery cap on grocery spend only.

Listed welcome offer: 10% cash back on first $2,000 of purchases in first 3 months (up to $200), 0% balance transfer for 12 months (2% fee), first-year annual fee waived Value used in our score: $200. Conditions: Account must be opened November 2, 2026 - April 30, 2027. Not for current/past-2-year Scotiabank personal credit card holders.. Listed welcome offer: Up to $400 in statement credits: $40 for each of the first 10 monthly billing periods with $750 in net purchases Value used in our score: $400. Conditions: Not available to current or former SimplyCash Preferred cardmembers.

Amex’s compare-cash-back page still lists Preferred’s $400 statement-credit offer (verified 2026-11-02). Other Amex hub pages the same day listed a 10% first-3-months bonus (up to $2,000 spend) plus $50 in month 13. We keep the listed offer in our card data rather than guessing which page is the application offer.

Estimated rewards below use the How we rank monthly mix: groceries $500, gas $200, dining $150, travel $50, bills $150, other $400. That is a card-only profile, not a household budget.

Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card: $432 rewards − $120 fee = $312.
SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express: $516 rewards − $119.88 fee = $396.

On this mix, Preferred’s estimated net annual value is $84 more than Momentum’s. The listed annual fees differ by $0.12. Welcome bonuses are not in this net figure.

Dining on the published mix is $1,800/yr. Momentum’s 2% line is food delivery, not restaurants, so our calculator applies 1% to dining. Preferred’s 2% base applies to dining.

Run your own grocery, bills, and gas mix on the spending calculator.

Fees: Momentum $120; additional card $50. Preferred $119.88 ($9.99/month); additional card $0.

FX: Momentum lists 2.5%. Preferred lists Not listed. We do not treat missing as 0% or as 2.5%. On $2,000 of foreign-currency spend, 2.5% is $50.

Income: Momentum $60,000 personal, or $100,000 household. Preferred Not listed.

Insurance (as listed in our data): Momentum: Travel Emergency Medical; Trip Cancellation/Interruption; Flight Delay; Delayed/Lost Baggage; Travel Accident; Rental Car Insurance (Collision); Mobile Device Insurance; Purchase Security & Extended Warranty. Preferred: Travel Emergency Medical (Up to $5M for 15 days (under 65)); Flight Delay (Up to $500 (combined with baggage delay)); Baggage Delay (Up to $500 (combined with flight delay)); Lost/Stolen Baggage (Up to $500 per trip); Hotel Burglary (Up to $500); Travel Accident (Up to $100,000); Car Rental Insurance (Up to $85,000 MSRP, 48 days); Purchase Protection (Up to $1,000 for 90 days); Extended Warranty (Up to 1 additional year); Mobile Device Insurance (Up to $1,000 for 2 years).

Pick the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card if: You want 4% on groceries and recurring bills on Visa, and you meet the listed $60,000 personal, or $100,000 household income (4.1/5). Top cash back card with 4% on groceries and recurring bills, exceptional welcome offers, and comprehensive insurance.

Pick the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express if: You want 4% grocery and gas plus 2% on everything else, including dining and travel, and you will use American Express (4.5/5). Grocery cash back is capped at $1,200/year. Premium cash back card with 4% on gas and groceries and an excellent 2% base rate.

Amex is not accepted at Costco Canada. If you need Mastercard for warehouse shops, see Best cash back cards and the Costco guide.

Scotia Momentum cards in our data are cash back, not Scene+. See Best Scene+ cards if you want Scene+ instead.

Run a custom mix on the spending calculator. Rankings here use the published score.