Scotiabank GM Visa Review: High GM Rewards

Updated: Aug 30, 2022

Advertiser Disclosure

Meet Scotiabank GM Visa Card – Get up to 5% in GM Earnings and No Annual Fee

Scotiabank offers a GM package consisting of the Scotiabank GM Visa Card and the GM Infinite Card, both of which are centered around getting you discounts on your next GM vehicle. It’s unusual for a bank and a car company to create a product together, but this bundle works. It allows you to collect rewards that can be used for discounts on new cars from GM’s assortment. These cards don’t expire, and they’re some of the most exciting reward cards in the Scotiabank arsenal. Below, we’ll be exploring everything there is to know about the Scotiabank Visa GM card and help you decide if it’s the right option for you.

Scotiabank® GM® Visa® Card
Scotiabank® GM® Visa® Card

64 User Ratings

Card Details

Intro APR

N/A

Ongoing APR

17.99%

Balance Transfer

Yes

Annual Fee

$0

Credit Needed

Good

Snapshot of Card Features
  • Get closer to your new car with up to 5% in GM Earnings
  • Earn 5% in GM Earnings on the first $5,000 spent annually, and 2% thereafter
  • $1 in GM Earning = $1 off the purchase price or lease of a new Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, or Cadillac
  • No earning or redemption caps
  • Purchase security and extended warranty4
  • Enjoy the same great rewards in 5 unique designs (GM, Chevrolet, BUICK, GMC, or Cadillac)

Open Details +

What Does Scotiabank GM Card Offer?

This section will explore everything this card has to offer in terms of services and characteristics. After reading this section, you’ll have a general idea of whether this card suits your needs.

Scotiabank is one of Canada’s most popular banks and has a bulletproof reputation for providing some of the best credit cards on the market. It’s well-reviewed by consumers and has an abundance of loyal policyholders. In association with the motoring company General Motors, Scotiabank has introduced two cards, one of which we’re reviewing. The Card is an excellent card with quite many offers – but not just everyone can get it. It’s a card specifically designed for people looking to purchase a brand new GM vehicle in the near or distant future and works by accumulating GM earning discount points.

GM Earnings Program

The GM earning program is unique to the GM Visa Card and the GM Visa Infinite Card. It’s a point system that awards you a discount on any brand new GM vehicle. It works by allowing you to get cashback in GM points rather than actual cash. New policyholders get a 5% return on GM Earning points with every purchase up to the first $5000 – then it decreases to 2%. GM points can be traded at official GM dealerships for any new vehicle under the GM brand, not GMC cars. One dollar of GM earnings translates directly to one dollar off a brand new vehicle.

Optional Scotia Credit Card Protection

One of the best features that come with this card is the optional Scotia Credit Card Protection. Reward cards aren’t usually subject to these features, but this one is. This card offers you financial protection in case of:

  • Disability
  • Job loss
  • Lockout (lockdown)
  • Union strike
  • Critical illness
  • Loss of life

If any of these unruly situations were to occur, you have a monthly benefit equal to 20% of your account balance, which helps you pay down your balance faster, easier, and cheaper. The protection is not a necessity, though, and at $1.09 per $100 of the daily balance – it’s very affordable.

Supplementary Card

With this package, you can get an additional supplementary card to your GM Visa Card account. That means that you’ll have multiple cards tied to one account, making earning GM points that much easier. Multiple cards don’t mean multiple statements, though, as all spending account-wide is consolidated into a single monthly statement, making it very convenient. 

Seamless eBanking and mBanking

A bank account is only as good as its features and convenience. With the eBanking and mBanking features, Scotiabank is known for managing your new account as easily as possible. Aside from simple management, your card supports Visa payWave, Visa Checkout, and Apple Pay, making transactions seamless and straightforward.

PRO Tip
The GM point system does not apply to GMC vehicles only but on all GM brand vehicles such as Buick, GMC, Chevrolet, and Cadillac. The discount is only applicable to GM dealerships and on brand new cars.

Why We Like Scotiabank GM Visa

There are several reasons why we like this card and all it has to offer. We’ll discuss them thoroughly below.

  • Points for GM vehicle. The first thing that comes to mind when we think of why we like this card is the GM point system – no discussion. If you’re a gearhead or looking to purchase a car in the future, you’ll love this package. It allows you to save money on your favorite new GM models, and with the new Camaro just around the corner, you can’t miss out on this card.
  • Easy to use. Using it is very convenient. It supports mBanking and eBanking, two features that Scotiabank themselves are well known for. Besides Visa payWave, Visa Checkout, and Apple pay support – you can get an additional card with this account and still have all of your monthly spendings on a single bill.
  • AVIS discounts. If you’re on vacation or are looking to rent a car – Scotiabank, GM, and AVIS have got your back. You can get up to 25% off of an AVIS car rental at select locations across the US and Canada, making rentals as simple as possible.
  • Extra options. A card is only as good as its options, and with select options such as optional card security and extended warranty – you can truly make it your own.
  • No annual fee. The fact that there is no annual fee with this account and that it doesn’t expire makes it that much better.
  • Easy to get. Aside from all these benefits, the credit limit is set at a minimum of $500, which is very affordable compared to other options. The minimum annual income is capped at $12,000, which is again, very affordable.
PRO Tip
Pro Tip: While there is Apple Pay, Visa payWave, and Visa Checkout support, this package does not offer Google pay options.

What Can Be Better

While there are many benefits to using and owning this card, there are a couple of drawbacks. Below, we’ll list all of them.

  • Needs good credit. To be eligible for this card, you’ll have to have a good credit score that’s over 500. Since applying for it triggers a hard inquiry into your credit score, not fulfilling your minimum requirements or making a simple mistake that results in rejection could tarnish your credit score.
  • High BT fee. Aside from this, there is a relatively high balance transfer fee and is capped at 22.99% – which could be lower.
  • Less rewards. Unlike its sister card and 5% up to $10,000 point earning margin, the GM Visa Card, while cheaper in general, has a 5% up to $5000 GM point-earning margin.
  • Only for GM car. The points are only applicable to brand new GM cars – so if you want to get a non-GM brand car or a used GM brand car, you’re fresh out of luck.

What Are Usage And Application Of The Card?

  1. The main Use is to earn GM Points. The Scotiabank Visa GM card is simple and has limited uses. It’s a rewards card that comes with a couple of other benefits centered around getting you a discount on a brand new GM vehicle. It does this through the GM earning point system, which works similarly to cashback features. On every purchase, you get a particular percentage of your money back in GM earning points. One dollar in GM earning points translates to one dollar in discounts on your brand new vehicle. While it does come with these benefits, the GM earning system isn’t applicable everywhere, such as cashback. Cash advantages, gambling, balance transfers, debit transfers, and other such transactions don’t reward any GM earning points.
  2. It can also be used as an everyday card, but.. Aside from this, using this card is very simple. You can use it everywhere since it’s based on the most popular credit card platform, Visa. Aside from all the benefits from Scotiabank and this package – you’re also entitled to all standard Visa benefits. This card is handy if you’re looking to purchase a brand new GM vehicle, but there are much better options available if you’re not.

Costs & Fees Associated With Scotiabank GM Card

This card is a rewards card and comes with minimal fees. Below, we’ll list all of the costs mentioned in the offer, and some that are not as clear. 

Most of the cards and options in Scotiabanks assortment have relatively low fees, and this card is no exception. Rewards cards like this usually have low fees, but this one stands out. The standard prices that cards like this do have are all affordable. There is no annual or monthly service fee – and the interest rate is 19.99% on all purchases and 22.99% for balance transfers. Aside from these, there are no supplementary card fees either. All other costs that exist with this card are affordable, such as:

  • Over credit line fee
  • Penalty APR
  • Dishonored Payment Fee
  • Foreign Currency Conversion Fee
  • Cash Advance Fee
  • Balance Transfer Fee
  • Purchase Interest Rates
  • Late Payment Fee
PRO Tip
If you want to find out all of the fees associated with this card, we suggest contacting the customer support via landline or live chat or visiting a local Scotiabank branch near you.

How Easy and Convenient Is To Use GM Visa?

All of the Scotiabank® GM® Visa® Credit Card features are streamlined and user-orientated. Using this card is streamlined, efficient, and comfortable. Below, we’ll get into all the details that make using this card very simple and easy.

Very easy to use. If you’ve ever looked for a simple to use, no hassle, high reward card, you’re going to find it in The Scotiabank® GM® VISA® Card. This card is simple to use, has many uses, and excels in terms of convenience.

Convenient for everyday purchases. You can use it on all everyday purchases, small or large – depending on if you’re looking to buy a GM vehicle anytime soon. Unlike other cards, this one doesn’t provide any cashback or airline miles – it gives a discount on your next new GM vehicle.

Superb GM rewards. It’s a great GM rewards card, and since cars are costly, the discount could be a dealbreaker between a Chevy Spark or the Regal Avenir.

Acceptable worldwide. Since Scotiabank is known worldwide for its fantastic mBanking and eBanking options, you can manage your cards with ease – and since it’s based on the VISA platform, you can use it with ease too.

What Are Qualification Requirements?

Applying for this card triggers a hard inquiry into your credit score, meaning it can damage it if you get rejected. That is why we’ve decided to give you the full list of requirements you need to fulfill to apply and get accepted for this card. You can find all the qualifications below.

Sadly, this card isn’t available to everyone. It does have some detailed requirements that you need to fulfill to get accepted into the Scotiabank family. So, as long as you have a good credit score above 650 and at least $12,000 annually, you should be fine. Aside from this, you’ll have to fulfill the following 4 requirements.

  1. You’re a legal citizen of Canada;
  2. Be at least the minimum age of 18 or 19 based on your province;
  3. You’ve not declared bankruptcy in the past seven years;
  4. You allow Scotiabank to make a hard inquiry into your credit history;

You should start the application process only if you meet these criteria. Otherwise, your application will be denied, and your credit score lowered.

How To Apply For Scotiabank GM Visa?

The application process for this card is as simple, streamlined, and as easy as using it. Below, we’ll get into the application process, and we will help you understand what you need to apply for this card and how you can do it from your own home’s comfort. 

Applying for this card is a breeze, just like all the cards in Scotiabanks’ catalog. You can apply in person at your local Scotiabank branch, through phone, or through the internet, which is as simple as it can be. All you need to do to apply for a GM Visa Card is to click this link and fill the form. After this, you’ll have to tick the apply button. Read all of the terms and requirements carefully – if you mess something up, you might tarnish your credit score. After confirming you’ve read all about the card and fees, you can personalize your card with one of five looks representing the car brands or GM as a company. After personalizing your card, you’ll have to provide:

  • Your title
  • Your full legal name
  • Your birthdate
  • Your SIN
  • Email address
  • Actual actress
  • Apt. or unit number
  • Employment status and industry
  • Income and expenses

While this might seem a bit extensive, the whole process should not take you more than a couple of minutes. After you enter all of your information, you can sit back and relax – a notification email or message will arrive in five to seven business days.

PRO Tip
If a notification doesn’t seem to arrive in seven days, you don’t have to worry. Sometimes, this process can take a bit longer. If you’re worried about the state of your application, contact the customer support service.

Bottom Line

Scotiabank is one of the best banks in Canada and is a part of the big five banks. It has a lot of packages, multiple cards, and several happy customers. This GM card is one of the more exciting and user-friendly rewards cards that Scotiabank offers. The card excels in its features and allows you to get a discount on GM vehicles from licensed dealerships. Aside from this, it has many more user-oriented features that make using this card as simple as possible.

When using this card, you’ll be eligible for up to 5% GM earnings on the first $5,000 on your annual purchases. After you pass the initial $5,000, you will get 2% on annual purchases. This GM card allows you to get a discount on any GM brand vehicle. One dollar earned from returns on annual purchases translates to one dollar in GM earnings, which further translates to one dollar off a brand new Chevrolet, Buick, Caddilac, or GMC. If you plan on getting a new GM car in the future, this card could be the ideal option for you.

Frequently Asked Questions



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