Can I hold both the Scotia Passport Visa Infinite and the Scotia Gold American Express at the same time?

Yes. Scotiabank lets you carry both cards in parallel and you'll often see milesopedia members do exactly that. The two cards complement each other: the Scotia Passport Visa Infinite Card handles foreign currency purchases (no 2.5% FX fee) and is your backup at merchants that don't take Amex, while the Scotia Gold American Express Card earns 5x or 6x Scene+ points on groceries, dining and entertainment in Canada. Both cards pool Scene+ points into the same loyalty account, so redemptions are unified.

Which Scotia card earns more Scene+ points on groceries, the Passport or the Gold Amex?

The Scotia Gold American Express Card wins on groceries by a wide margin: it earns 6 Scene+ points per dollar at Sobeys-group stores (IGA, Safeway, Foodland) and 5 points per dollar at every other grocer. The Scotia Passport Visa Infinite Card earns 3 points at Sobeys-group stores and 2 points at other grocers. For a household spending $10,000 a year on groceries at IGA, the Gold Amex generates 60,000 Scene+ points (worth $600) versus 30,000 with the Passport — a $300 annual difference.

Does the Scotia Passport Visa Infinite Card still include free airport lounge passes?

Yes — the Scotia Passport Visa Infinite Card still includes six complimentary Priority Pass lounge visits per year for the primary cardholder, plus an annual Priority Pass membership at no extra cost. Additional visits beyond the six free passes cost US$32 each. The Gold American Express card does not include lounge access at all. If lounge benefits matter to you, the Passport is the only Scotia card under $200 in annual fees that includes them.

Is the Scotia Gold American Express Card accepted at Costco in Canada?

No. Costco Canada accepts only Mastercard at the till and at gas bars, so the Scotia Gold American Express cannot be used there. The Scotia Passport is also a Visa, so it doesn't work at Costco either. To run grocery spending through a Costco store, you need a separate Mastercard such as the CIBC Costco Mastercard or the Tangerine Money-Back World Mastercard. Many milesopedia members keep the Gold Amex for Sobeys and IGA and a Costco Mastercard for warehouse runs.