#How to turn everyday holiday shopping trips into something extraordinary

Two points-saving pros share tips on how to earn points faster—and make them go further—with Scene+.

It’s that festive time of year when we set time aside to celebrate with family and friends. It’s also the busiest, with gifts to buy, fridges to stock, decorations to hang and travel plans to arrange.

If taking the stress out of the season is on your wish list, there’s one easy way to start: make every shopping trip an opportunity to rack up Scene+ points, so you can earn rewards for extraordinary experiences while also giving your wallet a break. 

Here, world travellers Jake McFadden and Marie Carter and personal finance expert Melanie Trottier share their pro tips for using everyday purchases to take the pressure off the holidays, and even for booking the trip of a lifetime.

Discovering new horizons

Vancouver-based couple Jake McFadden and Marie Carter are known for creating viral content of their epic adventures together on social media. Both are professional photographers with a passion for travelling, hiking and everything outdoors. “We value spending money on experiences so that we can make memories together that will last forever.”

The couple has been collecting Scene+ points on their everyday purchases at places like Home Hardware and Safeway, and this holiday season they’re trading them in for an exclusive travel perk with Scene+ Travel, powered by Expedia. 
“We’re going to turn our reward points into our dream holiday trip to Hawaii this December! We’ve always wanted to go on a hiking trip to Oahu, and with all of our Scene+ points saved we’re excited to be able to redeem them to save on our dream holiday vacation.”

The duo is always on the lookout for Scene+ partners when they shop. “We’ve even changed our grocery shopping habits to make sure we’re earning points.” A hack they recommend is using your Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card and your Scene+ membership card in the same transaction to earn maximum points. “Learning little hacks like this has really sped up how fast we can earn points.”

Their favourite way to redeem points? Booking travel through Scene+ Travel, powered by Expedia, whereby you can redeem 100 points for every dollar to use toward your next vacation, and shop for exclusive deals on flights, hotels and car rentals. “We’re already saving up more points to redeem on our next trip.”

Balancing spirit

Social media content creator Melanie Trottier is a Canadian personal finance expert who offers a true glimpse into life with mental health challenges (spoiler alert: it looks different every day). For budget-conscious shoppers like her, she recommends limiting how many presents you buy simply because you think you should. “Buy a smaller amount of gifts that are thoughtful and personalized to the person,” she says. 
Her go-to holiday shopping tips include browsing apps for special offers and opting for stores where you can earn more points with the Scene+ program. “I’m flexible with my shopping list to take advantage of deals and try to maximize my points,” she says. Trottier and her partner have monthly movie date nights, so she’s looking forward to earning Scene+ points and redeeming them for movie nights at Cineplex theatres.

Learn more about the Scotiabank Scene+ Visa Card and how you can start earning and redeeming Scene+ points today; or, to register for a Scene+ member card, visit sceneplus.ca.