Loyalty and cashback are no longer just marketing tactics for Canadian banks—they’re core levers for acquisition, cross-sell, and retention. Below is an in-depth, data-backed look at two leading programs that have materially shaped Canada’s loyalty landscape: Scotiabank’s Scene+ and BMO’s AIR MILES. You’ll find membership growth, structural evolution, hard cost figures where banks disclose them, and how these programs translate into business outcomes. At the end, we outline how an open, modular platform like Achivx can help companies implement gamified loyalty at enterprise scale.

Scotiabank: Scene+ (from niche entertainment to a national, daily-spend ecosystem)

What it is: Scene+ is the evolution of Scotiabank’s former Scotia Rewards and Cineplex’s SCENE. In June 2022, grocery giant Empire Company Limited (Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, FreshCo, Foodland, and others) joined Scotiabank and Cineplex as co-owner, transforming Scene+ from an entertainment-centric program into a daily-spend coalition with national grocery coverage—arguably the most important earn category for Canadian households (Scotiabank & Cineplex announce Empire co-ownership, June 7, 2022).

Before → After (membership & engagement):

Before expansion (2022): Scene+ cited “over 10 million members,” reflecting the pre-grocery coalition base. Adding Empire’s grocery footprint unlocked high-frequency earn/redeem use cases.
After expansion (2024): Scene+ membership grew to over 15 million. Scotiabank reports that almost 40% of its clients who use Scene+ now hold three or more Scotiabank products—a powerful indicator of cross-sell and primacy uplift (Scotiabank 2024 Annual Report, p. 5).

Mechanics that drive the outcomes:

Coalition earn on daily spend (grocery, dining, travel, retail partners), banking earn (credit/debit), and compelling redemption utility (travel, statement credits, retailers).
Integration into small-business via cards like the Scotia Home Hardware PRO Visa Business, letting entrepreneurs earn and redeem Scene+ on everyday business purchases—extending the program’s TAM beyond consumers (Scotiabank 2024 Annual Report, p. 5).

Budget & disclosed costs (annual/quarterly):
Banks rarely break out ongoing loyalty “budgets” by program each quarter; most costs are embedded in non-interest expense and rewards expense lines. However, Scotiabank disclosed a concrete, one-time support cost:

$133 million pre-tax ($98 million after-tax) to support the expansion of Scene+ (i.e., the coalition build-out with Empire). This is disclosed in Scotiabank’s Supplementary Financial Information (Q3 2024 SFI note).
- What this tells us: (1) Scaled loyalty transitions require material capex/opex; (2) Scotiabank is willing to invest at nine-figure levels to secure daily-spend primacy; (3) While not a recurring “budget,” this figure gives real order-of-magnitude context for what a step-change expansion costs a Big-5 bank.
Quarterly view: Scotiabank does not disclose a Scene+-only quarterly run rate. Ongoing points issuance/redemption costs flow through non-interest expense and rewards expense lines each quarter. The 2024 Annual Report further notes record point issuance as membership grew, indicating a higher steady-state cost base that mirrors higher engagement (Scotiabank 2024 Annual Report, p. 42).

Business impact signal:

The move from entertainment-heavy earn to grocery + everyday earn increased program utility, which correlates with higher product holdings (the “3+ products” stat) and typically lower churn. In Canadian banking, primacy (the customer using you as their main bank) is the North Star for LTV; Scene+ is now a primary driver of that motion (Scotiabank 2024 Annual Report, p. 5; Empire co-ownership release, 2022).

BMO: AIR MILES (stabilize, relaunch, and expand one of Canada’s largest loyalty brands)

What it is: AIR MILES is one of Canada’s best-known coalition loyalty programs. After its former parent sought creditor protection, BMO acquired the AIR MILES Reward Program business to stabilize and rebuild the franchise (deal announced March 10, 2023, completed June 1, 2023) (BMO newsroom: completion). As part of the relaunch narrative, AIR MILES emphasized collector value, new earn partners, and digital-first features.

Before → After (scale & positioning):

Before/at acquisition: AIR MILES had over 10 million active collector accounts, representing more than half of Canadian households—a massive addressable audience and data asset (BMO newsroom).
After acquisition: BMO framed ownership as a “made-in-Canada opportunity” to reinvigorate the program with expanded earn/redemption and stronger partner economics—leveraging BMO’s national distribution and merchant relationships to re-grow everyday relevance (BMO newsroom: completion).

Strategic mechanics:

Card-linked offers and coalition partners broaden where and how collectors earn, while digital e-vouchers and travel/merchandise boost redemption utility—critical for perceived value and breakage management.
Bank-program synergy: BMO cross-promotes AIR MILES across its credit/debit base and at fuel and retail partners, driving high-frequency earn and better brand salience than standalone bank-only programs typically achieve.

Budget & disclosed costs (annual/quarterly):
Like peers, BMO does not break out AIR MILES operating spend as a stand-alone line item each quarter. What is publicly quantifiable:

Acquisition cost: Multiple outlets place the purchase price at ~US$160 million, which is a meaningful one-time capital outlay to secure ownership and rebuild the platform (CityNews, June 1, 2023).
Ongoing quarterly/annual run-rate: BMO’s quarterly earnings releases and annual MD&A provide consolidated non-interest expense detail (including marketing/rewards-related costs) but do not isolate AIR MILES. In other words, AIR MILES spend is embedded in broader line items and partner economics, consistent with how large banks report loyalty P&L (BMO Q4 2024 Earnings Release).
Directional takeaway: AIR MILES is a portfolio-level investment—the value shows up through customer acquisition, spend lift, share-of-wallet, NPS, and stickiness, more than through a discrete “loyalty expense” line the bank publishes each quarter.

Business impact signal:

The ownership transfer stabilized a critical Canadian loyalty asset and preserved a base of ~10M active collectors, giving BMO an outsized loyalty distribution relative to typical bank-only programs. Post-acquisition messaging focuses on expanding everyday earn/redemption and partner coverage, which are the key inputs for sustained collector engagement and card spend growth (BMO completion release).

What banks actually disclose about loyalty “budgets” (and how to read between the lines)

Bank-level accounting reality: Loyalty costs (issuance, redemption, partner subsidies, marketing, technology) usually flow through non-interest expense (marketing/business development, card rewards/loyalty expense) and/or show up as program liabilities on the balance sheet (deferred revenue/points liability).
Concrete figures are exceptional: Scotiabank’s $133M pre-tax support cost for Scene+ expansion is a rare, clear disclosure of program-specific spend. Treat it as the scale of cost a bank will shoulder for a category-defining expansion rather than the normal quarterly run-rate (Scotiabank SFI, Q3 2024 note).
For BMO, the most transparent datapoint is the US$160M acquisition price—again, a one-time capex rather than ongoing opex. Ongoing expenses are embedded within consolidated lines and partner contracts and are not published as a discrete AIR MILES figure each quarter (CityNews; BMO Q4 2024).

Why these programs work (and what to copy)

Daily-spend primacy: Moving from niche earn (movies) to grocery/fuel made Scene+ indispensable. AIR MILES’ breadth of coalition partners gives BMO broad, frequent earn across categories.
Frictionless redemption: E-vouchers, statement credits, and travel keep perceived value high—and measurable.
Banking tie-ins (credit + debit + bundles): Letting customers earn on debit or bundling with mortgages/chequing multiplies engagement and drives multi-product holdings—a core profitability flywheel.
Measurement: The real win shows up in product depth, spend, retention, referrals, and lower cost-to-acquire—not just in points issued.

Sources

Scotiabank & Cineplex welcome Empire as co-owner of Scene+: https://scotiabank.investorroom.com/2022-06-07-Scotiabank-and-Cineplex-Welcome-Empire-as-Co-Owner-of-Scene-Loyalty-Program
Scotiabank 2024 Annual Report (Scene+ growth, cross-sell signal): https://www.scotiabank.com/content/dam/scotiabank/corporate/quarterly-reports/2024/q4/Annual_Report_2024_EN.pdf
Scotiabank Q3-2024 Supplementary Financial Information (Scene+ expansion cost): https://www.scotiabank.com/content/dam/scotiabank/corporate/quarterly-reports/2024/q3/Q324_Supplementary_Financial_Information-EN.pdf
BMO completes acquisition of AIR MILES (newsroom): https://newsroom.bmo.com/2023-06-01-BMO-Completes-Acquisition-of-LoyaltyOnes-AIR-MILES-Reward-Program-Business
AIR MILES scale (“over 10 million active collector accounts”): https://newsroom.bmo.com/2023-06-01-BMO-Completes-Acquisition-of-LoyaltyOnes-AIR-MILES-Reward-Program-Business
Purchase price (approx. US$160M): https://toronto.citynews.ca/2023/06/01/bmo-completes-purchase-air-miles-program/
BMO Q4-2024 Earnings Release (reporting context): https://www.bmo.com/ir/qtrinfo/1/2024-q4/Q424_EarningsRelease.pdf

How ACHIVX (open-source) helps companies implement modern, gamified loyalty

ACHIVX (https://achivx.com/) is an open solution designed to let brands—from banks to retailers and fintechs—build, own, and iterate their loyalty systems without being locked into a black-box vendor. For enterprises aiming to replicate the agility of Scene+ or the coalition flexibility of AIR MILES, ACHIVX offers:

Open architecture & full data ownership: Deploy on your cloud, integrate with existing ledgers, CRMs, CDPs, and core banking/merchant stacks. You keep first-party data and can wire loyalty events into real-time analytics and marketing automation.
Configurable earn/burn logic: Set category multipliers (e.g., grocery/fuel boosts), tiered status, cashback and points, and dynamic offers based on customer behavior or partner funding—without rewriting core code.
Coalition-ready: Model multi-partner economics, clearing, and settlement; onboard new partners fast; expose card-linked offers and receipt-based earn; and manage breakage and partner-funded promos with transparent rules.
Gamification primitives: Missions, streaks, challenges, level-ups, and badges you can toggle per segment. These mechanics increase frequency and category breadth, exactly what drove Scene+ beyond entertainment.
Flexible redemption: Support e-vouchers, statement credit, discounts at POS, travel, or partner catalogues. Fine-tune min/max thresholds, instant vs. deferred crediting, and anti-abuse rules.
Compliance & accounting hooks: Track points liability and deferred revenue correctly, plug into finance systems for provisioning and breakage recognition, and export audit-ready reports.
Developer-friendly: Open APIs/SDKs, webhooks, sandbox environments, and reference templates for mobile/web experiences so your teams can ship new earn partners or seasonal campaigns in days, not quarters.

Bottom line: If you want daily-spend primacy (Scene+) or coalition scale (AIR MILES), you need a loyalty core that is open, modular, and controllable. ACHIVX gives you that control—no vendor lock-in, rapid experiment velocity, and a clean path to multi-partner economics and gamified engagement that actually moves LTV.

Canada’s Most Effective Bank Loyalty Plays: Scotiabank’s Scene+ and BMO’s AIR MILES (Deep-Dive, Data-Backed)