TORONTO, ON - January 23, 2014 /CNW/ - With the polar vortex, ice storms and frost quakes that plagued December and January, it's no wonder a new Scotiabank poll revealed that 76% of Canadians say winter is their least favourite season in Canada. In fact, the poll shows that 80% of Canadians somewhat or strongly agree that they would love to be travelling to warmer climates by mid-January; however, less than half (44%) revealed that they have booked a last-minute trip, and only 3% plan to use reward points to pay for the majority of their trip expenses.

"Taking a vacation is the ultimate remedy to the snow shoveling and frigid temperatures that we have experienced, and using travel rewards is a great way to plan and pay for a trip faster," says Jennifer Douglas, Vice President of Credit Cards at Scotiabank. "With the Scotiabank suite of American Express cards, customers can quickly turn routine purchases into travel rewards that can be easily redeemed to get away from winter sooner - or plan future trips - with flexible point redemption and booking options, and without blackout periods and high fees."

While Canadians are known for braving the cold, the survey also revealed that two-thirds of Canadians (66%) agree that come mid-January they can't wait for winter to be over and only 4% of Canadians selected winter as their most preferred season. Add to this that 33% would probably or definitely cancel their social plans if there was a sudden cold snap or snowstorm and the question for many right now is how they can get to a beach sooner.

In addition to flexible point redemption, the Scotiabank^®* Gold American Express^® Card lets you earn travel rewards 4x faster at eligible gas stations and grocery stores, and on dining and entertainment. Until March 31, 2014, Scotiabank is offering no annual fee for the first year, plus 15,000 bonus points for new sign-ups. For full offer details, including regular annual fees and interest rates, visitwww.scotiabank.com/travelfreedom.

Canadians can also enter to win $20,000 towards a dream vacation through the recently launched Scotiabank Around the World with $20K Contest. By visiting www.scotiabank.com/AroundtheWorld, eligible Canadians are invited to enter through Facebook or Twitter and answer simple questions about their travel personality. Every answer will earn 5 entries towards the $20,000 grand prize. Full contest details can be found on the website.

Quick Facts:

Weather and Travel

• Three-quarters (74%) of Canadians clear the snow from their own walkway or driveway, taking an average of 39 minutes to clear 10 cm of snow.
• While 32% of Canadians consider minus 30 degrees Celsius too cold to go outside, residents of British Columbia are the least tolerant of cold weather as they are more likely to stay inside once the temperature drops to minus 10 degrees Celsius (25%).
• Three-quarters (73%) of Canadians are planning to take a leisure trip in the next 12 months, and of those people, 63% plan to use their credit card for the majority of their trip expenses.

Credit Card Usage

• Canadians primarily use credit cards for everyday expenses, like retail and grocery (39%) and personal and household expenses (32%), with 45% choosing to pay by credit cards to get reward points.
• Two-thirds (66%) of Canadians say that travel rewards are a somewhat or very important consideration when selecting a credit card, particularly among those who are 18-34 years of age (76%).
• Women (42%) are more likely than men (35%) to use their credit card most often at retail and grocery stores, while men (9%) and Canadians under the age of 35 (11%) are more likely to use their credit card most often at restaurants.

About the polling data
Using Harris/Decima's proprietary panel of Canadians, a total of 1,002 completed online surveys were collected from a random sample of panel members across Canada. The study was conducted from December 12-24, 2013.

About Scotiabank 
Scotiabank is a leading financial services provider in over 55 countries and Canada's most international bank. Through our team of more than 83,000 employees, Scotiabank and its affiliates offer a broad range of products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking to over 21 million customers. With assets of $744 billion (as at October 31, 2013), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (TSX: BNS) and New York Exchanges (NYSE: BNS). Scotiabank distributes the Bank's media releases using CNW. For more information please visit www.scotiabank.com.

For media inquiries please contact:
Jessica Swan
Narrative PR
647.281.6345
Jessica.Swan@narrative.ca