It is logical to assume that you will need to have an account at the associated bank when you are applying for a credit card. However, this is not the case for the Scotiabank American Express — or for any other credit card for that matter.
It is easy to pay the balance of your credit card no matter which bank you are at as you can just set your Scotiabank credit card up as a payee.
In some cases, you may save on your card’s annual fee if you have a Scotiabank Ultimate Package bank account. However, this is not a concern with the American Express as there is not an annual fee to begin with.