How to Maximize Travel with the RBC Visa Infinite Avion Card

The RBC Visa Infinite Avion is a great card for traveling more and paying less, for a couple of reasons:

1. The RBC Avion loyalty program has a lot of options for converting points. It depends on your specific goals, but you aren't restricted by airline like Amex or Aeroplan. This post will outline all the different options comprehensively, as well as link to other blogs that detail one option in depth.
2. There are frequent promotions throughout the year to earn a generous welcome bonus. At the very least, you can end up with one round trip flight within North America!

Last Updated: May 16, 2022

Disclaimer: Some of the links below are referral links, which means I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. This post is not sponsored by any of the companies mentioned. All opinions are my own.

RBC Visa Infinite Avion: The Lowdown

Annual Fee: $120
Minimum Welcome Bonus: 35,000 points via the RBC website upon approval + 20,000 points after spending $5,000 in 6 months = 55,000 Avion points
Minimum Income Required: $60,000 personal income or $100,000 household income or $250,000 investable assets
Rewards Earned: RBC Rewards, which can be redeemed for various loyalty programs or RBC's own rewards (see below)

As long as the minimum welcome bonus is at least 15,000 points (preferably with the first year's annual fee waived), you have a lot of options for using your points. I'll be providing information on the six best ways, which are:

1. RBC Rewards Fixed Points Travel
2. Convert to British Airways Avios
3. Convert to Iberia Plus Avios
4. Convert to Westjet Dollars
5. Convert to Asia Miles
6. Non-Points Redemptions

1. RBC Rewards Fixed Points Travel

HOW DOES IT WORK?

RBC Rewards Fixed Points Travel is very similar to American Express Fixed Points Travel, in that you are able to redeem round-trip flights for a fixed amount of points, up to a certain maximum ticket price.

For example, similar to Amex, you can redeem round-trip flights to adjacent provinces/states for 15,000 points (e.g. Toronto-Montreal, Toronto-New York City), up to a maximum of $350 for the ticket. Taxes are extra, though you can redeem 100 points per $1 of taxes, equivalent to 1% cash back.

The full award chart is available here, with maximum ticket prices for each amount. Realistically, unless you are charging more than $10,000 annually to this card, you are probably looking at the 15,000 points option.

You can book online for free or pay $30 to book through the phone.

WHEN SHOULD YOU USE THIS OPTION?

You should redeem flights through RBC Rewards if:

• You're getting a "return on miles" of at least 2.1% on your points
• You want to be flexible - there are no blackout dates or restrictions on airlines
• You're booking economy class
• You're booking less than 3 months in advance, but at least 14 days in advance, so the ticket price is higher than average
• Your round-trip flight has low taxes/carrier surcharges, since this is fixed and you have to pay it no matter what
• You won't be able to redeem your round-trip flight for fewer points on Aeroplan or Alaska MileagePlan

For more in-depth discussions of this redemption option and the different ways to stretch your points, check out this post by The Points Guy.

I don't recommend using this option if:

• You're trying to go for longer flights within North America (i.e. East to West Coast) - you can get a similar flight via Aeroplan for 25,000 points
• You're trying to book business class - it only goes up to the max. ticket price (e.g. $350 for a flight costing 15,000 points)

For the remaining RBC Avion options, I don't recommend transferring any points to these programs unless you have a specific redemption in mind. These programs are significantly less flexible than RBC Rewards, though they can provide a much better "return on points".

2. British Airways Avios

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The British Airways (BA) Avios program is a transfer partner with RBC Rewards, and converts at a ratio of 1:1. Oftentimes there will be a 15-30% transfer bonus, which gives you even more points to play with.

WHEN SHOULD YOU USE THIS OPTION?

Here is a great blog post from Upgraded Points on the best ways to redeem BA Avios. You should redeem for BA Avios if you're very flexible with dates and connections. Some sweet spots include:

• Inter-Asia flights (e.g. Hong Kong to Tokyo)
• Short-haul North America flights (with American Airlines)
• Short-haul flights within Australia (with Qantas)

You should convert to BA Avios only if you have a specific redemption in mind after searching the British Airways website.

TOPPING UP ON EVEN MORE POINTS

If you're planning on booking more than a short-haul flight within North America, consider also applying for the RBC British Airways Visa Infinite card, which provides a 45,000 Avios welcome bonus after spending $5,000 in 3 months, and an additional 5,000 upon your first annual renewal. While this card does run you a $165 fee, the value of the points largely outweigh the fee, and $5,000 is a much easier minimum spend to hit on a Visa compared to an Amex.

You can also convert Amex Membership Rewards (MR) points at a 1:1 ratio to Avios points. My personal recommendation is the Amex Cobalt, which has a $13 monthly fee and gets you up to 50,000 MR points when you spend $500 in each of the first 12 months of holding the card.

Yet another alternative is to convert hotel points into Avios, though the conversion rates aren't quite as good as the ones listed above.

3. Iberia Avios

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Iberia is an airline based out of Madrid and also has a program called Avios, though it is separate from the BA Avios program. While RBC Rewards doesn't convert directly to Iberia Avios, you can convert BA Avios to Iberia Avios at a 1:1 ratio.

Iberia's website is very tricky to navigate and there are strict rules around transferring from British Airways Avios, so I've written a detailed guide on how to redeem flight rewards on Iberia. Note that you'll need to plan far in advance if you want to take advantage of Iberia.

WHEN SHOULD YOU USE THIS OPTION?

Here is another great blog post from Upgraded Points on the best ways to redeem Iberia Avios. Essentially, you should redeem for Iberia Avios if:

• You're very flexible with connections, dates and don't mind traveling before late June or after early September
• You're looking to fly business class to Europe and don't mind connecting through Chicago, New York City, San Francisco or Boston
• Short-haul flights within North America (with American Airlines)

TOPPING UP ON EVEN MORE POINTS

Since this converts from the BA Avios program, another way to get more Iberia Avios is to sign up for the RBC British Airways Visa Infinite or an Amex card that earns Membership Rewards points (such as the Cobalt, Gold or Platinum) and convert points to BA Avios before converting to Iberia Avios.

4. WestJet Dollars

HOW DOES IT WORK?

RBC Rewards convert to WestJet dollars at a rate of 100:1, which can then be redeemed directly for Westjet flights. However, like RBC Rewards, taxes are extra - you can redeem for the price of the ticket only.

WHEN SHOULD YOU USE THIS OPTION?

If you want to fly WestJet vs. Air Canada or any other airline. One specific example for WestJet is that they have a layover in Vancouver on the way to Hawaii, vs. other airlines that generally stopover in the U.S.

This is a good option for "longer haul" North America flights that can't be redeemed through RBC Rewards or BA Avios.

TOPPING UP ON EVEN MORE POINTS

If you need to book WestJet for more than one person, pair the RBC Avion Card with the RBC WestJet World Elite card which provides a welcome bonus of $350 Westjet dollars if you apply before October 31, 2020 and a companion fare voucher for as low as $99 + taxes. Read more on how to maximize the RBC WestJet World Elite Card.

5. Asia Miles

HOW DOES IT WORK?

RBC Rewards convert to Asia Miles at a rate of 1:1, which can be redeemed for flights on Cathay Pacific, American Airlines, and British Airways to name a few.

The only issue with Asia Miles is that there isn't a very good online system to determine availability and book flights. That said, I found that taxes being charged are quite reasonable.

WHEN SHOULD YOU USE THIS OPTION?

To be honest, I would use any of the previous four options above before considering Asia Miles for flights within North America - you'll likely come out ahead in taxes and fuel surcharges, and save yourself the hassle of dealing with someone over the phone.

If you manage to accumulate a lot of points, however, it might be a good way to get flights to Asia on Cathay Pacific.

TOPPING UP ON EVEN MORE POINTS

American Express Membership Rewards (MR) convert to Asia Miles at a rate of 1000:750 in Canada. Amex cards that earn Membership Rewards points include the Cobalt, Gold or Platinum. There is also the RBC Cathay Pacific Visa Platinum, which provides 15,000 Asia Miles upon approval, 10,000 Asia Miles upon spending $6,000 in 3 months, and another 10,000 if you keep it open for a year.

6. Non-Points Redemptions

RBC Rewards points can also be converted to the following, equivalent to about 1% cash back:

• Air Canada gift cards
• Hotels.com gift cards
• Various electronics

Throughout the year there are often additional promotional discounts on these items, so even if the aforementioned redemptions fail, you can still receive other types of rewards from the RBC Avion!

You also get unique perks that come with RBC credit cards, such as:

• Access to RBC offers (special discounts)
• Save 3 cents per litre of gas with Petro Canada

All in all, the RBC Avion is a well-rounded travel rewards credit card, especially when they have generous welcome bonuses for new customers!