RBC Avion Credit Cards: New Offers for Up to 70,000 Points

For the past year or so, RBC^® offered record-high welcome bonuses on its trio of Avion personal credit cards: the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^†, RBC^® Avion Visa Platinum^†, and the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite Privilege^†.

The latest round of offers is now out, and the welcome bonus on two cards has dropped, but there’s also been a nice boost to another that has resulted in a new record-high offer. 

RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite Privilege^†: Up to 70,000 Avion Points^† + VIP Benefits

The high-end premium product in the Avion family, the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite Privilege^†, has a new elevated welcome offer which is higher than the other two personal Avion cards in RBC’s lineup.^†

This time, you can earn up to 70,000 RBC Avion points,† structured as follows:

• Earn 35,000 RBC Avion points upon approval†
• Earn 15,000 RBC Avion points upon spending $5,000 in the first six months†
• ^{Earn 20,000 RBC Avion points as a one-time anniversary bonus upon renewing the card for a second year†}

This is a new all-time high offer on the card, up from the previous record of 55,000 points which was available through much of 2023 and 2024.

The welcome bonus of up to 70,000 Avion points^† outweighs the $399 annual fee on this card in each of the first two years; however, the $200,000 minimum personal or household income requirement may be prohibitive for some applicants.

Nevertheless, if you’re looking to earn 1.25x Avion points on all purchases^†, and try out the ability to redeem points directly against premium fares at 2 cents per point, now’s as good of a time as any to apply for the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite Privilege^† with this bonus in play. 

This offer is available until November 25, 2024, so be sure to apply before then if you’re eligible.†

RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^†: 35,000 Avion Points^†

After another round of a record-high welcome bonus, the offer on the RBC® Avion Visa Infinite† has dropped by 20,000 Avion points. 

This time, you can earn a welcome bonus of 35,000 Avion points,^† which are awarded upon approval for the card.^†

Typically, you need to meet a minimum spending requirement to unlock at least part of the welcome bonus; however, that’s not the case this time around. You’ll get the full allotment of 35,000 points as soon as you’ve been approved for the card.^†

It doesn’t get much easier than that, so if you haven’t yet added the RBC® Avion Visa Infinite† to your portfolio, head to the RBC website to learn more.

We value RBC^® Avion points^† at 2 cents apiece, given their flexibility and frequent transfer bonuses to airline loyalty programs.

Using this valuation, we’d estimate that the welcome bonus of 35,000 RBC^® Avion points^† is worth at least $700. Subtract the $120 annual fee from that, and we’d value the current offer at $580, which is certainly worth considering.

There’s no listed end date for this offer.

RBC^® Avion Visa Platinum^†: 35,000 Avion Points^† with No Minimum Income

The RBC^® Avion Visa Platinum^† is the entry-level product in the Avion family; however, it’s similar to the flagship Visa Infinite^† in many ways.

Currently, its welcome bonus is also set at 35,000 Avion points^†, which is also awarded upon approval for the card.^†

There are a few minor differences between the RBC^® Avion Visa Platinum^† and the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^†, including the following:

• The Visa Infinite^† earns 1.25 Avion points per dollar spent^† on travel, whereas the Visa Platinum^† earns a flat 1 Avion point per dollar spent^† on all purchases
• The Visa Platinum^† offers a less comprehensive insurance package – emergency medical insurance and mobile device insurance aren’t included, whereas they are included on the Visa Infinite^†
• The Visa Platinum^† doesn’t offer the unique dining, hotel, and events benefits that are exclusive to Visa Infinite^† cards

However, the most important difference is that the RBC^® Avion Visa Platinum^† has no minimum income requirement, so this would be the right choice for you if you don’t meet the $60,000 or $100,000 in personal or household annual income, respectively, required for the Visa Infinite.^†

There’s no listed end date for this offer.

The Best Ways to Redeem RBC^® Avion Points^†

RBC^® Avion is a transferable points currency, which allows you to transfer the points you earn from any of these Avion cards to four frequent flyer programs:

Therefore, you have the option of converting the 35,000 Avion points^† you’d earn from the welcome bonus on the RBC® Avion Visa Infinite† or RBC® Avion Visa Platinum† into any of the following:

• 35,000 British Airways Avios
• 35,000 Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• 24,500 American Airlines AAdvantage miles
• 350 WestJet Dollars

On top of the usual transfer ratios, RBC^® is known for offering occasional transfer bonuses of 20%, 30%, or even 50% to its transfer partners.

If you’re wondering what 35,000 Avion points can get you, you may be happy to hear that it’s enough for a one-way flight in business class from Eastern North America to Spain on Iberia, assuming you can find off-peak award availability.

In addition, RBC^® features the Air Travel Redemption Schedule, which operates similarly to the Amex Fixed Points Travel program. With the Air Travel Redemption Schedule, you can redeem a fixed number of points for a flight to a certain region with a maximum cash ticket cost allowance.

With this chart, the value is capped due to the maximum ticket cost, so it’s generally recommend maximizing your opportunities with RBC^®’s frequent flyer partners instead.

Indeed, that’s where the bulk of the value in the Avion program lies, since you can transfer to any of their partners for a desired booking and aren’t locked in to a single loyalty program.

If, however, you find yourself in a situation in which you’re looking to book a one-way or round-trip flight within Canada and the mainland US, and you aren’t able to find any satisfactory options via British Airways Executive Club or WestJet Rewards, then the RBC^® Travel Redemption Chart is a solid option.

It’ll allow you to use the 35,000 points^† from two of the RBC^® Avion cards to cover the base fare of any flight within Canada or the US, excluding Hawaii and Alaska, up to a maximum of $750, so that you don’t have to worry about any award availability constraints.

Conclusion

The welcome bonuses on two of RBC^®‘s Avion credit cards have been set at 35,000 Avion points,^† awarded upon approval, or up to 70,000 RBC Avion points in the case of the RBC® Avion Visa Infinite Privilege†, which comes with a minimum spending requirement and a different structure.

If you’re able to combine the offers with a potential transfer bonus to one of RBC^®’s frequent flyer partners, you’re all set to be booking some spectacular travel in 2024 and beyond.

Be sure to take advantage of the offer for the RBC® Avion Visa Infinite Privilege† by November 25, 2024, or at your leisure with the other two cards, as they don’t have listed end dates.

†Refer to RBC^® page for up-to-date offer terms and conditions.