Flying business in Asia? Done.
Note: The latest promotion for the RBC Avion Visa Infinite can be found in this link. The current promotion features 25,000 Avion points with a $0 MSR and First Year Free!
The RBC Avion Visa Infinite is the flagship travel card offered by RBC. Several times this year, RBC had released promotions on this card stating a first year fee waiver, as well as an increased bonus of 25,000 Avion points upon approval with a mere $1,000 spend within the first 3 months.
This post will skip over the other benefits of the card and will focus on using the promotional bonus in order to maximize value, whether it be in cash back or flying in premium cabins without paying the steep price tag.
What can 25,000 Avion points do?
- RBC’s fixed travel schedule (Not Recommended)
- $250 Gift Card or Investment Redemption
- Transfer to British Airways Avios for flights in Asia** (Recommended)
RBC Fixed Travel Redemption
We won’t spend much time on this as the redemption value is relatively low. 15,000 Avion points will be enough to redeem for a flight to an adjacent province/state, which will yield minimum value after factoring in airline fees and taxes.
Gift Card and Investment Redemption
Despite many churners suggesting against redeeming points towards a gift card, RBC Avion may be an exception. 25,000 points can be traded in for a $250 gift card (1cent/point value) towards Air Canada, which can be exceptional in a pinch. Additionally, other gift cards will go on sale once in a while on the RBC Rewards Store, further increasing the Avion’s flexibility. This can also be said for the TFSA/RRSP investment sales, where 25,000 Avion points can be used for a $250 donation into an investment vehicle; A handy alternative if you’re looking to put away some extra cash.
Transferring to British Airways Avios
The most valuable transfer option for RBC Avion would be in the form of British Airways Avios. British Airways, or BA is known to have many sweet spot flights while travelling within Asia. Due to their fixed 4,500 point pricing for distances less than 1000 miles; round trips like Tokyo to Osaka or Hokkaido cost a mere 9,000 Avios plus $6! This means that you can take 2–3 round trips with just the welcome bonus alone. This option is made even more valuable during RBC’s conversion bonuses, which typically provides a boost of 30% in additional miles. With that in mind, the 25,000 Avion bonus can potentially be transferred into 32,500 BA Avios points.
Alternatively, here are some other flights you may be able to redeem with your converted BA Avios points:
- Tokyo to Hakodate in Economy for 4,500 Avios
- Tokyo to Hong Kong in Economy for 10,000 Avios
- Tokyo to Hong Kong in Business for 20,000 Avios
- Hong Kong to Singapore in Business for 20,000 Avios
For example, take a look at this BA Avios redemption from NRT (Tokyo) to HKG (Hong Kong) in business class. The cost is a mere 20,000 Avios points and $75. The same flight on Google costs $3,316!
What next?
Picking up your RBC Avion Visa Infinite is the first step, but there are more ways to capitalize through the use of product transfers to some of RBC’s other premium credit cards. I’ve highlighted some of these possibilities in my RBC Product Switching post.
Hope you enjoyed reading!
Points Smart 