Evaluation: RBC® Avion Visa Infinite†

RBC’s flagship bank card within the Avion household, the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^†, provides a constantly excessive welcome bonus, robust insurance coverage, and a versatile, beneficial factors forex, all for an affordable annual payment.

In actual fact, we contemplate the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^† as RBC’s greatest total bank card product.

On the identical time, there are some areas wherein the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^† falls behind opponents, which we’ll go over intimately on this evaluate.

Persistently Excessive Welcome Bonus

One of the crucial enticing options of the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^† is the constantly excessive welcome bonus.

The welcome bonus tends to fluctuate between 35,000 and 55,000 Avion factors, with 55,000 factors being the cardboard’s all-time excessive supply.

Sometimes, a big portion of the welcome bonus is awarded upon approval or upon making your first buy, which is a straightforward approach to rapidly enhance your steadiness. Generally, your entire welcome bonus is awarded upon approval, which is even higher.

If there’s a second allotment as a part of the welcome bonus construction, it’s normally earned after assembly an affordable minimal spending requirement of $5,000 or so inside the first three-to-six months as a cardholder.

We worth Avion factors at 2 cents per level. Utilizing this valuation, we estimate {that a} welcome bonus of 35,000 factors could be value round $700, and a welcome bonus of 55,000 factors could be value round $1,100. 

Relying on the way you select to redeem your factors, they might be value kind of than these estimates, and we’ll communicate to a few of the completely different (glorious) redemption choices intimately under.

Simple Incomes Charges

The incomes charges on the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^† are fairly easy, and are structured as follows:

• Earn 1.25 Avion factors per greenback spent on qualifying journey purchases^†
• Earn 1 Avion level per greenback spent on all different qualifying purchases^†

Certainly, maybe the largest draw back of the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^† is the cardboard’s lack of elevated incomes charges on frequent purchases, similar to groceries, fuel, and eating places, which regularly have 2–5x multipliers on different journey bank cards within the Canadian market.

When you’ve fulfilled the necessities to unlock the welcome supply, build up your Avion factors steadiness is a slow-and-steady course of with these 1–1.25x incomes charges, particularly should you’re not a giant spender.

One approach to finesse your approach to a quicker incomes charge is to construct what we’ve termed as “The Optimized RBC Credit score Card Portfolio“. 

Briefly, the RBC^® ION+ Visa provides a wonderful class incomes charge of three Avion factors per greenback spent on grocery, eating, meals supply, fuel, rideshare, day by day public transit, electrical automobile charging, streaming, digital gaming and digital subscriptions.^† This makes it an amazing card to make use of for any of those purchases, because the incomes charge is as much as 3x larger than the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^†‘s.

Should you occur to carry each an Avion product (such because the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^†) and the RBC^® ION+ Visa, you’ll be able to simply pool your factors collectively right into a single account, getting the most effective of each worlds (nice incomes charges on the RBC^® ION+ Visa, and glorious redemption choices as an Avion cardholder).

Versatile & Beneficial Avion Factors

In comparison with comparable bank cards supplied by different Canadian banks, redeeming factors is the place the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^† actually shines.

In actual fact, in Canada, Avion factors is the one rewards forex aside from American Categorical Membership Rewards (and Marriott Bonvoy) that gives the flexibility to switch factors to exterior loyalty program companions.

As an Avion cardholder, you’ll take pleasure in membership within the Avion Rewards program on the Elite tier, which implies that you’ll be able to switch Avion factors earned by means of the welcome bonus and on day by day spending to the next loyalty packages:

Plus, RBC usually provides switch bonus promotions all year long, throughout which the switch ratio is boosted by 10–50%.

By transferring Avion factors to one of many above airline loyalty packages – ideally when there’s a switch bonus – you’ll be capable of unlock worth from an entire vary of award flights in economic system, premium economic system, enterprise class, and even First Class.

Of the 4 packages out there to you, we’d advocate specializing in The British Airways Membership, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, and American Airways AAdvantage. All of those packages supply glorious entry to airways within the oneworld alliance and alternatives for outsized worth. 

In the meantime, we worth WestJet factors at 1 cent per level, and Avion factors at 2 cents per level. Subsequently, should you switch Avion factors to WestJet Rewards, you’d be leaving worth on the desk.

Should you don’t need to fear about discovering award house or navigating loyalty packages, RBC provides an amazing in-house possibility known as the RBC Air Journey Redemption Schedule, which additionally supplies an amazing return to your factors.

With the RBC Air Journey Redemption Schedule, you’ll be able to redeem Avion factors for economic system flights near house or around the globe and get an elevated worth of as much as 2.3 cents per level, relying on the route.

Alternatively, should you’re in search of probably the most simple redemption potential, you too can redeem Avion factors at a charge of 1 cent per level in opposition to any eligible journey bills charged to your RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^†.

Sturdy Insurance coverage Protection

Total, the insurance coverage protection on the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^† is pretty robust, and it stands out in a number of methods in comparison with opponents.

For instance, the ‌emergency medical insurance coverage on the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^† is limitless when it comes to its greenback quantity.^† This protection applies for as much as 15 days for eligible travellers who’re below 65 years outdated, and for 3 days for eligible travellers who’re 65 years and older.^†

Comparatively, different playing cards normally cap this insurance coverage profit at $1 million or $2 million in protection. Nevertheless, many different playing cards even have extra beneficiant protection intervals and age classes than these supplied by the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^†.

A second standout a part of the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^† insurance coverage choices is the buy safety insurance coverage that covers loss or unintended injury for as much as 90 days following the acquisition of eligible objects together with your card.^†

Notably, this protection is for as much as $50,000 every calendar 12 months,^† making the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^† an amazing selection for bigger purchases.

Lastly, the cellular gadget insurance coverage on the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^† will cowl as much as $1,500 in case your cellphone is misplaced, stolen, suffers unintended injury, or experiences mechanical failure for as much as two years from the date of buy.^†

This supplies you with the reassurance that you just gained’t be left with out-of-pocket bills if something unlucky occurs to a brand new gadget that you just bought together with your RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^†.

What Else Does the Card Supply?

The RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^† comes with another perks and advantages value highlighting.

For the previous few years, RBC has supplied the Friday Pal Move, which supplies cardholders a free second carry go when buying a full-price carry go at many main ski resorts in Canada.^† 

Should you’re capable of make use of this profit, it’s an amazing function that may wind up saving you cash if you hit the slopes with a good friend or member of the family.

Moreover, on the Avion Rewards dashboard, you’ll additionally discover a sequence of RBC Affords for incomes bonus Avion factors or saving you cash on journey and experiences.

For instance, one supply that has popped up earlier than is the chance to earn further Avion factors when spending at Canadian Marriott Inns.

With any such supply, merely cost your resort keep to your RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^†, and also you’ll earn bonus factors.

The cardboard additionally comes with different options that may aid you save on some day by day purchases.

By linking your RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^† to a Petro-Factors card, you’ll save 3 cents per litre on fuel at Petro-Canada, and also you’ll additionally earn extra Petro-Factors.^†

You’ll additionally obtain a complimentary DoorDash DashPass subscription for 12 months, which supplies you $0 supply charges with DoorDash.^†

Different Playing cards to Think about

Whereas the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^† provides a beneficiant welcome bonus and entry to versatile Avion factors, there are different playing cards value contemplating, too, relying in your priorities.

For instance, the American Categorical Cobalt Card additionally earns versatile rewards factors that may be transferred to much more companions, and its incomes charges are a lot stronger than these of the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^†. 

Recall that with the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^†, you’ll solely earn 1–1.25 Avion factors per greenback spent, relying on the acquisition.

With the American Categorical Cobalt Card, you’ll be able to earn 5 Membership Rewards factors per greenback spent on eating and groceries, 3 Membership Rewards factors per greenback spent on streaming providers, 2 Membership Rewards factors per greenback spent on fuel, public transit, and journey purchases, and 1 Membership Rewards level per greenback spent on all different purchases.

If in case you have a excessive quantity of spending in any of the accelerated classes, you’ll wind up with a boosted factors steadiness a lot quicker than making the identical purchases on the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^†. 

Notice that it’s a good suggestion to contemplate the RBC^® ION+ Visa as an possibility to make use of wherever you’ll be able to’t use the Cobalt Card for eating or groceries, too.

Should you’d like so as to add a card for spending exterior of Canada and a few complimentary lounge visits, the Scotiabank^® Passport Visa Infinite^* Card is a good selection.

Whereas the welcome bonus typically isn’t as excessive because the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^† and the Scene+ factors you earn aren’t transferable to airline or resort companions, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card comes with no international transaction charges and six complimentary airport lounge visits per 12 months.

Think about this card as an excellent different should you spend rather a lot exterior of Canada, don’t see your self transferring factors to airline companions, and might make use of the complimentary lounge visits.

Conclusion

The RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^† is a good bank card, and has earned our decide because the greatest total RBC bank card product. 

Nevertheless, the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^† falls behind the competitors when it comes to incomes factors on day by day spending given the cardboard’s simple incomes charges.

It’d be good to see some extra journey advantages added to the cardboard’s options, similar to complimentary airport lounge entry and no international transaction charges, along with elevated class incomes charges.

Nevertheless, should you’re in search of a journey bank card with a always excessive welcome bonus and versatile factors for an affordable annual payment, the RBC^® Avion Visa Infinite^† is among the greatest.

^†Phrases and situations apply. Discuss with the RBC web site for up-to-date supply phrases and situations.