Save on Flights With the RBC Travel Redemption Schedule

RBC Avion Rewards points are an incredibly valuable points currency, with their flexibility and transferrability giving you tons of redemption options.

While the points can be used in many different ways, they are particularly valuable for travellers since they can be transferred to popular airline loyalty programs and redeemed for travel through RBC’s travel portal or by using statement credits and gift cards.

However, for Avion members looking to get top value from their points without transferring them to another program, the RBC Travel Redemption Schedule is likely their best bet.

What is the RBC Travel Redemption Schedule?

The RBC Travel Redemption Schedule is a fixed-price option available through the RBC Avion Rewards program that lets you redeem a set number of Avion points to cover the base fare of a flight to destinations around the world.

The number of points needed for each flight is set out in the following chart (or “schedule”), which can be toggled to show amounts for both round-trip flights and one-way flights.

The most important information about redemptions using the RBC Travel Redemption Schedule is as follows:

This final point means that individuals who only have an RBC ION Visa Card or an RBC ION+ Visa Card won’t see this redemption option. This is because Avion has three different membership levels, with improved redemption options as you climb the ranks.

With the RBC ION Visa Card or RBC ION+ Visa Card, you have Premium level Avion Rewards membership. This level lets you redeem for travel using the Flexible Pricing option at a rate of 172 points = $1.

Comparatively, travellers with an Avion-branded credit card have Elite level membership with Avion Rewards. At this level, you can access the RBC Travel Redemption Schedule, and you can redeem your points through the Flexible Pricing option at a rate of 100 Avion points = $1.

Redemption value for RBC Travel Redemption Schedule

The RBC Travel Redemption Schedule lets you redeem your Avion Rewards points for up to 2-2.3 cents per point.

Notably, this value is considerably higher than the 1 cent per Avion point that’s available through RBC’s other travel redemption options.

Now, you could also potentially get this value or even higher by transferring you Avion points to a partnered airline program like WestJet Rewards, The British Airways Club, Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles, or American Airline’s AAdvantage, but if you’re not interested in navigating another program, the RBC Travel Redemption Schedule offers top value potential.

How to Redeem Using the RBC Travel Redemption Schedule

The RBC Travel Redemption Schedule is divided into 6 categories, with the following information reflecting the rules for return flights:

You’re also welcome to book one-way flights using this fixed-price structure. The cost and thresholds for these redemptions are simply the above amounts cut in half.

Booking your flight

To book a flight using the RBC Travel Redemption Schedule, just follow these steps:

Log in to your RBC Avion Rewards account and navigate to the Travel Rewards area. Next, you can search for flights as you normally would in any travel portal.

If you’re eligible and have enough points, you’ll see two available pricing columns:

One for the Fixed Points redemption options…

…and the other for the Flexible Pricing redemption options.

Now you can select your preferred flight and redemption option, then follow the prompts to the checkout page. Here you’ll need to pay the taxes and fees with a credit card or Avion points.

Important considerations

As you get ready to redeem, it’s important to keep in mind that if you don’t have enough points available for the RBC Travel Redemption Schedule fixed-price award flights (but you are an Elite Avion member), you’ll see the following message, and you’ll be invited to redeem using the Flexible Pricing option at 1 cent per Avion point:

Additionally, keep in mind that when redeeming through the RBC Travel Redemption Schedule, you pay the same Fixed Points Pricing cost for a category even if the base fare is well below the threshold.

For example, if you were to book a flight from Montreal to Vancouver (falling under the “Explore North America” category), the 35,000-point fixed price covers up to a maximum base fare of $750; however, even if your flight’s base fare was only, let’s say $300, you would still need to pay the full 35,000 points.

To help clarify this concept, we’ll take a closer look at a couple examples in the section below.

Redemption Examples

Low-value redemption

For our first redemption example, let’s look at a return flight between Toronto and Montreal, which falls under the “Quick Getaway” category and will cost 15,000 Avion points using the Fixed Points option.

First, looking at the Flexible Pricing option, we can see that this flight costs $210.32 or 21,032 Avion points at the redemption rate of 1 Avion point = 1 cent.

Comparatively, if we look at the Fixed Points Pricing option below, we can see that this flight would cost 15,000 Avion points plus $143.36 in taxes and fees. This means that the base fare is only $66.96, giving you a terrible redemption value of 0.45 cents per point ($66.96/15,000 = 0.45 cents).

Good value redemption

For a better value redemption, let’s look within the same “quick getaway” category, but this time at a return flight between Vancouver and Whitehorse.

Here we can see the Flexible Pricing option coming in at $477.67 or 47,767 Avion points.

Now, if we were to use the Fixed Pricing offered through the RBC Travel Redemption Schedule, we instead need to redeem only 15,000 Avion points, $46.67 in taxes and fees, and $81.00 for the Over Max. cost (this happens when the base fare is higher than the maximum threshold for the redemption category).

With this redemption, we’re exchanging our 15,000 points for a maxed-out base fare of $350 (+$81 cash in overages), giving us the maximum achievable value of 2.3 cents per Avion point ($350.00/15,000 = 2.3 cents).

The key takeaway from these examples is that you can get the most from your Avion points and the RBC Travel Redemption Schedule by looking for flights where the base fare is as close to the category’s maximum price threshold as possible (or over it if you’re willing to make up the difference with cash).

Redemptions to avoid

As shown in our first example, there are lots of times when using the Fixed Points Pricing option will not be to your benefits.

To help keep your points safe from these weaker redemption options, let’s look at one more example of a poor redemption to help you identify these when they show up.

In the example above, we searched for a return flight within the “Europe” category, which costs a fixed rate of 65,000 Avion points for a base fare of up to $1,300.

What we see in the image is a flight where you’d be exchanging your 65,000 points for a base fare of only $235.00 (well below the max threshold), getting a value of only 0.36 cents per point.

Additionally, you’ll still need to pay the whopping $824.81 in taxes, fees, and charges that aren’t covered by the fixed-rate points.

This is a great example of how airlines can potentially hide parts of the flight’s cost in the taxes and fees using “Carrier Imposed Surcharges” as seen in the breakdown of the above fees in the image below.

Business class redemptions

With the RBC Travel Redemption Schedule, you’re welcome to book any class of ticket, including business class and first class. However, the maximum base fare thresholds for each category remain the same regardless of which class fare you’re booking. This can make it difficult to find premium class fares that fit within these limits.

As an alternative option, if you have the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege or the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Business Card, you can also redeem your Avion points for business class and first class flights using the Flexible Pricing option at the elevated rate of 100 points = 2 cents.

For example, you could fly between Montreal and Sao Paulo in business class (worth $2,522.11) for 126,106 Avion points.

Pleasantly, if you qualify for this Flexible Pricing option, you can also redeem your Avion points for the taxes and fees at the same elevated rate, keeping your bank account out of the transaction entirely.

Bottom Line

The RBC Travel Redemption Schedule is a valuable redemption option for eligible Avion Rewards members. It nicely complements RBC Travel Rewards’ Flexible Pricing option and the ability to transfer points to partnered loyalty programs.

Avion Rewards is one of only a few transferable currencies in Canada, so if you like the idea of saving on your next trip abroad, it’s definitely worth checking out if you aren’t already a member.

Check out our helpful guides below to explore the program further:

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