It’s once again a great time to transfer your RBC Avion points to British Airways Executive Club, as RBC is offering a 30% transfer bonus when converting Avion (Elite) points to Avios.
As a reminder, you have until November 12, 2024 to make a conversion, which is when the bonus is set to expire.
If you’ve been holding out on making a transfer, be sure to look for award availability and then leverage the transfer bonus before it ends.
30% Transfer Bonus from RBC Avion to British Airways Executive Club
For a limited time, RBC Avion is offering a 30% transfer bonus when you transfer RBC Avion (Elite) points to British Airways Executive Club, where they become British Airways Avios.
The usual conversion rate from RBC Avion to British Airways Executive Club is 1:1, so this transfer bonus makes it an effective rate of 1:1.3.
You need to transfer a minimum of 10,000 Avion points (which would equal 13,000 Avios), but you can transfer in increments of 1 point thereafter.
Remember that if you want to earn additional RBC Avion points to take advantage of this bonus, there are currently record-high offers for 55,000–70,000 Avion points on the trio of personal RBC Avion cards: the RBC® Avion Visa Infinite†, RBC® Avion Visa Platinum†, and RBC® Avion Visa Infinite Privilege†.
Fortunately, on all three cards, 35,000 Avion points are awarded upon approval, which means that you could then convert them into 45,500 British Airways Avios with the current 30% transfer bonus.
It’s worth noting that the bonus doesn’t show up on the RBC Avion Rewards website when you initiate the transfer. When you input the number of Avios you’d like to convert, it’ll show the regular 1:1 rate.
However, the conversion indeed shows up when the points land in your Avios account. As long as you initiate the transfer within the valid time period, you’ll receive the 30% bonus.
The landing page for this offer can be found on the RBC website.
Is It a Good Deal to Convert Avion Points into Avios?
The best way to leverage this 30% bonus is to take advantage of existing sweet spots within the British Airways Executive Club program (i.e., redemption opportunities that would’ve been a good deal even without the 30% bonus in place). Plus, keep in mind that you can convert your British Airways Avios into other “flavours” of Avios to leverage sweet spots in other airline loyalty programs that use Avios as a currency.
Let’s remind ourselves of the best Avios sweet spots for Canadian travellers, and how they can be supercharged to even greater value by the current 30% bonus from RBC Avion:
- North America to Doha on Qatar Airways Qsuites normally costs 70,000 Avios, which is equivalent to only 53,847 Avion points with the 30% bonus.
- North America to the Maldives on Qatar Airways Qsuites normally costs 85,000 Avios, which is equivalent to only 65,385 Avion points with the 30% bonus.
- North America to Bangkok on Qatar Airways Qsuites followed by Qatar Airways First Class normally costs 95,000 Avios, which is equivalent to only 73,077 Avion points with the 30% bonus.
- Toronto to Dublin on Aer Lingus normally costs 13,000 or 50,000 Avios in economy or business class, which is equivalent to only 10,000 or 38,462 Avion points with the 30% bonus.
- North American short-haul flights normally start at 9,000 Avios in economy class, which is equivalent to only 6,923 Avion points with the 30% bonus.
- oneworld short-haul flights around the world normally start at 6,000 Avios in economy class, which is equivalent to only 4,615 Avion points with the 30% bonus.
- oneworld multi-carrier awards allow you to build a fairly comprehensive round-the-world award in economy (and higher) class for 100,000 Avios all-in, which would be equivalent to 76,923 Avion points with the 30% bonus.
If some of these Avios sweet spots sound appealing to you, then it’s a great time to take advantage of the 30% transfer bonus and book an Avios sweet spot for your upcoming travel.
Plus, if you had your HSBC Rewards converted into RBC Avion points earlier this year, now is the time to ensure you get outsized value from the conversion.
Conclusion
The recurring transfer bonus from RBC Avion to British Airways Executive Club is back again for Fall 2024, offering those of us who’ve built up a stash of RBC Avion points the opportunity to book flights through Avios with a 30% boost.
Despite some devaluations here and there, British Airways Executive Club still offers its fair share of sweet spots on oneworld and its associated airlines around the world. It remains the best oneworld diversification option for Canadians, and represents arguably the best use of RBC Avion points.
If you plan to book one of these sweet spots over the foreseeable future, then the 30% transfer bonus from RBC Avion is a great opportunity, so make sure to take advantage by November 12, 2024.
†Terms and conditions apply. Refer to the card issuer’s website for complete, up-to-date information.
If HSBC sent an Avion card as a replacement, does it come with the 35K welcome bonus?
Unfortunately, it does not. Only the points from HSBC being converted to RBC.
Hi Omer, no, the only “bonus” of sorts was a one-time travel credit to be used through the RBC travel portal: https://wp.princeoftravel.com/news/rbc-to-transition-hsbc-cardholders-by-march-2024/
I have been trying to transfer RBC Anion to BA but didn’t go through as it’s says due to technical issues and promotions date are gone , can anyone help me knowing what it could be and when is best time to try again and also best time to book for South Asia flight from west coast canada thanks !
I transferred approximately 300K Avion points to Avios and they transfer went through a few days later, but no bonus points posted. Has anyone had any luck rectifying this issue? It looks like I’m not the only experiencing it.
And same issue with me; transferred 32,000 points, received 32,000. Guess RBC put on the promotion and forgot to tell BA.
I have not received the 30% bonus Avios. RBC representative said I should talk to BA Avios, because they have no control on Avios points. But BA Executive Club representative sent me back to RBC. Now what?
I had the same issue. No bonus points were credited. What a pain in the ass to have to chase them down.
“Thank you for contacting the Club about earning Avios with Royal Bank of Canada.
I have contacted them about your claim, and I appreciate your patience while we look into this for you.”
That’s RBC, not BA. Even if RBC representative told me they have nothing to do with AVIOS and I should contact BA.
I’m having the same issue. Transferred 61,000 points on April 3 and 61,000 were deposited into my BA account. Any luck sorting this out?
Same with me, I have not received the 30% bonus. I guess as this is BA Avios Promotion, nothing to do with RBC. I emailed BA about it & waiting for their response.
ss
@Mak, the best FFP site to search for Art Lingus’ availability is United.com. They are partners. Make sure you look for “X” fare.
To login to Avions.com, you need either an Aerclub account (Aer Lingus’ FFP) or VUELING’s. I recommend Aerclub. You can transfer your BA Avios to Aerclub. The taxes are lower booking through Aerclub.
Hope this helps.
What would be the best way to apply for both the Platinum and Infinite cards? One in-branch and one online? Or could you apply for both together in-branch/online/on the phone?
I have exactly the same question! Anyone have recent experience with RBC? My credit score is super high, but RBC doesn’t give me instant approval most of the time.
I pooled up quite a bit for redeeming the so call Oneworld Multi-Carrier Awards but due to these uncertain times, i would give it a shot by testing YYZ-DUB first.
Can any one tell why i am not able to signup for AVIOS and the only options are available to sign in using FFP which is my BA account.
Not sure how to search for YYZ-DUB as cannot signup to AVIOS directly and dont have
Expertflyer..
appreciate any insights
U think mine will come through ? I literally transferred Last nignt lol