Quote:
Originally Posted by MJK
RBC Avion sucked for my needs. Yes it is great that you can book on any flight but they max out the ticket value on you. I needed to travel and the cost of the ticket was $1000. Booking with Avion points only covered me for $350 and I was on the hook for the rest. Now they might have changed their policy but BEWARE of this!
Aeroplan points accumulate quickly but can be difficult to book flights with.
Airmiles are harder to accumulate but easier to book flights with.
IF you are prepared to book WAY in advance (up to a year) I would go with the CIBC Aerogold card.
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Something seems out of kilter with your experience.
$350 is the dollar value that RBC Avion allows for a short haul flight and you would need to redeem 15000 Avion points to purchase that ticket. Short haul would be to a province on either side of you or a state beside you. And the $350 is for the ticket, not for taxes, airport improvement fees etc. So then I can't see why you were quoted $1000 for a short haul flight? It would never cost that much just for the ticket to any short haul location.
You will almost certainly have to pay applicable taxes etc no matter which program you redeem points with.
Here is the RBC Avion schedule and what they allow for monetary value of tickets and how many points you would have to redeem for those flights.
15,000 Short-haul: Canada/United States, Within or to an adjacent Province/Territory/U.S. State $350
35,000 Long-haul: Canada/United States, Anywhere in Canada/U.S except Hawaii and Alaska $750
45,000 Long-haul: Bermuda, Mexico, Hawaii, Alaska, Caribbean, From any location in Western Canada/U.S. to Mexico, Hawaii, Alaska OR from Eastern Canada to Bermuda, Central America, Caribbean $900
55,000 Long-haul: Bermuda, Mexico, Hawaii, Alaska, Caribbean From any location in Eastern Canada/U.S. to Mexico, Hawaii, Alaska OR from Western Canada to Bermuda, Central America, Caribbean $1,100
65,000 Long-haul: Europe From a major gateway in Canada/U.S. to select destinations in Europe $1,300
100,000 Long-haul: Asia, Australia, Middle East, Africa & South America From a major gateway in Canada/U.S to select destinations in Asia, Australia, New Zealand, South Pacific, Middle East, Africa, South America $2,000
We have been with Avion since the program came out and never once have we had to pay any extra for our flights. Yes, we pay the taxes on that ticket or applicable airport improvement fees, but nothing else.
We have flown to Southern USA, Mexico many times, New Zealand and Europe redeeming Avion points. Never once have we paid more than what they allow for the tickets. And when we booked New Zealand and Europe, we only gave them 3 weeks notice.
Oh, one thing I forgot to mention before is you do need to give them 2 weeks notice. So no, you can not book a ticket to fly tomorrow.
Now here is something else to consider using RBC Avion. If you redeem points for a flight that uses Air Canada or any or its partners, you will earn Aeroplan points.
Basically, the travel company that you use when redeeming RBC Avion points is buying a ticket for you on the airline that you choose. And if that ticket is with Air Canada or their Star Alliance partner, you get Aeroplan points.
