[ANALYSIS] RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege
Royal Bank is introducing its new Avion Visa Infinite Privilege card. Below are the highlights of the credit card:
- $399 annual fee
- $99 for supplementary cardholders
- Earn 25,000 sign up bonus points
- Earn 1.25 point for every $1 spent on all purchases
That is obviously a pretty hefty fee for a credit card that only earns you 1.25 point for every $1 spent on all purchases, where 1 point is worth about 1 cent a piece (depending on how you leverage your points), which means you are getting around 1.25% return.
Furthermore, you get more value out of your points when you redeem travel expenses, which include, but not limited to: holiday packages, hotel certificates, car rentals, cruises, tours and flights.
Otherwise, you can redeem your points for merchandise, which will generally get you less than 1 cent per point in value, which is not a great return, so I do not recommend it.
The $399 fee covers the following privileged benefits:
- Receive a complimentary membership and 6 complimentary visits to your choice of over 500 airport lounges worldwide through Airport Angel
- Dedicated VIP security fast track lane at select Canadian airports
- Airport parking, valet discounts and dedicated taxi limo lines at select Canadian airports
- Automatic enrolment into Elevated membership status in the Fairmont President’s Club
- Receive 7 VIP benefits at over 900 prestigious properties
- Receive $60 in complimentary credits to start the meter at zero on the first 12 taxis you order through Hailo in Canada.
- Save 20% when you book an Airport Limousine Services through the Visa Infinite Privilege Concierge
- Personal assistance who can help book event tickets, restaurants, help plan your travels, research your requests and locate hard-to-find items
There are definitely some valuable benefits to be had. So if you can find a way to take advantage of most of these benefits, the $399 can be worth it.
Personally, I am not a fan of Avion or RBC points. The reason is because I would be stuck with the credit card if I wanted to continue to earn enough Avion points to be able to redeem them for anything, which means that I will have to pay the annual fee year after year.
I generally prefer third party loyalty programs, such as Aeroplan, where you do not need to be stuck with 1 particular credit card to earn enough points to get reward flights. That way, I can cancel the credit card when I no longer feel that those points are worth it any more.
See also:
- Posted by Matt
- in Avion (RBC Rewards), Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)
- 14 comments
Leave a Reply