As mentioned in our February 9th episode of This Week in RWRDS I reached out to RBC to see if we could learn more about the HSBC Rewards to Avion Rewards points conversion ratio. To date this ratio has been the big unknown in the credit card portion of the HSBC to RBC migration. I happy to report they have already come back to us with more details! So a big thank you to RBC for responding so quickly and working with us to be able to share the details with our readers.
Recommended reading: The most in-depth and up to date details of the HSBC to RBC credit card transition (Continually updated)
Let me start out by saying that the actual conversion rates have not been revealed to RWRDS Canada. However, the information provided by RBC to RWRDS Canada should be more than enough for current HSBC credit cardholders to make an informed decision on whether they want to redeem their points now or wait until they are converted to Avion Rewards.
The conversion rate will vary by client
The primary reason that RBC has not published or revealed a conversion rate from HSBC Rewards to Avion Rewards is that it will vary by client. The actual process is quite complex due to the various earn rates and redemption options across both of the programs and trying to have them align so that HBSC clients receive comparable value with RBC.
“Once HSBC clients are officially RBC clients and members of Avion Rewards, they will receive detailed information on the conversion value and unique redemption options.”
On a high level, this makes sense as some clients are being migrated to the Avion Rewards Elite level (World Elite Mastercards to Avion cards) while others are migrating to the Avion Rewards Premium level (those being transitioned to ION cards) and those two levels of Avion Rewards have different redemption rates (which will I go into further detail in the next section)
But it almost sounds like we’ll possibly see different ratios for customers who are being migrated to within the same tier levels.
Clients who are transitioning may be able to get some more details from either of their bank’s advisors although the statement from RBC does not go so far to state they’ll actually provide you with the conversion ratio:
“Each client’s circumstance is unique, and as such, both HSBC and RBC advisors are equipped with information that will help them make informed choices when it comes to their points-related questions.”
When the conversion happens each HSBC cardholder will receive a detailed breakdown showing how many points they had in HSBC Rewards and the amount that they now have in Avion Rewards. It will also show them what the value of those points was in HSBC Rewards for flexible travel redemptions and it will show them the respective flexible travel value with their new Avion Rewards balance.
Points conversion value will be based on flexible travel redemptions
So while we don’t have an exact conversion value, RBC did share details with us as to what the conversion value will based upon. It is this basis that we can use to extrapolate the minimum value you can expect to receive for your HSBC Rewards points.
“…we can share that all HSBC clients migrated to RBC will have equal or better value for their converted points in the flexible travel redemption category in the same way they book their travel today. In addition, clients who hold Avion credit cards will benefit from even greater value with access to the Avion Air Redemption Schedule, which can provide up to 50% more value.”
This is exactly what we needed to find out. The conversion will be based on RBC’s standard flexible travel redemption category and the travel value that RBC is going to provide will be equal or better.
In HSBC Rewards the value of points for the flexible travel redemption category (the one where you go book travel yourself and redeem points against the charge) is 0.5 cents per points.
In Avion Rewards, at the Elite level for Avion credit cards (which is what World Elite/Metal World Elite cards are being migrated to) the RBC standard flexible travel redemption value is 1 cent per point
With RBC stating the points will have equal or better value it allows us to surmise that the conversion rate should be no worse than two (2) HSBC Rewards Points to one (1) RBC Avion Rewards point since each HSBC point is worth half of each RBC point.
As to what even better means, we don’t know at this point but at least we know that at an absolute minimum, there should be no loss of travel value in the conversion.
This also means, HSBC World Elite cardholders will have the potential to extract even more value from their current points by letting them convert to Avion and then redeeming them via the Avion Air Redemption Schedule as that option can provide higher value than RBC’s flexible travel redemption rate of 100 points to $1.
The Avion Air Redemption schedule provides value of up to 2.33 cents per Avion point which if we do some quick math would equate to as much as 1.66 cents per HSBC Rewards point (or more if your conversion rate is better!) That would be over three times the current value of each HSBC Rewards point.
Recommend reading: Loyalty Lesson – How to maximize value out of the RBC Avion Airline Award Chart
The same goes for conversions to British Airways and/or Cathay Pacific as those redemption options will also have more value after the points are converted to Avion Rewards. Assuming a 2 to 1 conversion it would mean two HSBC Rewards points that are converted to Avion Rewards will net you 1 BA Avios or 1 Asia Mile whereas in the current HSBC Rewards program it takes 2.5 points for 1 BA Avios or 3.125 points for 1 Asia Mile.
That brings us to the HSBC clients who have the non-World Elite travel cards, namely +Rewards and Travel Rewards which are being converted to RBC ION Visa Cards. The RBC ION card falls into the Avion Premium tier in which RBC has a different standard flexible travel redemption rate of 172 points to $1 or 0.58 cents per point.
Going back to RBC’s statement that the travel value will be equal or better would make me think the conversion for these cards should be 1.16 to 1 or better.
** Let me stress once again that the exact conversion ratio will vary by client. The numbers being used here are strictly based on assumptions we are making with the information that has been provided to us **
HSBC points-based cardholders will have full access to their individual Avion points balance and can start redemptions across all categories within one week after conversion via avionrewards.com or the Avion Rewards app.
At this time, Avion Rewards will not be inheriting the conversion option to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, so I would suggest for those HSBC cardholders that like to convert their points to KrisFlyer to use this option by the end of February.
Wrapping it up
The last piece of the HSBC to RBC migration puzzle is in place! Many readers and HSBC clients have wondered what their points will be worth in the new program and now we have some clarity on it! HSBC cardholders should be happy to know that they will have equal or better value for their converted points in the flexible travel redemption category in the same way they book their travel today. And clients who hold Avion credit cards have the opportunity to benefit from even greater value with access to the Avion Air Redemption Schedule.
Title images via HSBC and RBC