RBC Avion Rewards has now added gift card and merchandise redemption options for Avion Select members. This is the tier of the Avion Rewards program that is open to all Canadians, not just those who are RBC clients. This comes hot on the heels on the news that RWRDS Canada was the first to bring you of the program launching points earning and travel redemption for Avion Select members a couple of weeks ago.
Read more: RBC Avion Select adds points earning via card linked offers and introduces travel redemptions
Gift Card Rewards
Avion Select tier members can now redeem the points they earn for over 200 gift card options including Dollarama, Indigo, Tim Hortons, Uber and many more.
Some of the gift cards are available for as little as 700 points for a $5 card. This works out to a value of 0.71 cents per point which is actually better than the travel redemption launched a few weeks ago at 0.58 cents per point!
Other cards start at 1,400 points and go up from there based on the denomination. The per point value remains regardless of the value of the card you redeem for.
Merchandise Rewards
Avion Select tier members can also now redeem points for items from Avion Rewards merchandise catalog. At any given time there appear to be over 1,000 items available from electronics, house and home goods, to toys and much more. The value for your points will vary by item.
For example, the Apple charging cable shown above is $39 + tax from Apple Canada which puts the value at 0.73 cents per point (if only taking 5% GST into account) so this actually works out even better than gift cards or travel.
The Playmobil School Bus shown above is $49.97 + tax from various retailers which puts the value at ~0.71 cents per point (if only taking 5% GST into account) which is roughly the same as gift cards.
The Avion Rewards program tiers
For comparison, here is a complete run down of the three Avion Rewards tiers and what they offer.
To become an Avion Premium member you must have an eligible RBC banking product or one of their ION Visa Cards. To become an Avion Elite tier you must have one of the bank’s Avion Visa credit cards.
Wrapping it up
With the addition of gift card and merchandise rewards, RBC’s Avion Select tier is now fully up to speed on what the bank had promised with the program. Any Canadian can join Avion Rewards via the Select tier and enjoy cash back and points earning via online shopping and card linked offers. They can receive the cash back via Interac e-Transfers and the points can be redeemed towards travel, gift cards and merchandise.
Now that the set up of the Avion Select Tier is complete, the bank’s mission to challenge the likes of all the other major Canadian loyalty programs such as AIR MILES and Scene+ will be going full steam ahead. We here at RWRDS Canada will keep a close eye on it and will pass along any pertinent news or information as it happens for Avion Rewards and the other programs.
Click here to learn more about Avion Rewards