3,500 Avion points 
No annual fee The RBC® ION Visa is a great no-annual fee credit card for casual travellers who spend a fair amount on transportation, streaming, and video games. It’s the only card to target spending in these categories, and will likely appeal to younger millennials and Gen Z who wish to earn flexible rewards.
It’s also a viable downgrade option for RBC®‘s premium cardholders (such as the RBC® Avion Visa Infinite† Card or RBC Avion® Visa Infinite Privilege† Card), in case you wanted to keep the account open without having to continue paying the higher annual fees on their existing products.
Bonuses & Fees
The signup bonus on the RBC® ION Visa is 3,500 Avion Premium points, granted all at once upon approval†.
The card has no annual fee for primary or supplementary cardholders†.
Earning Rewards
The RBC® ION Visa offers the following earning rates:
- 1.5 Avion Premium points per dollar spent† on qualifying grocery, gas, rideshare, daily public transit, electric vehicle charging, streaming, digital gaming and digital subscriptions†
- 1 Avion Premium point per dollar spent† on all other qualifying purchases†
The first thing you’ll notice is the unique categorized earning, as this is one of the only cards on the market with no annual fee to offer elevated rewards for streaming, digital gaming, and digital subscriptions. If you spend a significant amount on digital gaming and streaming, I would pick this card up with no hesitation, especially for no annual fee.
The baseline earn rate of 1 Avion Premium point per $1 spent is on par with many mid-tier credit cards as well, offering great value on this entry-level card.†
The RBC® Ion Visa is also well-suited for those who are interested in collecting Avion points while building up a relatively new credit file or restricting themselves to lower annual fees and credit limits.
Redeeming Rewards
Although the RBC® ION Visa earns Avion points, as is the case on the higher-tier RBC® Avion credit cards, the card earns a different tier, known as Avion Premium. Avion Premium points can’t be transferred to RBC®‘s airline partners, except for WestJet Rewards, where the prevailing 1:1 ratio (1 Avion point = $0.01 in WestJet Dollars) applies†.
Also, ION and ION+ cardholders can’t redeem points via the Air Travel Redemption Schedule, which lets you use Avion points to book round-trip economy class tickets departing from Canada, up to a certain maximum ticket price.
Instead, you’re limited to using your points at a flat rate of 0.58 cents per point (cpp) for travel booked via the Avion Rewards centre†, which is weaker than the 1cpp redemption rate that you get from holding a higher-tier Avion card.
Luckily, if you ever decide to upgrade your ION card to one of the RBC® Avion cards, any points you’ve collected will be upgraded as well. Then, you’ll have the ability to access higher-value travel redemptions that are exclusive to Avion cardholders.
Furthermore, if you also happen to have an RBC® Avion card, you can convert the Avion Premium points earned on your ION card into Avion Elite points at a 1:1 ratio. This way, you can benefit from the elevated earning rates on the RBC® ION Visa, with the more flexible redemption options through Avion Elite points.
Your points never expire for as long as you’re a cardholder. If you cancel or switch to a different RBC® product, you have 90 days to redeem your points before they go away.
Perks & Benefits
RBC® ION Visa cardholders can save 3¢/L on fuel at Petro-Canada,† and will earn 20% more Petro-Points and Avion points upon linking their card to their Petro-Points account†.
The RBC® ION Visa also receives three months of free DoorDash DashPass subscription†.
Insurance Coverage
The RBC® ION Visa offers a doubling of the manufacturer’s warranty up to one additional year,† as well as provides 90 days of purchase protection†.