15% Transfer Bonus from RBC Avion to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

It’s once again a good time to take a look at your RBC Avion points balance, as RBC is offering a 15% transfer bonus when converting Avion points to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles.

The bonus runs from September 14 to October 16, 2026, and it’s the first Avion bonus to Asia Miles since the spring of 2025.

Compared to The British Airways Club, Asia Miles transfer bonuses from Avion don’t come around very often, so if you’ve been waiting for a reason to top up your balance, this is it. Just be sure to confirm award availability first, and lock in your transfer before the window closes.

15% Transfer Bonus from RBC Avion to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

From September 14 to October 16, 2026, RBC Avion is offering a 15% transfer bonus when converting RBC Avion points into Asia Miles. The last time this bonus came around was April 14 to May 12, 2025, so it has been about a year and a half.

To take advantage of the offer, you’ll need to convert a minimum of 10,000 Avion points to Asia Miles within the offer period. Transfers can be made in increments of 1 point beyond the minimum.

The usual conversion rate from RBC Avion to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles is 1:1, so the bonus makes it an effective rate of 1:1.15. The 10,000-point minimum lands as 11,500 Asia Miles.

The offer is for Avion Elite members, which is the tier that comes with the RBC Avion credit cards. If you hold an RBC ION+ card instead, you’re in the Avion Premium tier, which can only convert points to WestJet, so this bonus won’t apply to you.

As with the other Avion transfer bonuses, the extra 15% doesn’t show up when you initiate the transfer on the Avion Rewards website. The regular 1:1 rate is displayed, and the bonus miles are credited separately. RBC’s terms say to allow up to four weeks for the miles to appear. During last year’s promotion, the base miles arrived within a day or two while the bonus miles took considerably longer, so plan on the same pattern this time around.

The start and end dates run on Pacific time, so the real deadline in Eastern Canada is 2:59am on October 17.

If your Asia Miles account has been dormant, the transfer will also reset the 18-month expiry clock, since any earning activity keeps your miles alive.

Remember that if you want to earn more Avion points to take advantage of the bonus, there are currently offers for 70,000 to 100,000 Avion points on each of the three personal RBC Avion cards, the RBC® Avion Visa Infinite^†, RBC® Avion Visa Platinum^†, and RBC® Avion Visa Infinite Privilege^†.

On all three cards, 35,000 Avion points are awarded upon approval, which means you could then convert them into 40,250 Cathay Pacific Asia Miles with the current 15% transfer bonus.

Is It a Good Deal to Convert Avion Points to Asia Miles?

Asia Miles isn’t the bargain program it once was. It has devalued three times in under three years, most recently on May 1, 2026, and fuel surcharges on Cathay Pacific flights rose by about a third in April. Long-haul business class now costs roughly 40% more than it did three years ago.

What the program still does well is availability. Cathay Pacific releases premium cabin space to its own members well before partner programs see it, and Cathay Pacific First Class has become close to an Asia Miles exclusive. The program also passes through far lower surcharges on British Airways flights than The British Airways Club does on the same seats, which remains its best trick.

Here is what some of the more useful redemptions work out to in Avion points once the 15% bonus is applied.

• Vancouver to Hong Kong in Cathay Pacific business class costs 91,000 Asia Miles, or about 79,131 Avion points with the bonus
• Toronto to Hong Kong in Cathay Pacific business class costs 119,000 Asia Miles, or about 103,479 Avion points
• Hong Kong to Tokyo in Cathay Pacific First Class costs 50,000 Asia Miles, or about 43,479 Avion points
• Hong Kong to Bangkok or Singapore in Cathay Pacific business class costs 27,000 Asia Miles, or about 23,479 Avion points
• Toronto to London on British Airways in Club Suite business class costs 63,000 Asia Miles, or about 54,783 Avion points, with surcharges several hundred dollars below what The British Airways Club collects for the same seat
• New York to Hong Kong in Cathay Pacific First Class costs 160,000 Asia Miles, or about 139,131 Avion points

Cathay Pacific doesn’t fly First Class to Canada, so the play there is positioning to a gateway like New York, where the cabin opens up. Award space in First has largely become a perk for Asia Miles members that partner programs rarely see, and if flying it is on your list, this is the currency that gets you in the door.

For business class to Hong Kong, keep in mind that Asia Miles isn’t always the cheapest option. Atmos Rewards prices Cathay Pacific business class between North America and Asia at 70,000 miles on a fixed chart, which undercuts even the discounted Avion figures above. Asia Miles earns its keep when Atmos shows nothing, or when you want the seat that only Cathay Pacific’s own members can see.

Unlike over the summer, there’s no competing Avion transfer bonus to weigh right now. The 30% bonus to The British Airways Club wrapped up in June, and the 15% bonus to American Airlines AAdvantage ended on September 3. If Asia Miles is where your next redemption lives, the decision is a simple one.

My honest take is that a 15% bonus isn’t a reason to move points into Asia Miles on spec, especially into a program that devalues on a steady cadence. It is a good reason to move them now rather than later if you already have a Cathay Pacific or British Airways redemption in view.

Conclusion

Until October 16, 2026, RBC Avion Elite members can score a 15% bonus when transferring Avion points to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. Whether you’re planning to book Cathay Pacific flights or a oneworld partner like British Airways, this is the best rate you’ll get on the conversion for a while.

Asia Miles may no longer be the deep-discount program it once was, but it still holds value for the right redemptions, and the 15% bonus takes some of the sting out of the recent price increases.

If you’ve had your eye on a transpacific trip in a premium cabin, consider topping up your account while the offer lasts.

^†Terms and conditions apply. Refer to the card issuer’s website for complete, up-to-date information.