RBC Avion has kicked off the month of August with its first American Airlines AAdvantage transfer bonus in well… a long time! And it’s certainly one worth looking at, especially if you have your eyes set on some aspirational flight redemptions.
RBC Avion puts on occasional transfer bonuses to its airline partner programs, which is the best time to transfer points if you have a redemption in mind. This time, you can transfer RBC Avion Rewards points to American Airlines AAdvantage miles and receive 15% more, valid from August 1–31, 2024.
15% Transfer Bonus from RBC Avion to American Airlines AAdvantage
RBC Avion is offering a 15% transfer bonus to American Airlines AAdvantage miles for the entire month of August 2024, so you have lots of time to do your research and take advantage of the offer if you feel it’s right for you.
This is the first time we’ve seen a transfer bonus offered for American Airlines AAdvantage in years, and hopefully this means that we’ll see it more often going forward.
Conversion bonuses like these are a great way to boost account balances without any extra cost to you, and in fact, they’re the best time to transfer points out of your account.
This time, for every 10 Avion points which are converted, you’ll receive 8.05 American Airlines AAdvantage miles. That means the conversion rate improves from the standard 1:0.7 rate to 1:0.805.
The bonus is coded into the conversion, so you can see exactly how many miles you’ll get when you go to initiate a transfer.
To be eligible for the transfer bonus, you’ll need to have an eligible RBC Avion credit card, and make a transfer between August 1 and August 31, 2024.
You need to convert a minimum of 5,000 Avion points, and after that, you can increase the amount in increments of 10 points.
While the rate might not be as lucrative as a 1:1 transfer rate available to other partnered programs available through Avion Rewards, when you add in the 15% bonus, it does make things more exciting than usual, especially given the fact that AAdvantage has some excellent redemption opportunities, as we’ll explore below.
It’s also good to keep in mind that the current welcome bonuses on the lineup of RBC Avion credit cards offer a tidy swath of points upon approval, which means you’d be able to take advantage of a welcome bonus, and then convert it into AAdvantage miles before the end of the month.
For example, the current welcome bonus for the RBC® Avion Visa Infinite† is 35,000 Avion points awarded upon approval†.
If you then transfer those points to AAdvantage miles during the 15% transfer bonus event, you’d get 28,175 miles versus the 24,500 that you’d get with the standard transfer bonus.
How to Maximize the RBC Avion to AAdvantage Transfer Bonus
The American Airlines AAdvantage program has excellent redemption opportunities for oneworld and other partner airlines which is good news if you’re looking to maximize this latest RBC Avion transfer bonus.
One of best redemptions with AAdvantage miles is booking Etihad Airways A380 First Class (Etihad Apartments) from Abu Dhabi to London for 62,500 AAdvantage miles, plus a very reasonable $34 (USD) in taxes and fees.
With the transfer bonus taken into consideration, you’d need to convert 77,640 Avion points, which is a great price to pay for an exclusive suite in the sky, complete with access to the coveted onboard shower.
Alternatively, you could consider a flight from Vancouver to Tokyo in Japan Airlines business class for just 60,000 miles, which is equivalent to 74,540 RBC Avion points with the transfer bonus.
Or, you could level up to Japan Airlines First Class and pay just 80,000 miles, or 99,380 Avion points with the transfer bonus.
It’s worth noting that you can book Qatar Airways Qsuites with AAdvantage miles; however, you can also book the flights through British Airways Executive Club (and Qatar Airways Privilege Club), which both use Avios as a currency.
Since the conversion rate to British Airways Avios is 1:1, you’re better off booking Qsuites through the Avios ecosystem, especially if you can hold out for the next transfer bonus event.
Conclusion
For the month of August 2024, RBC is offering a 15% transfer bonus from Avion Rewards to American Airlines AAdvantage miles.
For every 10 Avion points which are converted, you’ll receive 8.05 American Airlines AAdvantage miles, which means the conversion rate improves from 1:0.7 to 1:0.805.
This is a very exciting offer, and one we haven’t seen between RBC Avion and American Airlines AAdvantage in a while! If you stand to benefit, be sure to take advantage of the transfer bonus before August 31, 2024.