RBC ION and ION+ Offers: Get Up to $125 in Value

RBC® has just launched new welcome offers available on the RBC® ION Visa and the RBC® ION+ Visa cards.

Both cards offer elevated earning rates on many common daily expenses, which can be very useful as part of your overall RBC Avion Rewards strategy, as we’ll explore in detail below.

Let’s take a look at the offers and examine the many reasons why these cards should make their way into your wallet to optimize your RBC credit card strategy.

RBC® ION+ Visa: Get Up to $125 in Groceries

The current welcome bonus on the RBC® ION+ Visa is 14,000 Avion points upon approval, which is valued at up to $100 in gift cards.

You’ll also receive 3,125 Moi Rewards points, which is worth up to $25 in groceries, when you link your card to Moi Rewards, a loyalty program from Metro that allows you to earn and redeem points at stores like Metro, Food Basics, Super C, and Jean Coutu.

Moi points can be redeemed in $1 increments, starting at just 500 points for $4 off your grocery bill

The earning rates on the RBC® ION+ Visa are as follows:

  • Earn 3 Avion points per dollar spent on qualifying grocery, dining, food delivery, gas, rideshare, daily public transit, electric vehicle charging, streaming, digital gaming, and digital subscriptions
  • Earn 1 Avion point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases

For a small $4 monthly fee,† which adds up to $48 per year,† there’s also a basic set of insurance coverage, including mobile device insurance, purchase security, and extended warranty.

The earning categories are nearly identical to the lower-tier RBC® ION Visa; however, the ION+ offers up to 3 Avion points per dollar spent on many daily essentials, which is double the rate of the ION card.

Moreover, the additional elevated earnings categories on the ION+ also encompass dining and food delivery.

Between the RBC® ION Visa and the RBC® ION+ Visa, you’ll want to pick the ION+ if you spend a lot on groceries, dining, food delivery, gas, transportation, streaming, digital gaming, and digital subscriptions, since you’ll earn 3 Avion points per dollar spent instead of 1.5x on the RBC® ION Visa.

There is no minimum income requirement to apply for the RBC® ION+ Visa,and this offer is valid until June 11, 2025.

RBC® ION Visa: Get Up to $75 in Groceries

The RBC® ION Visa is a no annual fee alternative offering 7,000 Avion points† as a welcome bonus upon approval, which is valued at up to $50 in gift cards†.

You’ll also earn 3,125 Moi Rewards points† when linked to your Moi account, which can be redeemed for up to $25 in groceries† at participating retailers like Metro, Food Basics, and more.

The card’s earning rates are as follows:

  • Earn 1.5 Avion points per dollar spent on qualifying grocery, gas, rideshare, daily public transit, electric vehicle charging, streaming, digital gaming and digital subscriptions
  • Earn 1 Avion point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases

This no-fee credit card is targeted towards casual travellers who spend a fair amount on rideshares, transit, streaming, and video games. In fact, it’s the only card to target spending in some of these categories, and will likely appeal to younger individuals who wish to earn flexible travel rewards.

The insurance coverage on the RBC® ION Visa is basic, which is fully expected on entry-level cards such as this one.

There is no minimum income requirement to apply for the RBC® ION Visa,and this offer is valid until June 11, 2025.

How to Use Avion Points from RBC® ION Cards

As a cardholder of the RBC® ION Visa or the RBC® ION+ Visa, you’ll enjoy membership in the Avion Rewards program at the Premium tier. Meanwhile, if you’re a cardholder of the RBC® Avion Visa Infinite, the RBC® Avion Visa Platinum, or RBC Avion® Visa Infinite Privilege, you’ll enjoy membership in the Avion Rewards program at the Elite tier.

Premium members can’t transfer Avion points to three of the four airline partners available through the Avion Rewards program. The exception is WestJet Rewards, to which Avion points can be transferred at a rate of 1:1 (100 Avion points = 100 WestJet points).

Furthermore, 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 Canada, up to a certain maximum ticket price.

Instead, Premium members are limited to using Avion points at a flat rate of 0.58 cents per point (cpp) for travel booked via Avion Rewards, which is less valuable than the 1cpp redemption rate that you get from holding a higher-tier Avion card.

Luckily, if you also hold an Avion credit card, such as the RBC® Avion Visa Infinite or the RBC® Avion Visa Platinum†, you can transfer Avion points earned from your ION product into Avion points at the Elite tier at a 1:1 ratio between your different cards.

Therefore, the Avion points you earn from either of the ION cards can still be converted into more powerful Avion points, as long as you also have an eligible Avion credit card (and therefore enjoy Elite membership in the Avion Rewards program).

RBC Avion Credit Cards
Credit Card Best Offer Value
55,000 RBC Avion points†
$120 annual fee
55,000 RBC Avion points† $1,080 Apply Now
55,000 RBC Avion points†
$120 annual fee
55,000 RBC Avion points† $1,080 Apply Now
Up to 70,000 RBC Avion points† $826 Apply Now
35,000 RBC Avion points $700 Apply Now
35,000 RBC Avion points
$120 annual fee
35,000 RBC Avion points $580 Apply Now

What’s more, if you ever decide to upgrade your ION or ION+ card to one of the RBC Avion cards, any points you’ve collected will be upgraded as well.

Then, you’ll be able to access higher-value travel redemptions that are exclusive to Avion cardholders: all four frequent flyer partner programs, the Air Travel Redemption Schedule, and the ability to redeem points directly against travel at 1cpp.

Indeed, this is what we like to call “The Optimized RBC Credit Card Portfolio,” since you can leverage the elevated earning rates on the ION family of cards with the more powerful redemption opportunities with the Avion family of cards.

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.

Conclusion

The RBC® ION Visa and RBC® ION+ Visa cards have elevated welcome offers for 7,000 and 14,000 RBC Avion points, respectively, worth up to $50 and $100 in gift cards.

In addition, both cards come with a bonus of 3,125 Moi Rewards points, worth up to $25 in groceries when you link your card to your Moi Rewards account.

The RBC® ION Visa and RBC® ION+ Visa not only fill a useful supporting role to the greater RBC® Avion portfolio, but also stand out on their own as unique product offerings to hold long-term.

The current welcome bonuses are great across the board, and you can upgrade both the new cards to a more premium Avion card anytime you wish to take advantage of RBC Avion’s excellent transfer partners.

These offers are valid until June 11, 2025, so be sure to apply before then and give your Avion Rewards balance a meaningful boost.

This offer only applies to new applications for an RBC ION Visa or RBC ION+ Visa credit card submitted through rbc.com/moirewards by June 11, 2025 (“Offer Period”) and approved by Royal Bank of Canada (“Royal Bank”), subject to the conditions below. Additional cardholders(s) (co-applicant and authorized user(s)) on the RBC ION Visa or RBC ION+ Visa credit card account, as well as existing cardholders on any RBC Royal Bank personal credit card transferring to an RBC ION Visa or RBC ION+ Visa credit card during the Offer Period, are not eligible for this offer.

To get $25 worth of gift cards/certificates, you will need a total of 3,500 Avion points, based on a redemption of 3,500 Avion points for most $25 gift cards/certificates. Some exceptions apply. Point redemption values may fluctuate. For general redemption terms, conditions and restrictions that apply to the Avion Rewards program, as well as for current point redemption values, please visit https://www.avionrewards.com/terms-and-conditions.html or call 1-800-769-2512. 

To be eligible to receive 3,125 Moi points (“Bonus Moi points”), your application for the RBC ION Visa or RBC ION+ Visa must be submitted through rbc.com/moirewards by June 11, 2025 (“Offer Period”) and be approved by us, and you must link your new RBC ION Visa or RBC ION+ Visa to your Moi card within 30 days from the date your credit card application has been approved. Additional cardholder(s) (co-applicant and authorized users(s)), as well as existing RBC personal credit card cardholders, applying for or transferring to the RBC ION Visa or RBC ION+ Visa as of the Offer Period, are not eligible for this offer. To link your new RBC ION Visa or RBC ION+ Visa to your Moi account, you must be enrolled in RBC Online Banking or the RBC Mobile app. Card linking may take up to 2 business days to process. Please allow up to 2-9 weeks for the Bonus Moi points to be awarded to your linked Moi account. This offer may not be combined or used in conjunction with any other offer, with the exception of offers available on rbc.com/moirewards. Offer may be amended or withdrawn without notice at any time, prior to your acceptance. For complete details, including the definition of the capitalized terms used in the disclosures below, please see full Terms and Conditions. 

4 Comments
  1. Ruddy YQB

    Thanks Christropher. That is good to know! However, the article does not mention EV charging as a 3x earning in the section on the ION+ card.

  2. Ruddy YQB

    Do the ION+ cards earn 3 points per dollar spent on electric vehicle charging? If not, they are below the ION cards for that type of expenses.

    1. christopher

      The ION card earns 1.5x per $1 spent on EV charging while the ION+ earns 3x. So the ION+ is better for EV Charging expenses

      1. Ruddy YQB

        Thanks, Christopher. That is good to know. My question was because the article does not mention EV charging expenses as yielding a 3x earning in the section related to the ION+ card. Maybe that should be made more precise.

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