One of the best ways to redeem CIBC Aventura Points is by applying them to purchases made directly with travel vendors. This comes in handy for booking independent hotels, cruises, or anything else that you can’t book with other points currencies.
Previously, cardholders could redeem Aventura Points for 0.625 cents per point (cpp) against any travel purchase, or 8,000 points for every $50 (all figures in CAD) of credit. In 2022, CIBC doubled that rate to 1.25cpp or 8,000 points for every $100 of credit, and has extended it a few times since.
Fortunately, CIBC has now extended the promotional redemption rate indefinitely, which is great news for anyone looking to redeem Aventura Points for flexible travel purchases.
Redeem CIBC Aventura Points for 1.25 Cents Per Point
On an ongoing basis, all CIBC Aventura cardholders can redeem Aventura Points for 1.25 cents per point (cpp) towards any and all travel purchases. The points are converted into a statement credit, which offsets the cost of your purchase.
This promotion is essentially a 100% bonus from the previous standard rate when redeeming Aventura Points for a statement credit towards travel purchases.
In other words, the value of each Aventura point has been doubled, which works out to 1.25 cents per Aventura Point redeemed, or a ratio of 8,000 Aventura Point for every $100 (CAD) of statement credit.
Your purchase must code as travel in order to redeem Aventura points at this improved ratio, and the purchase must also be made in Canadian dollars in order to qualify.
When it comes time to redeem points at their maximum value, CIBC requires you to complete a three-step process:
- Purchase travel with your CIBC Aventura credit card
- Find the pending transaction
- Redeem your points for the pending transaction
The first step is the easiest of the three. You can book flights, vacation packages, cruises, hotels, car rentals, tours, trains, limousines, and any other travel.
You aren’t required to book through a specific channel, such as any particular online travel agency or the bank’s in-house CIBC Travel Rewards Centre. Rather, you can use any method that you’d like; just be sure to use your CIBC Aventura credit card for the purchase.
| Credit Card | Best Offer | Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
45,000 CIBC Aventura Points†
$139 annual fee
|
45,000 CIBC Aventura Points† | $600 | Apply Now |
45,000 CIBC Aventura Points†
$139 annual fee
|
45,000 CIBC Aventura Points† | $600 | Apply Now |
Up to 80,000 CIBC Aventura Points
$499 annual fee
|
Up to 80,000 CIBC Aventura Points | $420 | Apply Now |
60,000 CIBC Aventura points
$120 annual fee
|
60,000 CIBC Aventura points | $313 | Apply Now |
|
10,000 CIBC Aventura Points† | $125 | Apply Now |
The second step is the most important of the three: you can only redeem Aventura points for 1.25cpp while the transaction is still pending.
This means that if the transaction has already posted to your account, you’re too late. However, as long as you find the pending transaction and apply points to it before it posts, you’re in luck.
To find your pending transactions, simply head to CIBC Mobile Banking or CIBC Online Banking. Your pending travel transactions should appear within your transaction history shortly after making the purchase.
If you can’t find a pending transaction, you may need to check back every so often, as it may take a day or two before it appears.
Once you’ve located the pending transaction, the final step is to apply your Aventura Points towards the travel purchase to benefit from the elevated 1.25cpp value.
Select the travel purchase from within your pending transactions, and then click “Redeem with Points”.
If your purchase is an eligible travel transaction, the 1.25cpp value will be automatically calculated.
You should be redeeming 8,000 Aventura points for every $100 you’re paying off. If you notice that something’s incorrect with the redemption value, the purchase likely doesn’t qualify as travel, or it wasn’t made in Canadian dollars.
Note that the requested amount must be equal to or lesser than your Aventura Points balance. If everything works out well, you’ll see a credit posted on your account under “Shopping with Points”.
Should You Redeem Aventura For 1.25 Cents Each?
The ongoing ability to redeem CIBC Aventura Points against any travel purchase for 1.25cpp is outstanding, and puts CIBC a step above all other fixed-value points programs with other Canadian banks, such as TD Rewards, Scene+, and BMO Rewards.
Prior to this promotion, redeeming CIBC Aventura Points directly for a statement credit yielded a ratio of 8,000 Aventura points for a $50 statement credit, or a value of 0.625cpp. Previously, one of the best ways to redeem Aventura Points for optimal value was via the CIBC Rewards Travel Centre, which is CIBC’s own in-house travel portal, which resulted in a value of 1cpp.
For the most part, 1cpp is the going rate for redeeming fixed-value points, and CIBC’s promotional rate of 1.25cpp outperforms that by a full 25%.
Before CIBC Aventura’s current promotion, Scene+ was the fixed-value points program of choice for most Canadians, since you can redeem points for a statement credit at a value of 1cpp against any travel purchase.
With the ongoing extension of the increased redemption rate for travel booked any way, CIBC Aventura remains as the most valuable way to offset your travel expenses with fixed-value points.
Keep in mind that this isn’t the only, or possibly the most valuable, way to redeem Aventura Points.
Using the Aventura Airline Rewards Chart, you can get up to 2.29 cents per Aventura Point if you max out the redemption value by finding a base fare at the maximum price listed for each destination.
However, squeezing this extra value out of your points can be cumbersome, as you have to shop around for fares that don’t exceed the maximum permitted value.
It’s also possible to redeem Aventura points for gift cards, merchandise, financial products, statement credits, and even experiences, but you’ll be getting inferior value from your points if you choose to do so.
Conclusion
On an ongoing basis, CIBC Aventura cardholders can redeem Aventura Points towards a statement credit directly against any travel purchases at a rate of 1.25 cents per point.
Indeed, the ability to book any travel and redeem Aventura points at 1.25cpp is the most flexible way to get the travel you want and redeem points against the purchase, and makes CIBC Aventura credit cards that much more enticing.
Be sure to take advantage of the promotional rate either by redeeming Aventura Points you already have or adding a CIBC Aventura credit card to your portfolio.
Looks like they terminated this promo early? I’ve been trying to redeem some of the points this week and it looked like they tuned it back down to the old redemption rate at 0.625 cent per point without any prior communication… Also called the customer support and got connected to an agent who didn’t seem to know anything about this. Very disappointed.
Just to confirm, the charges were still pending when you tried to redeem for 1.25 CPP? This only works while the charges are pending – before they post to the account.
Ofc, the charge is in pending and but redemption drops back to the old rate. Had successfully redeemed some points at the 1.25 cpp promo rate a while back but looks like not now.
Is there any way you can know what travel sites will charge the “travel merchant code before you start the transaction? I.e Air Canada Vacations or Tripcental? Booking.com?
I don’t know if there’s a way to tell that before the transaction actually goes through. But I guess if you really want to make sure, you can book a refundable dummy reservation before the actual trip to see how it will turn out
Edit: Found out the reason. My latest expedia.ca booking has been routed and charged by their sub-brand “Vrbo”, and apparently they do not merchant-code their transactions as travel purchases. What a bummer 🙁
The “Redeem with Points” button does not appear for me. I also book Expedia and have more than enough points for the transaction. Any ideas?
Did your CIBC app prompt you to use your points the moment your transaction was made? Also, as you know you can only “redeem with points” when that transaction is is pending. Once it’s posted, it doesnt work anymore. If so, then I suggest you to cancel that refundable trip you booked and try again with another one. This time pay close attention to when your app prompt you to use this feature, if not, go to your transaction right away
Thanks for the suggestions. My Expedia hotel transaction is still in pending and the “Redeem with Points” button has still not showed up almost 24 hours later. I am guessing there might be some bug and it will never show up. I guess will have to just cancel and try again.
When it works, that button appear right away, there must be an error somewhere. Hope your next try works
Great info thanks
Do you know what happens if I end up refunding my travel booking a few months later? Will i just get the $ credit reinstated or will it affect my points somehow?
sorry for the late reply. The refund will be in $ and not in points 🙂