Get 20% More Value Redeeming Avion Points at RBC Direct Investing

Until July 31, 2026, RBC is offering 20% more value when you redeem Avion Rewards points toward contributions in an RBC Direct Investing account. During the promotion, points are worth a full 1 cent each, up from the usual 0.83 cents.

This is a corner of Avion that many collectors don't even know exists. You've always been able to turn points into investment contributions, just at a rate that rarely made it worth a second look.

And if you're wondering why you'd pick investments over a flight, sometimes life simply gets in the way. When travel drops off the calendar, extra cash or a growing investment account might do you more good than a business class seat.

How the Promotion Works

The mechanics are simple. You'll need an RBC Direct Investing account and an RBC credit card that earns Avion points, and from there you can convert points into a cash contribution or put them toward trade commissions.

During the promotion, the rates improve across the board.

Redemption	Regular Rate	Until July 31, 2026
$100 cash contribution	12,000 points	10,000 points
$9.95 trade commission	~1,200 points	995 points
Minimum redemption	3,000 points	2,500 points

Contributions can flow into an RRSP, TFSA, FHSA, RESP, or a personal non-registered cash account, all in Canadian dollars. Everything runs through the RBC Direct Investing website or mobile app, and trades need to settle by August 4, 2026.

This isn't a one-off, either. RBC typically brings this promotion back about twice a year, so it's worth keeping on your radar even after the current window closes.

I took the flow for a spin in my own account, and the improved pricing shows up right in the transfer screen. From my RBC ION+ Visa, $100 prices at an even 10,000 points.

One housekeeping note. Anything you push into a registered account counts as a contribution, so make sure you actually have the room before you redeem.

Avion's Cash Floor Gets a Boost

What really caught my eye here isn't the 20% bump. It's that this promotion quietly patches Avion's biggest weakness.

Scene+ points cash out at 1 cent apiece on everything from groceries to travel, and Amex Membership Rewards can cover card purchases at the same rate. Avion has never had a clean 1-cent escape hatch of its own, with financial redemptions at 0.83 cents and even less on gift cards or paying down your card balance.

What's different for the month is the clean 1-cent rate. And instead of a statement credit vanishing into your spending, the dollars land in an investment account where they have a chance to grow.

That framing matters more than it used to. With banks falling over themselves to court wealthier clients, plenty of points collectors are thinking as much about building assets as they are about burning balances on trips.

Is This a Good Deal?

The short answer is that it depends entirely on whether you'll fly.

Redeemed against the Air Travel Redemption Schedule, Avion points stretch as far as 2.33 cents each. Holders of the RBC® Avion Visa Infinite Privilege^† or a business Avion card also get a flat 2 cents per point on business and first class fares.

Run the numbers on a 60,000-point balance and the gap is stark. Through this promotion, those points become a $600 contribution. Redeemed well against the flight schedule, the same points can cover up to $1,400 in airfare.

So no, 1 cent per point isn't a value play. It's a liquidity play, trading peak value for certainty and for dollars that work for you instead of sitting in a program you might not use.

It also beats the slow bleed of doing nothing. Points only ever lose value as programs devalue, while a contribution at least gets the chance to compound.

Who Should Take Advantage?

If you've got a trip on the horizon, skip this one entirely. Book the flight, collect your 2 cents and up per point, and don't look back.

This promotion is built for everyone else. Maybe you're sitting on a pile of Avion points with no travel plans in sight, or you've decided this is a savings year rather than a spending one. Parents topping up an RESP get a nice angle here, too.

There's no rush to force it, either. Since this offer reliably comes back around, sitting out this window just means waiting for the next one.

As for getting the money back out, that depends on the account. A non-registered balance stays flexible, while RRSP and FHSA withdrawals carry their own rules, so a quick chat with a tax professional is worth it if you're unsure how this fits your situation.

Conclusion

Of course, you'll still get the best value redeeming Avion points toward travel, and nothing about this promotion changes that. Think of it as another option in the toolkit rather than the new best play.

It's a slightly tricky one, too, since it isn't a direct cash redemption like a statement credit. Your points become a contribution rather than money in your pocket.

But that might be exactly the point. It nudges you to grow your investments instead of spending the cash, and if travel isn't in the cards right now, moving idle points into your TFSA at 1 cent each before July 31 is a perfectly reasonable way to put them to work.