This is RBC's flagship Avion card, and I read it as two cards in one: a simple earner at 1.25 Avion points per dollar on everything, and a premium travel package with lounge visits, airport fast-track lanes and unlimited emergency medical. I hold the entry-level Avion Visa Platinum, so the currency is familiar ground; the Privilege runs on the same Avion Rewards program with a bigger engine.
What sets it apart, to my eye, is the redemption side. Most Avion travel redeems at 1 cent per point (cpp), but business and first class flights redeem at 2 cpp, which changes the math on a 100,000-point offer if you like flying up front. The price of entry is steep, though: a $399 fee with no waiver and a $200,000 income requirement that rules out most households.
Welcome offer
RBC is advertising up to 100,000 Avion points on the Avion Visa Infinite Privilege for applications received by November 25, 2026, verified on RBC's page on October 13, 2026. 35,000 points post within 60 days of approval, 20,000 more follow once $5,000 in qualifying purchases or pre-authorized bill payments posts in the first 6 months, and the final 45,000 are a one-time anniversary bonus that posts 12 to 16 weeks after the account's first anniversary.
RBC values the 100,000 points at up to $2,000 in travel, based on a long-haul flight from its Air Travel Redemption Schedule, and adds the six lounge passes to reach its "value of up to $2,375" headline. Additional cardholders and existing RBC personal cardholders who switch into this card are not eligible, and closing or switching the account before the points post can forfeit them.
The spend tier is the easy part: $5,000 in 6 months is under $850 a month. The real decision is the anniversary bonus, because the account has to stay open past its first birthday for those 45,000 points to post, so plan on a second year of the $399 fee. If you would cancel after year one, read this as a 55,000-point offer.
Fees & eligibility
The card costs $399 a year with no first-year waiver, and each additional card is $99. As a Visa Infinite Privilege product it requires a personal income of $200,000 or a household income of $200,000, the same figure either way, and RBC notes that premium cards like this one can cost merchants more to accept.
The purchase rate is 20.99% and cash advances are 22.99% (21.99% for Quebec residents); RBC's terms treat balance transfers as cash advances. The product page does not advertise a foreign transaction fee waiver, so confirm the conversion fee in RBC's disclosures before using it abroad. As with any rewards card at this price, the value only holds up if you pay the balance in full every month.
Earning rewards
Earning is as simple as it gets: 1.25 Avion points per dollar on every qualifying purchase, with no categories to track, no caps and nothing to activate. At the standard 1 cpp travel rate that is a 1.25% return, and on business or first class redemptions at 2 cpp it works out to 2.5%.
The trade-off of a flat rate is that nothing earns more. Groceries, gas and dining all earn the same 1.25 points, so a household with heavy spending in those categories could out-earn this card with a category card. One small boost: linking the card to a Petro-Points account earns 20% more Avion points at Petro-Canada, along with 3 cents a litre off fuel.
Redeeming rewards
Avion Rewards has three strong ways to spend points. The baseline is travel booked through Avion Rewards at 1 cpp (100 points = $1), and points can also cover taxes and fees. Flights in business or first class redeem at 2 cpp (100 points = $2), which doubles the value of every point for anyone who books premium cabins.
The Air Travel Redemption Schedule prices flights in fixed points by destination, on any airline, with no blackouts: 15,000 points for a round trip within or to an adjacent province or U.S. state (maximum ticket price $350), 35,000 for long-haul flights within Canada and the U.S. (up to $750), and 100,000 for long-haul trips to Asia, Australia, the South Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and South America (up to $2,000). Taxes and fees are extra.
As an Avion Elite member you can also convert points to WestJet points, British Airways Avios, American Airlines AAdvantage miles or Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. Conversions are one-way and can take up to 4 weeks, and RBC's pages do not print the ratios, so check them in your Avion account before moving points. Gift cards, merchandise and paying down the card are also on the menu, but travel is where the program delivers.
Perks & benefits
The headline travel perk is 6 complimentary lounge visits per membership year through the Visa Airport Companion Program, run by DragonPass. Each cardholder on the account, authorized users included, enrols separately and gets their own 6 visits, which can be used for themselves or for guests travelling with them; extra visits cost $32 USD per person. RBC values the six passes at $375.
The rest of the list leans on Visa Infinite Privilege benefits: priority security lanes and dedicated parking at the Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa and Toronto Billy Bishop airports, the Visa Infinite Hotel Collection at 900+ properties, a free GigSky data plan (1 GB for 15 days, twice a year), Troon golf status and a 24/7 concierge. A 12-month DashPass subscription and Petro-Canada fuel savings cover the everyday side. What the page does not offer at this price: an annual travel credit, hotel or airline status, or a foreign transaction fee waiver.
Insurance
Insurance is the deepest part of the package. Emergency medical has no dollar cap and covers the first 31 days of a trip if you are under 65 (7 days at 65 and older), with top-ups available for longer trips. Trip cancellation pays up to $2,500 per person and trip interruption up to $5,000 per person, and both apply when the trip is paid with the card or with Avion points.
Around that sit flight delay (after 4 hours, up to $1,000 per occurrence), delayed and lost or stolen baggage, hotel burglary, rental car collision and loss damage on vehicles up to $85,000 MSRP for up to 48 days, and mobile device insurance up to $1,500 per claim. Purchase security runs 120 days and extended warranty triples the manufacturer's warranty, up to 2 extra years. The pre-existing condition rule needs 90 days of stability before departure (180 days at 75 and older), so read the certificate if that applies to you.
My take
I'd get this card if you clear the $200,000 income bar and fly business class often enough to use the 2 cpp rate; if not, I'd look at the $120 Avion Visa Infinite first.
The flat 1.25x earn and the 2 cpp premium-cabin rate are the two numbers that matter. Together they turn every dollar of spending into 2.5 cents of business class travel without juggling categories, and the 100,000-point offer goes a long way at that rate. Add unlimited emergency medical, $2,500 trip cancellation and mobile device cover, and I can see this card standing in for a separate travel policy on many trips.
Where I'd hesitate is the fee against RBC's own cheaper card. The $120 Avion Visa Infinite also earns Avion points with airline conversions, so the extra $279 a year buys 1.25x on everything instead of 1x, six lounge visits, the larger insurance package and the premium-cabin rate. If you'd redeem at 1 cpp in economy anyway, that gap is hard to close, and an offer this anniversary-heavy means budgeting for two years of fees.
The good
- Business and first class redeem at 2 cpp, so 1.25x works out to 2.5%
- Unlimited emergency medical, $2,500 trip cancellation and $1,500 mobile cover
- 6 lounge visits a year for each cardholder
The catch
- $399 fee with no waiver and a $200,000 income bar
- Flat 1.25x means no bonus on groceries, gas or dining
- 45,000 of the 100,000 points need a second year on the card