RBC Avion points: 50% bonus when transferring to BA. Starts again Mar 1/2007

[growler]

It's on again...

http://www.ba.com/avion50

RBC Rewards® points x 1.5 BA Miles = any of the above.

When you convert your RBC Rewards points to British Airways (BA) Miles between March 1 and April 30, 2007, you’ll receive a 50% bonus and be that much closer to your next vacation. For example, just 37,000 RBC Rewards points will give you enough BA Miles to fly round-trip to London or select cities in Europe in World TravellerSM economy class.


I've taken advantage of this offer before and it's well worth it for anyone travelling to Europe.

[bubble.tea]

Can you kindly explain what exactly this is? and how it works?

Do you need an Air Miles Card for this? do you loose your RBC Avion points in doing this?

[Analyst]

You need to look at how much it takes to redeem for a flight. For example, a flight from Canada to Japan is 120,000 in economy. First class is 3x. :mad: When I used American Airlines points, I flew from Canada to HK/Japan in FIRST CLASS for 120,000. :D

For Avion, you are better off getting the ticket directly through their travel program than exchange it to BA. If it was to AA, the it would be a deal, but they are no longer partners with Avion anymore. Too bad, as they were the best ones to transfer to.

[milhaus]

Actually, I flew through BA points via Cathay to Hong Kong from Toronto for 60K points. Perhaps you should read the details more closely, as it sounds like you got jobbed.

[b1uesphere]

You need to look at how much it takes to redeem for a flight. For example, a flight from Canada to Japan is 120,000 in economy. First class is 3x. :mad: When I used American Airlines points, I flew from Canada to HK/Japan in FIRST CLASS for 120,000. :D

For Avion, you are better off getting the ticket directly through their travel program than exchange it to BA. If it was to AA, the it would be a deal, but they are no longer partners with Avion anymore. Too bad, as they were the best ones to transfer to.

Obviously, you didn't really look into their program. I'm sorry you wasted all you points by transferring to AA, because AA is BA's partner! :lol:

It's 120,000 only if you fly on BA to Asia. It will cost a lot less points if you use their partners. To fly to Asia, you can fly with Cathay and JAL. From Vancouver to HK, only costs me 50,000.

With this really sweet 50% promotion, 50000 points only costs me 33333 Avion points to fly to Asia.

Thanks OP! I've been waiting for this deal. Last year, it started in October...a month late this year.

[ecgz88]

I check Asian Miles website, it costs 60,000 Asian Miles for Vancouver to HongKong Roundtrip. But I can't fingure out how to transfer BA miles to Asian Miles. Can you point out? Thanks!:)


Obviously, you didn't really look into their program. I'm sorry you wasted all you points by transferring to AA, because AA is BA's partner! :lol:

It's 120,000 only if you fly on BA to Asia. It will cost a lot less points if you use their partners. To fly to Asia, you can fly with Cathay and JAL. From Vancouver to HK, only costs me 50,000.

With this really sweet 50% promotion, 50000 points only costs me 33333 Avion points to fly to Asia.

Thanks OP! I've been waiting for this deal. Last year, it started in October...a month late this year.

[bcti]

I think you just book the flight through BA on the other airline using their partnership. For example I went last sept to hawii on AA Booking with BA for 35000 points the taxes were something like $55 and that included a 20$ fee for booking through a live agent. I plan on transfering about 80000 points this go around. One disadvantage I found is that when you could book with aa points transfer you could go say from calgary to cleaveland, cleaveland to pheonix, pheonix to calgary all for 25000 points. When booking on aa through ba you could not do the cleaveland to pheonix part but could do the rest... although with the 50 percent bonus it is actually pretty close ie 37500 miles/1.5=25000 real dollars spent ok actually the same I guess. I really like my avion card for the points transfer... I have yet to book a ticket through avion.

[gmark2000]

Analyst was talking out of his ass. This is one of the best travel points deals going in Canada.

The trouble for my wife and I is that we now have 600,000 BA miles between the two of us and we need to just find the time (and the childcare) to take a trip in our busy schedules.

Here's the previous threads about this deal in 2005 and 2004:
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=207518
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=230060
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103367

[guessguy]

I'll take advantage of this offer once again. 37K gets me to Europe + taxes, Beats Aerogold.

[Rehan]

1) Is this only for RBC Avion VISA? Or are RBC Rewards from other cards also eligible for the bonus?
2) Do BA points expire?

[Manchungster]

I remeber it was hard to get into the Executive program the last time, I think you needed to have flown on BA in their first class or business class sections. Just tried it to see what requirements are and it's that or you need to apply for a Royal BA Visa card. Anyone know any other way to get enroll into the executive club without either of those two options.

[airplay]

Enrolling is easy. Just folo the links and fill out a form. I have used this in the past to go to Europe on BA and US on Alaska and American. It's a fantastic deal and the bonus is that when you call BA to book a flight, they don't keep you on hold forever like our fav "national" airline does.

[hoob]

Enrolling is easy. Just folo the links and fill out a form. I have used this in the past to go to Europe on BA and US on Alaska and American. It's a fantastic deal and the bonus is that when you call BA to book a flight, they don't keep you on hold forever like our fav "national" airline does.

The linked enrolling procedure requires an existing BA flight or booking, or an application to the RBC BA VISA card, to continue with the application. ANy way around it?

[Manchungster]

The linked enrolling procedure requires an existing BA flight or booking, or an application to the RBC BA VISA card, to continue with the application. ANy way around it?

Yep, that was what I was wondering as well. I missed the first few times I don't want to do that again. :confused:

[Analyst]

Analyst was talking out of his ass. This is one of the best travel points deals going in Canada.

The trouble for my wife and I is that we now have 600,000 BA miles between the two of us and we need to just find the time (and the childcare) to take a trip in our busy schedules.

Here's the previous threads about this deal in 2005 and 2004:
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=207518
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=230060
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103367


You check it out for yourself. That is what the chart says and this calculator.

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/ecredeemcalculator/public/en_ca

[Analyst]

Obviously, you didn't really look into their program. I'm sorry you wasted all you points by transferring to AA, because AA is BA's partner! :lol:

It's 120,000 only if you fly on BA to Asia. It will cost a lot less points if you use their partners. To fly to Asia, you can fly with Cathay and JAL. From Vancouver to HK, only costs me 50,000.

With this really sweet 50% promotion, 50000 points only costs me 33333 Avion points to fly to Asia.

Thanks OP! I've been waiting for this deal. Last year, it started in October...a month late this year.


I know that AA and BA are partners, but it really makes a difference who's points you are using. It costs that many points when you use BA points, no matter who you fly on. When you use AA points, you need less points. I don't think there is a tranfer of points from BA to AA. You can get the flight from either partner, but depending which one you book from will determine how much you need.

[growler]

1) Is this only for RBC Avion VISA? Or are RBC Rewards from other cards also eligible for the bonus?
2) Do BA points expire?

I received the notice about the exchange in my RBC Visa Gold Preferred statement. So, I know that the exchange can be done for that card and the Visa Platinum Avion.

Do BA points expire? Yes, if you don't earn or redeem miles in a 36 month period, they expire. The RBC to BA miles exchange once a year resets the 36 month clock. So, continue to do it year after year.

I think that the 50% exchange is a plus. As stated earlier, the round trip points using BA miles to the UK is 50K (Traveller, coach), 100K (Club, Business), 150K (First). For 75K (Traveller Plus), you do get a slightly wider seat, more leg room, and the seat reclines back ever so silghtly more.

I've flown all four classes with BA from YVR<->LHR. Personally, First is just over the top because I really don't like to get pampered. Traveller Plus isn't much different than Traveller. BA's business class is the best of the four classes for me. I especially appreciate the service, the room, and the fact that the seats fold flat. Really good on those long haul trips as I always managed to get some sleep. Also, when you book club, you get access to the BA lounges. It's 'fair' in Vancouver, but, the Heathrow and Charles de Gaulle lounges are very nice. My wife also likes the fact that she can access the Molton Brown travel spa at Heathrow.

[Peachfuzz]

For this 50% transfer bonus, I noticed in the Terms & Conditions that it says "all bonus miles awards made during the promotional period must be claimed by June 30, 2007".

Does this mean that if I transfer my AVION points to BA for the 50% bonus, I must book a trip with those points by June 30, 2007... or else I will lose those bonus points?

Because I wanted to make the transfer to BA now, and save those points to redeem later in 2008. Can anybody clarify?

[Peachfuzz]

I scoured the Expired Deals forum and found the answer, sorry guys.

For those interested, you don't have to book a flight by that date. It's only a deadline for you to notify BA if your bonus points haven't posted to your Executive Club account.

[b1uesphere]

For this 50% transfer bonus, I noticed in the Terms & Conditions that it says "all bonus miles awards made during the promotional period must be claimed by June 30, 2007".

Does this mean that if I transfer my AVION points to BA for the 50% bonus, I must book a trip with those points by June 30, 2007... or else I will lose those bonus points?

Because I wanted to make the transfer to BA now, and save those points to redeem later in 2008. Can anybody clarify?

They said that last year too. It's a very unclear statement. Just means that you have till June to make sure that your account has been credited with the bonus points.

See this old post:
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2277147&postcount=19

[b1uesphere]

You check it out for yourself. That is what the chart says and this calculator.

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/ecredeemcalculator/public/en_ca

Yes, I've looked at that chart before. That's for claiming for a BA flight.

For their partners, there is another chart. The seemed to have taken it off their website or moved it somewhere else.

BA Partner Redemption chart (http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:7vFEqxoBzDUJ:www.britishairways.com/travel/ba6.jsp/ecredeemprtnrtable/public/en_cz+ecredeemprtnrtable&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1)

As you call see, it only costed my 50,000 BA points (33,333 Avion points) to go from Vancouver to Asia! Sorry to hear that you could have gotten 4 flights to Asia instead of your First Class AA ticket...hope it was good.


For AA, when I went to Florida last year, it cost be only 25,000 BA points (16,666 Avion points). I'm not sure how much AA themselves charge, but I'm sure it can't be less than that!

[tkddad]

As someone has already mentioned, this is a good
deal since AA is a partner with BA.

Last year, I transferred 66,667 RBC points to BA and
then used the 100,000 BA points to book 4
tickets with BA at 25,000 each to California on AA.

Each ticket would have been 30,000 RBC points
if you book them with RBC.

[Rehan]

For their partners, there is another chart. The seemed to have taken it off their website or moved it somewhere else.

BA Partner Redemption chart (http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:7vFEqxoBzDUJ:www.britishairways.com/travel/ba6.jsp/ecredeemprtnrtable/public/en_cz+ecredeemprtnrtable&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1) ... or changed the way points are used on partner airlines? Now, according to the "Spending your BA Miles on partner airline flights" section at http://www.britishairways.com/travel/ecredeemlanding/public/en_cz , the 12750-mile trip from YVR to Hong Kong and back will cost 90,000 BA miles. And Vancouver to Orlando on a partner airline would be 60,000 BA miles.

[llcooljayce]

This sounds like an amazing deal and it seems to happen every year ... is that the sense you guys get?

Also, does BA fly out of YYC (Calgary)?

[MikeyP]

Hmmm.. so something like Hali->Orlando would be 30,000 BA points, which would mean I need to transfer 20,000 Avion points?.. or is my math iffy? I was hoping it was still 25,000 BA/AA points for a flight. Still cheaper than Avion I suppose!
-M

[MikeNet]

... or changed the way points are used on partner airlines? Now, according to the "Spending your BA Miles on partner airline flights" section at http://www.britishairways.com/travel/ecredeemlanding/public/en_cz , the 12750-mile trip from YVR to Hong Kong and back will cost 90,000 BA miles. And Vancouver to Orlando on a partner airline would be 60,000 BA miles.

Hmm. I don't remember if I've seen that "new" chart before or if it is the same. But I think that chart is if you needed to use TWO or more partner airlines to reach your destination. Hopefully the 50,000 to HK from YVR is still valid for single partner redemption. Anybody wanna call the call centre? :)

[kazooclown]

For this of you who won't or don't want to use them,


I will pay 1.5 cents US/each for avion points transfered to my BA account- in quantities of 50k or more

PM me for details on how we'd do this.

[Manchungster]

So, I guess due to not flying on BA, does that mean I have to sign up for the BA VISA offered by Royal to get into the Executive Club. I'm hoping that there is another way to enroll without having a flight or VISA sign up. Any ideas guys?
Thanks

[flaming homer]

For this of you who won't or don't want to use them,


I will pay 1.5 cents US/each for avion points transfered to my BA account- in quantities of 50k or more

PM me for details on how we'd do this.
Wow, if you can figure out how to do this, then it would truly be a HOT deal.

I know they're a bit laxed in checking account names when transferring to/from Esso Extra, should I assume you're taking that route ?

[bcti]

So, I guess due to not flying on BA, does that mean I have to sign up for the BA VISA offered by Royal to get into the Executive Club. I'm hoping that there is another way to enroll without having a flight or VISA sign up. Any ideas guys?
Thanks

No flight needed no ba visa needed either.... just sign up for a ba executive club account and transfer your points from avion.

[Manchungster]

No flight needed no ba visa needed either.... just sign up for a ba executive club account and transfer your points from avion.

Yea, that's what I tried. However, to sign up to executive, it's two conditions for membership, VISA or qualifying flight. And I'm not keen on either, so was wondering if there is another way to get enrolled outside of these two methods at present.?

[southnam]

OKay so confused now. For all those like me who may be "dumb" I want to clarify.

1. You don't have have flown BA or have a BA Visa. But the link asks you for the info so how do you get around that?
2. How did you find the 50,000 points for Vancouver to HK. I've been trying to find Canada to HK or Vietnam or event Europe and it shows higher than you all said
3. When booking with AA or BA points, do you still have to pay the taxes and fuel charges etc...

[flaming homer]

2. How did you find the 50,000 points for Vancouver to HK. I've been trying to find Canada to HK or Vietnam or event Europe and it shows higher than you all said
3. When booking with AA or BA points, do you still have to pay the taxes and fuel charges etc...

You have to pay all taxes.

Try follow these charts:

Using BA miles on BA flights http://www.britishairways.com/travel/ba6.jsp/ecredeemtable/public/en_ca

Using BA miles on Oneworld partners - Distance based award http://www.britishairways.com/travel/ecredeemlanding/public/en_ca?prim=execclub

The one-partner award flight (which is what you'll need for 50K between Vancouver and Vietnam) seemed to have dissapeared from their web site. According to this post @ FlyerTalk http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6505180

A cached image can be found at http://66.249.93.104/search?q=cache:7vFEqxoBzDUJ:www.britishairways.com/travel/ba6.jsp/ecredeemprtnrtable/public/en_cz

List of countries: https://www.britishairways.com/travel/ba6.jsp/ecredeemzones/execclub/_gf/en_us

Lastly, don't forget the "ultimate" BA guide http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=582881

One way partner awards (except AA) is 50% of the published miles, this is a GREAT reward...

[-=MK=-]

One question I have is IF I switch over to BA points.....do they restrict or are there a limited amount of seats for BA/BA partner points users.

RBC has recently been advertising that there are NO seat restrictions for Avion members.

[growler]

One question I have is IF I switch over to BA points.....do they restrict or are there a limited amount of seats for BA/BA partner points users.

RBC has recently been advertising that there are NO seat restrictions for Avion members.

BA abolutely has a limited number of seats. I don't know what proportion is limited to 'air mile' passengers, but, I'd be surprised if they allowed more than 20% of passengers to fly on air mile points in one class. Case in point, I've been trying to change a few of my future flight from traveller class to club. Club is 'full'. However, if I were to pay cash, I know that there are at least 8 club seats available for one particular flight (because I can book 8 seats). They start to free up some seats to be bookable via air miles points as the flight date approaches. Problem is that the CS rep doesn't know when that occurs and there seems to be no set schedule.

RBC advertises that there are no seat restrictions, but, what they do is that they convert your points to cash. That is 1 point is equivalent to 1 cent. So, if the only seat on a plane is a full fare economy, that's what they book for you. And as you are aware, full fare economy is about 2x-3x the cost of a discounted economy seat. If they can book you a cheaper economy class, they will at the time of booking.

Booking BA flights using BA points is good if you can make your travel plans over 6 months in advance (One year if it's peak season). I use BA points to travel only on vacations and I plan vacations over a year in advance. So, that's why it works for me.

[bcti]

I have yet to book a ticket through avion.... I hate there whole 15000 points equals $350, 25000 points equals $750. One thing that I think is bad is that they put the short haul long haul restrictions on. I mean if I can find a flight from calgary to toronto for say $350 why should it matter if it is long haul. I guess one good thing about them is that you can book any flight. My friend booked a flight on a charter to europe and upgraded his seat to a better one because it was under the max dollar amount. Personally I prefer to the points transfer. It seems that any seat that is available on AA for reward is also available for BA. I flew to Hawaii last year with about 1 weeks notice for 35000 points which were really about 12000 dollars spent because of 1.5 bonus and 2X for the year. I also got a flight from calgary to sanjuan, pr to orlando back to calgary for 5 people at christmas for 35000 points each. The tickets at the time would have cost about $1600-1800. Another nice thing about using ba points is the taxes are so low... usually under $50 for sure. Compare that with "Airmiles" who want $100+ even for short haul.

[-=MK=-]

BA abolutely has a limited number of seats. I don't know what proportion is limited to 'air mile' passengers, but, I'd be surprised if they allowed more than 20% of passengers to fly on air mile points in one class. Case in point, I've been trying to change a few of my future flight from traveller class to club. Club is 'full'. However, if I were to pay cash, I know that there are at least 8 club seats available for one particular flight (because I can book 8 seats). They start to free up some seats to be bookable via air miles points as the flight date approaches. Problem is that the CS rep doesn't know when that occurs and there seems to be no set schedule.

RBC advertises that there are no seat restrictions, but, what they do is that they convert your points to cash. That is 1 point is equivalent to 1 cent. So, if the only seat on a plane is a full fare economy, that's what they book for you. And as you are aware, full fare economy is about 2x-3x the cost of a discounted economy seat. If they can book you a cheaper economy class, they will at the time of booking.

Booking BA flights using BA points is good if you can make your travel plans over 6 months in advance (One year if it's peak season). I use BA points to travel only on vacations and I plan vacations over a year in advance. So, that's why it works for me.

Thanks growler, I still think it's a great deal and I probably will take advantage of it. I just need to start planning my vacation early.

[hp]

I called BA, it is indeed 50K points to book flight from Canada to Hong Kong (Toronto) in my case. (Flying with Cathy Pacific)

The chart is only for reference, you have to call them to get actual points requirements.

25K to Vegas on AA.

So I think I will transfer my points again. Pretty pain less.

hp

[MikeNet]

Man, and I just closed my Avion acct in Sep. Had I known this was on again I would have left the rewards in limbo as they said I have 60 days after closing the account to use/redeem rather than transfer the RBC rewards to my other RBC Visa.

Any kind soul out there that has a Avion card willing to help if I transfer RBC reward points to you then transfer to my BA account? :)

:mad:

[b1uesphere]

Man, and I just closed my Avion acct in Sep. Had I known this was on again I would have left the rewards in limbo as they said I have 60 days after closing the account to use/redeem rather than transfer the RBC rewards to my other RBC Visa.

Any kind soul out there that has a Avion card willing to help if I transfer RBC reward points to you then transfer to my BA account? :)

:mad:

Why did you cancel? This is like the 4th straight year they've been offering this promo.

Just sign up for the Avion again. Maybe they can get you on that new customer promo with 10,000 points and 5,000 upon renewal. That would be sweet! :lol:

[MikeNet]

Why did you cancel? This is like the 4th straight year they've been offering this promo.

Just sign up for the Avion again. Maybe they can get you on that new customer promo with 10,000 points and 5,000 upon renewal. That would be sweet! :lol:

Nah, it was because of my finances (quit job in Aug. End of Sep would've been Avion annual fee). There was no attempt by the rep to "save" me and I didn't ask (probably because I told him why when he asked why I was canceling). :(

[the_OG]

My Aerogold expires in two months & cosidering switching to Avion. I've read in another post that the 10K sign up & 5K 1st year renewal offer ends Dec. 31/06. Is this the best sign-up deal for Avion?

Another poster mentioned a 10K sign-up and 2X points during 1st year offer. Was that last year's offer during same time period?

Doesn't Avion give a renewal bonus every year (maybe I'm confusing it when it was under the Canadian Airlines name... that card was way better than Aerogold because of that)?

One hesitation I have with Avion to BA/AA is that I don't live in either YVR or YYZ which I'm guessing to provide best value for such transfer & use.

[bcti]

10k and 5k is currently the best deal.

10k and 2x points was a couple years ago now.... was great best offer I ever saw.

standard renewal is 2500 points I believe.

BA points transfer works great for me in yyc for domestic flights. As long as you live where you can get on a aa flight you could use it for cheap us flights. I guess now calgary does have direct flight to heathrow. Also alaska air is another partner now if that works for you.


My Aerogold expires in two months & cosidering switching to Avion. I've read in another post that the 10K sign up & 5K 1st year renewal offer ends Dec. 31/06. Is this the best sign-up deal for Avion?

Another poster mentioned a 10K sign-up and 2X points during 1st year offer. Was that last year's offer during same time period?

Doesn't Avion give a renewal bonus every year (maybe I'm confusing it when it was under the Canadian Airlines name... that card was way better than Aerogold because of that)?

One hesitation I have with Avion to BA/AA is that I don't live in either YVR or YYZ which I'm guessing to provide best value for such transfer & use.

[IceMan77]

For those of you that weren't able to get a BA membership, you have to go to the AVION registration page on the BA site.

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/avionexcng/public/en_ca

Just enrolled, if you have issues, you might have to use a US address and then change it back.

[littlemonkey]

For anyone who had an RBC avion card and moved their points to AA (only till oct 31st), can now have a TD canada trust credit card that collects AA points. AA points and program is one of the best for reward travel. I have travelled to Toronto to Turkey and Toronto to Prague for 40,000 points. They have off-peak travel to Eurpoe from Oct-May. I transferred over 40,000 points from my RBC card in late oct to my aa account. I have cancelled my RBC avion card and just applied for a TD canada trust AA card.

[hp]

For anyone who had an RBC avion card and moved their points to AA (only till oct 31st), can now have a TD canada trust credit card that collects AA points. AA points and program is one of the best for reward travel. I have travelled to Toronto to Turkey and Toronto to Prague for 40,000 points. They have off-peak travel to Eurpoe from Oct-May. I transferred over 40,000 points from my RBC card in late oct to my aa account. I have cancelled my RBC avion card and just applied for a TD canada trust AA card.

Can you not just transfer to BA and book flight with AA using BA points? the 50% bonus is what makes Avion card great.

hp

[Keiichi]

I keep on getting a "Unfortunately, our systems are not responding......" error.

WTF...I've been trying this forever.

[Keiichi]

Wow...what a system..I switched my country to USA...and it worked like a charm. Now I switched my country back, after I registered....weird.

[Keiichi]

Hmm didn't see this earlier...but under terms and condition....it says

All bonus miles awards made during the promotional period must be claimed by June 30, 2007

That kinda sucks?

[milhaus]

Hmm didn't see this earlier...but under terms and condition....it says

All bonus miles awards made during the promotional period must be claimed by June 30, 2007

That kinda sucks?
Please try to read the entire thread.

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4039891&postcount=20

[jayk]

once you transfer to BA points can you transfer back to RBC or to Esso?

[eljay]

once you transfer to BA points can you transfer back to RBC or to Esso?

No. Check the FAQ under the BA link.

[littlemonkey]

Can you not just transfer to BA and book flight with AA using BA points? the 50% bonus is what makes Avion card great.

hp

it essentially works out the same. 40,000 avion points = 40,000 AA points (if you redeemed it by oct 31st) which gives you a flight to Europe. 40,000 avion points = 60,000 ba points which gives you a flight to Europe. The difference is, that you have to convert the avion points to ba miles during the bonus time to get the extra 20,000 points. With the new canada trust credit card, once you get 40,000 aa points you can book a trip to europe.

[flaming homer]

it essentially works out the same. 40,000 avion points = 40,000 AA points (if you redeemed it by oct 31st) which gives you a flight to Europe. 40,000 avion points = 60,000 ba points which gives you a flight to Europe. The difference is, that you have to convert the avion points to ba miles during the bonus time to get the extra 20,000 points. With the new canada trust credit card, once you get 40,000 aa points you can book a trip to europe.

You guys should realize with regards to Europe, you cannot redeem AA points for BA flight and vice versa. This applies to all trans-atlantic flights as a anti-monopoly gesture to the US government. You can, however, use AA points for flights onwards from Europe (Really, London)

So if you use AA points to fly from Canada to Europe, you must fly through the US - don't think Iberia services Canada yet, but one of the "new" Oneworld airline may...

[jayk]

I would be interested in using BA points to fly to Europe or maybe even Asia.

But you guys said that BA points are not great for flying cuz they are relatively more expensive, but that using partner airlines give you a lot more bang for the buck.

Do you guys think I should convert my RBC points to BA points?

Thanks

[cko64]

I called to have 66,667 Avion points convert to BA miles on Thursday. And by Saturday, the 100,000 BA miles already in my account. Now, that's fast, only took less than 3 days to convert.

[eljay]

I'm really contemplating doing this, but I'm worried about restrictions since I usually plan specific dates.

What are my chances of flying to London for New Year's Eve weekend with points?

[ezddrstyle]

To the person who figured out the USA address trick - THANK YOU!! I've been trying to register for an Executive Club membership for over a year (yes, I even tried last year but no luck)

[ezddrstyle]

Anyone use this to go to Australia (via partner redemption) - 80000 points, so only 53333 RBC points. How was seat availability? Did you have to book months in advance?

[atrinh]

My girlfriend has the Avion card, but I do not. If she books a ticket with her points and I buy a regular fare, would it be easy to be able to fly together?

Also, how many points are required to fly from Vancouver to Paris?

Thanks!

[hp]

My girlfriend has the Avion card, but I do not. If she books a ticket with her points and I buy a regular fare, would it be easy to be able to fly together?

Also, how many points are required to fly from Vancouver to Paris?

Thanks!

I am pretty sure your girl friend can get both of you a flight using her points.
The only restriction when it comes to booking ticket for specific person is when you sign up for the family program where you can combine points with different family members. In this case everyone has to live at the same address and their name has to be registered to the account. (You will need photo id to prove this when you fly)

hp

[dashi]

This deal is really hot, but i am not sure when Avion will stop dealing with British Airway or not allow BA points to be used for American Airline.

I transferred 300,000 points to BA and got 150,000 bonus.

I booked 2 flights from Toronto to Shanghai business class on American Airlines (economy was sold out) for 100,000 points each, total 200,000 points. I did have some trouble and the first agent didnt want to book me on AA, the 2nd agent had to verify with his supervisor before booking me into AA. She said for flights Originating in North America and to Asia, AA is allowed as well as North America domestic flights.

As long as BA and AA stay together, the points are valuable. Since I checked each business class ticket (YYZ to PVG) costs $7000US.

So 66,666 points/dollars spent basically get you a $7000US worth of ticket. Thats more than 10% return.....(around 12%)

As some of you might know, merchant normally gets charged around 2% for credit card processing. So even if you use the card at your own merchant, you are still winning!!!


Normally its only 50,000 points from YYZ-PVG for economy

[Manchungster]

To the person who figured out the USA address trick - THANK YOU!! I've been trying to register for an Executive Club membership for over a year (yes, I even tried last year but no luck)

Thanks to that poster as well, I've been racking my head trying to take advantage of this offer a few times now.

[torpc]

This deal is really hot, but i am not sure when Avion will stop dealing with British Airway or not allow BA points to be used for American Airline.

I transferred 300,000 points to BA and got 150,000 bonus.

I booked 2 flights from Toronto to Shanghai business class on American Airlines (economy was sold out) for 100,000 points each, total 200,000 points. I did have some trouble and the first agent didnt want to book me on AA, the 2nd agent had to verify with his supervisor before booking me into AA. She said for flights Originating in North America and to Asia, AA is allowed as well as North America domestic flights.

As long as BA and AA stay together, the points are valuable. Since I checked each business class ticket (YYZ to PVG) costs $7000US.



300,00 points, you too rich to care about economy class :D

also you can redeem to Cathay Pacific, much better service

[Kingmoo]

I've never used my RBC rewards before and I'm a mojor RFD newb. Can someone please tell me if this deal is in any way possible with normal reward points or do you need to have this special Avion card.

I have 70,000 points and this would be a sweat deal for the wife and I to go on a euro trip

[SirloinofBeef]

Can you redeem BA points for AA flights flying only AA? On BA's website (link (http://www.britishairways.com/travel/ecredeemlanding/public/en_ca)) it says that you'd have to fly 2 One World partners. And do you book through AA or BA? :confused:

[sockboy]

Ok, I have taken advantage of this deal every year. Here are a couple of answers.

1. You CAN still book flight with BA points for a SINGLE partner award (AA, Cathay Pacific, JAL, etc). For some reason the amount of points needed to do this is no longer posted on the website, but the awards ARE still available. You just have to call BA. The points required seem to still be the same amounts as shown on the chart posted earlier in this thread.

2. If you want BA points to book an AA flight inside North America you don't have to worry about AA and BA "breaking up" any time soon. They are two major players in the oneworld alliance, it is likely that they will be partners for years to come. As mentioned, you can't use BA points to fly on AA from the US to Europe. But, I don't know why you'd want to when you can fly Canada-Europe direct on BA.

3. You can only transfer AVION points to BA, not RBC rewards points. However, if you have a regular RBC VISA, call them and ask to switch to Avion. They will give you bonus points for signing up, AND will switch all of your RBC rewards points to AVION points, which you can then switch to BA.

4. Once you have transferred your points to BA, you CAN NOT transfer them back.

5. The amount of points needed for BA economy flights are very reasonable (especially for partner flights to Asia - use Cathay Pacific or JAL), their premium cabins (business and First) are 2x and 3x the number of points needed for economy. This is very high compared to other airlines. However, BA's business class is equal or even superior to many airline's First Class - and TOTALLY worth the extra points if you have them!

6. BA flys from Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Toronto. You can get an award ticket for the same amount of points to connect from your home city by using Alaska Airlines or AA. (For example: Edmonton - Seattle on Alaska, then connecting to London on BA doesn't cost any more points than Toronto to London direct).

7. BA points expire after 3 years of inactivity. Simply rent a car from Avis or transfer points from your avion card every 3 years, and your points last forever.

[Kingmoo]

Thanks for all that info!

May be a dumb question, but can I change the BA miles into AA miles and use them to fly from Calgary to Brazil or Argentina?

[b1uesphere]

Thanks for all that info!

May be a dumb question, but can I change the BA miles into AA miles and use them to fly from Calgary to Brazil or Argentina?

You don't need to convert your BA miles in AA.

Just book through BA and ask for an AA flight. AA is their partner, so you should haven't any problems.

[sockboy]

b1ueshpere is right, look at the chart he(?) posted earlier in the thread and you will see it costs 40,000 BA points to fly from North America to South America on AA. You redeem for your AA flights with BA. Call BA and they will book you on the AA flight.

One other great way to use your points if for upgrades (you can only do this on BA flights). It costs 25,000 points return to upgrade from World Traveller Plus (premium economy and pretty affordable) to Club (business class with the lay flat seats). This is a real deal, and what we are doing this spring.

[HighFlyer]

One other great way to use your points if for upgrades (you can only do this on BA flights). It costs 25,000 points return to upgrade from World Traveller Plus (premium economy and pretty affordable) to Club (business class with the lay flat seats). This is a real deal, and what we are doing this spring.
This to me, is the best use of BA miles. You get to fly in CW without having to pay the 2X rate for a biz award. On occasion, I have seen WT+ go for just $300 more than WT, and this allows you to earn 100% BA miles on the flight vs. the paltry 25% rate on discounted economy fares.

[Kingmoo]

b1ueshpere is right, look at the chart he(?) posted earlier in the thread and you will see it costs 40,000 BA points to fly from North America to South America on AA. You redeem for your AA flights with BA. Call BA and they will book you on the AA flight.


from the looks of that chart, you need at least 90,000 BA points to get from canada to south america and back. Is this deal better if you use BA points rather than the AA conversions?

[torpc]

from the looks of that chart, you need at least 90,000 BA points to get from canada to south america and back. Is this deal better if you use BA points rather than the AA conversions?

You can use 40,000 BA points on AA or Lan Chile from Canada to South America

[sockboy]

Kingmoo, make sure you are looking at the single partner award chart (b1uesphere inserted a link in post #21 of this thread). The "oneworld" awards are based on miles, and are for flying with two or more one world partners other than BA. If you only need to fly with one carrier, you use the single partner award, which is a much better deal.

[hoob]

Thanks, just transferred 90,000 (135,000) points to BA.

[bcti]

Can anyone confirm that you can still book to asia for 50,000 points? I just called BA and they said it would be 80,000 points from yyc to sin or 120,000 if I flew ba.

[HighFlyer]

Can anyone confirm that you can still book to asia for 50,000 points? I just called BA and they said it would be 80,000 points from yyc to sin or 120,000 if I flew ba.
you need to fly on CX or JL .... otherwise yes, it does cost that many points on BA.

[Kingmoo]

anyone think that the chart having been taken down is a sign that they're about to increase the amounts?

I just got the new avion card and have to wait untill Dec. 24 for the bonus points and my old visa points to show up on it. I sure hope the BA / partners keep there numbers the same for atleast a month

[keen4deals]

you need to fly on CX or JL .... otherwise yes, it does cost that many points on BA.

I think sin -Singapore is considered South Asia and not Far East and according to the chart on Post #21, it is 80,000 points on CX or JL.

[gmark2000]

anyone think that the chart having been taken down is a sign that they're about to increase the amounts?... I sure hope the BA / partners keep there numbers the same for atleast a month

I made a print out of the chart last year. It's bad you can't find the chart via Google cache or something like that. The info is out there.

[HighFlyer]

I think sin -Singapore is considered South Asia and not Far East and according to the chart on Post #21, it is 80,000 points on CX or JL.
I stand corrected.... I had the aeroplan/star alliance chart in mind.

[bcti]

I think sin -Singapore is considered South Asia and not Far East and according to the chart on Post #21, it is 80,000 points on CX or JL.

I just looked at it again and I think you are right however when I asked the ba rep if it should be 50k she said all of asia was 80k.... I was thinking just to get my wife to tokyo or hk then there is supposed to be an asian discount courier from there... basically the rep said good luck for my dates :( dec 18 back in new year.

[QQChomby]

3. You can only transfer AVION points to BA, not RBC rewards points. However, if you have a regular RBC VISA, call them and ask to switch to Avion. They will give you bonus points for signing up, AND will switch all of your RBC rewards points to AVION points, which you can then switch to BA.



My dad has the RBC Classic Visa and got some RBC rewards points. I just wonder if he can save enough for a flight ticket BEFORE he calls RBC Visa to switch all of the RBC rewards points to AVION points and he'd save the annual fee for maybe few years? :lol: No way we can spent $2777/month in a year to save up for a round trip to China. Also will I get the bonus 10k AVION points when he switches over? Thanks!!!

[PopArt]

I noticed the wording to the effect that any rights to the BA miles(from converted RBC)needed to be claimed by June 2007. Does this mean a flight must be booked by then to use all points converted???

[jayk]

You check it out for yourself. That is what the chart says and this calculator.

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/ecredeemcalculator/public/en_ca

so according to this chart, to fly from Toronto to London is 50,000 BA points, or in actual fact only 33333 Avion miles. Is that right? Since RBC/Avion miles are roughly $100 spent to $1 in miles value, that translates to roughly $333 for the ticket plus taxes (about $150? does that sound right?) So that works out to be around $500 for a ticket...

[jayk]

You check it out for yourself. That is what the chart says and this calculator.

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/ecredeemcalculator/public/en_ca
edit: repeat

[milhaus]

I noticed the wording to the effect that any rights to the BA miles(from converted RBC)needed to be claimed by June 2007. Does this mean a flight must be booked by then to use all points converted???

Do people even read the thread? This very question has been answered 2x within this specific thread.

[AC_Slater]

I read earlier that people usually have to book with BA up to a year in advance to have any chance to get a flight during peak season.

Is that the case?

This seems like a great offer, but I can only travel during peak times, but rarely do I plan a vacation a year ahead of time.

Anyone have experience with full flights and such?

I'm close to pulling the trigger on this.

[b1uesphere]

I read earlier that people usually have to book with BA up to a year in advance to have any chance to get a flight during peak season.

Is that the case?

This seems like a great offer, but I can only travel during peak times, but rarely do I plan a vacation a year ahead of time.

Anyone have experience with full flights and such?

I'm close to pulling the trigger on this.

I've travelled during peak times to Asia. Only booked a couple months beforehand, so no problem. You have a few partners to choose from, so there's a few flights to pick from. But sometimes you might not get the exact flight you want, so you still need to be flexible enough fly a day or two before or after.

[AC_Slater]

Well I went ahead and transferred.
Honestly, it almost looks like a better deal when it's 1:1 anyway.
It's 5-10k cheaper per flight just going to the US/Mexico/Carribean

[jayk]

Does anyone on this thread know if BA miles can be changed to Air Canada miles by any chance?

That would be good, then I could change to BA to get the bonus, and then fly direct from AC to my desired European destination!

Thanks guys!

[AC_Slater]

Not sure why you'd want to, BA> AC in pretty much every way imaginable.

But I'd assume the answer is no, they're part of two different airline partnerships.

[HighFlyer]

Does anyone on this thread know if BA miles can be changed to Air Canada miles by any chance?
BA miles can't be changed to anything, let alone AC miles.

[jayk]

Regarding taxes, how do airlines calculate taxes on tickets redeemed with miles?

Do you still pay GST/PST for tickets redeemed with AC or BA flights?

Also, re: this BA Avion miles deal: is it only good if you're planning on flying BA then? Since you can't switch from BA miles to other airlines...

I'm not exactly sure why BA is part of alliances with other airlines if the miles aren't interchangeable?

[AC_Slater]

The answer was earlier in the thread, you can use the points to fly on any of the One World Alliance Airlines.

American Airlines is the biggest.

[sockboy]

Airline alliances have to do with code-shared flights (say a BA flight with an AA flight number aswell) and partnerships so the airlines can "broaden" the locations they can sell tickets to. Alliance members also allow each others members to earn and redeem points on each others flights, and they honour elite memberships in each others frequent flier programs.

They do NOT allow members to move points between programs. Each airline sets its own rules and number of points needed to fly to certain destinations. So for a flight from Toronto to Florida on AA, each of the oneworld airlines may charge a different number of points, but you still book with the airline who you have points with. (BA in this case, if you do the transfer).

There are two MAIN airline alliances. Oneworld - with includes, BA, AA, Cathay Pacific, Qantas and Staralliance - which includes AirCanada, Air NewZealand, Luftansa, Singapore Airlines and United. They both pretty much work the same way.

Canadian Airlines (RBC's old parner) was a oneworld member, which I think is why RBC has partnered up with their old partners. It is safe to transfer your points to BA if you want to fly with any of their partners - but pointless if you want to fly with AirCanada or its partners.

[jackboot]

Airline alliances have to do with code-shared flights (say a BA flight with an AA flight number aswell) and partnerships so the airlines can "broaden" the locations they can sell tickets to. Alliance members also allow each others members to earn and redeem points on each others flights, and they honour elite memberships in each others frequent flier programs.

They do NOT allow members to move points between programs. Each airline sets its own rules and number of points needed to fly to certain destinations. So for a flight from Toronto to Florida on AA, each of the oneworld airlines may charge a different number of points, but you still book with the airline who you have points with. (BA in this case, if you do the transfer).

There are two MAIN airline alliances. Oneworld - with includes, BA, AA, Cathay Pacific, Qantas and Staralliance - which includes AirCanada, Air NewZealand, Luftansa, Singapore Airlines and United. They both pretty much work the same way.

Canadian Airlines (RBC's old parner) was a oneworld member, which I think is why RBC has partnered up with their old partners. It is safe to transfer your points to BA if you want to fly with any of their partners - but pointless if you want to fly with AirCanada or its partners.

Excellent summary for those of us who are new to this. Much appreciated.

[Anaticus]

With the fact that you can redeem BA miles on a OneWorld partner airline (AA for example), I can't imagine any downside to converting my RBC points. Can someone enlighten me if I may perhaps be overlooking something? (Putting aside the possibility of BA leaving OneWorld etc.)

[AC_Slater]

I called to have 66,667 Avion points convert to BA miles on Thursday. And by Saturday, the 100,000 BA miles already in my account. Now, that's fast, only took less than 3 days to convert.

You must have lucked out, I've been waiting a week now, and when I called the Avion office they said it usually takes like 4 weeks for the transfer to go through. Uhg, now I can't book my free flights at easter on Avion or BA.

Damn

[flaming homer]

With the fact that you can redeem BA miles on a OneWorld partner airline (AA for example), I can't imagine any downside to converting my RBC points. Can someone enlighten me if I may perhaps be overlooking something? (Putting aside the possibility of BA leaving OneWorld etc.)
2 issues of interest:

- If you transfer your Avion points to BA, you cannot use them for AA trans-atlantic flights
- If you collect 1 Million AA points in your history, you'll receive Lifetime GOLD status with AA. If you collect 2 Million AA points, then you'll receive Lifetime PLATINUM. Doesn't matter how you collect the points, flying or otherwise (google: "The Pudding Guy") - this point is somewhat moot now that you cannot transfer Avion to AA anymore

[Redsun_ty]

whats the income u need for this card?? I am looking to apply the Cathay one!

[Leahjz]

It is true you already have to have a BA account from a previous flight in order to do this?

[sockboy]

No, you do not have to have a previous flight with BA to sign up. There is a special website that RBC has to allow their card holders to sign up for a BA account without a flight.

I THINK the annual income requirement is about 30k for all the RBC Gold and Platinum cards. Regardless of income, if you have a current RBC visa, and good credit standing with them, they may give you the card.

[Redsun_ty]

No, you do not have to have a previous flight with BA to sign up. There is a special website that RBC has to allow their card holders to sign up for a BA account without a flight.

I THINK the annual income requirement is about 30k for all the RBC Gold and Platinum cards. Regardless of income, if you have a current RBC visa, and good credit standing with them, they may give you the card.

I never had a RBC visa card with them but I do have a good credit ratings!!

[jayk]

Actually, I flew through BA points via Cathay to Hong Kong from Toronto for 60K points. Perhaps you should read the details more closely, as it sounds like you got jobbed.

I thought BA points weren't transferrable to any other airline, save for Cathay?

Also, 60k points...after the BA points special, isn't that like equivalent to ~ $400 worth of points for a flight that could be well over $1000? (of course your taxes will probably be another 200 bucks)

[pjf]

Can you transfer Avion Points from One Cardholder to another?

Either from a personal credit card to personal credit card or business credit card to personal credit card?

Thanks
P

[b1uesphere]

I thought BA points weren't transferrable to any other airline, save for Cathay?


You can use your BA points to fly with of BA's partners, eg. Cathay and JAL.

This bonus is really a super deal!

[IceMan77]

They are transferrable to AsiaMiles, which is Cathay.

But in this case, you can use your BA points to fly with of BA's partners, eg. Cathay and JAL.

This bonus is really a super deal!

Where does it say you can transfer BA miles to Asia Miles? What is the conversion rate? Don't quote points.com that place is a robbery.

[HighFlyer]

I thought BA points weren't transferrable to any other airline, save for Cathay?
You can't transfer from BA to CX. Once the miles have been converted to BA, it can't be converted to anything else.

[puhlaya]

I'm thinking of transferring some of my Avion points to BA points.

Alot of my North American flights are done on Alaska Airlines. They're not part of the Oneworld aliance, but it appears that they are a partner to BA.

Can anyone verify that I can use the BA points to fly Alaska Airlines? Still just as good a deal as if I flew with a oneworld alliance partner?

Thanks.

[HighFlyer]

One other great way to use your points if for upgrades (you can only do this on BA flights). It costs 25,000 points return to upgrade from World Traveller Plus (premium economy and pretty affordable) to Club (business class with the lay flat seats). This is a real deal, and what we are doing this spring.
Doing this after Feb 2007 will cost you 40GBP ($100CAD) more as a result of the UK gov't doubling the air passenger duties.

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=UKNews1&storyID=2006-12-06T130355Z_01_L06832799_RTRUKOC_0_UK-BRITAIN-BUDGET-AIRLINES.xml

So a business/first class traveller will be gouged 80GBP in UK taxes alone ($200CAD). Then after adding all of the other usual BS taxes/surcharges.... $400 in extra fees :mad: :mad: as if we needed an extra reason to avoid LHR.

[b1uesphere]

I'm thinking of transferring some of my Avion points to BA points.

Alot of my North American flights are done on Alaska Airlines. They're not part of the Oneworld aliance, but it appears that they are a partner to BA.

Can anyone verify that I can use the BA points to fly Alaska Airlines? Still just as good a deal as if I flew with a oneworld alliance partner?

Thanks.

Yes, it's the same. I flew to Florida the year before and went on Alaska. Same number point as AA.

Don't think. Just transfer it. You won't regret. There's no point leaving your points in Avion....huge ripoff there.

[jayk]

anyone know what would be the approx. tax on a round trip flight between TO and HK, or TO and London?

I don't know how GST and PST are factored into government taxes.

I presume all taxes still apply to flights redeemed through points,.

Thx

[eljay]

Well, I have RBC Classic visa and I'm tempted to get the Avion card to take advantage of this deal. Plus I'd get 10k bonus points on enrollment. I'm still wondering if the $120/year is worth it. Suppose I want to fly to EU twice. For that I would need 90,000 points so let's use that amount for this example.

SCENARIO 1
1. Sign up for Avion card, transfer RBC rewards to BA.
2. Receive 10k bonus point on enrollment in Avion
3. Trasfer 90k Avion points to BA = 135,000 BA points. One round trip to EU is 65k, so this would be good for two trips.
4. Estimating taxes to be paid on these trips at $200 per round trip = $400
5. Annual fee $120. (extra $85 on top of Classic visa)
Total cost of using points and flying to EU twice: 400+85 = $485.

SCENARIO 2
1. Use 90k points to buy gift certificates worth $750 (3,000=$25).
2. Sell the GCs for $700.
3. Buy two round trips to EU for $600 each (Halifax-London) without any restrictions.
Total cost of flying twice to EU using this method: 2x$600 - 700 = $500.

So, the way I see this, both are very close in cost (of course if my estimates of taxes and fares are close), but the 2nd option leaves me no restrictions and I can choose how to spend my points.

I didn't post this to show this deal is not worth it. Rather, I am looking for someone to convince me to take advantage of this. Is my math off? Am I missing something?

Thanks!!

P.S. Hopefully, the deadline is not too close.

[hp]

Can you transfer Avion Points from One Cardholder to another?

Either from a personal credit card to personal credit card or business credit card to personal credit card?

Thanks
P

You can't transfer you point to another person. You have to transfer to an account under your name.

Last time I transfered the points, they had an family option where you can pool your points with family memeber. ie more than one member having the Avion card. (You have to live in the same house hold)

Also, the important thing is that you can only book tickets for listed member in the family plan, and you have to all live under the same roof. In the end it wasn't worth the hassel. Since with the regular account, you can book ticket for anyone.

hp

[jayk]

one of the previous posters said he flew to HK from TO on 60000 BA points via Cathay,

but according to this link
http://www.britishairways.com/travel/ecredeemcalculator/public/en_ca

That makes no sense at all. The links says to go from Canada to China it's 120,000 points

[milhaus]

one of the previous posters said he flew to HK from TO on 60000 BA points via Cathay,

but according to this link
http://www.britishairways.com/travel/ecredeemcalculator/public/en_ca

That makes no sense at all. The links says to go from Canada to China it's 120,000 points

I am posting this again.

Do people even read the thread? This very question has been answered within this specific thread. Read, people.

[HighFlyer]

anyone know what would be the approx. tax on a round trip flight between TO and HK, or TO and London?

I don't know how GST and PST are factored into government taxes.

I presume all taxes still apply to flights redeemed through points,.
GST only applies on domestic and transborder fares. Since FF reward tickets are zero rated, they are exempt. Other taxes, like the ATSC, YYZ airport improvement fee, foreign levies, etc still apply.

The only place you will see GST charged on YYZ-HKG and YYZ-LHR is on the AIF. That amounts to only $0.90.

[flaming homer]

I am posting this again.

Do people even read the thread? This very question has been answered within this specific thread. Read, people.
The problem is that this thread is a HOT DEAL if and only if you already have Avion points collected. If you're new to Frequent Flyer programs (Such as the discussion here regarding British Airways, Cathay Pacific), this is the wrong place and forum to get advise - try Flyertalk.

Suffice to say you used to get 1 BA point per 1 Avion point. During this promotional period you'll receive 1.5 BA point instead for any ACCUMULATED Avion points. You should be comparing what these points can do for you once they're in BA versus:

- Using it as RBC Rewards
- Using it as Avion flights with max dollar cap
- Transferring it to Cathay Pacific Asiamiles program

There are pro and con to the methods in which you want to use your points, please don't go out and apply for an Avion card just because of this promotion, while it has repeated the last 3-4 years, there is no guarantee that the 1.5x BA bonus will come again November 2007.

Trick: If you have HBC/Esso Exta points, transfer them to RBC Rewards before executing the Avion to BA transfer....

[BrendaK]

For anybody who DOESN'T already have an RBC Visa there's an Avion promotion on till the end of December. If you're applying for a New Avion Visa (ie you've never had any sort of RBC Visa before) they will give you 10,000 Avion points. (I'm pretty sure it's 10000, there's an off chance I'm remembering incorrectly and it's 5000 but I'm almost posative it's 10000)

[gmark2000]

The problem is that this thread is a HOT DEAL if and only if you already have Avion points collected.

No, if you already have any other RBC Visa product that accumulates RBC Rewards points then you can convert your Visa card account AND ALL your previously accumulated RBC Rewards points to the RBC Platinum Avion card in order to take advantage of the BA points transfer bonus.

[sockboy]

Sheesh people, read the thread - all of it!

NO, you can not TRANSFER BA points to any other program, airline etc. Once you have made your transfer, your points are with BA forever.

HOWEVER, you CAN REDEEM your BA points for flights on ANY BA partner airline, including Cathay, JAL, Alaska, AA, Qantas etc.

There are THREE different point charts for BA redemptions:

1. Flying with BA only or BA and a single partner airline - these are the amounts given on the BA website by the milage calculator. These are best used for flights to Africa and Europe. (Eg. Edmonton to Seattle on Alaska, and Seattle to Venice with BA) OR Toronto to London with BA.

2. Flying with two or more oneworld partner airlines (excludes JAL and Alaska which are not oneworld members), these are the numbers given on the BA website for oneworld awards, and are based on miles flown, rather than zones. These are best used for destinations to which BA doesn't fly. Generally a poor redemption value.

3. Flying with a SINGLE partner airline. These are the amounts no longer shown on the BA website, but still active and available - use the chart linked to in post 21 of this thread as a reference, or CALL BA! These are best used to Asia and Australia. (Cathay destinations and JAL and Qantas).

eljay - it is only 50,000 points to fly round trip to London. 65k are required for distant Europe, like Greece and Russia. And keep in mind, you pay taxes and fees on your $600 LHR ticket too . . . unless you can get Halifax to London for $600 all included, your #s might be off.

[b1uesphere]

Hey Sockboy, Thanks for the summary of the options available. Should include it in the first post. :)


Here's the BA redemption chart for anyone interested (Should be accurate, but contact BA for any new updates):
http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/6889/bapartnerredemptionvx5.jpg

[sockboy]

Just to be completely clear, the chart above, is what I referred to as the 3rd type of redemption. Redeeming with a SINGLE airline partner.

[gmark2000]

Thanks for finding/posting that chart.

The Far East is the leg that I am most interested in...

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/2339/bapartnerredemptionvx5xd6.jpg

[jayk]

guys what if you combined with this deal, 15000 bonus BA miles for first purchase


http://www.firstusa.com/cgi-bin/webcgi/webserve.cgi?partner_dir_name=british_airways_15k_ aff01&page=cont&mkid=605V&AFFID=EhraRx8K_BE-BCnWjS_wP6oc64oC.9BJhw

Is there an online website to figure out taxes on redeemed tickets?

[gmark2000]

guys what if you combined with this deal, 15000 bonus BA miles for first purchase

http://www.firstusa.com/xcards4/ccards/british_airways_15k_aff01/images/2Z4V.jpg
http://www.firstusa.com/cgi-bin/webcgi/webserve.cgi?partner_dir_name=british_airways_15k_ aff01&page=cont&mkid=605V&AFFID=EhraRx8K_BE-BCnWjS_wP6oc64oC.9BJhw

Wrong card buddy. This BA Miles offer is for a RBC Avion Visa card.

[sockboy]

And that is a US credit card. Unless you have a US credit history, you'll have a hard time getting it . . .

[eljay]

Is there an online website to figure out taxes on redeemed tickets?
I'd like to know too.

[b1uesphere]

Is there an online website to figure out taxes on redeemed tickets?


No, you just have to call in and ask BA.

[HighFlyer]

I'd like to know too.
go price out a revenue ticket. the amount of taxes on the reward ticket is likely to be around that amount or slightly less.

[eljay]

eljay - it is only 50,000 points to fly round trip to London. 65k are required for distant Europe, like Greece and Russia. And keep in mind, you pay taxes and fees on your $600 LHR ticket too . . . unless you can get Halifax to London for $600 all included, your #s might be off.

Thank you! yes, I was counting on $600 taxes in, but that's really off peak best case fare.
It seems that it is worth it after all. Now, if i could only figure out the taxes. the only thing I don't like that flying out of Halifax to London with BA means transit through JFK/Newark, which adds half a day to any trip and the time is pretty important to me. With AC, it's a direct flight or trasnit through Toronto.

Well, I guess I'll sign up for Avion. If I don't like it, I can just cancel at the end of the year and get my Classic visa back.
The question now is how many points should I transfer over. I guess 67,000 RBC points will be enough for two flights to London over the next couple of years.

[sockboy]

eljay - does AA fly into Halifax? Is that how you were figuring on the connection in New York? (AA connections are included for the same point amount on BA flights). I know how you feel about the time issue. When I lived in Edmonton, I redeemed for a BA flight to Italy via Seattle (connecting on Alaska Airlines), what a waste of time . . . but it was worth it, we sat in Club Class!

IF AA does not fly to Halifax, this probably isn't for you as you would have to factor in another connecting flight . . .

[eljay]

eljay - does AA fly into Halifax? Is that how you were figuring on the connection in New York? (AA connections are included for the same point amount on BA flights). I know how you feel about the time issue. When I lived in Edmonton, I redeemed for a BA flight to Italy via Seattle (connecting on Alaska Airlines), what a waste of time . . . but it was worth it, we sat in Club Class!

IF AA does not fly to Halifax, this probably isn't for you as you would have to factor in another connecting flight . . .

I just checked both AA and BA and they both fly Halifax-JFK-London. or even worse Halifax-JFK-Newark-London. No direct flights. :(
(AC flight Hfx-London through Ottawa is $558 taxes in, but connection time in Ottawa is only 1 hour, which is not enough time to board an international flight)

I'm actually planning two trips to EU through London before May 2007. Since the discount carriers only fly May-Oct, I'm thinking this may still be worth it.

[torpc]

I just checked both AA and BA and they both fly Halifax-JFK-London. or even worse Halifax-JFK-Newark-London. No direct flights. :(
(AC flight Hfx-London through Ottawa is $558 taxes in, but connection time in Ottawa is only 1 hour, which is not enough time to board an international flight)

I'm actually planning two trips to EU through London before May 2007. Since the discount carriers only fly May-Oct, I'm thinking this may still be worth it.

Does it mean Halifax-JFK/Newark-London? there is no flight between JFK and Newark, skytrain links these two airports.

[eljay]

Does it mean Halifax-JFK/Newark-London? there is no flight between JFK and Newark, skytrain links these two airports.

Exactly. And you have to pay for your own bus! Not sure if the BA rewards pays for it, but in a straight purchase, you gotta pay it.

This offer is still interesting to me though.

[gmark2000]

There is no flight between JFK and Newark, skytrain links these two airports.

There is no direct AirTrain service between JFK (on Long Island) and Newark (in New Jersey). There are two rivers and an island (Manhattan) in between these airports. You'll have to take a helicopter, airporter or taxi to go between these airports.

[Naveed]

I purchased a long-haul ticket using my avion points (100K) yesterday. A friend later told me about this deal.

Is there anything I can do? I guess I couldn't expect the RBC travel redemption center to tell me that I could've got the same itinerary (different airlines though) using a lot less points.

So upset.

[sockboy]

Naveed, You can try calling RBC and asking them what the cancellation fee is for your flight. I am not sure, but assume they would refund your points if you paid the cancellation fee.

BUT, you may not want to do this. How soon are you flying? From where to where? Keep in mind that you generally have to book well in advance for ff point flights - if your flight is soon, the BA points may not have been an option. Give me your dates and locations and I'll check to see if BA even has availability. (I can only check BA flights themselves on line - if you were going to fly with a partner, I can't see that availability, you would have to call BA).

[Naveed]

Thanks for the quick response.

I'm travelling to India in February, my travel dates are pretty flexible.

I think I shedded some tears last night. I have (had) 130K points, I could've actually gone from YYZ->LHR->BOM in business class, had I done it the BA route.

[HighFlyer]

I purchased a long-haul ticket using my avion points (100K) yesterday. A friend later told me about this deal.

Is there anything I can do? I guess I couldn't expect the RBC travel redemption center to tell me that I could've got the same itinerary (different airlines though) using a lot less points.

Not much you can do if it's booked in a non-refundable fare class. The thing to remember about Avion tickets and BA, is that Avion tickets pull from a revenue category and BA from the reward category. As long as there's a ticket available for sale that's under the Avion limit, you can redeem for it. Under BA, you would have to see if a reward seat is available, which is much more difficult to find.

Since you have an Avion ticket, you are likely going to be able to earn miles on it, so go ahead and register your frequent flyer number with the airline (not Avion).

[sockboy]

Naveed,

YYZ-LHR-BOM is 90,000 BA points in Economy (60,000 Avion points with the transfer). There is lots of availability in February for weekday travel. There is nothing available in Business class the whole month between LHR and BOM.

You could also stop over, either way, in London for a couple of days.

Why not give RBC a call and ask them what the cost would be (or if you can) cancel the flight you booked with them.

[Naveed]

So I spent quite a bit of time talking to the RBC Travel redemption centre, they said they could process a cancellation but I'd have to pay approx. $350. I don't mind paying the $350 in order to get my 100K points back, the only problem is that the return would take 6-8 weeks (i.e. before I get the points back into my account). By that time the BA miles deal will be over and I probably will be on my way to India.

This totally sucks, serves me right for not doing thorough research before redeeming the miles.

Thanks to all those who responded, it is appreciated.

[sockboy]

Sorry to hear that - but as high flyer said, make sure you add your ff number to your flight, (is it air canada?) that way you'll be earning points for next time.

[Naveed]

Its with Lufthansa. I'm Star Gold, so I think i'm going to just really make use of the Star lounge ;)

[southnam]

Which countries make up the Far East... Hong Kong, Vietnam???

[bcti]

When I called them the other day they said singapore was not but then I called them again they said the following were from what I remember:

north korea
south korea
singapore
Japan
Malasia

that's all I can remember for now.

[eljay]

I'm waiting for my Avion approval and have my RBC classic points transferred. Hopefully, next week will be sufficient time to take advantage of this BA offer.

[growler]

Tomorrow is the last day to take advantage of this exchange. Those who miss it will have to wait until next year when it's likely to be held again.

[jayk]

hey guys

I glanced over the pages in the thread but couldn't find the answer to this question:

Can the cardholder buy a ticket for a family member?

(also checked terms and conditions on http://www.britishairways.com/travel/smeterms/public/en_us#3 already)

I was gonna call BA but they're closed and I'd rather transfer points tonite.

thanks

[growler]

hey guys

I glanced over the pages in the thread but couldn't find the answer to this question:

Can the cardholder buy a ticket for a family member?

(also checked terms and conditions on http://www.britishairways.com/travel/smeterms/public/en_us#3 already)

I was gonna call BA but they're closed and I'd rather transfer points tonite.

thanks

Yes, you should be able to purchase a ticket for your family member. In fact,you should be able to purchase a ticket for *anyone*.

A few months back, I had asked the BA executive club (the branch that administers flight bookings via points) CSR the same question and they indicated that the flight bookings via points can be purchased for anyone.

[b1uesphere]

Yes, you should be able to purchase a ticket for your family member. In fact,you should be able to purchase a ticket for *anyone*.

A few months back, I had asked the BA executive club (the branch that administers flight bookings via points) CSR the same question and they indicated that the flight bookings via points can be purchased for anyone.


i was told they had to be a household member that was registered with your "household" account.

if you can buy it for anyone, then you can basically turn around an sell your tickets then... :confused:

[flaming homer]

i was told they had to be a household member that was registered with your "household" account.

if you can buy it for anyone, then you can basically turn around an sell your tickets then... :confused:
As with most FF programs, BA lets you can use your points to claim a reward for ANYONE. And yes, people do sell them (see internet web site on very cheap business class tickets or even eBay), but if caught the passenger is denied boarding and the FF account cancelled. Doesn't happen often, but it does happen.

BA has an unique "Household" account that lets you POOL points together when claiming an award for someone in the household account. So for example:

dad has 20,000 points
mom has 20,000 points
kid has 10,000 points

If dad/mom/kid wants a north america award for 25K, then BA will take out a proportional amount from each account, 10K from dad, 10K from mom, 5K from kid

If aunt wanted a north america award for 25K, she's SOL as no one has a single block of 25K to spend, unless the aunt JOINS the household

A very unique feature, which makes the MBNA SPG card even more attractive. Once dad uses up the 30K bonues, mom can start a different SPG card account and earn the other 30K, since they're all end up in BA (after 30% hotel bonus - hopefully a yearly thing), you don't need a solid CHUNK of points to do something useful with them...

[b1uesphere]

As with most FF programs, BA lets you can use your points to claim a reward for ANYONE. And yes, people do sell them (see internet web site on very cheap business class tickets or even eBay), but if caught the passenger is denied boarding and the FF account cancelled. Doesn't happen often, but it does happen.

BA has an unique "Household" account that lets you POOL points together when claiming an award for someone in the household account. So for example:

dad has 20,000 points
mom has 20,000 points
kid has 10,000 points

If dad/mom/kid wants a north america award for 25K, then BA will take out a proportional amount from each account, 10K from dad, 10K from mom, 5K from kid

If aunt wanted a north america award for 25K, she's SOL as no one has a single block of 25K to spend, unless the aunt JOINS the household

A very unique feature, which makes the MBNA SPG card even more attractive. Once dad uses up the 30K bonues, mom can start a different SPG card account and earn the other 30K, since they're all end up in BA (after 30% hotel bonus - hopefully a yearly thing), you don't need a solid CHUNK of points to do something useful with them...

thanks for the clairifcation flaming homer.

i think i'll keep the tickets to myself, rather than selling them and risk loosing my account.

this avion promo is a really good deal. but i'm thinking of cancelling the card, so i can take advantage of their new customer promos next year. :cheesygri

[SquealADeal]

This is awesome, I now have 345,000 BA points. And its only 35,000 to go to Hawaii!! I'm gunna take my brother and dad windsurfing in Hawaii the end of Feb now.

[quentin0]

am i reading these charts correctly? is it really only 35000 to go from toronto to hawaii??

[SquealADeal]

am i reading these charts correctly? is it really only 35000 to go from toronto to hawaii??

Yup! Amazing isn't it? They even said on the phone that it is grouped into the same category as the Caribbean. For someone going to Australia it may even be worth it to get a trip to Hawaii on your points then pay for a flight for the rest of the way! Not sure about the Hawaii-Australia airfare prices though.

[b1uesphere]

Yup! Amazing isn't it? They even said on the phone that it is grouped into the same category as the Caribbean. For someone going to Australia it may even be worth it to get a trip to Hawaii on your points then pay for a flight for the rest of the way! Not sure about the Hawaii-Australia airfare prices though.

yeah, sweet deal. cost you only 23,333 Avion points to get 35,000 BA miles.

how much tax you pay? what's the regular airfare price from toronto to hawaii?

[quentin0]

well i had to jump on this.....i was a couple thousand short of 2 roundtrip hawaii tickets, but it seemed too good to be true!

[SquealADeal]

yeah, sweet deal. cost you only 23,333 Avion points to get 35,000 BA miles.

how much tax you pay? what's the regular airfare price from toronto to hawaii?

$68.72 US each for taxes on the flight. I am seeing flight prices with american airlines from $800-$1000 per round trip ticket. You could probably get it cheaper on one of the discount sites. Still, amazing value!!

[quentin0]

how long does it take for the miles to show up in your BA account?

[SquealADeal]

RBC says 4-6 weeks, BA says they don't usually see it take any more than 2 weeks as long as the names were an exact match (your Avion Cardholder name and BA accountholder name)

[quentin0]

thanks

[bcti]

how long does it take for the miles to show up in your BA account?

mine showed up about 3-5 days after requesting transfer.

[b1uesphere]

how long does it take for the miles to show up in your BA account?


got mines in 2 days. pretty quick service.

[SquealADeal]

To the guys who got their points in 2-3 days, did you already have a BA card and take part in this promo before?

I did the transfer on the 29th and still have nothing, but I was told it could take longer than others since it is a new BA number and the first transfer.

Also, When Royal bank sent me the point conversion confirmation email it said:

RBC Rewards Points Exchanged: 227,383
Partner Rewards Points Value: 227,383

Shouldn’t the partner rewards value show the x1.5 amount or did yours show the same value also?

[quentin0]

just checked and mine have come through. even though the email rbc sent me said that it was a 1:1 transfer, in my BA account, there are the correct amount of miles (at 1.5x)

[SquealADeal]

Same here, points posted and hit BA account with the bonus points and I've booked up three tickets to Maui for Feb!

[jayk]

If you're already with Avion, can you transfer Esso points into Avion points somehow?

If so, do you need to have both Avion and Esso accounts under the same person, or can you use the whole family's Esso points and merge them into one person's Avion points?

[jackboot]

If you're already with Avion, can you transfer Esso points into Avion points somehow?

If so, do you need to have both Avion and Esso accounts under the same person, or can you use the whole family's Esso points and merge them into one person's Avion points?

Yes you can transfer both ways. Here is the link showing how and the point conversion:

https://www.essoextra.com/nonmembers/rbcPointsExchange.en

Sorry, I don't know the answer to your second question.

[quentin0]

is it possible to redeem BA mile for domestic flights within canada? for example.....a toronto/hamilton/london flight to vancouver?

if so, can someonw give me the rundown on how that works?

thanks in advance

[HighFlyer]

is it possible to redeem BA mile for domestic flights within canada? for example.....a toronto/hamilton/london flight to vancouver?
you can't do that with BA miles since neither BA, nor any oneworld carrier, have any partners in Canada. there's nothing stopping you from redeeming two separate tickets and routing through the US, but you are then better off using your avion points to redeem on AC or WJ.

[quentin0]

what if i flew out of detroit or buffalo instead?

[mre]

This is awesome, I now have 345,000 BA points. And its only 35,000 to go to Hawaii!! I'm gunna take my brother and dad windsurfing in Hawaii the end of Feb now.

How did you find out that it only costs that many points for Hawaii? I've been using their online calculator to see how many points it would take to fly from Canada to Hawaii and it says "Not Applicable".

[HighFlyer]

what if i flew out of detroit or buffalo instead?
That will work. AA flies to YVR.

Why don't you call BA and ask if you can go YYZ-ORD-YVR? Since this is a reward ticket, the cabotage rules may not apply.

[HighFlyer]

How did you find out that it only costs that many points for Hawaii? I've been using their online calculator to see how many points it would take to fly from Canada to Hawaii and it says "Not Applicable".
I called BA.... 35K to HNL/OGG/KOA is confirmed.

[mre]

I called BA.... 35K to HNL/OGG/KOA is confirmed.

That's a crazy deal, I think I'll jump on this promo next time it comes around. I guess the best thing to do is to phone them before converting points to see if you can get what you want. Is the 35K for a flight departing from Toronto?

[Rehan]

That's a crazy deal, I think I'll jump on this promo next time it comes around. I guess the best thing to do is to phone them before converting points to see if you can get what you want. Is the 35K for a flight departing from Toronto? No need to wait... the offer IS back. I'll update the first post.

[HighFlyer]

That's a crazy deal, I think I'll jump on this promo next time it comes around. I guess the best thing to do is to phone them before converting points to see if you can get what you want. Is the 35K for a flight departing from Toronto?
You can also check AA.com for availability. It's not 100%, but if you can find flights in the Economy milesAAver category, chances are it will be available for redemption from BA as well.

It's 35K from anywhere in Canada.

[f2chow]

Transferred 100K avion points March 1 and it's in my BA account already. I just signed up for the BA program before this deal so the points transfer was really quick!

[SquealADeal]

I just got back from Maui a couple of days ago. Yes it did only cost 35,000 points from Toronto.

It is hard to find their partner award charts on their website, there is one in this thread around page 9 or somewhere. The points for British Airway flights using the British Airways Executive Club card is oddly higher than the redemption rates for their One World partner flights.

Here is a North American departure guide I pulled together:

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m183/squealadeal/awards.jpg

If you want Premier Economy where available you must multiply the points by 1.5, for Business Class x 2, for First Class X3

[jayk]

My family BA account says:

Membership year ends: 08 Jan 2008
Card epiry date 28 Feb 2009

Does that mean that the points are all gone by Feb 28 2009 or that I just have to earn a point by then to keep it going for another year or so?

Thanks

[alam]

Is this the better card than the CIBC Aventura or ???

[flaming homer]

My family BA account says:

Membership year ends: 08 Jan 2008
Card epiry date 28 Feb 2009

Does that mean that the points are all gone by Feb 28 2009 or that I just have to earn a point by then to keep it going for another year or so?

Thanks
I've asked BA Exec Club similiar question, the answer is that ANY activity in any family member's account extends the point life of ALL family members by 36 months. Obviously, my word is not authorative, you should seek confirmation on your own.

[ericw]

Two of my friends who work for RBC told me today that BA agents (not RBC Visa agents) told them the 50% bonus miles WILL expire after 6 months.
They got the same answer from two different BA agent:confused: s.

I hope those agents made a mistake. However, it is possible that they updated the policy...

Can somebody confirm this?

[shan]

Just wanted to give people some advice on not to transfer to BA points from Avion. Once your in apparently you can't get out. And if you try to book a flight, good luck...cause they essentially block out almost all flights/dates. I called them earlier today and told them im willing to take any day any flight any time and ill take the earliest available ---- happen to be in October!! Tried this for Africa and Iran. Also tried a few standard destinations like Rome and wasnt doing much better. Customer service basically said I should try 341 days in advance cause thats when they release the seats to points!!haha

Now I'm royally screwed cause I have over a million points with them.