How should I (intelligently) spend my RBC points?

[dark003]

I had 129k RBC rewards points and spent 24k on $200 worth of Esso gift cards which have helped me out a lot since I'm a student and gas is quite expensive these days.

Now I have 105k and am not sure how I should go about spending the points.

Should I save it for a flight...or spend it on Esso GC's? My goal is to go on a trip to east asia some time in the next 2 years.

Originally i was thinking of saving a minimum of 100k for a the trip something because that's how much it would cost for a flight to east asia with the infinite avion card. But my question is....is this even worth it? I hear the taxes and fees you have to pay per ticket is astronomically high, somewhere in the ball park of 500-700? If it's that high it seems to me I'm better off spending the 100k on $825 worth of ESSO cards right? The reason for this is because if I'm going to be going on a trip with my GF or even with friends, we would MOST LIKELY be finding deals through travel agencies (my parents are going to China and they got a good deal of $990/ticket through some travel agency) which would render my 100k RBC points worthless since I wouldn't be able to take advantage of the deal nor would I be able to sit with my friends on that same flight.

So....does this make sense? The other thing I'm aware of is the once/twice-a-year conversion to BA miles (at rate of 1 point = 1.5 BA points) but again, unless you're gonna be travelling alone it's not worth the hassle right since you're still paying fees and taxes and can't really plan group trips or even a trip with your GF unless you have enough points for 2 tickets.


So at 105k points....should I just spend it all on Esso GCs since I drive and that seems to be the best use of my points? Or should I spend a little and leave a certain amount of points in my account for a rainy day? If so, how much should I leave in my account? 60k? 50?

Any help would be appreciated

thanks!

[45ED]

[url]http://forums.redflagdeals.com/shopping-discussion-f74/[/url]

[r1lee]

if you have an Avion card, the points are best used for flights (well in terms of % earned).

[thrifthunter]

I get esso cards to use for beer.

[Feneant]

Do what I did when I ditched RBC... book a hotel for 100k points and then call RBC to tell them you changed your mind and have them refund the points to your card as a dollar value.

(I can't remember if I had called RBC or the hotel to cancel- just that my points had been converted to a 500$ credit on my card)

[ippon]

[QUOTE=thrifthunter;14563095]I get esso cards to use for beer.[/QUOTE]

this man is a genius.
need to move to qc.

[projectmoonlightcafe]

[QUOTE=Feneant;14563233]Do what I did when I ditched RBC... book a hotel for 100k points and then call RBC to tell them you changed your mind and have them refund the points to your card as a dollar value.

(I can't remember if I had called RBC or the hotel to cancel- just that my points had been converted to a 500$ credit on my card)[/QUOTE]

What, you can do that?

[thrifthunter]

[QUOTE=Feneant;14563233]Do what I did when I ditched RBC... book a hotel for 100k points and then call RBC to tell them you changed your mind and have them refund the points to your card as a dollar value.

(I can't remember if I had called RBC or the hotel to cancel- just that my points had been converted to a 500$ credit on my card)[/QUOTE]

:facepalm:

A $25 esso card is 3000 points.
For 100k points, you get $825 worth of esso cards with 1k points to spare. Considering he has a car, gas will always be a necessity so that is far move valuable to him than a $500 credit.