RBC Avion Visa Business Review

October 16, 2022
Reviews

The RBC Avion Visa Business credit card is a business credit card issued by the Royal Bank of Canada, one of the largest banks in Canada. It comes with a very generous welcome bonus of 20,000 Avion points that you can redeem for flights, packaged holidays, hotel stays, tech products, and employee incentives.

With this card, you will earn bonus points when filling up at Petro-Canada gas stations, and it covers you and your business for trip cancellation or interruption, car rental, and extends the warranty on eligible travel purchases. For those reasons, this card can be very beneficial for your business.

What Is The RBC Avion Visa Business Card?

The RBC Avion Visa Business Card is a business credit card for business owners who are looking to grow their business and earn points on business purchases. If you are one, this rewards program can give you the flexibility of redeeming your points not only for the benefit of your company but also for your loyal employees. The business card has an annual fee of $120 and a competitive interest rate of 19.99% – which is identical to the offers from CIBC and Scotiabank. You can earn 1 Avion point per $1 spent on business purchases, and you can redeem your points for employee incentives, balance payments, gift cards, and travel purchases.

There are also extensive insurance coverage and purchase protections that you can expect from the RBC Avion Visa Business Card. It also has a lock feature whenever you notice that there is some suspicious activity with your credit card. The only disadvantage of this business card is the lack of cash back rewards.

Features Of The RBC Avion Visa Business Card

#1 Competitive Annual Fee And A Generous Welcome Bonus

The RBC Avion Visa Business Card offers its users an annual fee of $120 and a welcome bonus of 20,000 Avion points upon opening an account. The credit card is also competitive, with interest rates of 19.99% when you have an outstanding credit balance and 22.99% for requesting cash advances. These interest rates are in line with the industry standard for credit cards.

If you own an additional Business or Personal Avion Card you can get a $50 discount on the annual fee of this business card.

#2 Earn Avion Points On Every Purchase

If you have a dropshipping business, you already have experience filling orders for your customers every time. With the RBC Avion Visa Business Card, the money you spend on your purchases won’t just benefit the store you bought from but will also reward you for spending on them. You will get one Avion point in return for every $1 you spend on any purchase. You can redeem these for travel rewards, business investments, or merchandise if you've earned enough.

Keep in mind that there are exemptions on the ways to earn rewards. You cannot earn rewards through balance transfers, other bill payments, or cash-like transactions. We also recommend checking out the best Aeroplan credit cards in Canada, if you're looking for a solid travel credit card with low fees.

#3 Save On Fuel Purchases And Earn 20% More Petro-Canada Points

Another way of using your RBC Avion Visa Business Card is by linking it with your Petro-Canada. After you link it, you can use your RBC Avion Visa Business Card directly to pay for gasoline or diesel at any retail Petro-Canada location and save 3¢ per litre. Additionally, you will earn 20% more Avion points and Petro-Canada points. 

It will take up to 90 days from the transaction date to deposit your points into your Avion Rewards account. If you don’t have a Petro-Points card yet, you can create one and get 2,500 Petro-Points as a welcome bonus. 

#4 Redeem Your Points For Air Travel And Tech Rewards From Apple and Best Buy

You can redeem the Avion points you accumulate from your RBC Avion Visa Business Card for:

  • Air Travel Rewards: redeem your points for flights from the Air Travel Redemption Schedule.
  • Travel Accommodations: redeem your points for packaged holidays, car rentals, cruises, and hotels.
  • Employee incentives
  • Gift cards or certificates
  • Payment on credit account balance
  • Interac e-Transfer transactions or trade them with RBC Direct Investing
  • Latest tech products from Apple and Best Buy

While these redemption options are clearly great, if you want ultimate flexibility it's better to choose a card within American Express's Membership Rewards program. Not only will you be able to redeem your points for travel, merch and statement credits, but you'll also be able to transfer those points to other popular loyalty rewards programs like Air Canada's Aeroplan or British Airwais's Avios programs. And when it comes to American Express rewards credit cards for business, there's no better option than the Amex Business Platinum.

#5 A Wide Range Of Premium Insurance Coverage

Get yourself secured and protected with RBC premium insurance coverage. Using your RBC Avion Visa Business Card, you will never have to worry about trip cancellations, interruptions, or damaged purchases. Here's a comprehensive list of all the insured categories:

  • Extensive insurance coverage – includes trip cancellation and interruption, car rental, and eligible travel purchases.
  • Liability Waiver insurance
  • Purchase security – up to 90 days of protection against theft, loss, or damaged business purchases
  • Extended warranty – maximum of 5 years warranty on all of your purchased items
  • Fraud Prevention and Enhanced security – with Zero Liability and 24-hour worldwide fraud detection

RBC also offers additional protection for your business but at a reasonable cost. If you're an RBC accountholder and want even more embedded insurance coverage, you can look at the personal RBC Avion Visa Infinite card. It comes with a higher annual fee, but it'll be worth it for frequent travellers. Another option more in line with the RBC Avion Visa for business is the personal RBC Visa Platinum.

#6 Track Your Points Using The RBC Business Rewards Calculator

You can use the RBC Rewards Calculator tool if you have difficulty calculating the points earned from your purchases. You can enter the amount you generally spend every month on business purchases, and RBC will automatically do the math for you. For example, spending at least $10,000 on your business makes you spend about $120,000 annually. With this, you’ll earn 140,000 RBC Rewards points in your first year, factoring in the welcome bonus, which is up there with the best credit cards in Canada

You can redeem your points for a free trip to anywhere in the world at any airline you want. Suppose that you have earned 140,000 RBC rewards. You can exchange them for a 4-round long-haul flight in North America, saving you a ticket price of $750 each. 

Pros & Cons Of RBC Avion Visa Business Card

Pros

  • Earn 20,000 Avion points as a welcome bonus
  • Earn Avion points for every $1 you spend in net purchases
  • Redeem your points for Apple and Best Buy products, gift cards, or certificates.
  • Earn double the points by using the Avion Rewards mobile app
  • Save 3¢ per litre and earn 20% more Avion points and Petro-Points at Petro-Canada.
  • Track your points with the RBC Points Calculator
  • Combine the Avion points from all your employees into one account and pool them between your business and personal Avion cards
  • Use your points to provide incentives to your employees and pay balances, or invest them into your business.
  • Redeem your points for travel rewards for flight tickets, packaged holidays, car rentals, cruises, tours, or hotel accommodations
  • Get protected with RBC insurance, such as Liability Waiver Insurance and Purchase Security.
  • Includes additional benefits such as a credit card lock feature, discounts on annual fees for multiple cards, and optional travel insurance

Cons

  • A $120 annual fee but reduced to $50 if you have any other Business or Personal Avion card.
  • A $50 fee for additional cards
  • Pay a high interest of 19.99% on outstanding balances and 22.99% on cash advances.   

Pricing

RBC Avion Visa Business credit card is quite competitive regarding its annual fees and interest rates. Aside from its features, you can compare it with other business credit cards offered by RBC competitors.

CIBC Aeroplan Visa Business Plus CardRBC Avion Visa BusinessScotia Momentum for Business Visa Card
Annual Fee$120$120$79
Welcome BonusUp to 60,000 Aeroplan points20,000 Avion points upon signing upFirst-year annual fee a waiver and 2.99% interest rate for the first six months
Purchase Rate19.99%19.99%19.99%
Cash Advance Rate22.99%22.99%22.99%
Reward Rate1 – 2 Aeroplan points1 Avion points in net purchases1% – 3% cash back rate 
Unique Features Free first-checked bag for two travelers every year with Air CanadaTravel insurances: trip cancellation, flight delay, and purchase securityInstant fuel savings at Petro-Canada Redeem Avion points for travel purchases and latest tech products from Apple or Best BuyNo interest on new purchases for 25 days Optional services such as Scotia Business Loan Protection to protect your business 

In Summary

There are a lot of business cards for you to choose from, with promising rewards and unique features. With an RBC Avion Visa Business card, you can get both at a reasonable annual fee. You will receive a 20,000 welcome bonus upon signing up for an account in exchange for paying a $120 annual fee. The RBC business card differs from the others because it is flexible in redeeming rewards. By visiting the RBC Rewards Redemption Schedule, you can use your points for employee incentives, travel purchases, gift cards, or credit card payments. You can also ensure that you are protected and secured since RBC offers a wide range of premium insurance coverage.

RBC Avion Visa Business Card FAQs

How Much Does RBC Avion Visa Business Credit Card Cost?

The RBC Avion Visa Business Credit Card has an annual fee of $120, but if you already own a personal or business RBC credit card you will only pay $70. That's $50 off every year for as long as you own that secondary card. 

Is RBC Avion Visa Business Credit Card Worth It?

It depends. The RBC Avion Visa Business Credit Card may be worth it if you want to earn points for every dollar spent on your business purchases. You can redeem these points for employee incentives, credit card payments, flights, gift cards, and even the latest tech products from Apple.

In addition, the RBC Avion Visa Business Credit Card may not be worth it if you want to earn cash back instead of Avion points since there are other credit cards (e.g Scotia Momentum Business Card) that let you earn 2% to 3% cash back on purchases.   

Is RBC Avion Visa Business Credit Card Safe?

Yes, the RBC Avion Visa Business Credit Card is safe because it has 24-hour worldwide fraud detection, Zero Liability protection, Chip and PIN technology, and a credit lock feature. These services provide you with extra security against fraudulent transactions. 

What Is The Dollar Value Of Avion Points? 

The dollar value of one Avion point is about $0.0125 since you will earn 1.25 Avion points for every dollar you spend. In addition, 100 Avion points are also equivalent to $1 CAD when you use them to book flights, hotels, or tours. 

Can You Use Avion Points For Air Canada? 

Yes, you can use or redeem your Avion points for Air Canada. RBC lets you use your points to book flights from any airline anytime. 

How Many Avion Points Do I Need For A Flight? 

For booking a flight, you need at least 7,500 Avion points for a one-way ticket or 15,000 points for a round-trip within Canada or U.S. For a worldwide destination, you need at least 50,000 points for a one-way ticket and 100,000 for a round-trip. You can choose any airline, flight, and time, and there are no blackout dates or booking restrictions, even during peak seasons.

What Happens To My Avion Points If I Cancel My Card?

Cancelling your RBC credit card may close your Avion points if you do not redeem them within 90 days. This will be in effect after you voluntarily close your RBC credit card account. 

Earn $347 From Our First Email