The Only Place You Should Send RBC Avion Points is American AAdvantage

In this article, I make the case that the best place to transfer your RBC Avion points is American Airlines AAdvantage. Among strong contenders like British Airways Avios and Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, AAdvantage still edges out ahead.

Why American Airlines AAdvantage

While RBC Avion transfers to AAdvantage at a 1:0.7 ratio and Asia Miles and Avios transfer at a 1:1 ratio, I still believe AAdvantage is the best place to transfer your Avion.

The number one reason I advocate for transferring RBC Avion to AAdvantage is that it is the only way to earn AAdvantage in Canada. Avios are much easier to come by, as you can transfer from Amex MR and from just about every U.S. bank currency.

Furthermore, AAdvantage often has more attractive award pricing on long‑haul premium cabins than Avios. A one-way business class flight to Europe costs 57,500 miles. To Asia? 60,000 miles. First class to Asia? 80,000 miles.

AAdvantage also lets you combine partners on the same ticket, as the award chart is zone-based. In practical terms, that means you can add a positioning flight from your home airport for the same price.

The biggest positive is that AA also not pass on any fuel surcharges (except for British Airways), unlike Avios, which does.

Etihad A380 First Class

The number one use of AAdvantage is Etihad A380 first class apartments. A one-way flight from Abu Dhabi to London or Paris costs just 62,500 AAdvantage miles one-way. Singapore is even cheaper from Abu Dhabi at 50,000 AAdvantage miles. If you book Singapore-Abu Dhabi-London/Paris as one ticket, it’s the best sweet spot at 90,000 miles.

Etihad A380 First Class Apartments

62,500 AAdvantage miles are equivalent to 78,000-90,000 Avion points, depending on whether you catch the annual 15% transfer bonus. Because combining partners is allowed on one ticket, I successfully ticketed Abu Dhabi-London-Dublin with the second leg operated by British Airways in business class for the same 62,500 miles.

You do have to be fairly lucky to find award space from Toronto and it would cost 115,000 AAdvantage miles one-way.

Etihad business class is also a great redemption on AAdvantage, specifically Middle East to East Asia for 40,000 miles. The Middle East includes Israel and Jordan.

Japan Airlines Premium Cabin Flights

Another of AAdvantage’s best sweet spots is flying between North America and Japan for 60,000 miles one-way in business class and 80,000 miles one-way in first class. Because AA uses a regional-based award chart, this is an especially stellar deal when flying from the east coast.

You can grab, say, New York JFK-Tokyo using Avios with Finnair for 94,500 Avios, aka 94,500 Avion points. With a 30% transfer bonus, it’s 73,000 Avion points.

Conversely, 60,000 AAdvantage miles are equivalent to 86,000 Avion points. With a 15% transfer bonus, it’s 75,000 Avion points.

Thus, AAdvantage is not only cheaper in points, but also in cash as AA does not pass on the hundreds of dollars in fuel surcharges Avos does. First class is the same story at 80,000 AAdvantage miles vs. 125,000+ Avios.

Aside from the points cost, AAdvantage lets you book a positioning flight on AA metal on the same ticket at the same price. So you can book Tokyo-Chicago-Toronto on the same ticket for a total of 80,000 miles in first class.

Japan Airlines First Class all the way to Toronto for 80,000 miles + $67.70

Finnair can access awards further ahead in the calendar, but as much as we preach that you should aim to book one year out, it’s just not realistic for everyone. Japan Airlines also releases a lot of award space close in, in which case you might as well book with AA to save on fuel surcharges.

I’m a Convert from Avios

Here’s the thing: it’s not that easy to rack up hundreds of thousands of Avion points, so I’d think carefully about where to transfer the 55,000-point sign-up bonus on the RBC Avion Visa Infinite.

I’ve made many great redemptions with Avios, but I find AA more practical now, even aside from aspirational flights. With dynamic pricing on AA metal, I booked Phoenix-Chicago-Toronto for 11,500 miles + $7.70 CAD. While Avios used to be the preferred program for short AA hops, multiple devaluations over the years have changed that.

This May, I booked Miami-Roatan (Honduras) round-trip for 22,000 miles + $72.27 USD, while no award space is available to Avios at all. (I do have to get back to Ontario, which is where Atmos Rewards come in.)

One of the best sweet spots on Avios was booking Japan Airlines domestic flights for 6,000-7,500 Avios one-way, and now that costs 12,000 Avios. So, as the number of ways I’m using Avios decreases, I find myself shifting more and more to AA (and, to some extent, Atmos Rewards).

If there is a good Avios redemption to make, I’ll transfer in Amex MR and save my Avion for AA. And to be clear, there are still good redemptions to be had: Iberia business class Toronto-Madrid for 40,500 Avios + ~$200 comes to mind.

Takeaway

The best place to transfer your RBC Avion points is American Airlines AAdvantage. AAdvantage often wins for both aspirational and practical redemptions. You can also book positioning flights on the same ticket with no increase in price and AA also does not pass on any fuel surcharges.

In Canada, the only way to earn AAdvantage miles is with RBC Avion, while RBC’s other transfer partners overlap with American Express, making them easier to accrue.

Featured Image Credit: American Airlines