RBC adds new feature to travel rewards program
Avion Visa cardholder redemptions fill more than 900 Boeing
767s in 2006
TORONTO, December 13, 2006 — RBC Platinum Avion
Visa cardholders who do not have enough points to book air
travel, will now be able to acquire the extra points they
need, directly from the RBC Rewards Travel Redemption Centre.
Top-up points are available in increments of 1,000 RBC Rewards
points at a cost of $0.04 per point. For example, it will
cost $40 plus applicable tax to purchase 1,000 air travel
points. At the time of making their air travel booking, Avion
cardholders can now purchase anywhere from a minimum of 1,000
points to a maximum of 15,000 points, and need only have at
least half of the required points for their desired zone,
to be able to acquire the additional points.
"Our goal has always been to help our Avion clients
fly wherever they want, as easily as possible - that's why
we offer a multitude of airlines and we don't have reward
seat limitations, blackout periods or points that expire,"
said Andrew Mitchell, vice-president of Rewards and Partnerships
at RBC. "This is one more way we can help our clients
who are ready to redeem their RBC Rewards points for air travel,
but don't quite have enough for the trip they want, especially
during the busy holiday travel season."
More Avion Visa cardholders redeemed their RBC Rewards points
for travel in 2006 than in any previous year. In fact, in
the past 12 months, more than 8 billion points were redeemed,
which is enough to fill more than 900 Boeing 767 jetliners.
Points are most often redeemed during peak travel periods,
particularly over the holidays.
"It's often quite difficult to explain just how flexible
Avion really is. Our cardholders are really impressed when
they call to make a booking to get home for the holidays,
and we're able to deliver on getting them the seat they need,"
added Mitchell.
The top-up points option is just the latest feature to be
added to RBC's Avion program over the past year. The program
no longer requires two weeks' advance notice, or a Saturday
night stay for travel within North America. Starting in January,
this enhancement will also be extended to travel outside of
North America, which means that in 2007, Avion cardholders
will be able to fly anywhere in the world within hours of
booking an e-ticket.
RBC Rewards Travel - Facts-at-a-Glance
- Almost 20 percent, or 1.5 billion reward points, were
enjoyed for travel flights during the holiday and Christmas
period (mid-November 2005 to mid-January 2006).
- The highest redemption period for flights takes place
in the summer. Over 1.7 billion reward points were redeemed
for flight bookings during July and August 2006.
- 1.5 billion reward points were redeemed for flights in
the spring (March and April 2006).
More information about the new "top-up points"
can be found at www.rbcrewards.com/purchasepoints
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Media Contact:
Kathy Bevan - (416) 974-8810
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