RBC VISA Infinite Avion Consumer Reviews

It’s reasonably easy to book a flight but God helps you if there is ever a change or cancellation you need to deal with. These generally can’t be done online and they make you call in, you’ll wait 1-2 hours to speak with someone and then half the time they can’t help you for some reason, then you have to start all over, or be transferred and end up at the back of the queue. As soon as I get my credits used I’m cancelling this card. Stay away from Avion, unless you have lots of time on your hands to spend waiting on hold and like having to chase your refund. Oh, I forgot to mention, that their average time to process a refund is 12 weeks!

I've tried and tried but I wasted 2 days on the phone. On the first day 2 hours on the line and after getting connected an incompetent person as expected transferred me to another department for no reason I was on the line for 3 hours and finally, I gave up. The next day which is today Aug 8, 2022, I've been on the line to talk to someone for 3 hours already. I hate this freaking RBC scam. This is absolutely unacceptable. I will definitely close my RBC bank account and this useless visa with the stupid point promise. Frustrating...

I have had the Avion card for at least 10 years. Have paid my annual fees thinking that if there was an issue with a flight cancellation it would be covered. Was I wrong? RBC farmed out their insurance to Allianz and the customer service is less than zero. You cannot get ahold of a live person. The claims process takes months and they won't call you to discuss their reasoning if the claim is denied. They send you a letter in small print. There are better cards out there than this one. Going forward will buy trip cancellation at the time of purchase from a reputable insurance provider. Allianz has no intention of paying out a valid claim. They will wait you out until you just give up and move on, which is what I will be doing. Will cancel this useless card.

I switched to the RBC card because it had more flexibility in airlines and "no blackout dates" than my previous one.
However, as others pointed out, the RBC Rewards website is impossible to use to update travel. The chatbots are useless and once you try to do something with them, you get locked out. The "customer service" is non-existent. I never spent less than an hour on the phone with someone trying to make changes or get resolutions. They also seem to outsource a lot of the work offshore. I had agents whom I could not understand and they were basically useless in terms of help.
The final straw to dropping them was when I had a change a flight that had been changed twice before due to COVID. The original ticket cost me points and money, then I had to pay again to switch dates and again one last time. The last time was super weird and the agent had to calculate everything by hand. After everything was done, I had to pay an extra $43. I did, but somehow the charge (on my RBC card!) was denied by the bank. The ticket with Air Canada was in limbo. No one could change or fix it - but I didn't "actually" have a ticket. I easily spent 7 hours on the phone with various people at RBC, RBC Rewards and American Express travel (who seem to be operating the travel component behind the scenes). I even physically went to the airport to try and resolve the issue (which, according to the Air Canada website, I had to do) - but still, nothing worked. I was promised callbacks from RBC Rewards managers - but they literally never called back! It was insane! Worst. Customer. Service. Ever.

I am using an RBC Avion card and I have bought full airline tickets with that card so my travel insurance is covered by Allianz insurance company. However, my travel was interrupted and cancelled my return tickets by the airline because of that, I suffered a 1-month salary loss and another financial burden on me because the airline gave me another flight after one month. And then I file a claim for my trip interrupted with Allianz company. They reject me on the ground that I knew that my travel can be interrupted before I booked my flight tickets, I was shocked at how come anyone knew that their flight will be cancelled. They are fake and do not buy any insurance with this company they never pass your claim despite you submitting your all documents. I have already re-appeal my claim and it won't be resolved I will also go to general insurance to make a complaint regarding this totally unprofessional rejection claim. The most frustrating situation is They put me on hold for 1 and half hours yet no one gives any response. They are like put you on hold for long hours so you can never call them back again. This practice should ban from Canada. Everyone can complain to the general insurance company so they can improve their customer service.

The wait times are ridiculously long, customer rep attitudes are not great. Combine the two and it’s a poor experience. RBC, your ratings are consistently low and saying the same things.

I had no problem booking with Avion RBC rewards Visa but when there is a problem the customer service cannot resolve it… I had to be put on hold for almost 2 hours trying to find a solution. After holding for almost 2 hours nothing was resolved. I spoke to Karinee prior to my call to the customer service and she said that because PAL changed their route that my connecting domestic flight can be changed. When I called back I got another customer service gentleman who was not able to resolve the issue despite asking for a solution from his supervisor… What kind of supervisor does RBC reward travel have? As a supervisor, you should be able to find a solution especially when it is the airline that changed their flights. I had a sleepless night worrying about my flight. Today April 8 after waiting for an hour for someone to answer the call, I spoke to Mario from Toronto… was I ever so happy to find someone knowledgeable and helpful… you should make an example of his knowledge and he should train that supervisor… He made me feel relieved and will finalize my trip, especially since PAL downgraded me to the economy with my flight to Manila Toronto… Thank you, Mario!

After waiting 25 minutes (I now think I was very fortunate only 20 minutes) I finally spoke to someone. I wanted to claim a reward using my points. I didn't have enough points and was going to pay the balance with my credit card. Well, there was no option on that site to do that. The RBC person also couldn't figure out what the issue was. After another 15 minutes on hold, she said all I can do is have someone call me back. When asked when can I expect a call... She said within 10 days. What a joke? Not my first issue with Avion. This is my SECOND only ever dealing with the points rewards program and let me tell you this situation was a very minor one compared to the one years ago. But that's a whole different matter with not enough time to explain it here.

I obtained the card exclusively to be provided with travel health insurance. When I attempted to contact RBC to answer a few general questions, I was put on hold for over an hour. Exasperated, I finally gave up. I could not stand to hear “Your call is important to us” One more time!
RBC clearly only wants customers to go online. They do not wish to interact with clients directly. But not all my questions could be answered online. I will be cancelling this card when we return from our scheduled trip in April. Surely there are other products?

The biggest perk of the RBC Avion card is the travel 'perks'. However, if you need to interact with their team, you will be bitterly disappointed. Their online travel booking system is pre-historic and you are forced to call their "toll-free" number, which isn't toll-free if you are actually travelling. After spending hours on the phone with the high probability you will be disconnected, you will then get to talk to an agent who can't do anything other than what is on their screen. If the computer says no, then you will be stuck with having to change your plans to suit the RBC travel booking system. You have been warned!