CIBC Aventura VISA INFINITE Card Consumer Reviews

My family and I purchased flights to Italy from Ottawa in 2020, just before Covid hit, using points earned on our visa card plus the difference in cash.
When our flights were cancelled, CIBC offered us a 2 year Credit or our money back. When they said "money back" they meant cash money. We were told that if we took the money back it would only apply to the cash we paid and our points would be lost. We opted for the 2-year travel credit.
When Air Canada announced that they were offering to turn travel credits into Vouchers with no expiry date, we called CIBC. We were told it did not apply and the two-year credit still applied. ( This is probably incorrect as people that had booked through 3rd parties such as Expedia were able to convert easily)
Now we are trying to book a flight somewhere as the 2 years are up. CIBC is telling us that depending on our desired destination, our credit will likely not apply due to base fares and tax rates for the destination. My wife and I have spent a combined wait time of 9 hours on the phone this week trying to book something and each time we finally connect to someone, they tell us the same thing which is that our original file needed to be purged new one created. They say they have just done it but it will take several days to reach ticketing. They also say that they will call us back the moment it reaches ticketing and they don't call back!. I've also tried their automated "Call back" email program and guess what! No one calls back
CIBC is essentially trying to steal our money! I do not recommend this card or its rewards!

I will definitely go to a different bank after my recent experience with CIBC for the following reasons:
1. Horrible wait times for the reward center. You spend 2 hours waiting for someone to pick up the phone. After that, they start transferring you and at some point, the office closes. So, they just hung up.
2. If you want to complain, they transfer you to customer service, but you can just leave a message. They will never call you back.
3. If you get very angry, and insist, you might get to the manager who will refuse to discuss any issues with you. Got a response "I am not going to talk about it" when I told him that his staff was hanging up on me at 7 pm.
4. They will never call you back to finalize the booking and your ticket ends up being 2 times more expensive by the time you finally get someone to book it for you.
Go with another bank, your lifetime is more valuable than this...

This credit card is a total rip-off. Booking travel takes hours of sitting on hold and to get a deal you have to take incredibly convoluted routes. I had a $500 credit after cancelling a flight due to Covid and was never able to claim it because the travel rewards centre did not call back as promised. When I spoke to customer service they said there was nothing they could do. Godawful

Picture this, you buy a round trip through Aventura, you make it to your destination when it’s time to go home, you try to check-in at the airport, lo and behold, CIBC rewards has made the booking but not acquired an actual ticket, you are told that the airline can do nothing because the ticket was purchased under CIBC rewards, you attempt to call the line and are put on hold for 2 hours and then dropped, you try again and are told your calling after hours and to call the next day.
The next flight is after your covid test requirements so you purchase a rapid PCR test which is what is now the only thing available required for an additional $900 dollars at the foreign airport. You purchase your own ticket for 3x the original price. + a new 7-hour layover because CIBC rewards cannot be reached, and you need to get home...
You arrive home and continue calling CIBC rewards and are continuously being put on machine hold for over the next 3 days with nobody picking up the phone. You are very very angry
Welcome to my life.

I booked a flight with them which I had to reschedule due to Covid restrictions.

The wait time to rebook the tickets has been preposterous. Also, I was able to get to a call center associate who advised that my call will go to the ticketing department and I should expect a call back in three days. Guess what, I missed one call and I had to go through the same process again. The ticket prices became double by the time I was able to reschedule. DO NOT BOOK A FLIGHT WITH THE REWARDS CENTER.

I have been on hold for 1 hour. I purchased a trip last night and received confirmation. Just now received an email saying payment now hasn't been processed and requires me to call in to process the payment.
Why can't this be done online? Why did I receive confirmation and issuance of the ticket if the payment was not processed? Why do I have to call in separately and wait over an hour... thus far?
If you do get Aventura prepare yourself for incredible, tremendous frustration!!!