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Wednesday, October 11, 2017

How I can fly 1st Class to/from Mexico.

I have had an RBC Avion card for a few years now, but I really started using it for my own benefit when I retired 6 years ago.  The card gives you a form of airmiles as you use it, but I found that if you used the RBC airmile program, it would take years to actually get any benefit from the card.

Let me explain.  First, you must use the card for almost any purchase possible.  I use it for everything from paying bills (other than credit cards), to grocery shopping, to nights out.  It is important to pay off your entire monthly bill by the due date, so that you don't incur any interest charges.

Now, with RBC Avion, you have an option to transfer your points/miles to other travel providers, such as Westjet and American Airlines, to name a few.  In the past, you could transfer your miles to these other companies programs on a 1 to 1 basis, but American has finally caught on, and they have
adjusted their program to take into consideration the exchange between Canadian and US dollars.  I believe I now get 5,000 American Airlines points for 7,000 RBC points.  No problem.

Once you have a balance of 32,500 points in your American Airlines program, you are ready to fly from Victoria to Mexico City (that is the route I take every fall and spring).  There is one more trick you need to use to take advantage of this.  Because there are only a certain number of First Class seats available on flights, and because AA only assigns one or two to air mile users, you have to book your flight way in advance.  I know the approximate dates that I travel to Mexico every year, so this is not a problem for me.

As an example, I have just booked my return flight to Victoria on April 30, 2018.  It cost me 32,500 air miles and around 80.00 Cdn for airport costs.  I will fly 1st Class from Mexico City, to Los Angeles, then 1st Class from Los Angeles to Seattle, and then a smaller shuttle from Seattle to Victoria.  It adds a little more time to a direct flight trip, and lands in the USA (which some Canadians try to avoid), but travelling can't get much better.

You are first on the plane, given free beverages and are spoiled rotten.  A meal usually comes with each leg of the trip (served with real cutlery, not  plastic), and you are first off the plane.  I have calculated that the amount of points I use roughly translates into 300.00 Cdn, plus the 80.00 airport fee, is my cost.

If you try to book a flight 1st Class without this system, it can cost up to 3,000 Cdn for the same itinerary.  Gotta love air miles.

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