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If you’re comparing RBC travel credit cards, the RBC British Airways Visa Infinite may be one to consider. Do the rewards offset its $165 annual fee?
A premium travel credit card can come with an impressive list of rewards and perks, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s worth the annual fee. The real question is whether you’ll use enough of those benefits to come out ahead.
If you’re comparing RBC travel credit cards, the RBC British Airways Visa Infinite may be one to consider. With a $165 annual fee, a purchase rate of 20.99%, and a cash advance rate of 22.99%, it’s worth doing the math: Can the rewards and benefits deliver enough value to offset the cost?
We’re taking a closer look at what the card offers, how much value a typical cardholder could get from it, and whether it’s worth adding to your wallet.
Since we’re weighing the $165 annual fee against the value of the card, we started by focusing on benefits that make the card valuable:
If you applied for and were approved for the RBC British Airways Visa Infinite card before September 9, 2026, you can earn a 30,000-point bonus for spending at least $5,000 in the first 90 days of having the card. Then, you can earn an additional 30,000 points for spending at least $5,000 in the following 90 days.
That’s a total of 60,000 bonus Avios points, just for using the card regularly and keeping your account in good standing. As RBC points out, that’s enough points to book a return reward flight to London from all Canadian destinations.
Every purchase you make with the RBC British Airways Visa Infinite earns at least 1 Avios reward point per $1 spent on all other qualifying purchases, but it gives accelerated rewards in specific spending categories. Cardholders earn 2 Avios points per $1 spent on dining and food delivery, and 3 points per $1 spent on British Airways purchases.
Once you’ve accumulated Avios points, you can book reward flights with British Airways or a oneworld alliance partner. If you don’t have enough points to cover an entire trip, pay for your travel with cash and points. You can also redeem points for travel upgrades, hotel stays, rental cars, merchandise, and donations to sustainable aviation fuels.
As you might guess, this credit card gives special British Airways benefits, like 10% off British Airways flights that are booked and paid for with the credit card. Cardholders also get a free companion voucher once they spend $30,000 a year. Cardholders who don’t want to travel with a companion can choose to fly solo for a 50% discount on the Avios fare of the reward seat ticket.
As a Visa Infinite card, it includes these Visa Infinite Benefits:
This RBC Visa Infinite has the standard coverage included with most credit cards: purchase protection and extended warranty, but frequent travellers will appreciate this coverage:
As we’ll explain in a minute, this insurance only adds value to the credit card if you actually have to file a claim and use the included coverage.
RBC gives cardholders the opportunity to add custom insurance coverage to the card. These include: add-on travel insurance, RBC Road Assist, RBC BalanceProtector Max insurance, and identity theft and credit insurance.
The RBC British Airways Visa Infinite partners with brands you might already shop at to offer extra rewards like:
Everyone’s spending and travel habits are different, so the value you get from a travel credit card will depend on how you use it. To estimate the potential value of the RBC British Airways Visa Infinite, we created a hypothetical cardholder and used this formula:
Net annual value = estimated rewards value + realistic value of benefits used − annual fee
You can use the same approach to estimate the card’s value for your own spending and travel habits. Here’s an example to get you started.
For our hypothetical cardholder, we assumed a reasonable amount of everyday spending on the card, including purchases that earn 1x and 2x Avios, plus at least one British Airways trip per year, which earns 3x Avios. We also looked at the card over multiple years, so the welcome bonus is included in the first year but not subsequent years.
| First year having the card | Second and subsequent years | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual spending | $20,040 based on $1,670 spent per month | $24,000 based on $2,000 spent per month |
| Avios earned | 33,080 plus 60,000 welcome bonus Avios = 93,080 points | 40,000 points |
| Estimated value of Avios | $1,861.60 | $800 |
| Value of benefits actually used | $808 in total $72 Petro-Canada discount (estimating 3 cents off a 60-litre fuel-up three times a month for a year) $736 companion voucher fare (estimated by subtracting taxes and fees from a return flight between Toronto and London) | $974.44 in total$72 Petro-Canada discount$871 companion voucher fare (estimated by subtracting taxes and fees from a return flight between Toronto and Paris) $31.44 GigSky eSim |
| Card value: | $2,669.60 | $1,774.44 |
| – Annual fee | $165 | $165 |
| Estimated net value: | = $2,504.60 | = $1,609 |
Here’s how we arrived at those numbers.
In the first year, we estimated that the cardholder spends $8,040 on dining and food delivery, earning 2x Avios, and $2,500 on British Airways travel, earning 3x Avios. The remaining $9,500 is everyday spending at the 1x rate. We also included the card’s 60,000-point welcome bonus.
For the second year, we increased annual spending to $24,000: $10,000 on dining and food, $3,000 on British Airways travel, and $11,000 on everyday purchases. Since the welcome bonus is a one-time offer, it isn’t included here.
We valued each Avios at 2 cents for the purposes of this example. This is just an estimate; the value you get from your Avios can vary widely depending on how you redeem them. The card allows you to redeem Avios for flights, travel upgrades, rental cars, hotel stays, wine, merchandise, and more. Some redemptions offer a lot more value than others.
We also included only the benefits we thought our hypothetical cardholder would realistically use. In the first year, that includes the $72 Petro-Canada discount and $736 in value from the companion voucher. In subsequent years, we estimated $72 from the Petro-Canada discount, $871 from the companion voucher, and $31.44 from the GigSky eSIM benefit.
Using these assumptions, the card provides far more value than its $165 annual fee. The takeaway, though, is that the math works best if you use the card’s major benefits, like the companion voucher. If you don’t travel with British Airways or wouldn’t use the companion voucher, you may not get as much value out of the card.
The RBC British Airways Visa Infinite may be the best fit for frequent travellers, particularly those who regularly fly with British Airways or another oneworld alliance airline. If you know how to maximize Avios, you could get even more value from your points since some redemptions are worth more than 2 cents per point.
In our example above, we looked at a cardholder who travels at least once a year and gets a return of about 2% on their spending. But what if you don’t travel often or aren’t likely to earn the companion voucher? You may not get the card’s highest earn rates and travel benefits, including its travel insurance. Assuming a 2% return on your spending, you’d need to charge at least $8,250 to the card each year to offset the $165 annual fee.
We should also mention that rewards programs aren’t for everyone. If you’d rather not keep track of Avios and figure out how to make the most of your points, a credit card with a straightforward flat-rate cash-back program may be a better fit. The best card isn’t necessarily the one with the most valuable rewards, but the one whose rewards you’ll actually use.
If you tend to carry a credit card balance and are charged interest every month, paying to use a credit card isn’t the best financial move. Instead, look for a no-fee credit card with a low interest rate or a balance transfer offer.
Charging more than $8,000 a year to offset a $165 annual fee might sound like a lot, but it works out to about $688 per month. And that’s before factoring in the value of benefits such as the companion voucher, travel insurance, and other Visa Infinite perks.
For someone who travels regularly, earns enough to access the card’s key benefits, and can get good value from Avos redemptions, the math works in favour of the RBC British Airways Visa Infinite. On the other hand, if you rarely travel, don’t expect to use the companion voucher, or prefer simple cash-back rewards, the card may not be the best option for you.
Remember: Whether the card is worth it comes down to your own spending and travel habits. Estimate how many Avios you’re likely to earn, assign a realistic value to the benefits you’ll actually use, and subtract the $165 annual fee. The more you anticipate using the card, the more value you’ll typically get from it.
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