A point is worth what you redeem it for.
How rewards currencies work in Canada: what earns them, how they move between programmes at a published ratio, and the arithmetic that prices a redemption before you commit to it.
*Every ratio below is as filed in the transfer-route ledger. Where a record leaves a field blank, the cell says so instead of guessing.
- 13
- routes filed
- 2
- source programmes
Three postings, in order
Every rewards strategy is these three moves. The whole game is making each one deliberately instead of by default.
- i.
Earn
Points arrive from card spending, welcome offers, flights and stays. The card decides the rate: the same grocery run earns once or several times over depending on what is in your wallet.
Spend → points - ii.
Transfer
A transferable bank currency can move to an airline or hotel programme at that partner's published ratio. This is where the flexibility lives — you choose the partner after you know the trip, not before.
Points → partner - iii.
Redeem
The same point buys wildly different amounts depending on what you spend it on. Nothing about the balance tells you its worth; only the booking in front of you does.
Points → booking
What a point is actually worth
A point has no price of its own. It has a rate, and the rate is set by the single booking in front of you — which is why the whole method fits in one division. Run it on the two options you are choosing between; the larger figure is the better use of the points.
The card ledger is where this site’s recorded numbers live. The tools page collects the calculators — each one says so when the figures it needs are not on file.
cash price of the booking
÷points it costs
=value of one point
Which points move where
| From | To | Ratio | Minimum | Clears in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Express Membership Rewards (Canada) | AccorHotelALL - Accor Live Limitless | 1,000 : 500 | 1,000 | Up to 48 hours |
| American Express Membership Rewards (Canada) | Air CanadaAirlineAeroplan | 1,000 : 1,000 | 1,000 | Up to 30 minutes |
| American Express Membership Rewards (Canada) | Air France-KLMAirlineFlying Blue | 1,000 : 1,000 | 1,000 | Up to 3 days |
| American Express Membership Rewards (Canada) | British AirwaysAirlineThe British Airways Club (Avios) | 1,000 : 1,000 | 1,000 | Up to 30 minutes |
| American Express Membership Rewards (Canada) | Cathay PacificAirlineAsia Miles | 1,000 : 750 | 1,000 | Up to 5 days |
| American Express Membership Rewards (Canada) | Delta Air LinesAirlineSkyMiles | 1,000 : 750 | 1,000 | Up to 30 minutes |
| American Express Membership Rewards (Canada) | HiltonHotelHilton Honors | 1,000 : 1,000 | 1,000 | Up to 5 days |
| American Express Membership Rewards (Canada) | MarriottHotelMarriott Bonvoy | 1,000 : 1,200 | 1,000 | Up to 48 hours |
| RBC Avion Rewards | American AirlinesAirlineAAdvantage | 10 : 7 | 5,000 | Up to 4 weeks |
| RBC Avion Rewards | British AirwaysAirlineThe British Airways Club (Avios) | 1 : 1 | 10,000 | Up to 4 weeks |
| RBC Avion Rewards | Canadian TireOtherCanadian Tire Money (Triangle Rewards) | 140 : 1 | 140 | Immediately after completing a conversion |
| RBC Avion Rewards | Cathay PacificAirlineAsia Miles | 1 : 1 | 10,000 | Up to 4 weeks |
| RBC Avion Rewards | WestJetAirlineWestJet Rewards | 1 : 1 | 1,000 | Up to 4 weeks |