Welcome to another Rewards Canada Clash! This time the RC Arena sees two loyalty programs battle it out! We have RBC Avion Rewards, who have stated they are striving to become the best loyalty program in Canada go up against Scene+, who are not just for movies anymore, but are an all encompassing coalition loyalty program.
For this bout in the RC the rounds are split into the primary factors that you can use to compare large loyalty programs which are partners in the program and earning & burning points.
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RBC Avion Rewards counts many partners in the program but very few of those partners are actually set up to earn points for the program. Most of their partnerships (Petro-Canada, DoorDash, Rexall) are either discount offers for use at that partner and/or extra points earning in partner's loyalty programs.
These are the Avion Rewards partner options that members can earn points with:
Scene+ also has many partners but unlike Avion Rewards, these partners are set up that members can always earn points with them.
These are the Scene+ partner options that members can earn points with:
I don't think I need to write a very big conclusion for round one, it's pretty obvious that with many more partner options to earn points with, this round easily goes to Scene+.
RBC's Avion Rewards began as a credit card only rewards program and although they have expanded beyond that with Avion Select which does not require an RBC credit card. That being said Avion Rewards remains primarily a credit card rewards program so we'll compare the earn to burn between the two program's credit card options separately.
The Avion Rewards program has two different levels of credit cards that members can earn points with. They have the Avion suite of credit cards which make up the Avion Elite part of the program and then they have the ION suite of cards that make up the Avion Premium portion. There are different earn rates and redemption rates for Avion Elite and Avion Premium respectively, so we'll look at each separately (And also combined)
When an Avion Rewards member has the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card, RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege Card or the RBC Avion Visa Platinum card they are an Avion Elite member and have access to best redemption options in the Avion Rewards program.
Earning points when you have one of these cards is pretty simple, they will earn either 1 or 1.25 points per dollar spent depending on which card you have.
RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege Card
As an Avion Elite member, those points can be redeemed with the following values:
To be able to compare this to Scene+ and ultimately find a winner for this round, we need to combine the earn rates with the redemption rates (earn to burn ratio) to get your rate of return on spending.
Here are the rates of return for Avion Elite,members:
When an Avion Rewards member has the RBC ION Visa Card or the RBC ION+ Visa Card they are an Avion Premium member and have access to most redemption options in the Avion Rewards program.
When you have one of the ION cards you will earn up to 3 points per dollar spent depending on which card you have.
As an Avion Premium member, those points can be redeemed with the following maximum value:
Once again, to be able to compare this to Scene+ and ultimately find a winner for this round, we need to combine the earn rates with the redemption rates (earn to burn ratio) to get your rate of return on spending.
Here are the rates of return for Avion Premium members:
Scene+ operates on a more standard reward program basis when compared to Avion Rewards. There aren't separate levels in Scene+ and outside of different credit card earn rates, the redemptions rates are the same across all the cards.
Earning points on Scene+ credit cards can vary widely depending on which card you have and which category of spending you use the card in.
Scotiabank Gold American Express Card
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card
Scotiabank Platinum American Express® Card
Scotiabank American Express Card
As Scene+ member who hold a Scene+ earning credit card, those points can be redeemed with the following maximum value:
To be able to compare this to Avion Rewards and ultimately find a winner for this round, we need to combine the earn rates with the redemption rates (earn to burn ratio) to get your rate of return on spending.
Here are the rates of return for Scene+
The Scene+ program can provide up to a 6% return on credit card spending while Avion Rewards tops out at a 2.91% return on credit card spending. You can already see how Scene+ is better in this regard but that doesn't even tell the entire story of this round and how Scene+ pummels Avion Rewards!
To get 2.91% from Avion Rewards you need to earn the points at the 1.25 points per dollar earn rate. That means purchases made for travel on the ever so popular RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card or all purchases made on the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege Card. Then that 2.91% is only valid on short haul flights within the same province or neighbouring province/state and being able to redeem for a ticket at the maximum base fare of $350. Any lower of ticket price, any earning on the card at 1 point per dollar, and your rate of return goes lower. That's a lot of ifs, ands or buts! And it doesn't give consideration to the taxes and fees! You can redeem your Avion Rewards points towards taxes and fees at 100 points to $1 which provides a 1% to 1.25% return.
Meanwhile with Scene+ you are earning 2, 3, 5, 6 points per dollar on popular spending categories (so much easier to earn than the 1.25 for travel on the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card) and you are guaranteed up to that 6% rate of return - it doesn't matter if the ticket cost is $150, $350 or if it's short haul or long haul and you get the same rate of return when using points towards taxes and fees!. The only guaranteed rate of return from Avion Rewards for travel is 1% or 1.25% (2.5% for premium class flights when you have the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege Card) but anything higher is only a potential return and they still don't come to close to the up to 6% with Scene+.
For the sake of not making this feature longer than it needs to be, it is pretty easy to see the other non-travel redemption options are also a better value from Scene+ thanks to the program's better earn to burn ratios.
But don't ring the bell to end this round just yet....
There is a way to boost the value in Avion Rewards and that is by having both an RBC ION+ Visa Card and one of the Avion Cards. By tag teaming with these cards, members can collect the better earn rates provided on the RBC ION+ Visa Card and then transfer those points over to Avion Elite account from having one of the Avion cards which allows members to take advantage of the better redemption options from the latter card.
If a member does this, they can push the rate of return to as high as 7% in Avion Rewards. This takes into account the 3 points per dollar earned on the RBC ION+ Visa Card for Grocery, Dining & Food Delivery, Rides, Gas & EV Charging, Streaming, Digital Gaming & Subscriptions and the highest redemption option of 2.33 cents per point.
That gives a 6.99% rate of return - but again that's only a potential return as that's only available for the previously mentioned short haul flights when the base fare is exactly $350. That's a pretty specific redemption to be able to knock a 7% return out of the park. The rest of the redemptions will come in with a potential top end value of 6.42%, 6% or lower - but again, that's potential value. The only guaranteed value with this combination is 3% for an ION+ with Avion Infinite or Platinum card, or 6% for an ION+ with Avion Infinite Privilege but being quite specific again as that's for premium class tickets only.
Here at RWRDS Canada we hate that the onus has to be on the consumer to get two credit cards to maximize the Avion Rewards program. With Scene+ you just need one card, the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card to get the best value out of the program and your 3%, 5% and 6% rates of return for travel and even other redemptions are guaranteed, none of this "you can potentially get 6%, 6.42% or 7% for travel by getting two cards, pushing the maximum ticket value and so on!"
Moving away from the numbers, the other blow that Scene+ delivers to Avion Rewards is the flexibility in booking travel. With Avion Rewards you have to book travel via Avion Rewards (Expedia) to get all the best returns outlined above, so you are limited in the prices they offer and even the travel options they offer (very few Ultra Low Cost airlines, no Cuba travel etc.)
When you hold a Scotiabank credit card that earns Scene+ points you can book travel with whomever you want. It can be direct with an airline, direct with a hotel (that way you get your hotel points and elite status benefits) and so on - you are not limited to what Expedia offers with Avion Rewards. Once the charge shows up on your credit card account you simply redeem points against the charge at 100 points to $1 ratio, which is 1 cent per point, giving you those 1% to 6% returns. And that same 100 points to $1 can also be used for groceries, movies, etc. - the beauty of Scene+ is you don't have to worry if redemption with Scene+ partner "A" will be worse than a redemption with Scene+ partner "B"
Outside of the travel redemption options, the earn-burn value drops significantly with Avion Rewards' options compared to Scene+ so this is just another blow landed by Scene+.
With numerous big blows landed across this entire round, Scene+ almost scores a TKO against Avion Rewards and wins this round by a clear margin (That's even with Avion playing tag team with their cards in an attempt to be stronger)
Editors note: It should be noted we aren't taking into account the ability to earn even more Scene+ points on top of what is earned with the Scene+ credit cards just by showing a Scene+ card at their partners. Those additional points just further add to Scene+'s beat down of Avion Rewards. While you can combine Avion Select points (see next round) with Avion Elite points, the earning opportunities are few and far between that they will barely add any "oomph" to Avion's fight.
Both programs provide options for Canadians to participate without actually having a credit card tied into it. RBC has the recently launched Avion Select portion of Avion Rewards, which is open to all Canadians who don't have an RBC credit card or eligible banking product while Scene+ has always been open to all Canadians regardless of the program's relationship with Scotiabank.
Launched in 2023, Avion Select is RBC's attempt to break into the entire Canadian loyalty space by offering a program not tied into a financial product. Now, nearly two years in the only option to earn points with Avion Select has been and continues to be via their card linked offers. This is where you link a non-RBC credit or debit card (Which is great, I have all my Amex card's linked and you could link you Scene+ Scotia cards!) to your Avion Select account and then when you use one of those linked cards at a participating merchant you will earn the points or cash back.
The points earned vary by merchant and have been few and far between. Personally, I've been a member of Avion Select since it launched nearly two years and have amassed 1,851 points over that time, which is just over $14 in points when redeemed for gift cards. These earning offers tend to be low in terms of actual points awarded, 50 points here, 100 points there. I've earned a little more cash back during the same time period, nearly $55 but even the cash back offers are quite limited (most of that cash back I earned was from DoorDash when it was available!)
As an Avion Select member, the points earned can be redeemed with the following value:
In late 2020 Cineplex's Scene program joined together with Scotiabank's Scotia Rewards to form Scene+, a multi-faceted loyalty rewards program that is still trying the shake the stigma of being a program for moviegoers. Just like it's Cineplex predecessor, the Scene+ program does not require you to have a credit card or financial product to participate in the program.
These are the Scene+ partners you can earn points at without having a Scotiabank financial product:
As an Scene+ member, the points earned can be redeemed with the following value:
With more merchants to earn points with and the ability to consistently earn points with them, that is, not limited time offers like Avion Select, Scene+ delivers another big blow to Avion Rewards and takes this round.
Here's where Avion Rewards flexes it muscles but just a little bit. The Avion Rewards program has an option that isn't as widely used by most Canadians but is coveted by the points & miles community. That option is the ability to transfer Avion Rewards points to other programs. Avion Elite members have the option to convert points to American Airlines AAdvantage, British Airways Club, Cathay Pacific's Cathay and WestJet Rewards while Avion Premium members have the option to convert points to WestJet Rewards.
These options are cherished by the points and miles community as frequent flyer programs (other than WestJet) provide an opportunity to redeem points with outsized value for flights - primarily when redeemed for business class and first class flights. But for many Canadians this isn't that appealing as outside of WestJet Rewards, the programs offered in Avion Rewards play a niche role in the Canadian market. Having to find availability for flights, only offering flights out of select Canadian cities, trying to find redemptions that provide good value, be willing to take connecting flights, you name it - outside of us points & miles freaks, dealing with frequent flyer programs, let alone non-Canadian frequent flyer programs in this manner isn't very appealing to the masses.
The transfer partner that does work for the Canadian masses is WestJet Rewards but it is a program that does not provide outsized value. WestJet Rewards operates on simple redemption basis of 1 WestJet dollar = $1 of base airfare (100 points = $1 of base fare as of April 30). The conversion rate from Avion Rewards to WestJet Rewards is 100 points to $1 (And we assume it will be a 1:1 points conversion as of April 30) which means RBC's credit card earn rates of 1 to 3 points per dollar translate to a 1% to 3% value in WestJet Rewards redemptions towards the base fare. That can be boosted slightly at certain times of the year when RBC offers a 10% or 15% bonus on transfers to WestJet Rewards.
Overall, the WestJet transfer is a good option from Avion Rewards but in this fight, it is a swing and a miss at Scene+. Without outsized value, Scene+'s Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card also represents a 1% to 3% value when redeemed for flights you book with WestJet, not to mention you'll earn WestJet dollars/points as they will be revenue tickets, whereas redemptions made via WestJet Rewards will not earn points/dollars. Not to mention Scene+ points don't lose value when redeemed towards taxes or fees like WestJet Rewards points will in the new program. And if you have the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card you are looking at 1% to 6% in value that you can use for WestJet flights!
In the end this round does go to Avion Rewards who land a jab against Scene+ as the latter does not have any conversion options at all. But we only say a "jab" as you do have to take into account the limitations of the non-Canadian conversion partners, no extra value with WestJet Rewards and the inherently built-in outsized value and flexibility in the Scene+ program, namely with their powerhouse points earning machine the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card.
In the end you'll need to be able to pull some hefty cent per point values out of British Airways or Cathay redemptions (3 CPP or more if you don't have the Avion/ION+ combo but giving consideration to the 30% transfer bonus provided several times per year for British Airways) and even higher from American AAdvantage (7 CPP or more if you don't have the Avion/ION+ combo) to match the up to 5% or 6% provided on the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card (and this isn't taking into consideration the extra points you earn for being a Scene+ member)
This clash may have less rounds than our credit card clashes but they are four very important rounds nonetheless. By single-handedly taking two of those rounds, almost delivering a knock out punch in another, and only narrowly losing out in one, it's a unanimous decision.....
Key factors in Scene+'s win:
If you would like to see any other loyalty programs or credit cards go head to head against each other - please do not hesitate to reach out to us in the comments, on social media or via email.