RBC Finalizes Acquisition of HSBC Bank Canada

RBC has finalized its acquisition of HSBC Bank Canada, and the transition of HSBC Canada customers into RBC products and services is now also complete.

Importantly, we now have more insight into the conversion rates RBC has used to transition customers from HSBC Rewards to RBC Avion Rewards, which was not previously disclosed. 

RBC’s Conversion of HSBC Rewards to RBC Avion Rewards

As part of RBC’s acquisition of HSBC Bank Canada, balances of HSBC Rewards are being converted into RBC Avion Rewards. 

RBC did not disclose the rates at which it would convert HSBC Rewards into RBC Avion Rewards prior to the conversion taking place, and only indicated that the converted points would have “equal or higher value in the flexible travel redemption category in the same way they book their travel today.”

On April 1, 2024, previous HSBC Canada clients began receiving emails about the conversion rate RBC used. While the conversion is slated to be complete by April 5, 2024, we now have insight into the actual conversion rates being applied.

It’s worth noting that RBC has made personalized conversion rates for every customer, and the observations below may not apply to every case. Therefore, be sure to reference the communication sent directly to you.

Many previous cardholders of the HSBC World Elite Mastercard who were transitioned to the RBC® Avion Visa Infinite† are having their HSBC Rewards points converted into Avion (Elite) points at a 1:0.36 ratio. In other words, if you had 100,000 HSBC Rewards points, you’d get 36,000 RBC Avion (Elite) points.

While this conversion rate is lower than the 2:1 ratio we had originally predicted, RBC’s statement of converted points having equal or higher value in the flexible redemption category holds true, since you can redeem these RBC Avion (Elite) points at a rate of 100 RBC Avion (Elite) points = $1.50 (all figures in CAD).

Importantly, this redemption rate is higher than what’s available for cardholders of the RBC® Avion Visa Infinite† who weren’t transitioned from an HSBC World Elite Mastercard, who have a redemption rate of 100 RBC Avion (Elite) points = $1 for flexible travel bookings.

(We’ll do an analysis of who stands to gain and who stands to lose from this transfer ratio in the following section of this article).

In the Prince of Travel Elites Facebook Group and in our membership community, we’ve also seen reports of…