CIBC Aventura® Visa* Card Review
Are you looking for a travel credit card with no annual fee with some handy perks and easy to earn rewards? The CIBC Aventura Visa offers new cardholders the opportunity to earn up to $120 in value†. Add in no annual fee, some travel benefits, and the ability to earn rewards on all purchases, and you have yourself a pretty decent travel credit card.
In This Article:
About the CIBC Aventura® Visa* Card
The CIBC Aventura® Visa* Card is a travel card that allows you to earn rewards for every purchase and later redeem those rewards for travel and more. Cardholders can also easily earn points through everyday spending. Once you have enough points, you can redeem them for a variety of products including travel.
Travel points aren’t the only thing you earn, you’ll also enjoy no annual fee for the primary cardholder, as well as up to 3 additional cards.
Pros
- Easy to earn welcome bonus
- Points can be earned on all purchases
- Use Aventura Points to cover full airfare including taxes and fees
- Can book with any airline with no blackout periods and points don’t expire†
Cons
- Lower earn rate than some other travel cards on the market
Main Benefits and Features
The CIBC Aventura® Visa* Card allows cardholders to quickly earn Aventura Points so they can travel faster and farther, with no limitations on airlines you can use your points to book with or blackout periods.
Welcome Offer
New cardholders can earn up to 12,000 Aventura Points ($120 in travel value)†: A first eligible purchase earns an easy 9,500 points; the remaining 2,500 points can be earned by completing all of the 5 following activities, worth 500 points each when completed within 60 days of being approved.†
- Share your email address with CIBC
- Sign up for eStatements for your new Aventura Visa Card
- Add an authorized user on your new Aventura Visa Card
- Hold an Eligible CIBC chequing account
- Add your Aventura Visa card with Apple Pay®, Samsung Pay or Google Pay™
How to Earn Rewards on Regular Purchases
The welcome bonus is a great perk, but CIBC Aventura® Visa* Card cardholders can easily earn points on a daily basis based on the following structure:
- 1 point for every $1 spent on travel purchases made through the CIBC Rewards Centre†
- 1 point for every $1 spent on eligible gas station, grocery store, and drug store purchases†
- 1 point for every $2 spent on all other purchases†
All you have to do is shop with your card and, for those who are wondering, no your points won’t expire† as long as you are a cardholder. Each point is worth about $0.0116, however the value changes based on how you choose to redeem each point.
How to Redeem Rewards
When it comes time to redeem your rewards, you can do so easily online. Rewards can be redeemed in a number of different ways:
- Travel– flights, hotels, car rentals and more
- Shopping– redeem for merchandise or gift cards through the CIBC Rewards online catalog
- Points that Pay the Bills– your points can be used to pay down your credit card balance or credit card purchases moments after you make them.
As a general rule of thumb, your points go the furthest when redeemed for travel, especially since with this card you can fly on any airline with no consideration for blackout periods.
To redeem for travel or merchandise, you’ll have to log into your CIBC Rewards account or call the CIBC Rewards Centre. If you want to use your points towards a flight through the Aventura® Airline Rewards Chart, you will need to have at least 80% of the required points. You can use your points to fly with any airline with no blackout periods. Also, it’s worth mentioning that your points can be used to cover taxes and fees on flight tickets which is not common with most travel credit cards
These are some examples of how far your points can get you:
| Aventura Points Needed | Max Ticket Price | |
|---|---|---|
| Canada and U.S. (short haul) Within a province, territory or U.S. state or to an adjoining province or territory or US state. | 10,000 - 20,000 | $400 |
| Canada and U.S. (long haul) From and to any location in Canada or the U.S. | 25,000 - 35,000 | $800 |
| Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, Central America, Caribbean | 40,000 - 60,000 | $1,000 |
| From Canada or U.S. to select destinations in Europe | 50,000 - 70,000 | $1,300 |
| From Canada or U.S. to select destinations in Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, South Pacific, Middle East or South America | 75,000 - 125,000 | $2,000 |
If you would prefer to redeem your points towards your statement balance you can do this through your CIBC online banking account. Just click ‘payment with points’.
Additional Perks and Features
On top of the main benefits listed above, this card also comes with a few additional perks, including the following:
- 90-day Purchase Security Protection in case your new purchase gets stolen or breaks†
- Auto rental collision and Loss Damage Insurance†
- $100,000 Common Carrier Accident Insurance†
- Extended Protection Insurance†
- Aventura Travel Assistant, which tailors travel bookings to your needs, with no booking fees†
Rates and Fees
The CIBC Aventura® Visa* Card does not have an annual fee. You can also get up to 3 additional cards at no charge. Cardholders will pay a relatively standard 20.99%† Purchase Annual Interest Rate, 22.99%† (for non-Quebec residents only) Cash Advance Annual Interest Rate, and a 22.99%† (for non-Quebec residents only) Balance Transfer Annual Interest Rate.
What Are the Eligibility Requirements?
In order to apply for this credit card, you need to meet the following eligibility requirements:
- Be a Canadian resident
- Have reached the age of majority in your province
- Have a good credit score (between 670-739)
- Have a minimum household annual income of $15,000
How to Get the CIBC Aventura® Visa* Card
Applying for the CIBC Aventura® Visa* Card is easy and can be done online, takes about five minutes and you’ll get a response in as little as 60 seconds. Click here and you’ll be taken straight to the application.
You will be asked to confirm that you meet the eligibility qualifications, which is smart because you’d hate to fill it all out and then realize you’re not eligible.
Next is a page with all the important credit card info regarding terms and current rates, etc. Read through this information and click ‘agree’ at the bottom to proceed.
After this, you will be asked to fill out your personal information. This includes your Canadian address, phone number, birthdate, etc. You will be asked for your Social Insurance Number, so make sure you have that ready.
If you are already a CIBC customer and use CIBC Online Banking, you can log in and it will connect this information for you. Once you have completed your application you can expect to receive the credit card, assuming you are approved, within 2-3 weeks by mail.
What We Like
The CIBC Aventura® Visa* Card is a decent travel card, especially considering that it is free. You can earn points on all purchases, the welcome bonus is easy to obtain, and there are a couple of handy perks and benefits. We also appreciate that this credit card allows travelers to use their rewards towards paying for taxes and fees as well, not just the actual flight itself.
What We Like Less
The point earn rates are a little low in comparison to a couple of other travel credit cards on the market and the fact that the amount of points required to redeem for flights through the Aventura Flight Rewards Chart is not a fixed amount can make things a bit confusing when trying to figure out how to get the most for your points.
Final Word
Although the welcome offer might not be as high as other cards on the market, there is no spending minimum making it extremely accessible for cardholders. This card’s flexible points redemption means you can decide how you want the CIBC Aventura® Visa* Card to work for you. Whether you’re a frequent flyer or an avid online shopper, this card is a great companion for your wallet.
† Conditions apply
This is a digital-exclusive offer.† To be eligible for this offer, you must apply for a new eligible card using the “Apply Now” link available on this webpage.†
Quebec Residents – Learn More about this CIBC product here
Résidents du Québec : Pour en savoir plus sur ce produit CIBC, suivez ce lien
Author Bio
Article comments
CIBC VISA has no customer service ethic. No effective attempt has been made to provide timely costomer service. I have been trying several (about 10x) times over the last week. The shortest wait time suggested has been 40 minutes. As bankers traditionally say “time is money”. That is a heck of an overhead and all I wanted to do was activate my card.
I am now looking into getting an alternative credit card.
The big joke is that they say “your call is important.” Clearly that is a lie.
Hi Edward,
That sounds incredibly frustrating- especially since you’re just trying to activate the card. As one of the big 5, I’d presume they have an automated card activation number but hey, this cost them a customer. Let us know what card you end up with and how that customer experience goes.
Hi
I have this card and wonder if it is worth keeping right now because of many restrictions on travel with Covid since it is basically a travel perk card.
Also can you clarify I heard you need a boarding pass to use the lounges that you can just go and use one by showing your membership card if not flying?
Also wonder if CIBC would lower the annual fee since hard to travel with all the quarantine protocols and testing to fly now.
Should I switch to the no fee card to not loose points during this time?
Hi Patrick,
You basically have two options. Switch to the No Fee card and conserve your points or collect as many points as you can now so that when you are comfortable flying again, you will have that many more miles. I looked at the terms and conditions for the card and it says you only need to show your Priority Pass membership card to access the lounges, but also acknowledges that individual lounges have their own restrictions (find those on the Priority Pass website) and may be closed due to COVID-19. The annual fee so far remains, but I guess time will tell.