Start here: CIBC Aventura Rewards — earn, redeem for flights and travel, and keep your points

Step 1: What Aventura Rewards is and who it suits

You will learn: what the programme terms cover, which document settles a conflict, and who the programme is built for.

The Aventura Program Terms apply to the Program and replace all prior terms, and they govern your Aventura Account and the collection and redemption of Aventura Points; they apply to the Primary Cardholder, the Rewards Officer and any Cardholder [1]. Your Credit Card Agreement also applies, and if the two conflict, the Credit Card Agreement governs to the extent necessary to resolve it [1]. Checking a balance or redeeming on the Website also binds you to the Website terms of use, and specific terms may apply to individual Rewards and be disclosed at the time of redemption or purchase [1].

Different Cards have different benefits and features, disclosed in the welcome kit and on cibc.com, and qualifying for a particular type of Reward requires a qualifying Card [1]. Points give no vested rights and have no monetary value other than in connection with a redemption at a Specific Merchant; apart from Payment with Points and Shopping with Points they cannot be exchanged for cash or credit against your balance, and cannot form the basis of a monetary claim against CIBC [1]. The programme is therefore for people holding a CIBC credit card that is included in the Program, which is how the terms define a Card [1].

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Step 2: How you join: your card, the Primary Cardholder and Good Standing

You will learn: how the points account attaches to your card, who may redeem, and what Good Standing changes.

The terms describe no separate enrolment: an Aventura Account is the Aventura Points account linked to the Primary Cardholder's Credit Card Account [1]. Only the Primary Cardholder or the Rewards Officer may redeem Aventura Points, and the Credit Card Account must be in Good Standing to redeem, to charge any portion of a Reward's cost to a Card, or to book or order any product or service through the Centre [1]. CIBC is not required to credit points earned on net Card purchases for a Monthly Statement period if the Credit Card Account is not open and in Good Standing at any time during that period [1]. Authorized Users are not eligible to perform a Shopping with Points redemption [1].

Go deeper: Authorized user, Card selection framework.

Step 3: How earning works

You will learn: how a purchase becomes points, what earns nothing, and how long you have to dispute a statement line.

Each $1.00 CAD in net Card purchases earns the amount of Aventura Points disclosed by CIBC from time to time, and cents do not earn Aventura Points or partial points [1]. Points are earned on Card purchases less returns, and not on cash advances, CIBC Global Money Transfers, fees, interest, balance transfers, payments, CIBC Convenience Cheques or Aventura Points redemptions; certain Cards may also allow additional points for certain types of purchases from time to time [1]. Credits for returns or otherwise are deducted at the same rate as the points were earned [1].

Each Monthly Statement shows the total points added or deducted during the statement period and the total held in the Primary Cardholder's or the Rewards Officer's Aventura Account at the end of it [1]. You must notify CIBC in writing of any errors, omissions or objections within six months from the date of the Monthly Statement on which the points appear or should have appeared; after that CIBC may treat the statement as correct, except for improper credits [1]. Points credited in error may be removed without notice at any time [1].

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Step 4: How to use points: flights, travel, Payment with Points and more

You will learn: which redemption route fits a given trip and what each route requires of you.

Rewards must be ordered through the Centre or at a Specific Merchant, and points cannot be applied against existing reservations, purchases already made, or products and services not ordered or booked through the Centre [1]. The number of points required for specific Rewards may change at any time and without notice [1].

An Airline Travel Reward is a round-trip flight redeemed in accordance with the Aventura Airline Rewards Chart and obtained from the Centre [1]. The chart shows a maximum ticket price for a round-trip economy flight for one person in each travel region category, being the base fare before Taxes and Other Charges: if the base fare exceeds it, you must charge the excess to your Card or pay the excess with points, and if the base fare is lower, no credit is granted [1]. Taxes and Other Charges are not included and may be charged to your Card or paid with Flexible Travel Rewards [1]. You must redeem at least 80% of the points required, and the Centre may charge the Points Deficit to your Card, a deficit that cannot exceed 20% of the full economy requirement [1]. Without access to the business class chart, a business class request is made by phone: the Centre first redeems the maximum economy points for the same flight segment — 20,000 points for a short-haul flight in the terms' example — and the difference between the maximum ticket price and the flight cost is charged to your Card or paid with points [1].

Aventura Points may be redeemed for up to 100% of the cost of any Flexible Travel Reward booked through the Centre, for up to 100% of the cost of Taxes and Other Charges and for travel insurance bought through the Centre, with no minimum redemption amount and the excess charged to your Card [1]. The point price of a Lifestyle Reward includes taxes and, if applicable, shipping, with any additional fees confirmed when the Reward is ordered [1]. Payment with Points and Financial Products with Points require a qualifying Card and are limited to Primary Cardholders [1]. Shopping with Points is limited to Primary Cardholders and to authorized transactions not yet posted to the card account, is treated as a payment rather than a credit, and uses a points-to-dollars ratio set by CIBC that can change at any time without notice, subject to applicable law [1].

Once ordered, Rewards are non-refundable, non-exchangeable and non-transferable unless you are advised otherwise [1]. If your balance turns out to be short, the Centre charges your Card: for an Airline Travel Reward, an amount equal to the full points required at three cents a point, less any amount already charged to your Card for a Points Deficit; for a Flexible Travel Reward, the amount the Centre would have charged for the entire booking, less any portion you charged to your Card; for a Payment with Points, your balance is reduced only by the points redeemed and the rest accrues interest; for any other Reward, the deficient points multiplied by one cent [1]. Aeroplan conversion is narrower than it looks: only an eligible Aventura Account issued before October 1, 2013 may redeem Aventura Points for Aeroplan points, at 1 to 1 in increments of 10,000, and a conversion request cannot be cancelled nor Aeroplan points converted back into Aventura Points [1].

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Step 5: Keeping points: no tiers, closure and changes

You will learn: what the terms say about tiers and transfers, and what happens to points on closure, death and programme changes.

The Aventura Program Terms describe no status tiers [1]. Points are not transferable, including with respect to any other Aventura Account, and cannot be assigned or divided unless CIBC consents; transfers between your own personal and business Card Aventura Accounts are allowed where you are the Primary Cardholder or Rewards Officer for both [1].

If you close your Credit Card Account or decline to renew your Card, all points must be redeemed within 60 days and only for a Lifestyle Reward, Payment with Points and Shopping with Points — not for an Airline Travel Reward or a Flexible Travel Reward; if the account is closed because your Card is being converted into another type of CIBC credit card, the 60 days apply too but only a Lifestyle Reward is available [1]. Points not redeemed within 60 days are forfeited without compensation [1]. If CIBC closes the Credit Card Account because it is not in Good Standing or for any other reason permitted under the Credit Card Agreement, the Aventura Account closes automatically and all points are forfeited immediately [1].

On the Primary Cardholder's death, a spouse, common-law or civil union partner who is an Authorized User and is approved as replacement Primary Cardholder keeps all the points; otherwise the account closes and the estate may redeem no later than twelve months after closure, only for Lifestyle Rewards (excluding Specific Merchants), Payment with Points and Shopping with Points, all in a single transaction unless CIBC advises otherwise [1]. If the entire Program is terminated, CIBC sends 60 days' prior notice, and it may amend, suspend or terminate all or any part of the Program at any time by written or electronic notice or a Website posting effective when posted, with changes that may affect points already accumulated [1]. For accounts where the Primary Cardholder is a Quebec resident, CIBC gives 60 days' notice of a change to an essential term and 30 days for any other change, including a comparison of the existing and new terms and the effective date, and the Primary Cardholder may refuse the change by cancelling within 30 days after the effective date without cost, penalty or cancellation indemnity [1].

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Step 6: Your first concrete action

You will learn: a five-part check you can run on your own account this week.

1. Confirm your card is a CIBC Aventura card included in the Program, then read the Aventura Rewards Program Terms and Conditions [1].
2. Open your latest Monthly Statement and check the points added, deducted and held; if something is wrong, write to CIBC within six months of the statement date [1].
3. Keep the Credit Card Account in Good Standing, because redeeming, charging part of a Reward and booking through the Centre all require it, and a closure by CIBC for lack of Good Standing or another permitted reason forfeits points immediately [1].
4. Before booking a flight, compare an Airline Travel Reward on the chart with a Flexible Travel Reward, remembering that Taxes and Other Charges are extra on the chart and that the chart itself can change [1].
5. Before closing or converting the card, plan the 60-day window and note which redemption forms remain available [1].

Then read the comparison of Canadian redemption options so you can place the Aventura routes alongside the other programmes.

Next: CIBC Aventura Rewards programme hub, Canadian card points redemption options compared.