Review: CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Card

cibc-aventura-visa-infinite-patterned-featured-image

The CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite credit card is one of the main travel credit cards that I recommend to miles and points beginners as it offers valuable benefits and an easy-to-redeem currency for a reasonable annual fee. That being said, even those more advanced in the world of miles and points can find value in this card and I personally always keep it in my wallet.

Let’s take a look at everything you need to know about the CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite card to see if it’s worth adding to your wallet.

Overview

Welcome Bonus

The CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite card currently has a welcome bonus in which new cardholders can earn up to 35,000 Aventura Points:

  • Earn 15,000 Aventura upon first purchase
  • Earn 20,000 Aventura upon spending $3,000 in the first 4 monthly statements
CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Card
Apply Now Learn More Terms & Conditions apply
CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Card

The CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite card offers benefits that include a $100 NEXUS statement credit and four annual airport lounge passes.

Check out our CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite card review for more details.

OFFER
35,000 Aventura points
MINSPEND
$3,000
EST. VALUE
$770+
ANNUAL FEE
$139 (FYF)
FOREX FEES
Yes
EXPIRY

This offer does not have a publicly stated expiry date.

The CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite card has an annual personal income requirement of $60,000 or an annual household income requirement of $100,000.

Earning Rates

The CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite card earns Aventura Points for all eligible purchases made on the card at the following rates:

  • Earn 2 Aventura Points for every dollar spent on travel purchases made through the CIBC Rewards Centre.
  • Earn 1.5 Aventura Points for every dollar spent on gas station, grocery store, and drug store purchases.
  • Earn 1 Aventura Point for every dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.

There are no earning or spending caps on any of the bonus categories.

Annual Fee

The CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite card has an annual fee of $139. This is similar to the annual fee that is charged on other Visa Infinite credit cards in Canada. However, more often than not the welcome offers on this card include an annual fee rebate, so check the terms of the offer before you apply.

Customers who have a CIBC Smart Plus Chequing account can also receive a rebate on the annual fee; double-check the details of your banking account to understand how this benefit works.

CIBC Smart Plus Account
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CIBC Smart Plus Account

The CIBC Smart Plus Chequing Account includes unlimited debit, Interac e-Transfer, and worldwide ATM withdrawal transactions. Account holders are entitled to a $139 annual fee rebate on a CIBC credit card, free cheques, and more.

ACCOUNT TYPE
Chequing
OFFER
Up to $400
MONTHLY FEE
Monthly fee waived with a minimum daily closing balance of $6,000 $29.95

Benefits

The CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite card offers several travel-focused benefits in addition to a suite of insurance coverages.

Four Complimentary Airport Lounge Passes

The CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite card offers four complimentary airport lounge passes per membership year. These lounge passes are offered via the Visa Airport Companion Program, which includes a selection of airport lounges that are powered by the DragonPass lounge program.

plaza premium lounge edmonton row seating

Cardholders will need to enroll here or via the Visa Airport Companion app to take advantage of this benefit. Passes can be used for both the cardholder and their guest at over 1,300 lounges worldwide. Airport lounges are the best way to kill time before your flight as they offer complimentary food, beverages, and a usually more relaxing place than just sitting in the terminal.

If you haven’t ever traveled with airport lounge access or wonder if this benefit would be valuable to your travel plans, adding one of the best credit cards with airport lounge access with a lower annual fee, like the CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite card, would be a great way to test the waters.

$100 NEXUS Credit

If you haven’t yet obtained NEXUS membership, you are missing out as NEXUS is the best way to skip long security lines in North America at a very cheap cost. Even better, the CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite card offers a $100 NEXUS credit every four years which can be used for new membership or membership renewal fees. The cost for a NEXUS application or renewal is $120 USD, meaning that the credit reduces the cost of your membership significantly.

NEXUS Sign

My NEXUS membership card is one of my favorite miles and points adjacent tools. However, be aware that it can take some time to work through gaining NEXUS membership as it involves waiting and multiple interviews. Therefore, if you add the CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite card to your wallet I would recommend getting started on the NEXUS process as soon as possible.

Insurance Coverage

The CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite credit card offers the following insurance coverages:

  • Emergency travel medical insurance
  • Flight delay and baggage delay coverage
  • Trip cancellation insurance
  • Trip interruption insurance
  • Rental car collision and loss damage coverage
  • Common carrier accident insurance
  • Hotel burglary coverage
  • Mobile device insurance
  • Purchase security
  • Extended protection insurance

Conditions apply to each of the insurances mentioned above. Ensure you read the CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite insurance certificate for additional details, including terms and conditions for eligibility.

Redeeming CIBC Aventura Points

CIBC Aventura points can be redeemed for flights via the CIBC Aventura Airline Rewards Chart, travel purchases, gift cards, merchandise, or a statement credit.

The best use of CIBC Aventura Rewards Points is to redeem them for travel purchases through the Shopping with Points redemption option. Through this feature, cardholders can charge eligible travel purchases to their CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite card and then apply points while the charge is pending. Points cannot be applied via this redemption method if the charge is already posted, the charge must show as “Pending” to be eligible.

When redeeming points through the “Shopping with Points” method, cardholders will receive 1.25 cents per Aventura point which is fantastic value for your Aventura points. This is my preferred redemption method as it effectively turns your points into actual cash value towards a travel purchase at a very good rate.

Comparable Credit Cards

If you are looking for a new travel credit card and aren’t quite sure if the CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite card is right for you, there are a few other cards in Canada that are worth considering.

Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card

The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card is another popular beginner travel credit card that we recommend to many Canadians who are interested in a card with a reasonable annual fee and great travel benefits, including airport lounge access.

Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card
$150
Apply Now Learn More Terms & Conditions apply
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card

The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card offers benefits such as no foreign transaction fees and six annual complimentary airport lounge access passes.

Check out our Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card review for more details.

Earn $150 in FlyerFunds when you apply through Frugal Flyer.

OFFER
60,000 Scene+ points
MINSPEND
$40,000
EST. VALUE
$750+
ANNUAL FEE
$150
FOREX FEES
No
EXPIRY
Jul 1, 2026

Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite cardholders also receive six complimentary airport lounge passes and will not be charged foreign transaction fees when making purchases in currencies other than Canadian Dollars (and there are not many cards in Canada that offer no foreign transaction fees as a benefit).

Cardholders earn Scene+ points, which can also be redeemed for “Book Any Way” travel at a rate of 1 cent per point. This is another stellar card that offers great flexibility in redemption options for travel expenses that are atypical outside of the usual flight and hotel bookings.

TD First Class Travel® Visa Infinite* Card

The TD First Class Travel® Visa Infinite* card offers a similar flexible loyalty program currency making it easy for cardholders to redeem their points for travel purchases.

TD First Class Travel® Visa Infinite* Card
Apply Now Learn More Terms & Conditions apply
TD First Class Travel® Visa Infinite* Card

The TD First Class Travel® Visa Infinite* Card earns 8x TD Rewards on purchases at Expedia for TD, plus a $100 Expedia for TD credit and TD Rewards birthday bonus.

Check out our TD First Class Travel® Visa Infinite* Card review for more information.

OFFER
165,000 TD Rewards points
MINSPEND
$7,500
EST. VALUE
$825+
ANNUAL FEE
$139 (FYF)
FOREX FEES
Yes
EXPIRY

TD Rewards points can be redeemed for travel bookings made through ExpediaForTD at a rate of 0.5 cents per point, or redeemed towards “Book Any Way Travel” at a rate of 0.4 cents per point. I prefer the flexibility of the latter option, as it is super convenient to be able to charge any sort of eligible travel purchase directly to the card and reimburse the charge via points later.

The CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite does offer far more travel-related benefits, so if you are on a hunt for benefits to improve your travel, the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite card might not be the better option out of the two. However, this card is still a solid option for flexible redemptions and could complement the CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite card nicely.

CIBC Aventura Gold Visa Card

The CIBC Aventura Gold Visa card is a great nearly identical option to consider adding to your wallet if you don’t meet the minimum income requirements for the CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite card. The CIBC Aventura Gold Visa card has a minimum annual household income requirement of $15,000.

CIBC Aventura Gold Visa Card
Apply Now Learn More Terms & Conditions apply
CIBC Aventura Gold Visa Card

The CIBC Aventura Gold Visa card offers benefits that include a $100 NEXUS membership credit and four annual airport lounge passes.

OFFER
35,000 Aventura points
MINSPEND
$3,000
EST. VALUE
$770+
ANNUAL FEE
$139 (FYF)
FOREX FEES
Yes
EXPIRY

The earnings rates are the same on this card, the annual fee is the same, and oftentimes the welcome bonuses are the same. The card also offers four complimentary airport lounge access passes via Dragonpass, making it a good lower-income credit card for Canadians who are still interested in airport lounge access. 

The card also offers a NEXUS membership rebate of $50, slightly less than the $100 offered on the Visa Infinite card.

Conclusion

The CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite card is a great introduction to travel credit cards as it can get you on the path to complimentary airport lounge access and working towards a free yet valuable NEXUS membership. The fact that the card often comes with the first year annual fee rebated makes it even sweeter if you want to try the card out or if you aren’t 100% sure that a travel credit card is right for your needs.

If you aren’t sure if this is the right card for you, consider looking into our credit card comparison tool to see all the options that are available to you.

Josh Bandura

Josh Bandura

Co-Founder at Frugal Flyer
Josh has been involved in the miles and points game since 2015 but has scaled up his knowledge and points earning potential in recent years. With a consistent attitude of "min-maxing" in many aspects of his life, Josh has transferred this mindset over to the miles and points game. Always looking for the next big opportunity, he aims to share content on a variety of topics including his travels, miles and points, and most importantly, how to get the most out of your credit cards

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FEATURED CREDIT CARD

Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card
$150
Apply Now Learn More Terms & Conditions apply
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card

The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card offers benefits such as no foreign transaction fees and six annual complimentary airport lounge access passes.

Check out our Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card review for more details.

Earn $150 in FlyerFunds when you apply through Frugal Flyer.

OFFER
60,000 Scene+ points
MINSPEND
$40,000
EST. VALUE
$750+
ANNUAL FEE
$150
FOREX FEES
No
EXPIRY
Jul 1, 2026

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