The CIBC Aventura Gold Visa is one of the best flexible rewards cards on the market right now. It’s particularly good for those who want a premium travel rewards credit card but don’t meet the usual minimum income requirements to qualify.

What makes this card special is that it has nearly all of the features of its big brother, the CIBC Aventura^® Visa Infinite^* Card, but you only need a $15,000 household income and good credit to qualify.

Earning CIBC Aventura Rewards

As a cardholder you’ll get a nice welcome bonus worth up to 45,000 points:

• 15,000 Aventura points after your first purchase, and
• an additional 30,000 Aventura Points when you spend $3,000 or more in the first 4 monthly statement periods^†.

Those 45,000 points are worth up to $900 when redeemed for flights.

As for the rewards, on all of your purchases you'll earn:

• 2 points for every $1 spent on travel purchased through the CIBC Rewards Centre.
• 1.5 points for every $1 spent at gas stations, plus grocery and drug stores, and
• 1 point for every $1 spent on all other purchases.

Based on a typical $2,000 monthly spend, you'll earn around 29,000 Aventura points per year.

How you can use your Aventura points

These flexible rewards can be used for a number of different things:

• flights on any airline,
• other types of travel,
• merchandise,
• gift cards,
• vacation packages,
• financial services, and
• statement credits.

1 point per $1 spent on most items may seem ho-hum because it’s on par with almost every points-based card on the market, and it looks worse than those offering 2 points per $1 spent or more.

It’s actually much better than it seems, however, because each point is worth much more than the usual 1 cent per point. Each point is worth up to 2.3 cents when redeemed for highly flexible and valuable flight rewards. For example, 35,000 points can be redeemed for a flight on any airline at competitive prices worth up to $800. If you get the full $800 value on your flight, then each point is worth 2.3 cents (rounded up).

This means you’re getting at least a 2.3% return on spending, but that jumps to 3.5% on gas, groceries, and drugstore purchases, and even further to 4.6% on CIBC travel purchases. That makes the 2% return you get with other cards that give you 2 points per $1 spent - where each point is worth 1 cent - look not quite so good anymore.

But, if you don't get value from the flight chart, and instead redeem for any travel booked through CIBC, you're only looking at a return of 1% to 2% – which isn't the greatest return for a premium rewards card. We have a summary of what each option is worth in the Rewards tab above. And to learn more about redeeming your rewards, we've got a full guide on CIBC Rewards.

CIBC Aventura Gold Visa insurance and benefits

The Aventura Gold card from CIBC also comes with 10 different types of travel and purchase insurance (which you can find out more about under the Insurance Coverage tab above).

A rare insurance provided? The mobile device coverage. Get some insurance in case something happens to your mobile phone, It's a rare insurance not offered on many credit cards.

To make travel even easier and worry-free, this card comes with 24/7 access to CIBC Travel Concierge Service so you can get help with your travel arrangements, gift buying, reservations, event tickets, and more.

You'll also get some free airport lounge access. This card comes with complimentary airport lounge access to Visa Airport Companion lounges, along with 4 complimentary passes, allowing you to relax in comfort before your flight.

Plus, every four years, if you apply for a NEXUS card, you’ll get a rebate on the application fee. A great way to make travel to the United States easier.

Although this card comes with a fairly high annual price tag of $139, CIBC will rebate the fee for the first year. And, since there is only a $15,000 minimum income requirement, it’s pretty easy to qualify for, if you have good credit.