Ms. Vinita Savani reports

RBC AND HTS (HOPPER TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS) COME TOGETHER TO ELEVATE THE TRAVEL BOOKING EXPERIENCE FOR CANADIANS

Royal Bank of Canada and HTS (Hopper Technology Solutions) today formed a long-term collaboration to provide an enhanced travel loyalty experience for all Avion Rewards members, bringing together the country's largest proprietary loyalty program and one of Canada's leading travel technology platforms. This offering not only delivers a world-class travel booking platform for Canadian travelers, it also significantly enhances the value and benefits available to RBC credit cardholders, including Avion cardholders.

An enhanced Avion Rewards Travel platform will be seamlessly integrated into the Avion Rewards ecosystem, allowing members to use their Avion points across all travel categories, providing them with greater capabilities for booking flights, accommodations, car rentals, activities and packages.

Beyond the core booking capability, flexible booking options and elevated loyalty features will be introduced, driving greater value and engagement for members. This includes a new service that will provide price insights on the optimal time to book flights based on historical and predictive data.

Avion credit cardholders will continue to enjoy exclusive fixed-points pricing on any airline, any flight, any time -- with no blackout dates or seating restrictions, even during peak periods. The transition will be frictionless for all Avion Rewards members.

"RBC's collaboration with HTS represents a significant milestone in transforming travel loyalty, delivering smarter, industry-first features for our Avion Rewards members to enjoy," says Vinita Savani, executive vice-president, cards and loyalty, RBC. "By combining HTS's technology with Avion Rewards' unparalleled loyalty expertise, we're creating a seamless, personalized travel booking experience that puts the needs of our members and credit cardholders first. This exciting shift underscores our dedication to innovation and reinforces Avion Rewards' position as Canada's leading loyalty program."

"As a proudly Canadian company, we're thrilled to team up with RBC, Canada's leading bank, to bring next-generation travel innovation to Canadians and deliver a more dynamic, personalized, and rewarding experience for Avion Rewards members," said Dakota Smith, president and co-founder of Hopper and HTS. "RBC continues to set the standard for what clients expect from a world-class bank, and this venture underscores our shared commitment to redefining travel and loyalty through best-in-class technology."

About Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. The bank's success comes from the 101,000-plus employees who leverage their imaginations and insights to bring the bank's vision, values and strategy to life so RBC can help its clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada's biggest bank and one of the largest in the world, based on market capitalization, RBC has a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to the bank's more than 19 million clients in Canada, the United States and 27 other countries.