How BC Ferries fits into More Rewards

The More Rewards travel portal is powered by Expedia. That means it has access to a broad range of bookable travel inventory, including BC Ferries sailings. You search, select your crossing, and pay in More Rewards points instead of cash.

This works the same way as booking a hotel or a flight through the portal. The booking is processed at 0.43 cents per point. That's the travel portal rate, and it applies to ferry bookings exactly as it applies to anything else in the inventory.

The result: if you've been earning points at Save-On-Foods, Quality Foods, or Buy-Low Foods, BC Ferries is one of the most locally relevant things you can redeem them for.

What a crossing costs in points

BC Ferries fares vary by route, season, vehicle size, and passenger count. But a realistic benchmark for the Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay route (the main Vancouver Island connector) looks like this:

Crossing ~Cash fare Points required (0.43 CPP)
Tsawwassen → Swartz Bay, vehicle up to 6.5m + 1 adult ~$100 ~23,300 pts
Return crossing (same route) ~$200 ~46,500 pts
Swartz Bay → Tsawwassen + vehicle + 2 adults ~$120 ~27,900 pts

Fares are estimates based on published BC Ferries tariffs. Exact costs vary by sailing time (peak vs. off-peak), vehicle length, and number of passengers. Always check current fares at bcferries.com before assuming a points cost. The formula is consistent: cash fare ÷ 0.0043 = points required.

Quick calculation: take the cash price of your ferry crossing, divide by $0.0043 (or multiply by 233). That's how many More Rewards points you need. A $100 crossing needs ~23,300 pts.

How many grocery shops to earn a crossing

This is where the math becomes concrete. At a typical household grocery spend, here's how long it takes to earn a return crossing:

Monthly grocery spend (Save-On) Card rate Monthly pts from groceries Months to ~46,500 pts (return crossing)
$600 / mo 8 pts/$1 (Visa Infinite) + 1 loyalty card 5,400 pts ~8.6 months
$1,000 / mo 8 pts/$1 + 1 loyalty card 9,000 pts ~5.2 months
$1,200 / mo 8 pts/$1 + 1 loyalty card 10,800 pts ~4.3 months

Add gas, dining, and other spending at 8 points per dollar, plus the 3 points per dollar on everything else, and the timeline compresses significantly. A household with $2,500 per month in total spending (typical for a couple) earns roughly 14,000 to 17,000 More Rewards points per month. A return crossing falls within a quarter's worth of everyday spending.

Why this matters for Vancouver Island residents specifically

For most Canadians, BC Ferries is an occasional expense, a holiday trip to the mainland. For Vancouver Island residents, it's a utility. Trips to see family, medical appointments, concerts, sports events, Costco runs. The ferry is a regular line item.

That changes the calculus entirely. If you're crossing two or three times a year, that's $400 to $600 in annual ferry costs that More Rewards points can offset, from the same grocery spending you were going to do anyway. The only change is swiping the More Rewards RBC Visa Infinite instead of a debit card.

No annual fee. No program complexity. No transfer partners to navigate. Just groceries becoming crossings. The Getaway via Groceries case study shows the full earn math across a range of More Rewards redemptions, including what the same grocery spend unlocks beyond BC Ferries.

Pairing a BC Ferries booking with a full trip

The More Rewards travel portal books more than just ferries. Once you've covered the crossing in points, the same portal can handle accommodation on the mainland, or accommodation on the Island if you're doing the reverse.

Some redemptions worth knowing about for BC-based travel:

  • Sea-to-Sky Gondola (Squamish): bookable through the portal at 0.43 CPP. A ticket at ~$58 costs about 35,000 points.
  • Hotels in Tofino, Long Beach, or Ucluelet: available through the Expedia-powered inventory at standard portal rates.
  • Vancouver hotels: strong inventory, particularly for a mainland overnight if you're crossing for an event.

The More Rewards travel portal doesn't have the best hotel inventory at luxury tier, but for mid-range BC accommodations, the selection is solid. The ferry is often the hardest part of a BC trip to cover in points. Start there.

Practical tips

  • Book the ferry early. Popular sailings on long weekends sell out. Points don't unlock special availability; you're booking the same inventory as everyone else.
  • Check peak vs. off-peak pricing. BC Ferries tariffs vary by sailing time. An off-peak morning sailing is cheaper in cash and cheaper in points. The CPP stays the same; the absolute points cost drops.
  • Redeem through the portal, not Pay With Points. If you see a "Pay With Points" option at the register for ferry-related spending, it isn't the travel portal. Always book through morerewards.ca/travel for the 0.43 CPP rate.
  • Check current fares first. Confirm the cash price of the specific sailing you want at bcferries.com, then calculate the points cost. Fares change seasonally and BC Ferries adjusts tariffs annually.

Related: More Rewards program overview · What Is CPP? · Getaway via Groceries case study