I've done the AP - Esso - RBC transfer several times. It takes maybe a week max to do the whole route. As far as transfers go, its free, and there isn't really any other way to move your AP points to another program with such a small loss.
AP - ESSO via points.com
ESSO - RBC via essoextra or RBC
They had a bonus late last year for AP transfers via Points.com that made it an even better deal.