WestJet RBC® Mastercard

The WestJet RBC^® Mastercard is a scaled-down version of the WestJet RBC^® World Elite Mastercard.

We’d recommend the WestJet RBC^® World Elite Mastercard to anyone who qualifies for it, as it has a stronger welcome bonus, a more powerful companion pass, and more card benefits. However, the WestJet RBC^® Mastercard could be a good fit for those that don’t qualify for the World Elite card but like to travel with WestJet.

Bonuses & Fees

Currently, the signup offer on the WestJet RBC^® Mastercard is 15,000 WestJet points structured as follows:

• 5,000 WestJet points upon first purchase^†
• 10,000 WestJet points upon spending $1,000 in the first  three month^†

The annual fee is $39, with supplementary cardholders costing $19 each.^†

How Much Is This Offer Worth?

Here’s a breakdown of what the welcome bonus for the WestJet RBC^® Mastercard is worth. Keep in mind that this doesn’t take into consideration the potential value of other card benefits, which we’ll outline in detail below.

We value WestJet points at 1 cent per point, and using that value, we’d estimate that the total welcome offer of 15,000 WestJet points^† is worth $150.

Plus, assuming the card’s baseline earning rate of 1 WestJet point per dollar spent, you’d earn an additional 1,000 WestJet points (at least) for meeting the $1,000 minimum spending requirement. We’d value these points at an additional $10.

Therefore, in the first year as a cardholder, the minimum amount of net value you can expect to get from this card’s welcome bonus is $121: $150 from the total of 15,000 points from the welcome bonus, $10 by spending the bare minimum $1,000 to earn the second part of the welcome bonus (and assuming the card’s baseline earning rate), and then minus the card’s annual fee of $39.

Of course, you can certainly squeeze more value out of the card by leveraging the category earning rates and the card’s other benefits; however, this is unique to each cardholder, and our valuation assumes a minimum amount of value rather than a maximum amount of value.

Earning Rewards

With the WestJet RBC^® Mastercard, you’ll earn:

• 1.5 WestJet points per dollar spent on eligible WestJet flights, WestJet Vacations, and Sunwing Vacations^†
• 1.5 WestJet points per dollar spent on restaurants, food delivery, digital subscriptions, streaming services and digital games^†
• 1 WestJet point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases^†

Redeeming Rewards

WestJet Rewards prides itself on being a straightforward loyalty program that’s easy to understand.

For the most part, each WestJet point is worth 1 cent per point, which means that 100 WestJet points is worth $1, 1,000 WestJet points is worth $10, 10,000 WestJet points is worth $100, and so on.

At the time of booking, WestJet points can be redeemed against the base fare, Other Air Transportation Charges (“Other ATC”), extra baggage fees, and seat selection fees at a value of 1 cent per point. You need to redeem at least 2,500 WestJet points for a flight, or at least 5,000 WestJet points for a WestJet Vacations package.

After you’ve made a full redemption for everything on the ticket, if you have enough WestJet points remaining to cover the taxes and fees, you can choose to do so at a rate of 105–110 WestJet points = $1 (CAD) towards the taxes and fees. This results in a value of 0.91–0.95 cents per point.

Unlike many other loyalty programs, the opportunities to score outsized value from your points are quite limited with the WestJet Rewards program.

One way to squeeze more value is by combining a WestJet points redemption with a Member Exclusive Fare booking. While WestJet advertises Member Exclusive Fares as offering up to 65% off of base fares, you’re much more likely to come across discounts of 5–10%.

Indeed, this is the most valuable way to redeem WestJet points. Just be sure to compare the fare inclusions and exclusions of Member Exclusive Fares, since you may be better off with other fare types.

Perks & Benefits

The major selling point of the WestJet RBC Mastercard is an annual round-trip companion voucher for travel on WestJet.^† To receive the voucher, you must spend at least $2,500 on the card each year.

Once unlocked, the voucher can be used for round-trip travel within Canada and to/from the continental U.S. (excluding Hawaii), starting from $199 CAD plus taxes, fees, surcharges and other ATC for the second traveller.

It applies to UltraBasic, Econo, EconoFlex, Premium, or Premium Flex fares, and the first passenger pays the regular fare. Taxes and fees still needs to be paid on the companion ticket, and the voucher can’t be used for business class.

If you’ll be taking advantage of the companion voucher, the $39 annual fee is a relatively small price to pay.

If you don’t want to use it as a companion voucher, you may instead exchange it for a 25% flight discount for one traveller or for 5,000 WestJet points.^†

Other benefits include the ability to save 3¢/L on fuel at Petro-Canada whilst earning 20% more PetroPoints,^† and receiving three months of complimentary DoorDash DashPass.^†

Insurance Coverage

As an entry-level travel card, this card comes with basic travel insurance, including:

• Auto rental damage and theft insurance for MSRPs of up to $65,000, which can help you save on the insurance fees that rental companies like to impose^†

• Hotel burglary insurance of up to $2,500 in total^†

• Travel accident insurance of up to $500,000 against accidental death or dismemberment^†

• Mobile device insurance of up to $1,500 in the event your mobile device is lost, stolen, suffers accidental damage or experiences mechanical failure^†

You’ll also enjoy an extended warranty that doubles the original manufacturer’s warranty for up to one year^†, and coverage against accidental loss or damage of personal property for up to 90 days from the date of purchase.^†

Legal Disclaimers