The WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard is WestJet’s premier co-branded credit card in Canada, and offers a wealth of benefits, the most significant of which is the $0 companion voucher.
Bonuses & Fees
Currently, there’s an elevated signup offer on the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard of 450 WestJet Dollars.
250 WestJet Dollars is awarded upon first purchase and the remainder 200 WestJet Dollars is awarded after spending $5,000 in the first three months after applying.
The annual fee on this card is $119, with additional users costing $59.
Please see the RBC site for more details on offers.
Earning Rewards
With the WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard, you’ll earn:
- 2% back in WestJet Dollars per dollar spent on WestJet flights and vacations
- 1.5% back in WestJet Dollars per dollar spent on all other purchases
Redeeming Rewards
What exactly are WestJet Dollars? Well, 450 WestJet Dollars can be applied as a $450 credit to the base fare of any WestJet booking. Therefore, as long as you fly with WestJet once a year to the tune of at least $450, the signup bonus is as good as cash in your pocket.
WestJet Rewards allows you to redeem WestJet Dollars towards the cost of any WestJet flight, so there’s no need to worry about “award availability” or anything like that. As long as there’s a seat available for purchase, you can use your WestJet Dollars towards it.
The 450 WestJet Dollars bonus doesn’t have to be used up all in one go either. You’re free to earn the bonus, wait for one of WestJet’s great deals to pop up on a route you’re interested in, and then apply the bonus towards your booking.
Perks & Benefits
The most significant of these benefits is the free checked bag benefit on WestJet flights for the primary cardholder and up to eight other passengers on the same booking.
Checked baggage normally costs $30–35.40 on WestJet, so this benefit alone could be worth up to $100 per trip if travelling as a family of four, or potentially even more if you’re travelling as a larger group.
Other benefits include the ability to save 3¢/L on fuel at PetroCanada whilst earning 20% more PetroPoints, access to airport lounges as part of MasterCard LoungeKey (although fees do apply), and access to the MasterCard Concierge Services for last-minute restaurant and event bookings.
The other major selling point of this card is an annual round-trip companion voucher for travel on WestJet. This companion voucher can be redeemed in one of the following ways:
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$119 base fare (plus taxes, fees and charges) for travel within Canada or the Contiguous U.S.,
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$399 base fare (plus taxes, fees and charges) for travel to the rest of WestJet’s network in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, or Europe
Since it’s a companion voucher, you have to be booking an itinerary for at least two people – the first passenger would pay full price, while the second passenger would enjoy the companion voucher’s promotional price.
The vouchers are valid for round-trip tickets in economy or premium class (not business class). You’ll also have to pay taxes and fees on the companion ticket, in addition to the discounted base fare.
In addition, cardholders will also receive a Status Lift of $500 in tier qualifying spend for every $15,000 spent on the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard, helping you qualify towards WestJet status.
Finally, the card offers a complimentary Boingo Wi-Fi membership, which can be used for free Wi-Fi onboard WestJet flights.
Insurance Coverage
As a World Elite product, this credit card comes with comprehensive premium travel insurance, including:
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Emergency medical insurance for the first 15 consecutive days of any out-of-province trips
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Trip interruption insurance of up to $5,000 per covered person
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Auto rental damage and theft insurance, which can help you save on the insurance fees that rental companies like to impose
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Hotel burglary insurance of up to $2,500 in total
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Travel accident insurance of up to $500,000 against accidental death or dismemberment
You’ll also enjoy top-drawer purchase protection benefits, including 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.
I just got a new offer waiving the annual fee on this card. That along with the fact that the companion voucher can be used for a Europe destination this would be incredible value if you can use the 450 WJD towards the full price fare that is required for a companion booking (Ricky do you know the answer to this?). Might be worth updating this page as this is looking like pretty good value to me now.
Hi Ricky,
I have signed up for this card & would like to confirm my understanding of the current companion voucher promo. Does this no co-pay companion voucher need to be booked within a certain timeframe of obtaining the card?
Thanks for the concise and straightforward breakdown!
DP: I could not apply $X-WJD to a flight but rather WJ calculated how much I could apply per flight, e.g. YYZ-YYC base fare of $130 can be covered with 117 WJD+$. If you only had 116 WJD, you wouldn’t be able to apply it like a cash credit… not to say you couldn’t do some spend to get that extra 1 WJD.
Hi Ricky, is this correct? 350 WSD -> $450?
“What exactly are WestJet Dollars? Well, 350 WSD can be applied as a $450 credit to the base fare of any WestJet booking. “
Nope! That’s just my mistake. Fixed.
Can you receive the signup bonus more than once on this card? I received it in 2019.
Yes.