If you fly with WestJet, the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard is the best credit card in Canada to earn extra benefits with the Calgary-based airline.
With this card, you’ll earn WestJet Dollars on everyday spending,† which can be redeemed for flights. You’ll also enjoy a suite of ongoing perks that can save you money or even help you reach elite status.
These days, the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard is particularly intriguing due to the record-high welcome bonus on offer until next year.†
In this post, we’ll look at nine ways the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard will enhance your travel with WestJet.
- Earn 250 WestJet dollars upon making your first purchase†
- Plus, earn 200 WestJet dollars upon spending $5,000 in the first three months†
- Plus, receive an annual companion voucher for discounted travel on WestJet flights, with a co-pay starting at $119 plus taxes and fees†
- Minimum income: $80,000 personal or $150,000 household
- Annual fee: $119
In This Post
- 1. Welcome Bonus of Up to 700 WestJet Dollars
- 2. Reasonable Annual Fee
- 3. Annual Round-Trip Companion Voucher
- 4. Earn WestJet Dollars on Everyday Spending
- 5. Redeem WestJet Dollars for WestJet Flights
- 6. Free Checked Bags on WestJet Flights
- 7. Status Lift
- 8. Free Boingo Wi-Fi
- 9. Strong Travel Insurance
- Conclusion
1. Welcome Bonus of Up to 700 WestJet Dollars
By applying for the card prior to March 14, 2024, you’re eligible to receive a welcome bonus of up to 700 WestJet Dollars.†
To begin, you’ll automatically receive 300 WestJet Dollars after your first purchase.†
A further 300 WestJet Dollars can be earned after spending $5,000 (all figures in CAD) in the first three months of card membership,† and the final allotment of 100 WestJet Dollars is given as a one-time anniversary bonus.†
This trend of spreading the welcome bonus over into the second year is nothing new. In fact, banks have been taking this approach more and more to entice cardholders to hang onto credit cards for the long-term.
The current record-high welcome bonus of up to 700 WestJet Dollars is a huge increase over the past four years, during which the bonus was capped at around 450 WestJet Dollars.
If you fly with WestJet with any frequency and want to reduce your out-of-pocket costs by leveraging the welcome bonus, you’ll certainly want to apply for the card before March 14, 2024, which is when the offer is set to expire.†
2. Reasonable Annual Fee
While the welcome bonus on the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard has doubled in size over the years, the annual fee has held steady at $119.†
This certainly hasn’t been the case across the Canadian credit card landscape. Over those same years, we’ve seen other World Elite Mastercard products increase their annual fees to upwards of $150.
In the first year of card membership alone, the opportunity to earn up to 600 WestJet Dollars† more than makes up for the annual fee. And in the second year, the anniversary bonus of 100 WestJet Dollars† nearly covers it, too.
In subsequent years, deciding whether the $119 annual fee is worth it will be a matter of weighing the cost against the many WestJet benefits that come with the card.
On the other hand, if you do fly with WestJet, you should easily be able to get your money back through the ongoing cardholder perks and the WestJet Dollars you’ll earn.
3. Annual Round-Trip Companion Voucher
One of the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard’s most attractive features is the annual companion voucher.†
If you fly WestJet with a partner or a friend, the companion voucher can result in good savings, especially for premium fares.
When you book a full-price fare, you can then use your companion voucher to access a discounted fare for your companion’s ticket.
The price of the discounted fare will depend on your destination, and is structured as follows:
- $119, plus taxes, fees, and surcharges, for travel within Canada or the continental US†
- $399, plus taxes, fees, and surcharges, for travel anywhere else that WestJet flies†
Although you’ll still have to pay taxes, fees, and air transportation charges on the second fare, the companion voucher stands to save you hundreds of dollars if used strategically.
The WestJet annual companion voucher is most valuable when used for last-minute flights, flights during peak season, premium flights, and long-haul routes.
It’s worth noting that even if you don’t have a travel companion, you can still make good use of the companion voucher.
That’s because WestJet has given select cardholders the opportunity to convert companion vouchers into WestJet Dollars,† and what’s more, all WestJet members can exchange companion vouchers for WestJet lounge passes.†
Therefore, even if you’re flying solo, you should still be able to make use of your companion voucher, especially if you travel through Calgary and have access to the flagship Elevation Lounge.
4. Earn WestJet Dollars on Everyday Spending
With the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard, not only will you earn WestJet Dollars with the welcome bonus, but you’ll also earn them through your everyday spending.
The WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard earns 2% back in WestJet Dollars per dollar spent on eligible WestJet purchases,† and 1.5% back in WestJet Dollars per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.†
If you have WestJet status, you can stack the WestJet Dollars earned through your credit card with those earned with your status on WestJet flights and WestJet Vacations packages, and the earning rates become very meaningful.
When paired with the 2% earning rate on the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard, Silver elite members can earn up to 5% back,† Gold members get up to 7% back,† and Platinum members can earn up to 10% back† in WestJet Dollars for eligible WestJet flight bookings.
Therefore, if you have any tier of WestJet status, you’ll be able to pad your balance even faster by booking your flights on the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard.
Even if you don’t have status, you can earn 1.5% back in WestJet Dollars everywhere you shop,† including at Costco, which only accepts Mastercard.
5. Redeem WestJet Dollars for WestJet Flights
WestJet Rewards is one of the easiest airline loyalty programs to understand and use for flight redemptions.
Indeed, you won’t have to worry about finding award availability, since all of WestJet’s seats are bookable with WestJet Dollars.
WestJet Dollars can be used as a credit against the base fare of any WestJet booking.† One WestJet Dollar will get you a $1 credit against the base fare;† however, you’ll still be on the hook for the taxes, fees, and other air transportation charges.
WestJet Dollars are going to be most useful if you live in a city to which WestJet frequently flies. Fortunately, WestJet has been busy expanding its network as of late.
The airline is restoring and adding new routes to popular European and US destinations, and WestJet also now offers flights to Iceland and Tokyo, as well as routes all over Canada, the US, and to sunny destinations in the Caribbean and Mexico.
Redeeming WestJet Dollars for flights is easy, and you can even redeem WestJet Dollars for WestJet Vacations, allowing you to book Disney tickets, airport transfers, and more with your WestJet Dollars.
6. Free Checked Bags on WestJet Flights
By holding a WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard, you’ll enjoy a free checked bag for yourself and up to eight other passengers on the same booking when flying with WestJet.†
This benefit applies automatically to all WestJet flights, even if you don’t use your card to book the ticket.†
Since checked baggage normally costs at least $30–35 on WestJet flights, by using this benefit, you could easily save over $60 per trip, or much more if you’re travelling as a family.
If you fly more than once per year with WestJet, then the savings from this benefit alone can easily justify the cost of the annual fee.
7. Status Lift
If you’re loyal to WestJet, the Status Lift feature on the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard can help accelerate your way to elite status.†
As a reminder, WestJet has three elite status tiers: Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Each tier comes with its own set of benefits, improving and expanding with each tier you reach.
To reach each tier, you’ll have to earn “Tier Qualifying Spend,”which equals $3,000 for Silver status, $5,000 for Gold status, and $8,000 for Platinum status.
You’ll earn qualifying spend at a rate of 100% of your base fare on eligible WestJet flights, or 20% of your base package price on completed eligible WestJet Vacations.
The WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard comes with the Status Lift benefit, which helps you accelerate your Tier Qualifying Spend.
By spending on the card, you’ll earn $500 in tier qualifying spend for every $15,000 you charge to the card.†
With this benefit, you can earn up to three $500 lifts per calendar year, or a total of up to $1,500 towards status.†
This effectively reduces the Tier Qualifying Spend thresholds by $500, $1,000, or $1,500, depending on how much you charge to the card.
Therefore, if you’re looking for a way to streamline your journey towards status with WestJet, be sure to leverage the Status Lift feature on the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard in your favour.
8. Free Boingo Wi-Fi
Another benefit that comes with the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard is 12 free 90-minute Boingo Wi-Fi sessions on flights each year, as well as unlimited access to Boingo hotspots worldwide.†
Boingo is the Wi-Fi provider on select WestJet flights with onboard internet. A Boingo Unlimited membership would otherwise cost $14.99 per month, and the alternative of paying for Wi-Fi onboard can cost over $20 per flight.†
If you’d usually be paying out of pocket for onboard Wi-Fi, the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard is a great choice to help lower some of your travelling costs.
In order to access this feature, all you need to do is register your card and set up a Boingo account before you fly.
After that, simply connect to the onboard Wi-Fi, and enjoy.
9. Strong Travel Insurance
One more reason to apply for the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard is that it comes with strong travel insurance.
With the insurance coverage on the card, you’ll enjoy the following inclusions:
- Emergency medical insurance for the first 15 consecutive days of any out-of-province trip for travellers under the age of 65, or for the first three consecutive days of the trip for those 65 years and up†
- Trip interruption insurance of up to $5,000 per covered person†
- Auto rental damage and theft insurance, which can help you save on the insurance fees that rental companies like to impose for vehicles, up to an MSRP of $65,000†
- Hotel burglary insurance of up to $2,500†
- Travel accident insurance of up to $500,000 against accidental death or dismemberment†
- Extended warranty protection that doubles the original manufacturer’s warranty for up to one year†
- Purchase protection coverage against accidental loss or damage of personal property for up to 90 days from the date of purchase†
And if you use your card to pay for the taxes and fees on a WestJet Rewards booking, the insurance will also apply.†
Most credit cards don’t cover award bookings, so if you want to be covered when you redeem WestJet Dollars, your best bet is to use a card that will provide insurance coverage for award bookings, including the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard.†
Conclusion
The WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard is the best card in Canada for enjoying benefits with WestJet.†
The card’s welcome bonus is currently the highest it’s ever been. What’s more, you’ll enjoy a suite of ongoing perks as a cardholder, such as the annual companion voucher, free checked bags on WestJet flights, and onboard Wi-Fi access with Boingo.†
With the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard, you can also redeem the WestJet Dollars you earn for discounted WestJet flights.†
If you travel with WestJet at any frequency, adding the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard to your wallet is a surefire way to score extra perks at a reasonable price.
† Terms and conditions apply. Refer to the RBC website for up-to-date information on offers, features, and benefits.
I’ve been trying for several years to spend all my WestJet dollars. It is hard! They only cover the base fare, and Westjet adds the “nefarious” charge called ” Other ATC” charges which reduces my ability to use WestJet dollars.
As for the Companion voucher, I find it is usually useless….buying 2 seats without the voucher is often less cost than by applying the voucher!!
The only benefit of this card is the free checked bags. Thats it. The WJ Dollars program is terrible b/c “Base Fare” is more often than not <50% of the total ticket, plus you're at the mercy of their wild swings in seat pricing.
IMO WJ Dollars are only good for short haul flights within Canada and not worth saving for a big trip or vacation package.