One of the main features of the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercardǂ is the annual companion voucher, which is typically used to book a second passenger on the same booking at a discount.
However, if you don’t intend to travel with a companion, or if you tend to book WestJet’s lowest fares, you might find yourself with a voucher that you wouldn’t otherwise make good use of.
Fortunately, you also have the option to exchange your WestJet annual companion voucher from the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercardǂ into four lounge passes instead, which may then be used to access the WestJet Elevation Lounge in Calgary and other contract lounges across WestJet’s network.
Exchanging the WestJet Annual Companion Voucher for Lounge Passes
If you don’t plan on redeeming your WestJet annual companion voucher on a flight booking, you can choose to convert it into four lounge passes instead.
The process is simple, and as long as you have a valid annual companion voucher earned on your WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercardǂ, you can proceed with the conversion.
WestJet Rewards members can head to the dedicated landing page on the WestJet website to exchange an eligible companion voucher on their account into a set of four lounge vouchers.
You’ll need to sign in to your account, and then if you have an eligible companion voucher, it will show that you can convert it into lounge passes.
Be careful: clicking the “Exchange Now” button will submit the request, and you won’t be able to undo the transaction. Once your request is submitted, you’ll receive the four lounge vouchers in your account within four days.
The lounge vouchers will have the same expiry date as the original companion voucher. If you have multiple companion vouchers on your account, then the one that has the nearest expiry date will be exchanged; you can choose to exchange more than one companion voucher, but you’ll have to submit your request multiple times in order to do so.
You can use the lounge vouchers to bring in guests to accompany you in the lounge as well; however, the passes may not be shared with others to use when travelling without you.
The lounge vouchers are redeemable at WestJet’s flagship Elevation Lounge in Calgary, as well the Plaza Premium– and Aspire- operated lounges in Vancouver (YVR), Toronto Pearson (YYZ), Edmonton (YEG), Calgary (YYC), Montreal (YUL), Ottawa (YOW), and Winnipeg (YWG), and select lounges in Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean – all upon presenting a WestJet boarding pass. The full list of eligible lounges can be found on the WestJet website.
Finally, note that the ability to exchange for lounge access is only applicable to the companion voucher earned on the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercardǂ, and not the companion vouchers on the base-level WestJet RBC® Mastercard or those earned through WestJet Rewards Elite Tiers.
Should You Trade WestJet Annual Companion Vouchers for Lounge Access?
Prior to deciding whether to convert your WestJet annual companion voucher to lounge passes or to use them for flights instead, it’s important to consider which option might be more valuable.
The WestJet annual companion voucher allows you to book a second passenger’s flight for as little as a $119 base fare upon paying full fare for the first passenger. If redeemed wisely, the companion voucher can easily fetch hundreds of dollars of value, but only if you were already going to pay for those WestJet flights as a set of two passengers in the first place.
However, if you tend to book WestJet flights with low base fares, including the bare-bones UltraBasic fare, you might actually wind up paying more by using your companion voucher than you would if you were to just pay full price for the flights instead.
If that’s the case, then the lounge access vouchers might be more appealing to you, since you’d be able to extract value from them even if you’re travelling on a cheaper route like Toronto–Montreal or Calgary–Edmonton. If you don’t otherwise enjoy lounge access from your credit card, the four lounge passes can be a nice way to elevate your travel.
Obviously, you might also prefer the lounge vouchers to the annual companion voucher if you’re a solo flyer and rarely travel as a party of two or more.
The most appealing place to redeem your WestJet lounge vouchers would be the WestJet Elevation Lounge Calgary, where you can enjoy a sit-down meal, a drink at the flagship bar, and a shower. It’s one of Canada’s leading airport lounges and a step above most of the Plaza Premium and other contract lounges that comprise the rest of WestJet’s lounge network.
However, keep in mind that you can also access the WestJet Elevation Lounge (and many other lounges, for that matter) through Priority Pass, which is easily obtainable through several major Canadian credit cards, including unlimited access through the American Express Platinum Card and the American Express Business Platinum Card. It’s also available through DragonPass lounge access.
If you already hold a Priority Pass membership or can otherwise access the WestJet Elevation Lounge, then it would be of minimal incremental value to exchange the WestJet companion voucher into lounge vouchers. You’d be better off keeping your companion voucher in that case, and planning a trip with it instead.
Conclusion
If you have the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercardǂ, you can choose to exchange your annual companion voucher into a set of four WestJet lounge access vouchers instead.
If you’re a solo traveller or you’re otherwise uncertain as to whether you’ll be able to get value out of the companion voucher, then perhaps the lounge vouchers might be a more appealing alternative.
Prior to making the exchange, just be sure to crunch the numbers to make sure you’d be getting incremental value by doing so. Then, sit back and enjoy some complimentary food and drinks prior to your WestJet flight.