WestJet has announced some upcoming changes to the annual companion voucher that comes as a benefit on the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard and the WestJet RBC® Mastercard.

For vouchers issued on or after June 30, 2024, there will be an increase to the fee you pay when redeeming it for a Premium or PremiumFlex Fare.

Upcoming Changes to WestJet Annual Companion Voucher Pricing

WestJet has revealed that there will be an increase to the fees charged for redeeming an annual companion voucher for certain fares. 

For annual companion vouchers issued on or after June 30, 2024, the base-fare fee for the second passenger on a Premium or PremiumFlex fare is increasing by $100 (all figures in CAD). 

The base fare you’ll pay for a second passenger is $100 more than Basic, Econo, or EconoFlex fares, which depends on your destination.

For flights within Canada or to/from the continental United States, you’ll pay the following base-fare fees for a second passenger with a World Elite voucher issued on or after June 30, 2024:

• Basic, Econo, or EconoFlex: $119 (unchanged)
• Premium or PremiumFlex fares: $219 (up from $119)

For flights to or from the rest of the WestJet network, you’ll pay the following base-fare fees for a second passenger with a World Elite voucher issued on or after June 30, 2024:

• Basic, Econo, or EconoFlex: $399 (unchanged)
• Premium or PremiumFlex fares: $499 (up from $399)

For annual companion vouchers that come with the WestJet RBC Mastercard, you’ll pay the following base-fare fees for a second passenger with a voucher issued on or after June 30, 2024 for flights within Canada or to/from the United States (excluding Hawaii):

• Basic, Econo, or EconoFlex: $199 (unchanged)
• Premium or PremiumFlex fares: $299 (up from $199)

The increased fees for Premium and PremiumFlex fares only affect vouchers issued on or after June 30, 2024. Therefore, if you have a voucher that was issued on or before June 29, 2024, you’ll still pay $119, $199, or $399 for a second passenger on a Premium or PremiumFlex booking, depending on your booking and how you earned the voucher.

The added cost comes in addition to the taxes, fees, and Other ATC fees that WestJet levies on bookings.

In the email sent out to eligible cardholders, WestJet also noted that you’ll soon be able to redeem WestJet dollars with Sunwing Vacations on sunwing.ca. 

Flying in Premium Will Cost a Premium

It’s unfortunate to see the upcoming change to the fee structure on the WestJet annual companion voucher. 

As we’ve illustrated in our guide to the voucher – and as is the case will all companion vouchers – it becomes more valuable as you redeem for higher fares. 

In some cases, redeeming the companion voucher for a lower fare is actually more expensive than just buying two tickets, since the base fare is sometimes less than the companion voucher base fare.

In other cases, you can get excellent value for a companion voucher by redeeming it during peak travel seasons (when base fares are high), last-minute bookings (when base fares are high), and for Premium and PremiumFlex bookings (which always have a higher cost than economy fares).

This will still be the case, and you’ll still be able to get good value out of an annual companion voucher as long as you redeem it strategically.

On one hand, if you’ve redeemed your annual companion voucher for Premium or PremiumFlex fares, it’s going to cost you $100 more for vouchers issued on or after June 30, 2024, which is unfortunate. You’ll still get great value out of a voucher this way – it’s just going to cost you more than it did before, which means that you’re getting less value.

On the other hand, it’s likely that the majority of people who use companion vouchers redeem them for Basic, Econo, or EconoFlex fares, and these upcoming changes won’t affect them at all.

Conclusion

WestJet has announced some upcoming changes to the fees charged for a second passenger booked on Premium or PremiumFlex fares with an annual companion voucher.

For vouchers issued on or after June 30, 2024, the base-fare fee is increasing by $100 for Premium and PremiumFlex fares.

You’ll also soon be able to redeem WestJet dollars for Sunwing Vacations on sunwing.ca; however, a timeline for that has not been set.