The Essential WestJet Points Guide
WestJet’s simple, dollar-based loyalty program — earn points on every flight and cash them in with zero guesswork.
Best for: families who frequently fly WestJet
What is WestJet Rewards?
WestJet Rewards is WestJet’s loyalty program. Members earn WestJet points through flying, credit card spending, vacation packages, and select partners. Those points can then be used to reduce the cost of future WestJet flights and travel purchases.
Unlike programs such as Aeroplan, British Airways Avios, or Flying Blue, WestJet points are designed to stay within the WestJet ecosystem. There are no airline transfer partners and no complicated award charts to learn. For many Canadians, this simplicity is one of the program’s biggest strengths.
If you’re looking for a straightforward travel rewards program that is easy to understand, WestJet Rewards does agood job. If you’re looking for maximum value and flexibility, there may be stronger options available.
What are WestJet points worth?
The easiest way to think about WestJet points is as travel cashback.
| WestJet points | Approximate value |
|---|---|
| 10,000 | $100 |
| 25,000 | $250 |
| 50,000 | $500 |
| 100,000 | $1,000 |
This predictable value makes WestJet Rewards easy to understand. The tradeoff is that there are few opportunities to get significantly more value from your points.
How do you earn WestJet Points?
WestJet points can be earned through flying WestJet, booking WestJet Vacations, spending on an eligible WestJet RBC credit card, and through select partners.
When earning points from flights, your earning rate depends on your WestJet Rewards tier. Members with Silver, Gold, or Platinum status earn more points on eligible flights than entry-level members.
For most Canadians, however, the primary source of WestJet points is credit card spending.
The WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard earns:
- 2 WestJet points per dollar spent on:
- WestJet purchases,
- groceries,
- gas, transit, rideshare,
- select travel purchases.
- Most other spending earns 1.5 WestJet points per dollar.
Since WestJet points are generally worth about 1 cent each, this translates to approximately a 1.5% to 2% return on spending.
The earn rate is simple and predictable, but other travel rewards programs can generate points significantly faster. Programs such as American Express Membership Rewards can earn 5 points per dollar on groceries and restaurants, creating the opportunity to accumulate travel rewards much more quickly.
Why so many Canadians love WestJet Rewards
When I review travel rewards strategies for Canadian families, I see the WestJet card again and again. There are several good reasons for this.
Many Canadians fly WestJet regularly and enjoy the convenience of earning rewards with the airline they already use. Others appreciate the free checked bag benefit, which can save a family hundreds of dollars over the course of a year. Some cardholders are working toward Silver or Gold status and want to maintain those benefits.
The Companion Voucher is also one of the most recognizable travel perks available on a Canadian credit card.
Most importantly, WestJet Rewards is simple. You earn points, apply them to travel, and reduce your out-of-pocket cost. There is very little learning required.
The Companion Voucher explained
The Companion Voucher is one of the most misunderstood benefits in Canadian travel rewards. Many people believe it provides a free ticket.
In reality, the voucher allows a companion to travel for a reduced base fare. You still pay for the primary passenger’s ticket. The companion passenger must still pay the applicable reduced base fare, taxes, fees, and other charges. It can provide substantial savings on certain routes, particularly for families travelling together. However, the savings are often less dramatic than many people expect.
The Companion Voucher tends to provide the best value on longer and more expensive flights where airfare is higher. On cheaper domestic routes, the savings may be much smaller.
Before renewing your card each year, it is worth asking yourself one question: “Did I actually use my Companion Voucher last year?” For many cardholders, the answer determines whether the annual fee is worthwhile.
What I don’t like about WestJet Rewards
In my opinion, there is limited upside to WestJet Rewards.
Unlike Aeroplan, Flying Blue, or Avios, there are no opportunities to transfer points to other airline programs. There are no hidden sweet spots and very few opportunities to get outsized value from your points.
50,000 WestJet points will always be worth roughly $500. While this predictability can be helpful, it also means your rewards potential is capped.
This is why many experienced points collectors eventually move toward more flexible points currencies like, for example, American Express Membership Rewards. Flexible points can often be transferred to multiple airline programs, giving travellers more options and potentially much higher value.
How fast do WestJet points really add up?
This is where most cardholders get disappointed.
Let’s imagine a family spends $2,000 per month on their WestJet credit card. Over the course of a year, that equals $24,000 in spending.
Depending on spending categories, that may generate approximately 36,000 to 48,000 WestJet points. While that sounds impressive, it typically translates into about $360 to $480 in travel value.
In other words, a full year of spending only reduces the cost of a family vacation rather than pays for the entire trip. For some travellers, that may be fine. For others, it comes as a surprise that a full year of spending may not cover an entire family vacation.
Should you transfer RBC Avion points to WestJet points?
This is a question I hear quite often.
While there are ways to use RBC Avion points toward WestJet travel, I generally do not recommend using valuable Avion points for fixed-value WestJet travel redemptions without comparing your other options first.
Avion points can be transferred to programs such as British Airways Avios, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, and AmericanAirlines AAdvantage. These programs can often provide significantly more value than redeeming points atapproximately 1 cent per point.
You can even book a WestJet flight through Avion’s Fixed Travel Redemption Schedule for fewer RBC Avion points than it costs through WestJet. Before you transfer your RBC Avion points to WestJet, it’s definitely worth checking the travel portal to see if it costs less and compare the outcomes.
That doesn’t mean using Avion points toward WestJet flights is always wrong. If it helps you take a trip you otherwise couldn’t afford, it may be the right decision for your situation. However, if your goal is maximizing the value of your rewards, I would usually keep the RBC Avion points and look at transfer partners first.
Who should get the WestJet card?
After reading this guide, you may decide the WestJet Mastercard isn’t the best fit for your travel goals – and that’s okay. But if you regularly fly WestJet, check bags when you travel, and you know you’ll use the card’s benefits, it can still be a valuable card to have.
If the WestJet Mastercard makes sense for your family, check the current offers below.
What I would do today
If I already had a WestJet card today, I would start by looking at whether I was fully using the benefits that come with the card.
For example, if my family regularly checks bags, I would calculate how much I was saving each year on baggage fees. I would also look at whether I was actually using the Companion Voucher.
Next, I would ask whether the WestJet card is helping me reach my travel goals. If my primary goal was reducing the cost of WestJet flights and enjoying practical travel benefits, the card may be doing exactly what I need it to do.
What I would not do is assume that the WestJet card is automatically the best card for everyday spending. I would compare the earning potential with other cards and use the WestJet card where its benefits provide real value.
My rating
| Category | Rating |
|---|---|
| Simplicity | ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ |
| Beginner friendly | ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ |
| Family travel | ✈️✈️✈️ |
| Flexibility | ✈️ |
| Earning potential | ✈️✈️✈️ |
| Companion voucher | ✈️✈️✈️ |
| Overall | ✈️✈️✈️ |
Final thoughts
WestJet Rewards isn’t about chasing outsized redemptions or complicated airline sweet spots. Its strength is in its simplicity.
If you fly WestJet regularly, enjoy the checked bag benefit, and make use of the Companion Voucher, then it has earned its place in your wallet.
But remember: your travel strategy doesn’t have to begin and end with one rewards program.