I am reading up on the RBC westjet credit card and am debating if I should get one. One of the perks is to receive an annual round-trip companion voucher that allows you to go anywhere WestJet.
Does anyone have one and what do you think of it? Is this a good deal?
Thank you in advance.

make sure you qualify - it is $80K single minimum income, or $150K household

We love ours - the no charge first checked bag basically pays for the annual fee after two return fights. Everything else is a bonus. We also use Avion Visa for our day to day purchases, and this card fills in nicely at Costco

It's good if you fly with someone 9nce a year and are always on the same flights and you fly in and out of the same city all the time. Doesn't work for creative and complex itineraries. 1.5 percent return on all spending which is standard for credit cards. Some are in the 2 or more percent range without the companion fare

I have the BMO rewards credit card and I get numerous flights a year, no restrictions. You can link your business card to your business card as well which is nice!

Because so many people have these cards I often find the westjet fare is higher than a.c. at peak times. So it might not be worthwhile to use companion fare at say Xmas

not a real fan of westjet but this is worth it for the free checked baggage alone, plus collecting WJ dollars

We love it!

I have it and it's great for me. I fly once a year, with my kids. So between the companion fare, and the WJ bucks I rack up throughout the year, one fare is totally free (plus a few hundred off another fare). And the free first baggage for myself and two kids makes it even sweeter

Isn't it the case that can't combine a companion fare with westjet dollars though? I thought it was one or the other?

I've been able to do. The WJ dollars don't go towards the Companion fare, but instead towards mine or my daughters fare. I may have had to call in to do it tho.

You can absolutely use your westjet dollars in conjunction. Your westjet dollars can also be used to cover the 99.00 companion fare.

Really??? I spoke to a WJ agent a week ago who told me I definitely could not! WTH? Now I'm even more frustrated!

Susan Bogart maybe it change? I have done it in the past.

Susan Bogart call them again

Its a no-brainer for 1 year at least if you fly WJ since you get $250 WJ dollars which more than offsets the annual fee. Just holding the card (not necessarily making the booking on it) gives you free baggage on WJ flights as well (it ties to your WJ membership).
The companion fare will be hit or miss depending on where you fly as its $99 for the 'base' fare of the ticket... so if for example you're flying to the east coast at Christmas time then its great value, but for like a trip from Calgary to Vancouver its much less valuable.

I believe you do have to book with the card to qualify for free bags?

Svetlana nope

Svetlana no you dont

Edwin do you have to book the flights with the westjet card to be able use the companion voucher?

Sarah Yes you do

Free bags are only when traveling with the primary card holder on the same reservation.

Edwin how much is the annual fee? Do you need to make $80,000/year to qualify to get the card..I saw that mentioned earlier.

My husband and I each have one. Love them!

I also herd you do not have to pay for extra baggage.

Mike - first bag is free with this card - for all members travelling on the same itinerary as the card-holder, even if it isn't a companion flight. Second bag checked incurs a cost

I would agree that the companion fare may seem like the attractive feature of the card, but that it's really the free baggage.
After factoring in the taxes and fees on the companion fare flight (which you still need to pay), the flight usually needs to be a fairly expensive flight ($500-$600+ roundtrip) AND simultaneously westjet needs to be your cheapest & best option, for it to be a good use of the companion fare.

Agreed Chris - we flew to Huatulco in the holiday high traffic week Dec 29th, first fare was 1300 ish txpd, and with the companion flight 299 + taxes, two flights were 1800. Great deal all considered.

It's not brilliant. You get 250 westjet dollars but often it won't allow you to use it on one flight so you have to use it across multiple flights. Sometimes the companion fare is about the same as a regular ticket.
Only real advantage I've found is free checked bags.

Mark Smith really you can’t use the $250 all at once? I was hoping to use it along with the companion voucher to books flight for me and my husband this Xmas.

You can only use one or the other not both at the same time. So either companion fare OR redeem westjet dollars.

Susan Bogart this is not accurate- we use our companion fare and westjet dollars at the same time every year. Both my husband and I have the credit card and each take one child with us- we have used both for at least 5-6 flights.

Be nice if someone from WJ was on here to clear this up

We used out west jet dollars as well as companion flight to Halifax last year.

Kathy I may call them for verification

Maureen good idea!

My boyfriend doesn't use a debit card. He puts all his purchases on his credit card, to build up westjet dollars faster. We love it & will opt to fly with westjet whenever possible, even if the fares are a little more. We feel the service more than compensates for it.

Carolyn I find the points for WJ dollars are 1/2 what they are on my Cap1 card so I don’t use my WJMC to accumulate points - just for the companion pass & free bag

Lori agreed

Lori - good to know. Might need to look into that one.

Depend what airline you tend to travel with. I usually fly with Star Alliance so I’m looking at other cards.
The WJ card is great though.

I just got mine this year. You cannot use it as a part of a westjet Vacation package but we managed to use it on a second vacation. It’s a great deal and includes a checked bag for up to 8 passengers. At $25 per bag that’s also a great perk.

I have been using this card for years, I travel all the time and totally find it worth it!

We just paid for 3 roundtrip flights to Glasgow using ours and have only had it for a year. It is an awesome card

I’ve had it for years. We love it. We make the most of it with checked bags and we are always able to use the WJ dollars for travel. We used our buddy pass to travel to London plus class. Highly recommend.

Love it....it is the best card.

not the best card by any stretch but I have for the companion flight and free checked bags

do you have to book directly though WJ to use any of the perks? (the companion flight I can see needing to) but we found it cheaper to book though Expedia.ca to Vegas recently

I found that most times west jet flights ended up being more expensive or longer than other ones. So it wasn't worth it for me.

Rebecca VandenBeukel that has been my experience also. Cheaper to book through expedia .

Angie agreed. I also really like skyscanner

It all comes down to how much you travel and how much of that travel is westjet

The companion pass & free checked bag makes it worthwhile, also the travel insurance is pretty good - the drawback is that the points/$ spent is less than other travel cards (e.g., Capital One World Aspire)

If you like to travel it’s an excellent card. Has the annual companion voucher also. My husband and I use it all the time. It has a high interest rate, so it would make sense to keep it paid off( to avoid interest payments.

It’s great! Free checked bag, companion pass, earn westjet dollars and even access to some lounges!

Yes, super great deal !

It pays for a Mexico trip for both my wife and I every year. All inclusive at a minimum 4 star

Kevin
For free??

Joyce Yes westjet dollars paid for it, just had to cover the taxes. Just got back from Cabo I think all I paid was $700 in tax. I have the world elite card and I use it on everything even when I buy a coffee.

Hubby has one now for several years and loves it! Just use it for buying stuff cuz you earn money that you can use for travel as well! We travel quite a bit and have definitely benefitted from the flight and westjet dollars earned!

Love it! I put everything I can on it so I can accumulate westjet dollars. Have used the companion in North America for $99 and also have used it to fly to Costa Rica for $299. Free first bag for everyone booked on your credit card. Saves tons of money and it seems that 90% of the places we travel to westjet flies to. It does have an annual fee though so take that into consideration.

Even with the annual fee, still worth having

If you check out greedyrates.com they have a great comparison!!
GREEDYRATES.CA
Greedyrates.ca | Your Personal Finance Tips and Products Portal

For research purposes google Moneysense Best Credit Cards. They do a comparison every year so you can get an unbiased opinion on the bet cards.

I have the westjet world elite credit card... I fly to Hawaii every year for $299 + taxes & fees. I've had it not quite a year, and have $1010 in the bank for westjet dollars to use....I'll be able to fly for free every year, for two people for sure ... I got the $250 bonus dollars.... there's good coverage for lost baggage, stolen items while on vacation, both checked bags are free, there's also 3 cents off a liter at Petro Canada gas stations when you swipe both cards, card lock online so you can lock & unlock for security concerns, .... very happy so far.

I love it! You can use the companion voucher for premium/plus seats too. It doesn’t have to be economy.

Love mine!

Love it!!

Love it!

If anyone wants one I can email them a referral

Love it!

It's great plus you don't have to pay for luggage it's included when you travel

The elite card is the only one that has the free luggage and the companion voucher. The other lower one doesn’t.

When I first got the westjet rbc world elite mastercard it used to include 2 free checked bags. Not anymore. I’ve also noticed their customer service keeps getting worse and they keep making cuts. Now they have a new fare that doesn’t even allow you to change seats in the 24hr check in period so they will put you in the middle seat and have to pay $50 if you want to change.

Ryan they have turned a dark corner that is for sure! I am very disappointed and thinking of canceling the card all together. It's not worth the yearly cost anymore! With all their new fare costs, you're already paying more for what you used to save (like baggage fees and being able to select a seat etc). It's ridiculous. Don't get it.

Love mine!

I’m not convinced it is a good card at all. When you first get the card you have to wait 6-8 weeks to get the $250 westjet dollars and companion voucher, they don’t make this clear when you sign up.

Carolyn Lewis
We compared the major travel credit cards and found this to be the best HOWEVER medical insurance is only covered for the cardholder, not the companion fare. For this reason we cancelled the card.

I use the companion fare every year. I really like it. I also like how easy it is to redeem the westjet dollars.

Anywhere round trip for one or two for free?

I am changing from this card, the companion with taxes can be costly, the only thing that is good is no luggage fees

Debbie Bonin and this isn't true anymore. They got rid of that. Waste of money

Kat what did they get rid of...luggage fees?

Maureen they are no longer included with owning the card. You have to pay regardless. It's stupid.

Kat wow weird everyone else on here is saying it’s covered that’s odd hey?

Maureen it used to be. If you go to book - there are various fare levels now. Basic covers nothing. Econo doesn't include baggage either. The third tier fare level does along with seat selection choice. It's about $80-100 more expensive then the basic fare. And that's only one way.
Which is the cost of the stupid card to begin with.
Mind you - I havent bought tickets since this change so I can't confirm if baggage are covered or not. But when you sign in and try to book flights, the fares don't change. It's confusing.

Kat yeah I def know when online you go to book and see a fare on the calendar and when I’ve gone in it’s different then what I saw...so confusing. I just have thrown my arms up in the air and call them! lol Ok yeah well I mostly do economy so I prob won’t do this then..hate paying for a credit card..fees for me really need to be worth it. I may give them a call to check it out.

I have this card. The companion voucher is nice, but if you don’t use it annually you lose it. Also, companion voucher can only be used when traveling with the primary card holder. Hence the name “companion” voucher.

Kyla
What do you mean by companion voucher?

you get a flight each year if you dont use it you loose it its buy a regular flight then yu can use the companion flight for someone else you in canada its 99.00 plus taxes

Love the west jet dollars. Saving for Disneyland!

I think it’s a great card for those traveling within Canada.

i love mine i had it one year in march 1st i recently used my companion voucher for one of my kids when we go to nfld west jet dollars add up fast .

We just got ours in July last year and the jury is still out on whether it is a good value. I have about $750 in Wesrjet dollars to put towards our family all-inclusive vacation, but the problem is I keep finding the same trip for less on sunwing
The free luggage will be nice, but I'm not sure it's really a great value. You also can't combine the companion voucher with a seat sale, so during the recent WJ birthday sale, the general public who doesn't even have the card could pay less than what I would have paid with a voucher - very disappointing so far for me.

Susan Bogart i dont think its a good deal to use for all inclusive but more of the non all inclusive get aways, I bought tickets to nfld my husband has a card as well with west jet dollars and companion flights with taxes 4 tickets cost us under 2000plus the 200.00 saved on luggage fees

Susan Bogart read the Punta Cana story re:family’s all-inclusive room getting robbed. Hotel and sunwing bailed on them. I’d get RBC WJ card if only for the great travel insurance if you book trip using card. Add in a free checked bag, companion fare ... it’s a no brainer.

We just booked a trip to Halifax on westjet birthday sale, used the companion voucher, plus used $400 WJ dollars.... all in all cost us $275 for 2 people round trip from calgary to Halifax

We love our West-jet MasterCard. We feel the cost is worth the $99 companion flight. Also love that there are no blackout dates or points. Just simply dollars in your west jet account.

It's great especially the free luggage and companion tickets

great card and benefits

Works great and one free checked bag

I racked up over $800 in west jet points pretty quickly and I’m flying to the east coast and back for $156 (it would have been free but they won’t use the points to cover fees and taxes). But it’s only good if you fly places west jet flies. I’ve done a lot of international travel in the last 1.5 years and this east coast trip will be the first time I can use my points!

What is the annual fee for this card?

Thelma $119 I just paid mine

We love it.

The best. Have used my companion voucher every year so far

I have one, no annual fee, free checked baggage and the companion ticket are good benefits.

Fran ..no fees really?.

Fran no annual fee?

Charlott we pay $99 year

Sima no fees with westjet world elite how ?

Sima no but I’ve had my card for +15 years

Fran seriously? There’s an annual fee. Are you staff?

Alice yes there is

Can't be no fee...

Awesome value just for the free checked bag alone! If you fly once with two checked bags you’re already paying $100. $120 annual fee, no blackout, yearly companion fare (we flew to Europe and saved at least $400 right there) and points, hands down the best card. I have flown back and forth to Vancouver multiple times for $120ish return just using points.

I have one... love it

Im glad so many people are happy with it but I think it’s a rip-off. They increase the price of one fare to pay for the companion voucher. You pay for the privilege of carrying their card. Good marketing gimmick for westjet!

Alice this has never happened to me. I always check the flights online then call to book with the companion fare and there has never been a change in price.

MaryLee I’m happy to hear you’re happy with it. I’ve researched westjet companion fares twice and managed to get cheaper tickets with other airlines. I love westjet though but I realize they devised this credit card to make money and there’s nothing wrong with that. I just refuse to pay any fee for a credit card.

The price does not change because you are a member. I agree that you can usually get cheaper flights with air canada. BUT the companion fare plus no luggage charges for anyone flying with me makes it worthwhile in my eyes.

Agree. Totally worth it

Following

https://www.westjet.com/.../terms.../companion-voucher
WESTJET.COM
Annual round-trip companion voucher

Get one

I have one just got it 1 day ago lol. But I love my bmo world elite more

Liv wondering why? Maybe I should get one of these.

Liv why do you prefer the BMO card?

MaryLee I like the Air Miles I like to know I have free round trips. When I travel it don’t cost me extra fees for using my card over sea. I have been with them 7 years and now I have 4 round trips o can take on west-jet or air canada. Already use 3 round trips.

Liv thanks

Liv, I love my BMO World Elite too. we’ve used it for a total of 14 round-trip flights over the past 9 years. Flown to Texas, Seattle, Ottawa, Toronto, NewYork.

Noranna I know right

I have one and I think it is a good deal.
I put everything thing I can on my card to get the most westjet dollars.
All it really takes is one trip for 2 to recoup the yearly fee ( in luggage fees).
I like to use the companion pass and my westjet dollars together on an expensive flight.

We have it but it’s not our primary card! It used to be, but not any more.
A couple recent vacations we flew with another airline as the flights offered by westjet just didn’t work for us.
We have another card that gives better return and with that we get cash back at the end of the year.
We are keeping the westjet one for flights (if it works well), and free checked baggage, but that’s pretty much it.

We have had our WJ Cc for 4 years and love it. In 4 years we have traveled to Florida, Mexico 3x, Texas 4x, Toronto 2x. We literally use our card for everything so we rack up $$$ really fast.

I hope its better than aeroplan... to get anywhere south it's a full days excursion, and then the taxes they take are more than if you actually booked and paid for the flight... crooks...

We have had aeroplan Infinite Visa for about 20 years and I find it the best for accumulating points especially when the aeroplan estore have 5x points by shopping at their numerous partners like Amazon. Costco also give aeroplan points. We have been to many vacations to Europe,Asia, Mexico and US on our points. And if you have the diamond status you can get good flights for fewer points.

We love it!! Great rewards towards flights!

Love mine! Saves you tons if you like to travel:)

We have and use ... Stu Gale

I love the WJ creditcard

It has no cancellation insurance for flights. Also the companion fare does not work on codeshare flights .

Vincent-Shauna Crowley Yup. Got caught on that. My other World Elite MasterCards have trip cancellation insurance included and I assumed a card from westjet would... Costly mistake on my part. Lost an all inclusive vacation because of that when my mom suddenly passed away the day I was supposed to leave. I now use my other card to book trips, but I still keep this one for free checked bags and companion flight...

Béatrice Bou my condolences.
We do much the same can I ask how do you still get free checked bags if you didn't book the flight with that card I didn't think I could do that?

The credit card is listed in my westjet rewards account... So if my WJ # is on the reservation it automatically knows. And the free checked bag is for being a card holder, no stipulation you had to pay with it...
Once I was asked to show the card, probably because the check in agent could see I booked with a different card, but I had the card and the fee was waived without issues.

Béatrice Bou sweet! Thanks for the tip; has this worked on code shares too or have you tried?

Love my westjet RBC card! We travel for basically free to Nova Scotia every year

my gf has one and its the shit! We use it to pay everything and then pay it off asap. Points accumulate quickly that way. We have gone to NY, Bahamas, and Europe for basically half price altogether.

Be nice if someone from WJ was on here to clear this up

Kathy
westjet

What’s the annual fee? I have the CIBC adventura black card and I’m always open to better options that will allow me to fly more!

Jolene High
It’s Amazing if you use it and the points add up pretty fast

Scotia passport. Way better.
But have WJ too and toggle between them. But Scotia is winning with flexibility and not being stuck to WJ

Jenny England tell me more about this

I liked it

Does anyone know how it compares to the CIBC Aventura card?

Tannis a aventura let's you travel on ANY airline......not so with the RBC westjet card

I knew that. Just wondering if there have been any complications using either. I've never tried to use my Aventura.

Murray I disagree, you can use your RBC credit card, just can’t use your westjet points. westjet partners with lots of other airlines too.

I have it and I love it. I run all my
Monthly purchases on it and the points alone are worthwhile. I got my flight at Christmas for $175 from $1650 by using a pass and my westjet dollars. You get seat selection, and lounge vouchers as well.

Jessica Lawson Seat selection and lounge passes aren’t included in the card. That’s a benefit you receive if you’re a Silver, Gold or Platinum member.
The card has access to a lounge key, but you still pay to enter the lounge.

oh my bad! I didn’t realize there were from my status. Thanks!

Jessica Lawson No worries! Just wanted to clear up any confusion.

I have one and loved it. Redeemed many times and easy to redeemed. Recommend it

I love mine!

It’s fantastic!

We love ours. Best value is to use the companion fare towards Plus tix.

I like th CIBC Adventura card. I use it for most purchases and pay it off every month. I end up going on about 1 free round trip per year.

My husband and I love ours! We've done Orlando and Nashville so far with the companion fares and done flights to Newfoundland with accumulated points. Absolutely fantastic.

Love it!!

We really like it. You accumulate reward points too, which we use if we have to fly and there aren't any good seat sales on at the time we need to go. Of course, we have family in Ontario and fly there at least twice per year. That's why we got the card originally.

Got it love it. And you don't pay baggage fees

I love mine. I work for a bank and refuse to switch!

Love this card! Have used for the past 4 years and flown many times using our companion flights and WJ dollars. We saved $500 for 2 return flights last Christmas and no blackouts!

We travel international 3 times a year and have looked at the card multiple times and determine it is not worth it. We may travel WJ sometimes but we also travel other airlines...and the fees take away the incentive. We use a cash back card like TD Elite Visa and then just buy flights to places that are wicked deals...400 to London last Thanksgiving, 700 to the Cook Islands, 600 to Ecuador...and many more...flexibility in choosing airlines is key to cheap travel...

We both flew return to Hawaii in March for just under $500

Awesome deal, once a year we use the companion voucher - it is for any seat on the plane so we fly first class free food, drinks,and bags plus comfort, we worked it out the fare (one first class seat and one companion equals two economy flights) totally love it

Denise Chan

If you take two return trips via westjet in a year the free baggage covers what you pay in credit card fees. Its a wash. Then if you use the companion voucher then its pure bonus.

If you fly within Canada it is pretty hard to beat this card. Free baggage, accumulation of points for free or discount trips plus 100 buddy flight every year.

Voted top travel rewards card by Money sense magazine

Yes do it! You won’t pay for bags either.

It's a great card, both my husband and I have it. We have used the buddy passes for both Maui and Mexico as well. They usually give you 250 westjet points to join which you can also use against your flights. And any points you accumulate along the way can be used in combination with buddy flights, we love it! And the free checked baggage is a bonus!

I have an RBC Avion card and love it - its $120 a yesr but the air miles add up and i can use them on any airline not just west jet

use west jet card to pay for everything to rack up miles then use the companion voucher for second ticket and the earned miles pay for the first it is the best!

It is great if you travel westjet a lot. I was back and forth to Vancouver to visit my mom. I was always taking stuff and returning with stuff so needed to check my bags. Took 2 flights and it paid for itself in luggage charges alone.

I have the card and like it. In my opinion, the companion voucher is well worth it. Also, when you book on WJ using the card your first bag is free. Those savings add up.

Carmen Badura
I thought about it rates too high tho

*

Definitely worth it if westjet is your go to airline. My family flys across Canada at least once a year to see aging family and we use it for US flights and westjet vacations as well. The companion fare is great for these trips as we each have a separate account so only two full price fairs to pay! Interest rate is about the same as other cards but not an issue if you pay in full each month

We use ours for everything and LOVE IT!! Hubby and I got direct flights to Maui, between the companion flight & the WJ dollars we paid $144 out of pocket.

I don't have one but i have heard lots of great things

I love mine. It has paid for itself and then some!!

I love ours. Collect travel dollars and get the companion voucher.

The yearly fee pays itself back first time you travel as a couple as your first bag is free on your westjet flights (both for cardholder and person travelling with him/her).

Maria Cora
We use the BMO MasterCard and think it’s the best bang fur the buck. And points can be used fir all things travel related but just flights.

Then there is this article;
https://www.greedyrates.ca/.../best-travel-credit-card.../
GREEDYRATES.CA
Best Travel Credit Card in Canada for 2019 | Which Is Best For You?