WestJet Rewards Guide Canada: WestJet Points, Tiers and RBC Cards

WestJet Rewards is WestJet’s loyalty program. In 2025 WestJet replaced its old currency, WestJet dollars, with WestJet points, converting one WestJet dollar to 100 WestJet points, with balances shown in points from April 30 (WestJet news release). Older reviews that describe WestJet dollars refer to the previous program. This guide covers earning, redeeming, tiers and the WestJet RBC cards; the rewards programs hub compares WestJet Rewards with Canada’s other programs.

WestJet Rewards at a glance

How to earn WestJet points

Flying WestJet

Members earn WestJet points on WestJet flight base fares and surcharges, seat selection, checked bags and cabin upgrade purchases; only government taxes and fees are left out. The earn rate depends on tier (WestJet, how to earn). Because WestJet sets the value of a point on fares at 100 points per $1, each tier’s earn rate converts directly into a return on what was spent:

Partner airlines and vacation packages

WestJet points can also be earned when booking and flying directly with Delta Air Lines, Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Qantas Airways, and on the other partner airlines listed on WestJet’s partner airlines page. On a partner-marketed flight, points are based on distance flown and class of service. WestJet Vacations and Sunwing Vacations packages earn points too, and count toward status at 20% of the member’s share of an eligible package (WestJet, tiers).

Everyday partners and the eStore

Linked accounts with TELUS, Skip and Triangle Rewards earn WestJet points, as do hotel and car rental bookings made through WestJet and purchases in the WestJet Rewards eStore.

Tiers and tier qualifying spend

Status is based on tier qualifying spend in a calendar year (January 1 to December 31), which counts spending on WestJet fares and extras such as seats, bags and upgrades (WestJet, tiers). Under WestJet’s terms, only the member travelling, whose name and WestJet Rewards ID are on the ticket, earns it; the part of a booking paid with WestJet points doesn’t count; and a flight counts toward the year it departs.

Once reached, Silver, Gold or Platinum benefits last for the remainder of your current qualifying year until the end of your next qualifying year. Milestone awards, such as bonus points or vouchers, start at $2,000 of milestone qualifying spend, which is tracked separately and leaves out Status Lift.

Status Lift is a WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard benefit for the primary cardholder: each $5,000 of everyday card spending adds $200 of tier qualifying spend, up to 50 Status Lifts a year. That cap equals $10,000 of tier qualifying spend, reached after $250,000 of card spending. Status Lifts combine with flight spending, so a mix of the two also counts. Only net purchases count toward a Status Lift (returns, fees, interest and cash advances don’t), and the card account must be open and in good standing when a Status Lift is awarded; if the account is closed before the end of the year, WestJet can remove the Status Lifts and any tier they earned.

The WestJet RBC credit cards

RBC issues two personal WestJet cards. The World Elite card’s fee and earn rate come from this site’s card data file:

The lower-fee WestJet RBC Mastercard has its current fee and earn rates on RBC’s card page. Welcome offers on both cards change, so the current offer is on RBC’s site.

Companion vouchers

Both cards give the primary cardholder a round-trip companion voucher after the first purchase, then one each year the card’s net spending reaches a set amount, as long as the account is open and in good standing. The welcome voucher is for new cardholders only, not existing or former ones or additional cardholders.

On the World Elite card, the companion’s round-trip fare is $119 in economy fares (UltraBasic, Econo, EconoFlex) within Canada and the continental United States, or $219 in Premium fares; elsewhere in WestJet’s network it’s $399 in economy or $499 in Premium. Taxes, fees and charges are extra, and the voucher can’t be used on Business or Member Exclusive fares (WestJet Rewards). WestJet’s companion voucher rules add that the companion travels with the primary cardholder on the same itinerary, booked at the same time and on the same fare type, on a flight marketed and operated by WestJet; the voucher is for new bookings only, not group or WestJet Vacations bookings; and unused vouchers are cancelled when the card account is closed. The WestJet RBC Mastercard’s voucher covers round trips within Canada and to or from the continental United States only (Hawaii is excluded), at $299 for Premium fares (WestJet, RBC credit cards).

Free checked bag

The World Elite card gives a free first checked bag for yourself and up to eight guests on the same reservation when the flight is paid with the card (RBC, WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard). What that’s worth depends on WestJet’s bag fee for the fare and route, and on how many people travel together.

How to redeem WestJet points

WestJet points are applied at checkout on westjet.com (WestJet, redeem):

• Fares and extras: at booking, 100 points take $1 off base fare, surcharges, bags and seats.
• Taxes and fees: once everything else is covered, points can pay either 50% or 100% of the taxes and fees at 105 to 115 points per $1. Extras added after booking use the same rate.
• Minimum: redemptions start at 2,500 points for $25 off.
• Availability: regular WestJet fares have no blackout periods or seat limits for points. Member Exclusive fares, priced lower for members, must be paid entirely with WestJet points (excluding taxes), and do have blackout periods and limited seats.
• Cancellations: points used on a cancelled booking go back to the account (the fare must allow changes, and a cancellation fee may apply), except on UltraBasic fares, which are non-refundable and forfeit any points used.
• Changes: points can’t pay an amount owing after a booking is changed; that has to go on another form of payment, such as a credit card.
• Sharing: points can pay for someone else’s booking, and can be transferred to another member for a fee of $50-$59 CAD per transfer.

Points also go toward WestJet Vacations and Sunwing Vacations packages, partner flights, TELUS services, Skip credits, Canadian Tire Money and eStore gift cards and merchandise.

In cents per point, the fare rate is 1.00 cent per point and the taxes-and-fees rate is 0.87 to 0.95 cents, so points stretch slightly further on the fare than on taxes.

Do WestJet points expire?

WestJet points have no expiry date while the account stays active. An account becomes inactive after 24 months with no points earned, redeemed, transferred or converted, and WestJet can then deactivate it; if it does, all WestJet points and vouchers associated with the deactivated account will expire (WestJet Rewards terms). WestJet may offer a member a way to reactivate a deactivated account within 12 months of deactivation, which can include paying a fee. Promotional points can carry their own expiry dates.

WestJet Rewards vs Aeroplan

The trade-off is simplicity against range. WestJet points are easy to value and can be used on any regular WestJet fare, and outside Member Exclusive fares their value per point on the fare is fixed. Aeroplan’s value per point varies more, upward on some partner rewards and downward on others, and it lists over 50 partner airlines. The Aeroplan guide covers how that program works.

Points to weigh

• Companion voucher use: the voucher’s value depends on whether a companion would have flown anyway and what their fare would have cost.
• Tier: earn rates rise with tier, from 1 to 8 points per $1, so the same flight spending earns 8 times as many points at Platinum as at Teal.
• Keeping the account active: any earning, redeeming, transfer or conversion within 24 months keeps it active.
• Rewards vs cash back: whether a WestJet card beats a cash back card depends on how often the points get used on WestJet, and credit card churning covers the welcome-bonus side.

Related resources

• Aeroplan guide
• Aeroplan points value
• RBC Avion program guide
• Best travel credit cards
• Rewards programs hub