A big refresh to the WestJet RBC co-brand credit card portfolio is en-route this fall as changes are being made to both the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard and WestJet RBC Mastercard. Overall, the changes are more positive than negative as they will provide cardholders with better earn rates, more flexibility to the companion vouchers and improved insurance coverage. All of these changes will take place as of November 5, 2025.
These are the first major changes to be made to the cards since 2019 and tie in nicely with the revamped WestJet Rewards program that launched earlier this year.
Let’s take a look at the changes!
Annual Fees
The annual fee on the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard has remained steady at $119 since 2017 and that is being increased to $139. This is one of the only few negatives in the whole slew changes! This puts the card on par with the majority of other premium cards in the market which have all been increased over the past few years including this card’s biggest competitor the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card which is also $139 per year.
The annual fee on the entry to mid-level WestJet RBC Mastercard will remain at $39.
Thoughts
It’s not like WestJet and RBC are the only ones doing this. BMO, Amex, Wealthsimple are just a few who have increased annual fees on some of their cards this year. It’s kind of a given these days but it’s also sad seeing the $120 annual fee club that has been around for decades (well $119 with WestJet) shrinking and dwindling away!
Earning WestJet Rewards points
This is where the cards are being improved! WestJet and RBC heard from many customers that the cards lacked many of the accelerators found on competing cards and they listened. They will be adding accelerated earn rates on popular everyday categories on both of the cards.
WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard
The premium World Elite card will see new accelerated earn rates as follows:
- Earn 2 WestJet points per dollar spent on Sunwing Vacations purchases
- Earn 2 WestJet points per dollar spent on Grocery purchases
- Earn 2 WestJet points per dollar spent on Gas/EV Charging/Transit/Rideshare purchases
All other earn rates remain the same at 2 points per dollar on WestJet and WestJet Vacations purchases and 1.5 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
One key takeaway from the new accelerated earn rates is that they are unlimited. There are no monthly caps likes some cards in the market nor do they have yearly spending caps like the $80,000 found on the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite card.
WestJet RBC Mastercard
This card will see new accelerated earn rates as follows:
- Earn 1.5 WestJet points per dollar spent on Sunwing Vacations purchases
- Earn 1.5 WestJet points per dollar spent on Restaurant and Food Delivery purchases
- Earn 1.5 WestJet points per dollar spent on digital subscription purchases
All other earn rates remain the same at 1.5 points per dollar on WestJet and WestJet Vacations purchases and 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
And same thing here as on the World Elite card, there are no caps on the accelerated earn rates.
Thoughts
This doesn’t need any over analysis or a long drawn out paragraph! The additional earn rates are great improvements for both cards and do increase the overall value proposition for both of them.
Companion Voucher Updates
There are changes incoming to the companion vouchers as well which should appeal to more of their credit cardholders – especially solo travellers!
WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard
The WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard will continue to offer the well known companion voucher benefit with the following changes:
New Conversion options
Listening to cardholders again, namely those who travel on their own, WestJet will be adding and adjusting the conversion options for the World Elite companion voucher for those who don’t need and can use it as intended. As of November 5th cardholders will be able to convert the voucher to one of the following:
- 30 per cent flight discount for solo travelers in economy
- $200 WestJet Vacations or Sunwing Vacations credit
- Two lounge passes
As you can see there are two new options with the 30 per cent discount and the vacations vouchers (that’s the good news) however they have cut the lounge pass option we’ve seen for the past few years from 4 to 2 passes. WestJet did let Rewards Canada know the lounge pass option affects less than 5% of cardholders based on past conversions.
For some cardholders that 30% discount can amount to a lot of value and it’s a great option for those solo travellers who have had the card and have never been able to make use of the voucher other than converting it to lounge passes. The 30% off is also great for couples and families who do have individual travel plans and may not make use of the voucher.
The $200 credit for vacation packages is also an excellent option since you know exactly what value you are getting for your voucher and it’s worth more than the annual fee itself on the card. So if you are an all inclusive or package vacationer this $200 credit alone can make it worth getting or keeping the card.
New annual spend requirement
In the unfortunate news side of things, they will be instituting a new annual spend requirement on the card to earn the annual companion voucher starting in the second year you hold the card. All new cardholders will continue to receive an automatic free companion voucher when they are approved for the card. Then all cardholders will be required to spend $5,000 annually on their cards to receive future annual companion vouchers.
WestJet RBC Mastercard
The WestJet RBC Mastercard will continue to offer its North America only companion voucher benefit with the following changes:
New Conversion options
Listening to cardholders again, namely those who travel on their own, WestJet will be adding and adjusting the conversion options for the World Elite companion voucher for those who don’t need and can use it as intended. As of November 5th cardholders will be able to convert the voucher to one of the following:
- 25 per cent flight discount for solo travelers in economy
- 5,000 WestJet points that don’t expire (worth up to $50 in value)
As you can see there are two options which boost the flexibility of this card’s voucher. In the worst case scenario the 5,000 points easily cover the card’s $39 annual fee!
New annual spend requirement
Just like the World Elite card they will be instituting a new annual spend requirement on the card to earn the annual companion voucher starting in the second year you hold the card. All new cardholders will continue to receive an automatic free companion voucher when they are approved for the card. Then all cardholders will be required to spend $2,500 annually on their cards to receive future annual companion vouchers.
Thoughts
So here you have some bad news for the cards – not all that terrible though. $2,500 to $5,000 in spending is very little in the grand scheme of things especially when you compare it to other card’s annual companion vouchers – $25,000 required on Aeroplan’s Ultra Premium Cards (With $599 annual fees), $30,000 required on the RBC British Airways Visa Infinite Card ($165 annual fee) and the $50,000 required on the BMO VIPorter World Elite Mastercard ($199 annual fee). But, when we’ve been getting this voucher for free for so many years this can only be viewed as a negative change to the card.
First Checked Bag Free benefit update
The WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard will continue to provide a first checked bag free benefit on WestJet flights for the cardholder and up to 8 guests on the same reservation – however with one major change.
As of November 5 any new bookings made for WestJet travel will require the flights to be purchased on the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard to receive the first checked bag free. Currently, you simply need to just have the card to receive the benefit and you can actually book and pay for the flights with any credit card. This will continue for any and all bookings made up to November 4 after which you’ll need to pay with your WestJet card to receive the benefit.
What about points redemptions and the first bag free?
If you redeem points to cover 100% of your airfare cost (base fare + fees/taxes) you will still receive the first checked bag free benefit by being a World Elite Mastercard cardholder. If you do partial redemption with points, as long as the cash portion is paid for with your WestJet RBC World Elite card you’ll get the first checked bag free benefit.
Thoughts
An unfortunate change for the consumer but also one that surprisingly won’t affect a large portion of the cardholders as many of them weren’t aware that you didn’t have to pay with the card! Overall though, this can only be viewed as a negative change but again not a terrible one considering the earn rate you get on WestJet flights for paying with the WestJet card and the updated insurance coverage (covered in the next section!)
Insurance coverage updates
Both the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard and WestJet RBC Mastercard will receive extra insurance coverage starting on November. The WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard will have Trip Cancellation insurance and Mobile Device insurance coverage added while the WestJet RBC Mastercard will have Mobile Device insurance added to its coverage.
Thoughts
Pretty straight forward! Providing more insurance coverage is great! However, it does still boggle my mind that the World Elite card does not have lost or stolen baggage insurance coverage! This is one coverage I thought they would have also added to the card as well!
Wrapping it up
As with many changes to credit cards and loyalty programs there is always some give and take, primarily take in most cases but with these changes I would actually say that WestJet and RBC are giving more than they are taking. As I told Steve McLelland, the VP of Loyalty at WestJet during our briefing on the changes, “I’d rate this as 96% good news” 😉 The pros, which are some excellent new accelerated earn rates, more companion voucher conversion options and additional insurance coverage I feel outweigh the cons which are the higher annual fees (World Elite only), the annual spend requirements for the companion vouchers and the free baggage benefit requiring the use of the World Elite card to pay for those flights.
Click here to learn more about and to apply for the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard
Click here to learn more about and to apply for the WestJet RBC Mastercard
What are your thoughts on these changes? Let us know in the comments below!
