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.
Pros:
- New accelerated earn rates
- More companion voucher conversion options
- Additional insurance coverage
Cons:
- Higher annual fees (World Elite only)
- Annual spend requirements for the companion vouchers
- Free baggage benefit requiring the use of the World Elite card to pay for flights.
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.
Clarifications on Companion Voucher changes
We received two questions from our community on the companion vouchers and both have very positive answers to them:
When does the annual spend requirement kick in for existing cardholders who may have voucher renewals that come up before November 5? IE If I get a voucher on October 29 will it be $5,000 in spend from that day forward or from November 5 to get the next voucher?
If you’re lucky enough to receive your next voucher before Nov 5th, then your next voucher after Nov 5th will also come in without a spend requirement. Everyone’s next annual voucher from Nov 5 2025 – Nov 5 2026 will not require a minimum spend. Only after your next voucher, will spend be tracked, so for example: someone earns their next voucher in April, 2026 that one will be deposited as per normal and then spend will be tracked after that date. Unlike some of our competitors we will have a tracker on the WestJet profile section to show you how close you are to achieving the next voucher. We’ve made this change to give everyone lots of time to adjust before the requirement kicks in.
This is positive news in that some cardholders (myself included as I believe my next one comes in around the end of October) should still be in line to receive two more vouchers before any spending requirement. Meanwhile all remaining cardholders have previously received vouchers over the course of this past year will be getting one more before the spending requirement kicks in.
Will existing vouchers have the new conversion options added to them or do they remain under the old rules of being used for flights or lounge vouchers?
All existing vouchers in cardholder’s accounts will transition to the new exchange options on Nov 5th. This means that any vouchers Nov 5th going forward will be able to exchange for the discount code, WestJet Vacations/Sunwing Vacations travel credits (World Elite only), 2 lounge vouchers (World Elite only) or WestJet points (standard card only). If someone is keen on keeping the 4 lounge voucher option, they should convert before Nov 5th.
Again, positive news in the fact that existing vouchers aren’t tied into existing rules and will become “more flexible” as of November 5th – except as noted, for the conversion to lounge vouchers
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!)
Clarifications on the First Checked Bag Free benefit changes
We received two questions from our community on the first checked bag free benefit. The answer to the first provides some clarification on booking channels and the other isn’t really good news in regards to WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard for Business
Will you get the first checked bag free if you use the WestJet card to pay for tickets through a third party like a traditional travel agent, OTA, etc. or does the booking have to be made via WestJet.com/WestJet call centre?
The first free checked bag benefit is not just restricted to direct bookings on WestJet.com or through our call centre. The requirement is that the merchant being charged on the credit card has to be WestJet (for us to be able to determine if you paid for the flight using your World Elite card). From our knowledge many Expedia purchases of WestJet flights, bill the RBC credit card as “WestJet” and so we are able to determine the credit card type. However not all travel agents, and OTAs charge for flights billing as WestJet, especially if you are combining hotels, and car rentals as well. It’s hard to outline exactly what classifies and doesn’t classify for indirect bookings which is why our terms state that using 3rd party booking sites may not qualify for the free bag.
My main word of advice here? Book direct with WestJet and you’ll avoid any chance of being denied your first checked bag free benefit. If you are someone who books with a travel agent, corporate agency or uses a travel advisor you could always call them beforehand to ask if flights booked through them are billed as WestJet (this really should be the case with most traditional travel agents)
Does the new WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard for Business keep it’s free checked baggage benefit without the requirement of paying for the flight ticket using the WestJet Business card?
No, we decided to make it consistent with our 2 cards and each require the flight to be paid for with the World Elite (personal or business) card to qualify. However, note that the WestJet RBC World Elite for Business card comes with Instant Silver status till the end of the following year. Silver status trumps the free checked bag benefit being given by the credit card, so all new World Elite for business cardholders will receive the free bag benefit through Silver (not requiring payment with the card) till the end of 2026 at the earliest.
So a little more flexibility afforded to the business version of the card thanks to the automatic Silver Tier status. However do note that after your free stint at Silver, if you don’t re-qualify for the status and drop down to Teal, you will then have to make sure to use the card for your WestJet purchases to get the first checked bag free benefit.
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. 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!
