It’s been over a week now since changes were announced to both the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard and WestJet RBC Mastercard. We covered all the changes in our article Big changes coming to the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard and WestJet RBC Mastercard and won’t cover them here.
However since we published the article we compiled questions from our community on some of the changes that were found to require further clarification. As promised I sent these off to Westjet and have received clarification that I am happy to pass along!
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
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.
Wrapping it up
There you have it! Some further clarification on the upcoming changes that are being made to the WestJet RBC Mastercards. I want to thank those in our community who asked many questions on the card changes, some of which I could answer right away from my knowledge of the changes and now we have clarification on those that I couldn’t answer. I also want to thank the team at WestJet Rewards for providing the answers!
