There is some more bad news but also some good news to be found in the recent devaluation from Air France KLM Flying Blue and that news is for domestic flight rewards on WestJet. The good news is short haul rewards for travel on WestJet have been kept the same but the medium to longer haul rewards have been hit hard.
In addition to the increases for flights on Air France KLM and WestJet there have also been increases to rewards on partner airlines like Delta, Copa, Etihad and others. (Source Travel on Points)
Calgary – Vancouver remains at 6,000 miles one way:
Edmonton – Calgary remains at 5,000 miles one way:
Toronto – Montreal remains at 5,000 miles one way:
Calgary – Toronto increased to 17,000 miles one way:
A big hit for domestic flight rewards on WestJet comes on the longer haul routes. For example Calgary to Toronto has seen a 36% jump from 12,500 miles to 17,000 miles one way!
Toronto – Vancouver is 21,000 miles one way:
Toronto to Vancouver is 21,000 miles although I don’t recall nor have written down what it was before, I seem to think it was 15,000 but perhaps someone can confirm!
Winnipeg – Calgary increased to 11,000 miles one way:
The biggest hit for domestic flight rewards on WestJet however comes on the medium haul routes. For example Winnipeg to Calgary has seen over a 46% jump from 7,500 miles to 11,000 miles one way!
Wrapping it up
The Flying Blue changes made today have put a big dent in what was previously a decent reward option for domestic travel across Canada on WestJet. Yes, the short haul rewards remain a great option but anything beyond same province/neighbouring province travel will see members forking out a lot more miles than before. It may not even make sense to use Flying Blue miles on those flights but rather look at using Aeroplan points on Air Canada, any travel any time options from credit card reward programs and so on.