One of the main draws to WestJet’s RBC co-branded credit cards is the annual round-trip companion voucher. This perk offers a discounted base fare for a second passenger when the first passenger pays the full price.
Many cardholders find a lot of value in the voucher, and it’s one of the key factors to consider when deciding whether to keep the card and pay the annual fee every year.
In this article, let’s take a look at how to obtain WestJet annual round-trip companion vouchers, how they work, and how to redeem them for maximum value along your travels.
WestJet Companion Voucher: The Rules
Broadly speaking, the WestJet annual round-trip companion voucher offers a discounted rate for a second passenger when the first passenger pays full price for a ticket. In many ways, it’s similar to the Air Canada Annual Worldwide Companion Pass.
It’s important to note that the second passenger is still subject to other taxes, fees, and air transportation charges (ATC) imposed by the airline, as we’ll explore in detail below.
As you might expect, the voucher comes with a number of rules that govern its use.
First off, it can only be used on new bookings, which must be made before the voucher expires. However, keep in mind that travel can occur after the voucher’s expiry date.
For example, if a voucher expires on June 1, 2025, travel must be booked prior to that date, but you can use it for travel after June 1 through to the end of the airline’s bookable schedule, which is about 11–12 months from the date of booking.
You can redeem the voucher for UltraBasic, Econo, EconoFlex, Premium, and PremiumFlex fares as long as no corporate codes are applied. The voucher cannot be used for Business, BusinessFlex, or Member Exclusive fares.
In May 2024, WestJet introduced an updated tiered pricing structure for their companion vouchers. The tiered pricing applies to annual companion vouchers issued on or after June 30, 2024. With this new structure, UltraBasic, Econo, and EconoFlex redemptions are in a lower tier and have stayed the same price as before, while Premium and PremiumFlex redemptions have gone up in price and now reside in a more expensive tier.
The previous single-tier pricing across all fare classes still applies to vouchers issued on or before June 29, 2024.
The WestJet annual round-trip companion voucher can be used for travel anywhere in WestJet’s network without any blackout periods. The flight must be marketed and operated by WestJet, WestJet Encore, and/or WestJet Link, and vouchers aren’t valid on WestJet Vacations, charters, or with any codeshare or interline partners, such as Delta and Korean Air.
The annual round-trip companion voucher must be applied to a booking that includes the member whose account the voucher is attached to. Vouchers are non-transferable, and only one may be applied per booking.
Both passengers on the ticket must be booked on the same fare type, meaning you cannot choose a cheaper fare type for you or your companion in order to minimize your out-of-pocket cost.
However, you can choose to have a different fare type per direction, such as Econo on the outbound flight and EconoFlex on the inbound. Consequently, the inclusions and restrictions of the selected fare type in each direction will apply to both passengers.
If you wanted to add benefits, such as bags or seats otherwise not included with your fare, you’ll have to pay for them per passenger, unless either of you have these benefits included with your WestJet elite status or credit card.
Bookings made on the WestJet website must have a Canadian departure city. If you’re using a companion voucher on a flight originating outside of Canada, you need to call into the WestJet contact centre to complete your booking and use your voucher. A contact centre booking fee may be charged in such cases.
To minimize your out-of-pocket costs further, you may redeem WestJet Dollars in conjunction with a WestJet annual round-trip companion voucher to pay for the base fare portion of the booking.
Lastly, the companion voucher is only valid for a single use. If a booking is cancelled, the voucher will retain its original expiry date, and if you only use it for a one-way flight, the companion voucher won’t be valid for the return leg if booked separately.
How to Earn a WestJet Companion Voucher
There are three types of WestJet companion vouchers, and the type of voucher you have depends on how you earned it in the first place.
Both the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercardǂ and the WestJet RBC® Mastercard‡ come with a companion voucher as part of the cards’ ongoing benefits; however, there are important differences between the vouchers.
WestJet RBC® Mastercard‡
The annual companion voucher on the WestJet RBC® Mastercard‡ is valid for travel anywhere in Canada or the continental United States (excluding Hawaii) for $199–299 base fare. It cannot be used for travel outside of North America, and out of the three types of vouchers, it’s the least powerful.
For vouchers issued on or before June 29, 2024, the base fare to various destinations are as follows:
- Travel within Canada or to the continental U.S. (excluding Hawaii): $199 (any economy fare class)
- Travel to the rest of the WestJet network: n/a
For vouchers issued on or after June 30, 2024, the base fare to various destinations are as follows:
- Travel within Canada or to the continental U.S. (excluding Hawaii): $199 (UltraBasic, Econo, or EconoFlex); $299 (Premium or Premium Flex)
- Travel to the rest of the WestJet network: n/a
WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercardǂ
Meanwhile, the companion voucher of the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercardǂ is quite a bit more useful as it can be used on any route that WestJet flies.
For vouchers issued on or before June 29, 2024, the base fare to various destinations are as follows:
- Travel within Canada or to the continental U.S. (excluding Hawaii): $119 (any economy fare class)
- Travel to the rest of the WestJet network: $399 (any economy fare class)
For vouchers issued on or after June 30, 2024, the base fare to various destinations are as follows:
- Travel within Canada or to the continental U.S. (excluding Hawaii): $119 (UltraBasic, Econo, or EconoFlex); $219 (Premium or Premium Flex)
- Travel to the rest of the WestJet network: $399 (UltraBasic, Econo, or EconoFlex); $499 (Premium or Premium Flex)
Both co-branded cards get a companion voucher every year, which refreshes upon the cardholder anniversary. There is no minimum spending requirement to earn the credit card annual round-trip companion vouchers, aside from paying the cards’ annual fees.
It’s worth noting that you can convert a voucher earned from the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard into four lounge vouchers instead, but given that WestJet’s flagship Elevation Lounge Calgary can be accessed through credit cards with Priority Pass and DragonPass, you’ll likely stand to benefit more by using your voucher for flights instead.
Milestone Awards
Lastly, while the vouchers earned via credit cards are the easiest to obtain, the strongest type of companion voucher is reserved for WestJet elite status members via milestone awards.
Upon spending $4,000 in a calendar year with WestJet, you’ll earn WestJet annual round-trip companion vouchers. Furthermore, after spending $6,000 and $8,000, and every incremental $2,000 spent beyond that, you can choose a voucher as an award.
The reason why the vouchers earned through milestone awards are so valuable is because the second passenger won’t pay a base fare at all when the voucher is redeemed.
In other words, companions flying on milestone award vouchers pay a $0 base fare to all destinations, unlike the vouchers earned through credit cards, which charge a base fare depending on the destination,
The base fares according to various destinations are as follows:
- Travel within Canada or to the continental U.S. (excluding Hawaii): $0
- Travel to the rest of the WestJet network: $0
As you can see, these vouchers can potentially save you $119–499 per booking compared to the vouchers earned through credit cards. If you’re someone who tends to pay for flights with WestJet, then be sure to keep an eye out for this voucher in your account.
How to Use the WestJet Companion Voucher
Once you have a voucher available in your account, it’s simple to use.
The first step is to head to the WestJet website, and sign in to your account.
Next, fill out the “Book a flight” form, and be sure to check the “Use companion voucher” box, located just underneath your destination. It’s also important to specify that two guests will be travelling, as the voucher won’t otherwise be applicable.
After clicking “Get flights,” you’ll be brought to a page that displays the available vouchers in your account. The expiration date is displayed under each one, so your best bet, naturally, is to select the one that expires first.
From there, simply select flights as you typically would during the booking process. At the top of the results page, it will clearly display that your annual round-trip companion voucher has been applied.
At the checkout screen, you’ll see a breakdown of the costs associated with your trip. You’ll notice “Companion voucher” listed on the summary of charges, along with the corresponding charge, if there is one, next to it.
From here, simply pay for your booking as you otherwise would, and you’ll be all set.
How to Maximize the WestJet Companion Voucher
First and foremost, the WestJet annual round-trip companion voucher is going to be more valuable if Passenger 1 spends more on their base fare. Likewise, you’ll get better value out of your voucher by using it for round-trip bookings, since round-trip bookings usually cost more than one-way bookings.
Naturally, higher base fares include any time when cash prices for flights are high, such as last-minute bookings and during peak seasons, as well as booking higher fare classes.
On the other hand, WestJet has been offering bargain fares through its UltraBasic tier, ostensibly to replace the fares its former subsidiary Swoop used to offer and to compete with ultra-low-cost rival Flair Airlines. These fares are comprised of a very low base fare, with taxes and fees usually costing much more. Given this, they’re not a good use of a companion voucher.
Let’s take a look at a few examples to illustrate how to make the best use of your voucher.
Note that we’ll assume that you’re using the companion voucher earned from theWestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercardǂ in the below examples. If you happen to have one earned through a milestone award, you can expect the value each time to increase by $119–499, depending on the destination.
Booking Econo Fares
Suppose a couple is eyeing up a round-trip booking from Calgary to Toronto, and they’re flexible with dates. They’re simply looking for the cheapest price for two passengers, and so they select the lowest “Econo” fare on the cheapest flights for the day.
After selecting flights with the voucher applied, the breakdown of the costs shows that Passenger 1 paid a total base fare of $168, and Passenger 2 paid $119 with the companion voucher.
When we compare the total cost of the booking with the total without the voucher applied, we only see a roughly $10 difference between the two. What gives?
In this instance, the voucher isn’t really that valuable at all, since it’s effectively only saving around $10. Passenger 1’s base fare with the voucher is $168, and Passenger 2’s base fare is $119, so the initial savings is only around $49. However, you’ll notice that there’s also an additional $40 in “Other ATC” with the voucher applied, and that this charge is not present when booking without a voucher.
The “Other ATC” line, short for other “air transportation charges,” is WestJet’s way of combining fuel surcharges and other fees into a catch-all category. Through some research, our team has noted that there appears to be an “Other ATC” charge added to companion voucher bookings. This charge appears to range from $20 per booking to $40 per booking (as in the screenshots above).
Unfortunately, there’s no way to break down the charges in this category in the same way that the “Taxes, fees, and charges” section breaks down the different fees all passengers are subject to, but these additional charges should be noted as they can cut into your potential savings.
There are also plenty of instances where the base fare for your flight is low, while the “Other ATC” constitutes the bulk of the total fare. For example, a round-trip economy ticket from Calgary to London, costing $897 per passenger, is broken down as follows:
Applying a companion voucher on a ticket like this would make no sense at all, since the base fare for Passenger 1 is only $78, and a voucher would require Passenger 2 to pay a $399 base fare for a round-trip ticket to Europe. Plus, you’ll still be on the hook for all other taxes, fees, and charges, in addition to the “Other ATC” for each passenger.
In both the above examples, you’re better off saving the voucher for a different use, as neither of these redemption options justify paying the annual fee on a WestJet credit card.
Booking Premium Fares
Rather than booking an Econo fare, let’s see what happens if you decide to live it up and instead book a “Premium” fare on the same domestic flights as above.
For example, here’s the cost of a round-trip booking for two in WestJet Premium with a companion voucher issued on or before June 29, 2024.
And here’s the cost of a round-trip booking on the same flights without a companion voucher applied.
As you can see, using the companion voucher winds up saving you over $600. This is due to the cost of the base fare for Passenger 1, which is $846, while the companion voucher knocks Passenger 2’s base fare down to a fixed price of $119.
It’s worth noting that the “Other ATC” total was $160 with the voucher applied, but only total $120 without the voucher applied, so this makes up some of the savings as well.
By booking something similar to this example, you’d be getting good value out of the voucher, and you’d comfortably be able to justify the card’s annual fee, with the caveat being that you’re choosing a more expensive flight to begin with.
Booking During Peak Season
Another good use of the WestJet annual round-trip companion voucher is to book travel during peak seasons, such as the summer months, long weekends, winter holidays, and Spring Break.
This time, suppose a couple is looking to spend the winter holidays down in warmer waters, and they decide to look at a flight from Edmonton to Puerto Vallarta. We can expect the base fares to be higher during this time, since it is a very popular travel period.
With the voucher applied, the couple can expect to pay $2,498 for round-trip flights between Edmonton and Puerto Vallarta.
It’s worth noting here that Passenger 2 will pay $399 instead of the $119 charged for a domestic itinerary, since this is the cost that corresponds to flights to Mexico (and other international destinations) when using the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercardǂ voucher.
Without a voucher applied, the couple would have to pay $3,544 for the same flights.
In this case, the couple could save over $1,000 by using the voucher, an amount well above the cost of the credit card’s annual fee.
Once again, it’s worth noting that the “Other ATC” amount with the voucher applied was $204, while it drops to $164 without the voucher. There’s also a surcharge of $114.98 per passenger, which is waived for Passenger 2 when the voucher is applied.
Booking Last-Minute Flights
Sometimes, travellers are forced to book last-minute flights to deal with personal or business matters. To add another level of stress to what might already be unpleasant or urgent situation, cash fares for imminent flights are usually quite high.
For example, suppose you and your partner have an urgent matter to deal with in Montreal, and you need to be on the next flight out of Calgary that departs just a few hours from now. Without a voucher applied, you’re looking at around $2,787 for the two of you, with a return flight scheduled for the next day.
However, upon recalling that you have an annual round-trip companion voucher available from your credit card, you’ll see the total cost of your trip drop to $1,715 with it’s applied, which winds up saving you over $1,000.
While paying this much for a round-trip flight within Canada is still a tough pill to swallow, you’d at least be squeezing good value out of your voucher.
Once again, it’s worth noting that the “Other ATC” amount charged was $160 with the voucher applied,and just $120 without it, which suggests that there’s likely a fee baked in when the companion voucher is applied.
Booking Long-Haul Routes
For the last example, let’s see what happens if the voucher is applied to a long-haul route. While WestJet’s international network is quite small, you can use a voucher on any flight to Europe or Asia and Passenger 2 will pay a fixed base fare of $399.
You may recall that WestJet added a route between Calgary (YYC) and Tokyo Narita (NRT) in the recent past. Japan is a popular destination for tourists, so let’s determine if using the voucher on this route can add up to any considerable savings.
During the summer travel season, when we can expect base fares to be higher than usual, a round-trip flight with the voucher applied totals $3,215.
The same flights booked without a companion voucher total $4,517.
In this case, the voucher wound up saving over $1,300, which is once again a great deal.
Also, notably, in a reversal to what we’ve seen with the rest of the examples, the “Other ATC” charges add up to only $1,207 with the voucher applied instead of the $1,496 without it. In this case, using the voucher dropped the “Other ATC” charges by almost $300.
How Much Is the WestJet Companion Voucher Worth?
It’s tricky to determine the value of the WestJet annual round-trip companion voucher, since it really depends on how much the first passenger is willing to spend on their own base fare.
For example, if you’re willing to pay more to fly in a higher class of service or to book in a higher fare bucket – whether it’s for more flexibility or perks, or for earning status – the companion voucher would be worth a lot more than it would be for someone who’s looking to fly for as little as possible.
As we saw in the above examples, the voucher didn’t result in meaningful savings when redeemed for an Econo fare; however, there were multiple other uses in which the voucher offered value in excess of $1,000.
With this in mind, a fair middle-of-the-road valuation for the WestJet annual round-trip companion voucher would be somewhere around $500 (CAD).
It’s certainly possible to save more or less depending on how you choose to redeem it, but aiming for this value would ensure that you’re easily justifying the annual fee of your credit card (if applicable) and getting at least a moderate amount of savings.
Of course, as long as you’re getting good use out of the voucher, you can be happy with its value, since not everybody travels on long-haul flights, at the last minute, or during peak travel periods.
Conclusion
The WestJet annual round-trip companion voucher comes in three different forms, depending on the method through which you obtained it. While the application and cost of each voucher is different, you’ll get a discounted base fare for a second passenger when the voucher is applied to a booking.
WestJet annual round-trip companion vouchers are easiest to earn as a benefit on the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercardǂ and the WestJet RBC® Mastercard‡ as there’s no minimum spending requirement and you’ll get it every year upon your cardholder anniversary date.
The most powerful voucher comes via WestJet Rewards’ milestone awards for elite status members, although you’ll need to spend thousands of dollars with WestJet to earn one.
You’ll get the most value out of the voucher by spending more to begin with; however, as long as it’s helping you meet your travel goals and saving you money along the way, you can consider it to be a good deal scored.
yes, i agree. westjet is a far cry from “us being owners”. the companion voucher rarely works in favor. i was lured back with a zero dollar companion fee for mexico so i figured i would save $400 on our annual trip. the flights worked out to $1500 ea in econo with the voucher. no thanks for the “savings”. i will fly flair for less than half.$266+bags. aeroplan rewards are the way to go, as joanne commented above. pity and shame on westjet
The way extra fees are calculated made this a bad deal for us. We had this card back when every companion fare was $99 and made good use of it to take the family to London. But for $400 base fare equivalent we couldn’t make it worth our while and we cancelled the card. Too late we found out we lost FOUR vouchers we hadn’t used that we’re not expiring when we cancelled the card. (We could’ve used one for a little saving on a trip to YUL). Also we fly out of Halifax and there are precious few ways to get out of YHZ these days. Was told this week if we wanted to go to YUL we’d have to book a multi city itinerary through YYZ. It’s that bad. I can see the value if you want to book an upgraded fare, but lots of us just want to travel as MUCH as possible and will almost never opt to spend our rewards on the scant few hours on the plane. Made the switch to Aeroplan a few years ago and while we’ve always been a fan of Westjet’s good-guy/small company ethos, it’s not doing anything that’s different from Air Canada anymore.