Hi
I'm sure someone has done this so instead of trying to figure it out on my own, i thought I'd ask here.
I'm thinking of getting the WJ credit card for our trip next February. There are 5 of us going so we'd get 2 cards and do the following:
the card holders fly using cash and WJ dollars. Then they get 2 tickets on companion fares. The other person will have to pay full price.
I have a few questions. First, what are the taxes and fees charged? Are they the same taxes and fees as when you look at cash fares?
Second, what are the odds of getting bumped? It seems to be in the news lately, but it's not usually West Jet.
If there's a seat sale, do the cost of the tickets using westjet dollars also go down?
If you have any thoughts on this plan please let me know!
Thanks
Hi ... I can't answer all your questions BUT this is what happened when we bought tickets
using WestJet Dollars AND $99 Companion Voucher:
1) Call a West Jet Agent and book through the agent BECAUSE you are using BOTH WestJet Dollars AND Companion Vouchers.
2) Since you will have 2 cardholders, EACH cardholder must EITHER make their own reservations (reminder: plan ahead of time HOW you intend to use your WestJet Dollars & Companion Vouchers for your group so you can advise the Agent which travellers are using WestJet Dollars and/or Companion Vouchers)
OR
ONCE having the cardholders' identities confirmed by the West Jet Agent, EACH cardholder can authorize another person (ie. your group's designated reservation maker) to make the reservation. The cardholders should be nearby in case the West Jet Agent needs to ask additional questions or get additional authorization from the cardholders.
For convenience sake, I suggest you designate 1 person to make all the flight reservations. In this case, I suggest that both cardholders be present when you make the call to the WestJet Agent AND both authorize the Agent to speak to your group's designated "reservation maker" AND complete all 5 flight reservations during the SAME phone call (reason: sometimes there's a lengthy wait to connect to an Agent and this way you won't need to wait "2" separate times to speak to an Agent).
3) Your WestJet Dollars may be used to purchase another person's air fare so you are NOT restricted to only spending your WestJet Dollars for the cardholder's air fare. Since WestJet Dollars expire in 5 years it's probably best to use them ASAP unless you travel frequently and know that they will be used within the 5 year expiry period.
4) WestJet Dollars must be used for WestJet Operated flights.
5) Companion Voucher must be used for WestJet Operated flights.
6) Remember to give the cardholder's WestJet membership number to the agent The agent will need to "link" the reservations so that the cardholder's travelling companions will also get their their 1st free checked bag.
7) WestJet Dollars reduce the BASE fare in WHOLE DOLLARS. The remaining "cents" PLUS the applicable taxes & charges need to be CHARGED to a credit card. You may use ANY credit card to pay the balance (does NOT need to be the WestJet Credit card ... you may choose to pay with a non-WestJet Credit card if you get better benefits from using a different card).
Therefore, each traveller will have a balance that will be charged to a credit card.
If you want to use several credit cards (ie. each traveller uses his own credit card to pay his balance) you can ask the Agent whether or not this is allowed. I'm thinking it's probably OK since you're allowed to pay the balance with ANY credit card BUT I can NOT confirm whether or not this is possible since I used the same credit card to pay for all our flights. If this is something that you would like to do, please check with the Agent.
8) The prices you see on WestJet's website are the same prices the WestJet Agent sees. HOWEVER, for safety sake, BEFORE you start booking with the Agent, you should confirm that the flights you would like are available for your group of 5 AND at the price that you have in mind. It would be terrible to go through a lengthy booking process only to find out that there aren't enough seats available at your price point!
I'm fairly certain there is no restriction as to when you can use your WestJet Dollars (eg. seat sale or non-seat sale) so long as you use your WestJet Dollars on a WestJet operated flight AND before your WestJet Dollars have expired.
9) There are NO additional fees for using WestJet Dollars ... using $1 WestJet = $1 reduction in your BASE fare. Minimum amount to be redeemed starts at $15 AND you can redeem as little or as much WestJet Dollars as you like.
Reminder: You may also use YOUR WestJet Dollars to pay your travelling companions' air fare since they are on the same reservation. You will need to check with the Agent if you wish to use your WestJet Dollars to pay for a traveller connected to the 2nd cardholder's reservation ... I do NOT know if this is allowed or not. Meaning this: you will need to check with the Agent to see whether or not Cardholder #1 may use his WestJet Dollars to pay for Cardholder #2's air fare OR Cardholder #2's travelling companions' air fare. As well, you will need to check whether or not the travelling companions may use their OWN WestJet Dollars to pay (if this is something you would also like to do).
10) The cardholder ONLY earns WestJet dollars on his air fare when providing his WestJet member number. Therefore, the reason the cardholder's WestJet member number is "linked" to his travelling companions air fare is to enable the travelling companions to get their 1st Free Checked Bag. If the travelling companions have their OWN WestJet member numbers, this info should be advised to the Agent so that the travelling companions can earn their own WestJet dollars. However, if the cardholder uses his WestJet Credit Card to pay the balances THEN the WestJet Dollars earned for using the WestJet Credit card will belong to the cardholder.
Meaning this: WestJet Dollars earned through a WestJet Member number FOLLOWS the WestJet Member. WestJet Dollars earned through a WestJet Credit Card Payment follows the cardholder.
11) I suggest you look up the flight info & cost on WestJet's website so you know ahead of time which flights you would like to book. This will save some time as you can start booking your flight once you connect with an Agent (ie. no need to ask the Agent to check flights, times etc. EXCEPT to confirm that they have "enough" seats @ "your price point" for everyone in your group).
I hope the above info helps you. Give the WestJet Agent a call ... they're really great ... I had a very positive experience booking through the WestJet Agent! Happy Travels!!
