WestJet Mastercard Newbie-

[DnA2010]

Hi Guys,


So I have never considered the Westjet Mastercard, but I just want to make sure I’m understanding it correct-

The cards cost either $119, or $39- this fee gets you a companion fair for $99 (talking about cont. US travel)

Right now the $119 gets you a $250 Westjet Dollars credit- can you use this towards your first booking?


So say I found flights to Orlando that cost $358 total- $225 air, $133 Taxes etc-


Would I pay: $358 first flight, $99 + plus $133 taxes for second- Total of $590 then take off the $250 so $340 for the 2 flights?

Is that how it would work?

 

[efrant]

The fee for the WestJet World Elite card is $119.

Yes, if you find a flight to Orlando for $225+$133 taxes/fees, then you can get a second one for $99+$133 taxes/fees, and you can use your WestJet dollars. And you get one free checked bag per person. So, if you didn't have the card (and assuming one checked bag per person), you would pay $358 +$358 + $30 + $30 + US$30 + US$30 = $854 for the two of you. If you get the card, you pay: $119 + $358 + $99 + $133 - $250 = $459. So a net savings of $395.

 

[EastCoastCdn]

The base WestJet MC with the $39 annual fee doesn’t come with the $99 companion fare and doesn’t allow for the free baggage. The $39 card doesn’t have the minimum annual income requirement. It also doesn’t include the out of province/country medical insurance along with a few other insurances that the World Elite has.

 

[Carolynleanne]

We have the World Elite. We get 1 free bag per person for each trip as well as the yearly companion fare. Saves us HUNDREDS as a family of five.

 

[starvenger]

Same. Checking two bags is about $100 per round trip, or effectively your card fee. "Pays for itself" is a cliche term, but that's what it feels like in this case.

 

[cdnSpinalTap]

We have the World Elite. We get 1 free bag per person for each trip as well as the yearly companion fare. Saves us HUNDREDS as a family of five.

We are a family of 5 as well, so my wife and I each have a separate World Elite MasterCard account. That way we get 2 companion flights per year. Works out great!

 

[hcortesis]

The fee for the WestJet World Elite card is $119.

Yes, if you find a flight to Orlando for $225+$133 taxes/fees, then you can get a second one for $99+$133 taxes/fees, and you can use your WestJet dollars. And you get one free checked bag per person. So, if you didn't have the card (and assuming one checked bag per person), you would pay $358 +$358 + $30 + $30 + US$30 + US$30 = $854 for the two of you. If you get the card, you pay: $119 + $358 + $99 + $133 - $250 = $459. So a net savings of $395.

This is well described. Thanks. Would the same hold for business seats (or whatever their premium seats are) e.g. replace the $358 with the cost of their premium seat?

Also, for anyone interested in Aeroplan. TD has an offer for a FREE for a year Aeroplan C/C PLUS get 15,000 pts when you activate your card and then another 15,000 if you spend $1,000. within the first 3 months. So zero cost for your first year and get 30,000. points. FYI, I already have a card but I did receive a second card through their latest promotion

 

[Carolynleanne]

We are a family of 5 as well, so my wife and I each have a separate World Elite MasterCard account. That way we get 2 companion flights per year. Works out great!

SMART! I never even thought of that, haha. But we put everything on that ONE card for the points.

 

[Starwind]

This is well described. Thanks. Would the same hold for business seats (or whatever their premium seats are) e.g. replace the $358 with the cost of their premium seat?

Yes. You can purchase any fare class you want and use the companion voucher for a companion ticket in the same class.

We recently purchased our return tickets for Orlando:

mine:
premium seat, paid for with my WJ dollars for the $684 base fare and WJ CC for the $166.55 taxes
sister:
premium seat, used $99 companion voucher for the base fare and paid for with sister's WJ dollars and WJ CC for the $137.70 taxes

Note that WJ dollars can only be used for the base fare, they cannot be used for the taxes and fees, so those we put on the WJ CC.

SW

 

[hcortesis]

Yes. You can purchase any fare class you want and use the companion voucher for a companion ticket in the same class.

We recently purchased our return tickets for Orlando:

mine:
premium seat, paid for with my WJ dollars for the $684 base fare and WJ CC for the $166.55 taxes
sister:
premium seat, used $99 companion voucher for the base fare and paid for with sister's WJ dollars and WJ CC for the $137.70 taxes

Note that WJ dollars can only be used for the base fare, they cannot be used for the taxes and fees, so those we put on the WJ CC.

SW

So there is not even a surcharge for the Premium seat? That is great. So pay the $99 companion fare, and pay the fare for the first seat at regular price, no matter what class? Good deal. Thanks for the info.

Was it really $684 return in Premium?

 

[Starwind]

So there is not even a surcharge for the Premium seat? That is great. So pay the $99 companion fare, and pay the fare for the first seat at regular price, no matter what class? Good deal. Thanks for the info.

Was it really $684 return in Premium?

When using the WJ Elite MC companion voucher, correct there is no surcharge for a premium seat, it is just the $99 voucher fee plus the taxes/fees for the companion ticket. One of the reasons we REALLY like using it

Yes, $684 + 166.55 taxes = 850.55 return from YOW to MCO, connecting via YYZ both ways. That is Premium [NOT PremiumFlex] for one person. CAD $.

FWIW, same flights Econo fare for one person are: 556.22 (403.99 + 152.23). There are no sales because it is too far out for sales.

SW

 

[Starwind]

So there is not even a surcharge for the Premium seat? That is great. So pay the $99 companion fare, and pay the fare for the first seat at regular price, no matter what class? Good deal. Thanks for the info.

Was it really $684 return in Premium?

I should add: just checked the Premium price for our flights and they have gone up already.

We purchased the first day you could (Feb 1) for our December 2019 flights [our dates were held back and released later than the normal 330-335 days in advance].

The price for a Premium return ticket on the same flights for one person if bought today is:

Price summary
Air Transportation Charges (ATC) $931.99
Taxes, fees and charges $178.63
Total: 1,110.62 CAD
Price includes taxes*

So we saved $260.07 by purchasing early.

There were discussions in another thread about purchasing early or waiting. We purchase as early as possible -- for our Disney trips that means as soon as it is possible to purchase the tickets. At least with WJ Premium fares, IME the fares only tend to go up in price and Premium seats don't go on sale very often. Even with a seat sale, Premium is often only a 10% discount, not the 20%+ Econo can sometimes be. And there are limited Premium seats [12] on the plane. Complicating matters for us is that if you end up on a WJ Encore flight for one of your legs, two of the three Premium rows are emergency exit rows, which I can't sit in, which means there are usually 4 seats on that plane available to me in Premium. So if I want Premium, it makes sense from my POV to book as early as possible to ensure I get what I want and most likely to ensure I get as low a price as possible.

SW

 

[SorcererPanda]

My SO got the world elite card in 2017; At the time, we were not planning to keep the card due to it's high annual fee and only meant to take advantage of the FYF and silver status promo.
We quickly found that the 1st checked bag free alone, covers the annual fee and more for the amount that we travel with WestJet.

I wasn't aware there's no surcharge for premium seats when using the companion voucher. That may be worth looking into for our next trip.

 

[Silvermist999]

We are a family of 5 as well, so my wife and I each have a separate World Elite MasterCard account. That way we get 2 companion flights per year. Works out great!

This is brilliant!!

 

[efrant]

This is well described. Thanks. Would the same hold for business seats (or whatever their premium seats are) e.g. replace the $358 with the cost of their premium seat?

You can use the companion fare for Premium fares, but you can't use if for Business fares or Member Exclusive fares. So, you can use it on: Basic, Econo, EconoFlex, Premium, and PremiumFlex fares. You cannot use it on Business, BusinessFlex, or Member Exclusive fares.

 

[hcortesis]

You can use the companion fare for Premium fares, but you can't use if for Business fares or Member Exclusive fares. So, you can use it on: Basic, Econo, EconoFlex, Premium, and PremiumFlex fares. You cannot use it on Business, BusinessFlex, or Member Exclusive fares.

Thanks. Looks like their "Business Class" is for long haul so I think I'm fine for Orlando with Premium.