Everything you need to know about the updated WestJet Rewards Program
The WestJet Group is Canada’s leading low-cost airline and largest vacation provider, with a united purpose of providing affordable and accessible air and vacation travel to Canadians. WestJet took to the skies in 1996 with just over 200 employees and three aircraft operating service to five destinations. Since then, WestJet has pioneered low-cost travel in Canada, cutting airfares in half, and increasing the flying population in Canada by more than 50 per cent.
Following integration with Sunwing in 2025, more than 14,000 WestJetters support nearly 200 aircraft and connect guests to more than 100 destinations across North America, Central America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. WestJet Group now includes WestJet Airlines, Sunwing Vacations Group and WestJet Cargo.
WestJet Rewards will be refreshed, effective April 30, 2025
Today WestJet announced the most significant improvement to WestJet Rewards in the program’s 15-year history, making it easier than ever for members to earn, redeem and achieve status. The changes announced today will be effective April 30, 2025 and are the second of three waves of change anticipated in 2025. Learn about all the new features here.
We connected with Steve McClelland, Vice President of Loyalty, WestJet, who provided details of all the changes and described the impact of this new program design for its travelers.
In the official press release (link), Steve commented “We are improving WestJet Rewards to bring more value to all Canadians, whether that’s our frequent flyers, credit card holders or the casual traveler”, continuing “that’s why we’ve introduced changes to our program across both flights and everyday partnerships, that give members so many great ways to earn points and save for flights, vacations or enhanced travel experiences.”
Five key enhancements to WestJet Rewards will take effect this spring:
#1 – Introducing WestJet points
WestJet points will replace WestJet dollars, with one WestJet dollar converting to 100 WestJet points. Points will not expire, and members’ accounts will reflect a balance in points as of April 30.
WestJet points will allow members to do more, including integrating with everyday partners, while keeping simple redemption on any flight at any time.
#2 – Earn and redeem on more of the ticket cost and flight extras
Members will now earn points and top-tier qualifying spend credit not only on base fare, but also on carrier surcharges and extras such as seat selection, checked bags and upgrades; only government taxes and fees will be excluded.
Teal members will also see their earn rate on flights double, to one point per dollar. Additionally, members may now redeem for the entire fare, including all extras and taxes, entirely with points.
#3 – Reach top-tier status with or without flying
For the first time, members can achieve any level of tier status, including Platinum, without travelling, by spending on the WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard, or with any combination of flight and credit card spend through the updated Status Lift feature. In addition, all components of the ticket, aside from government taxes and fees, will be counted towards status.
#4 – Engage with WestJet Rewards everyday
An all-new WestJet Rewards eStore will turn everyday online shopping into more rewards. Members will have the ability to earn when they shop, as well as redeem WestJet points on merchandise and gift cards with popular retailers like Amazon, Apple, Sephora, and Sport Chek.
#5 – New everyday partnerships with leading Canadian brands
Members will soon be able to link their WestJet Rewards accounts to their TELUS Rewards and Skip accounts, unlocking opportunities like point transfer and bonus offers. Additionally, they can earn and redeem WestJet points for TELUS services as well as earn and redeem WestJet points with Skip to bring their next trip closer on each order. More details will be shared, and additional partners will be announced later this year.
Westjet commented that WestJet Rewards members will gain exclusive access to fast and free Wi-Fi, presented by TELUS, in a future upgrade, radically transforming the way guests can stream, shop, play and work from the skies.
Analysis
Moving to points provides flexibility to onboard new partnerships and to introduce new reward products. The program remains reasonably simple, flexible and easy to understand for WestJet program members.
Any members who may be skeptical about the switch from dollars to points should be reassured when they see their account values remain the same when redemption occurs on current redemption options. There could be some variance of redemption value on rewards introduced in the future but we were assured the value would remain strong and that points will not expires.
The value proposition for WestJet Rewards became stronger and more inclusive. New features include:
- Earn on flight “extras,” e.g., seats, bags, surcharges, and upgrades
- Ability to redeem for the entire flight including seats, bags, taxes and fees
- Status qualification became easier as members can now earn qualifying spend credit on extras including seats, bags, surcharges, and upgrades
- Acceleration through Cobrand credit cards use helps members reach the highest elite tier through daily purchases
- Daily relevance: The new program introduces “everyday” partnerships, a new eStore, home delivery, telco partnerships and more
- Minimum point redemption has been reduced, from $30 per pax to 2,500 pts per booking
- Teal earn rate on flights has doubled, from 0.5% to 1.0 pt / $
- Top tier earn rates translate directly into points (e.g., Platinum at 8% will be 8 pts / $)
- Top tier Milestone awards have been refreshed with new choices
Here’s a view of the earning scheme in the new WestJet Rewards program
WestJet continues to honor its dedicated population of air travelers and is giving those who are Cobrand credit card holders the opportunity to earn faster also.
For every $5,000 in everyday credit card spend, customers who have a WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard will receive 200 CAD in tier qualifying spend through the new Status Lift feature. Members can receive up to 50 Status Lifts in the new program, instead of just three Lifts per calendar year today.
Flexibility is a dominant theme of the new program as Members will have endless possibilities to achieve tier status or reach a higher tier through a combination of travel spend and Status Lifts. Steve commented that “while we love our road warriors, being one isn’t required to be recognized in our new WestJet Rewards program.”
Here is a summary of the Tier structure and associated benefits
The new WestJet Rewards eStore is a new online platform that will significantly enhance the value of the WestJet Rewards program by offering members new ways to earn and redeem points. WestJet Rewards members will be able to earn WestJet points by shopping with hundreds of popular brands and redeem points on merchandise and gift cards in the catalog.
Special Milestone Awards will recognize members who are frequent flyers based only on their travel spend. Members will be able to earn Milestone Qualifying spend in the following ways:
- 100% of the amount spent on eligible published base fares, other Air Transportation Charges, seat fees selection, checked bag fees and cabin upgrade fees for WestJet-marketed flights flown by the member within a qualifying year; and
- 20% of the member’s individual portion of the base price of eligible WestJet Vacations packages completed within a qualifying year.
The difference between MQS and TQS is that MQS does not include spend on credit cards. Milestone awards are awarded solely on travel spend with WestJet and WestJet Vacations. Ensuring a smooth transition to the new program structure, Members will continue to earn milestone qualifying spend based on the current rules until the transition date.