How To Save on WestJet Flights By Redeeming Delta SkyMiles

In Canada, we’re severely limited in our airline choices, which means we’re also limited in how we redeem our hard-earned points and miles. However, many travelers overlook the strong partnership between Delta and WestJet, as well as the fact that Delta still offers fixed pricing for some partner award flights. 

I’ve used Delta SkyMiles at high value to fly on WestJet on numerous occasions, and I’m here to share all the details with you.

Why Does This Unique Redemption Opportunity Exist?

Even though WestJet is not a SkyTeam airline, Delta and WestJet began a partnership in 2011 with a simple codeshare agreement. It has since grown to the point where Delta owns a 15% stake in WestJet. 

I think we’re at a sweetspot where there’s a significant amount of interaction between the two airlines without getting too involved, where full dynamic pricing can take effect. This can always change, as we recently saw with the significant Aeroplan program changes.

It would be great to see WestJet become a full member of SkyTeam, but this deep partnership is a great start. Similarly, we’ve even seen Porter Airlines become more entrenched with Alaska Airlines and American Airlines, becoming a pseudo oneworld airline.

How to Book WestJet Flights with Delta SkyMiles

The first thing you need to know is that you can only book WestJet economy seats with your SkyMiles, but that’s not a huge loss, as WestJet isn’t known for having an amazing premium cabin, unless you’re flying on WestJet business class on the 787 Dreamliner.  

Flights will vary in price between 12,500 SkyMiles and 17,500 SkyMiles, depending on how close to the departure date you book. If we use this example between Vancouver and Toronto, we see that cash prices are super high, at $522 CAD per person one way for an Econo fare.

Searching on the Delta website and ensuring to click on “Shop with Miles”, we see that the same flight can be booked for 17,500 miles and $37 in taxes and fees.

Calculating the cents per point, or cents per mile, we come to a final figure of 2.7 CAD cents per SkyMile! 

This is an excellent value, but we have to remember that American Express Membership Rewards points transfer to Delta at a subpar ratio of 1 Membership Rewards point to 0.75 SkyMiles. So you would need 23,333 Canadian Membership Reward points to redeem for this award. That brings down the cents per mile to 2 CAD Cents per Amex point.

If you’ve gone through the path of getting set up with US Credit Cards, you can transfer Amex US Membership Rewards to Delta SkyMiles at a 1:1 ratio, but you will pay a small excise tax. 

There are many routes that are available to redeem your SkyMiles on WestJet, particularly sun destinations like Orlando that I highlighted in our SkyMiles sweetspots. The only downside to this partnership is that you need to do the math every time, as it’s a fixed-value redemption.

Sometimes a WestJet flight will be super cheap, around $100 CAD one way, and it will still cost the same 12,500-17,500 miles. It’s best to check cash prices first, then see if you can save some money by redeeming your SkyMiles this way.

I’ve also used Seats.Aero in “Explore SkyMiles” mode to get some inspiration for what WestJet routes are available to be redeemed with SkyMiles. If you’re curious about where else you can redeem your SkyMiles for WestJet economy flights, be sure to check out how to use FlightConnections.

Additional Reasons To Consider Booking WestJet Flights with Delta SkyMiles

Aside from the often lower redemption pricing, there are a few other key reasons why it is worth considering booking a WestJet flight with Delta SkyMiles.

Free Cancellation

One trend I love about US airline loyalty programs (and loathe about Canadian programs) is that almost all of them offer free cancellation and changes on award redemptions. The same is true for booking WestJet with SkyMiles, even though you’re flying on a Canadian airline.

An employer once booked me on a super tight 30 minute connection through Vancouver on WestJet, and I used my miles and points savvy to provide myself some comfort. I booked a later flight using SkyMiles just in case I misconnected. I was never planning on using my own miles to fly, but I was able to essentially “hold” a seat on the later flight if I missed my intended flight, which I had to run to the gate to board. 

If I did in fact miss that flight (which I didn’t), and the next flight was sold out, I could “open up a seat” by cancelling my SkyMiles award ticket for free. Because I didn’t miss my original flight, I simply cancelled my SkyMiles Award ticket after I boarded my original flight.

While that’s a niche example, you could also use this technique for positioning flights to ensure you have a backup plan to get to your long-haul flight if anything goes wrong with your intended positioning segment – you just need to remember to cancel!

This policy is also significantly better than Flying Blue, which charges a cancellation fee when cancelling any award flights. You technically can book WestJet flights through Flying Blue, but I don’t see much point considering the cancellation fees.

Free Carry-On Luggage

It seems almost too good to be true, but you’ll also get a free piece of carry-on luggage by booking through SkyMiles. On the flip side, if you wish to redeem your WestJet points for a flight and want to bring a carry-on bag, you’ll need to purchase a ticket at a minimum in the Econo fare class. 

If you need some inspiration for your next carry-on suitcase, have a look through our luggage guide.

Another Option Versus Aeroplan

Aeroplan is Canada’s most robust loyalty program, but being the biggest doesn’t guarantee value all the time. If we compare the same dates and flight parameters (direct, non-redeye) as the YVR-YYZ example above, you would need to spend more than 10,000 points per passenger extra.

This also bleeds into my next point as to why flexible points are the best ones to collect, as it gives you so many options compared to collecting only airline miles.

Receive a Better Return on Credit Card Spending

The WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard earns 1.5 WestJet points, worth 1.5 cents on WestJet flights, for every dollar you spend. If we compare the value of 2 cents CAD per American Express Membership Reward point in the YVR-YYZ example, you’re getting an extra ½ cent in value for every dollar you spend on uncategorized categories. 

Instead, if you spend on a card like the American Express Business Platinum Card, you’re earning 2.5 cents for every dollar you spend, almost double that of the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard.

American Express Business Platinum® Card

Apply Now Learn More Terms & Conditions apply

American Express Business Platinum® Card

The American Express Business Platinum Card is a premium card that offers benefits including a $200 travel credit, airport lounge access, a $100 NEXUS membership credit, and more.

Check out our American Express Business Platinum card review for more details.

BONUS
120,000 Membership Rewards points

MINSPEND
$15,000

EST. VALUE
$2,400+

ANNUAL FEE
$799

FOREX FEES
Yes

EXPIRY
–

While WestJet points are inherently easier to use, the extra value is available for those who wish to maximize with Delta SkyMiles, as with many things in this hobby.

Conclusion

Using Delta Skymiles, and by way of transfer partners, Amex Canada Membership Rewards, is an often-forgotten-about path to book WestJet economy flights. When cash prices are high, the fixed value redemption using Delta SkyMiles provides a ton of value, and provides an excellent option to save points versus Air Canada Aeroplan.