If you are familiar with the WestJet Rewards program, then you know the basics of redeeming WestJet Dollars for flights and vacation packages. However, that is only half of the equation. If you truly want to get the most from your WestJet Dollars and save even more on your next flight booking, you need to understand the value that WestJet companion vouchers can provide to you as a traveler.
Let’s look at everything you need to know about WestJet companion vouchers so you can save big money on your next WestJet flight.
Learn More with the Miles Ahead Podcast
If you’d like to learn about the companion voucher in audio format, you can listen to Miles Ahead Deep Dive Episode #11 which is all about the WestJet companion voucher.
What are WestJet Companion Vouchers?
WestJet companion vouchers are vouchers issued within the WestJet Rewards program. They give the holder the opportunity to apply a discount towards a flight booking consisting of themselves and at least one other person. The voucher can only be used on the same flight and same itinerary as the member who is redeeming the voucher.
The WestJet companion voucher will reduce the base fare cost of the first companion traveling on the itinerary. Taxes and fees will still need to be paid on the companion’s fare, but the reduction of cost on the base fare can be significant.
Companion vouchers can be used for one-way or round-trip travel, but are fully consumed once applied, even if it is for a one-way booking. While these vouchers also have an expiry date, typically one year from the date it was issued, travel can be booked past the expiry date as that is simply a “must book by” date.
Needless to say, the reduction of base fare can result in significant savings on your next WestJet flight booking. Surprisingly enough, these vouchers are actually quite straightforward to earn and use.
How to Obtain a WestJet Companion Voucher
There are two ways in which you can obtain a companion voucher: signing up for and holding a WestJet RBC credit card or having elite status with WestJet Rewards.
WestJet RBC Credit Cards
For the majority, the most straightforward method of obtaining a companion voucher is simply by signing up for and holding a WestJet RBC Mastercard. When you sign up for a new WestJet RBC credit card, you will receive a companion voucher as part of the welcome bonus and an additional voucher for every cardholder anniversary going forward.
Out of the two cards offered by RBC, our personal favorite is the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard, which comes with a strong welcome bonus, FlyerFunds rebate, and various benefits such as an annual companion voucher, free checked bags, and more.
The WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard offers benefits including an annual WestJet companion voucher and a first free checked bag on WestJet flights.
Check out our WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard review for more details.
450 WestJet dollars
$5,000
$450+
$119
Yes
–
On the other hand, the WestJet RBC Mastercard also offers a companion voucher if you do not meet the income requirements of the World Elite card. However, this card does not offer as many overall benefits and comes with a weaker companion voucher which we will cover below.
If you do an RBC product switch to one of the WestJet cards, you may receive a companion voucher upon switching. This is very much so a “your mileage may vary” case – you are not entitled to receive one necessarily. But, it sometimes can work out this way so it may be worth a shot.
It is important to note that any unused vouchers, even if the voucher expiry date is not for a while, will be removed from your WestJet Rewards account if you close your WestJet RBC credit card that awarded those vouchers.
WestJet Rewards Elite Status – Milestone Awards
If you are a WestJet Rewards member, you can earn milestone qualifying spend awards which include WestJet-wide companion vouchers. Milestone spend is tracked separately from spending that is used towards status but includes qualifying spend on WestJet travel, so it is similar to how you can earn WestJet Rewards status.
The list of milestone qualifying spend tiers and the respective awards can be seen below:
While this is definitely a method to accrue WestJet companion vouchers, it will most likely be out of the realm of possibility for the average traveler. These tiers are more geared towards those who travel for business or other needs, as opposed to the leisure traveler.
With that in mind, acquiring companion vouchers through any of the RBC credit card options is definitely the best way for the majority of people.
What is the Cost of Using a WestJet Companion Voucher?
When using a WestJet companion voucher, the cost you will pay for the base fare will vary depending on the source of your companion voucher and where you will be traveling.
See the table below for the base fare cost on companion vouchers earned from various sources:
| Region | WestJet RBC Mastercard | WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard | WestJet Rewards Elite Status (Milestone Awards) |
|---|---|---|---|
| North America (excluding Hawaii) | Basic/Econo/EconoFlex: $199 base fare Premium/PremiumFlex: $299 base fare | Basic/Econo/EconoFlex: $119 base fare Premium/PremiumFlex: $219 base fare | No base fare cost for companion |
| Rest of WestJet Network | N/A – Cannot be used outside of North America | Basic/Econo/EconoFlex: $399 base fare Premium/PremiumFlex: $499 base fare | No base fare cost for companion |
Note that the costs listed in the table above only account for the base fare on the ticket. Even with a companion fare, you will still need to pay the taxes and tickets on the ticket.
Of note, the most accessible option of the three is the World Elite companion voucher since it applies network-wide, comes with a reasonable cost, and is attainable by the broader population, even if you have never flown WestJet before.
You can learn how to apply a companion voucher towards your booking here.
WestJet Companion Voucher Restrictions
Similar to companion fare vouchers offered by other airlines, the WestJet companion voucher has some restrictions on how it can be used.
Companion vouchers are not eligible to be used on WestJet Business class, BusinessFlex, or Member Exclusive fares; all other WestJet fare classes are eligible. When booking with a companion voucher, the same fare type must be booked for the primary cardholder and companion.
Companion vouchers can also not be used with WestJet vacations packages or group bookings. This means that the best way to save on your WestJet vacations booking is to redeem WestJet Dollars; click to learn more about redeeming WestJet Dollars for vacation packages.
WestJet companion vouchers can only be used by the WestJet Rewards member who has the voucher on their account. This means that you cannot transfer companion vouchers between members or book travel for third parties while still using a companion voucher.
Companion vouchers cannot be applied to existing bookings; they can only be applied when making a new booking. They also cannot be applied when using a discount code so you will have to determine if the code or voucher will save you more money on your booking.
The flight booking must be made before the expiry date listed on the companion voucher, however, the flight does not need to be flown by the expiry date. This means that you can stretch the expiry on your companion voucher, provided you book travel for the future before it expires.
How to Get the Most Value from a WestJet Companion Voucher
There are two main things to keep in mind when using your WestJet companion voucher: there are no blackout periods and it is better to always use it for a round-trip booking.
If you truly want to maximize the value you can extract from your companion voucher, booking a WestJet Premium fare is the way to go. Premium fares come at a premium price, which means you can save even more with a companion fare voucher.
For example, let’s consider a recent itinerary that I booked using a WestJet companion voucher for this summer. In late June, my partner and I are flying from Edmonton to Orange County to enjoy a few days at Disneyland. Thanks to an influx of WestJet Dollars plus a companion voucher, we were able to splurge on premium class when booking our WestJet flights for some significant savings:
- Round-trip base fare for premium class: $1,840 total ($920 per person)
- Round-trip base fare for premium class with companion voucher applied: $1040 total ($520 per person)
As you can see, through the application of the companion voucher we were able to save $800 on the whole itinerary. That $800 will easily cover our Disneyland tickets, which gives us the opportunity to spend our money elsewhere during the trip as opposed to spending it on flights.
Throw in some free night certificates from the American Express Hilton Honors Aspire card (US), a Scene+ redemption on the Scotiabank Gold American Express card for theme park tickets, and a typically expensive trip to Disneyland starts to become very affordable.
Learn More: How to Save Money on a Disneyland Trip with Miles & Points
Not to mention, for any travel in North America, WestJet Premium is a step up from economy class and is a nice treat. You can expect an experience similar to Air Canada business class. That being said, at the end of the day, the best value you can get out of your companion fare voucher is using it for the trip you want to take. Don’t worry about maximizing value, worry about reducing costs for the vacation you actually want to take.
There is a caveat when it comes to using the companion voucher on WestJet routes that charge “Other ATC” fees. Certain routes will have a lower base fare, but charge high “Other ATC” fees, meaning these fees won’t be lessened when a companion voucher is applied. The best value for companion vouchers will be on routes and fare classes that have a high base fare price.
Convert WestJet Companion Vouchers to Lounge Passes
While we would always recommend using companion vouchers for flight redemptions, as we will cover more below, you can actually convert them to lounge passes. This may be an avenue worth pursuing if you have an excess of companion vouchers and do not hold a card that grants lounge access, such as the American Express Business Platinum card.
Only vouchers earned from the WestJet RBC World Elite credit card are eligible to be converted to lounge passes, at a rate of one voucher to four lounge passes. The lounge passes can be used by the WestJet Rewards member for themselves and their guests, but the member must be in attendance.
There are a variety of lounges that you can access with these vouchers, with the most notable lounge being the WestJet Elevation lounge in Calgary. Click here for a full list of all eligible lounges.
You can exchange your companion vouchers for lounge passes here.
Conclusion
WestJet companion vouchers present a strong value proposition in the WestJet Rewards program. I highly recommend taking advantage of them should you find yourself with a voucher in your account.
Personally, I’ve had great success using them to hop around North America with ease and with minimal out-of-pocket costs, including booking an upcoming WestJet Premium round-trip itinerary to Anaheim to visit Disneyland.
Frequently Asked Questions
The easiest way to obtain a WestJet companion voucher is to sign up for either the WestJet RBC Mastercard or the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard. You will receive your companion voucher when your first statement posts on the credit card account and on the account anniversary every year thereafter.
Yes, you can absolutely make a WestJet flight redemption using both WestJet Dollars and a companion voucher.
Yes, WestJet companion vouchers can be used to book premium class seats. However, business class seats are not eligible to be booked with companion vouchers.
No. If you wish to use a companion voucher, you must be on the itinerary as the main passenger.
No, companion vouchers are only redeemable on WestJet flights and not on vacation packages.
No, you cannot transfer a WestJet companion voucher to another WestJet Rewards member.
Yes, WestJet companion vouchers do have an expiry date which will be listed when you view the voucher in your WestJet Rewards account. Note that the expiry date is the date by which flights need to be booked, not the date by which the flights must be flown.
Yes, you can use companion vouchers for open-jaw bookings, ie. where you fly into one city and fly home from a different city.
Yes, the voucher will be credited back to you, with the original expiry date. You can ask WestJet to extend the voucher, which they may do at their discretion.
Josh Bandura
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I usually get a voucher every April but so far have not received it. It states you must spend at lleast 8,000 in which i have done that and more. Just from May til Sept of 2024 i spent close to 12,000 on my card
Please help as I cant seem to talk to anyone on the phone about this
Hi Ellen,
You should receive the annual companion voucher as part of holding the either the WestJet World Elite Mastercard or the WestJet Mastercard, regardless of the amount of spend you have done on the card. Is your cardholder anniversary in April? If you haven’t yet received it, I would wait until your statement posts to see if it shows up in your WestJet account then.
Do you know about seat vouchers? I recently cancelled a flight and had used seat vouchers. I don’t see that these were returned.
My wife and I plan on applying for Westjet WE MC so that we can each use companion fares for our children. I also have a pool of Avion points and I want to transfer them to Westjet dollars to used together with the companion vouchers. Would it be better to transfer all the Avion points to one Westjet account, or split them equally between both Westjet accounts?
Hi Mason,
If you and your wife each have a companion voucher in your separate accounts, you would need enough WestJet points in each account to cover the base fare of the flight youre applying the voucher to. If you transfer them all to one account, you’ll have to pay cash when using the second companion voucher.
My Westjet Companion Voucher expires on Nov 21, 2024. Following along as Westjet releases flights for October of 2025, it would seem that the date that I am looking for pertaining to a return flight will open up on the very day (Nov 21, 2024) that my Voucher Expiration date is. Can I utilize my companion voucher on it’s expiry date – or does it have to be booked prior to the expiration date? I’m reading mixed information online on this question.
Thanks in advance for your help in this regard!
I am not totally sure on that Byron. Would probably be best to call WestJet and talk to the source.
Thanks for this info!
Any sample routes with lower taxes and fees or tips how to find such routes? It feels like a search for unicorns.
Hi Lenny,
I get the most value by booking Premium for two people for North America routes. I’m a big fan of YEG to SNA, LAS, MCO, PHX and other destinations like that. Definitely would advise against using it outside of North America, as the value proposition drops off heavily and then you are dealing with things like the “Other ATC” charge.
When using a companion voucher from YYC to EDI. Booking Premium. What would be the fee that is reduced to 399$? The Base fare or some of the other ATC? Just trying to figure out what is the best option.
Hi Colette,
Base fare is what is reduced when using the WestJet companion voucher. Kirin actually has an article coming out on “Other ATC” on Monday, so check that out as well once its live!
If you booked and paid for two return tickets with the companion voucher. One person gets sick and can’t return on the same flight.
What happens now is the voucher still valid it’s already been used?
Hi Deb,
I’m not sure, that’s a unique situation that would be best discussed with WestJet customer service. My guess would be that since the voucher was applied and utilized on the outbound leg, it will probably not be available.
I am trying to use the companion voucher on flight from Toronto to Liberia Costa Rica but the website is saying flights are not available when I select apply companion voucher. It works for other destinations. Are there destination restrictions when using the companion voucher?
Hi Kevin,
I did a test booking for YYZ-LIR and am able to apply a companion voucher. I’d try different dates or maybe call in to see if customer service can help.
Can I use a companion voucher if my companion returns home earlier than I if we both depart the same day?
Hey Tom,
In order to use a WestJet Companion voucher both passengers must be flying on the same itinerary. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t work for the situation to mentioned.
You can only use the companion voucher if WestJet operates all legs of the flight. If it’s a code share, you can’t use it.
In 2024 the companion vouchers are basically a scam. WestJet only let’s you apply the voucher (and WestJet Dollars!) against the base fare. But they also severely under price the base fare while jacking up the “Other Air Transportation Charges.”
For example, a flight from Calgary to Paris is $993 plus an additional $142 to $310 for seat selection.
But the base fare is only $94. By some magic, the base fare of this $1300 flight is $94. So the companion voucher is worthless, and you can only use $94 of your WestJet Dollars to help pay for it.
Yes – Base fare $20 – “other air transportation” charges $1950!!