For those passengers who frequently fly the same airline, elite status earned through airline loyalty programs can be a major plus in improving their next flight experience. Priority services, free checked baggage, complimentary upgrades, and more can all be unlocked through elite status.
That being said, earning frequent flyer elite status can be difficult, as most airlines require a significant amount of money spent on tickets to receive status. However, there are also some unique angles offered via credit card benefits that can bring you closer to elite status. This includes status in the WestJet Rewards program, as WestJet co-branded credit cards offer a Status Lift benefit, bringing members closer to the next level of status through spending.
Let’s get into the details you need to know about the WestJet Status Lift benefit and how it can be used.
What is WestJet Status Lift?
WestJet Status Lift is a benefit that is offered on two RBC WestJet credit cards, which gives cardholders the opportunity to accrue tier qualifying spend towards WestJet Rewards elite status, simply by making purchases on their card.
Through WestJet Status Lift, eligible cardholders can receive $200 in tier qualifying spend towards WestJet Rewards status for every $5,000 spent on the card in a calendar year. They can receive this benefit up to 50 times in a calendar year. Earning a set amount of Tier qualifying spend is the only requirement to progress towards elite status in the WestJet Rewards loyalty program.
Tier qualifying spend from WestJet Status Lift is combined with any tier qualifying spend that is earned from annual flight spend to determine the WestJet Rewards members’ elite status level.
As mentioned above, there are two credit cards that offer WestJet Status Lift as a benefit for holding them: the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard and the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard for Business.
The WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard is the more accessible and valuable of the two, as it offers a welcome bonus of up to 45,000 WestJet points. It also offers a WestJet Companion Voucher and is one of the best credit cards in Canada for free checked luggage.
The WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard offers a WestJet companion voucher on approval (with the ability to earn one each anniversary year through spending), plus a first free checked bag on WestJet flights.
Check out our WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard review for more details.
45,000 WestJet points
$5,000
$450+
$139
Yes
Aug 31, 2026
The WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard for Business is another option if you are interested in a business credit card. This card offers a welcome bonus of up to 35,000 WestJet points. This card offers instant WestJet Silver status, but WestJet Rewards members who hold this card will still need to accrue tier qualifying spend to move up the elite status ladder.
The WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard for Business offers benefits that include instant WestJet Silver status and Tier 1 membership in the WestJet Biz Program.
35,000 WestJet points
$0
$350+
$175
Yes
–
The Frugal Flyer team had an in-depth discussion about airline elite status in Miles Ahead Episode 20, including reviewing shortcuts to elite status with Canada’s big three airlines. While we wouldn’t consider the WestJet Status Lift opportunity a true shortcut, as it still requires considerable effort to implement, it is a tool worth considering.
How Much Spending Is Required To Earn Status Via WestJet Status Lift?
The WestJet Rewards program has four levels of status: Teal, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Members will need to reach a set threshold of tier qualifying spend to earn WestJet status. Once earned, members will retain that level of status for the year that it was earned and the following calendar year. Tier qualifying spend also resets on January 1st annually.
So, how much spending is actually required on your WestJet co-branded credit card in order to earn WestJet status, if we don’t take into consideration any tier qualifying spend earned from other sources?
Silver status requires $4,000 in tier qualifying spend, meaning cardholders would need to spend $100,000 on their eligible WestJet credit card to reach this level of status (and would earn 150,000 WestJet points if the purchases were made in an unbonused spending category).
Gold status requires $6,000 in tier qualifying spend, meaning cardholders would need to spend $150,000 on their eligible WestJet credit card to reach this level of status (and would earn 225,000 WestJet points if the purchases were made in an unbonused spending category).
The top-tier Platinum status requires $10,000 in tier qualifying spend, meaning cardholders would need to spend $250,000 on their eligible WestJet credit card to reach this level of status (and would earn 375,000 WestJet points if the purchases were made in an unbonused spending category).
It’s safe to say that no matter which level of status you are pursuing, the amount of required spend to earn status solely through the Status Lift benefit is insane and most likely not worth focusing on.
The Best Use Case For WestJet Status Lift
While the WestJet Status Lift is a unique benefit that can help propel you towards the next level of WestJet Rewards status, it should only ever be used as a tool to push you over the threshold into the next level of status if you don’t plan on flying revenue fares on WestJet for the remainder of the calendar year.
Keep in mind, you are only receiving $200 in tier qualifying spend per $5,000 spent on your eligible credit card, whereas you could also receive $200 in tier qualifying spend if you spent that much on the base fare portion of a WestJet flight. One of those is much easier to do, especially at scale, if you travel a lot.
Even if you had the capability to spend $250,000 on your WestJet credit card in a calendar year to earn WestJet Platinum status, it probably isn’t worth it, as you could be spreading that spend amongst a variety of cards that have better earning rates on the categories where you make the majority of your spend, or even towards earning the welcome bonus on several of the best credit cards in Canada, or on the best travel credit cards in Canada.
So if you are close to earning status, and you absolutely won’t be flying WestJet for the rest of the calendar year, sure, the WestJet Status Lift opportunity could present some value. But I think it is a niche use case at best, and definitely not a shortcut to WestJet elite status.
Conclusion
While it isn’t as attractive as shortcutting to Aeroplan status with premium credit cards, or receiving instant VIPorter status with BMO credit cards, the WestJet Status Lift benefit serves a purpose and acts as a decent top-up towards elite status if absolutely required. While I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way to utilize this benefit, it would be worth considering if you are close to the next level of status.
Josh Bandura
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