Looking for feedback on the RBC WJ Visa program.
Is the companion voucher worth the fees? I am a budget traveler and wonder if I would be able to use the companion voucher for the less expensive tickets. Or is it only for full price tickets with no promotions?

Greg Ellis
I don't see the value in the voucher anymore most of the savings are recouped by WJ in their Other ATC charges which are suspect in my opinion. I keep it just for the baggage benefit if you travel enough you can do the math on that vs the annual fee.

Tammi Doward Garbutt
I think I used my companion voucher once & have traded it in for lounge passes ever since
I always compare first to see if it’s worth it & so far it’s not

Aengus Watson
It’s now a rip off. Even if you convert to lounge passes you probably won’t get into the lounge as there are many priority members ahead of you and it’s too small to accommodate enough people.
Sad that westjet has become worse than air canada used to be

Aengus Watson my wife and I never had a problem getting into a lounge - Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, Rome, Lisbon.

Ernie Antonchuk I was declined in Calgary last week as my arriving flight was WJ but not my departing flight… I had a six hour layover. I haven’t been able to use my buddy pass or vouchers in the three years I’ve paid for the card

Kristin yes, they do state for departing westjet flights only. We have never been declined.

I have it. Elite. I find that there are quite a few member only sales. We like to fly premium so the companion voucher is worth it to us. Free bags for when we can't is nice as well.

Surely this all comes down to how much you travel and where you travel.
When I first got this card with the companion voucher, free baggage and welcome dollars we saved over $1200 on two flights to London in summer. That alone covers the cost of the card for maybe 9 years?
Used another 500 WJD to save on flights to Japan and got free baggage. We'll fly extra basic fares and get free checked bags to the US.
Companion vouchers are best used in more expensive flights. Obviously compare prices and if the flights cheaper with another airline go with them. If you don't travel much, don't get it.
If you have two of you getting free checked bags once or twice a year though the benefits outweigh the costs.

The best use of the companion vouchers are for longer flights in premium class. I’ve had the card for years and the best thing about the card is status bumps.

We have both the visa avion and the WJ card. The avion is a superior program in my opinion. Much more flexibility on spending with flights, hotels, cars. I do like the free baggage on westjet flights with their card though!

Nor worth it. The taxes and the amount you have to pay for the companion fare, on top of the annual card fee, make it typically cheaper to just purchase the flight without being locked into WJ.

Trinity this. My friend gets 2 companion fares on her card every year. But often we can get both of us places cheaper on a seat sale, than using the vouchers - and there's places they don't even allow you to use them. Maybe we've just had bad luck but they're next to useless for us.

Allison No this has been my experience as well. I will cancel mine as soon as I use my WJ$, because they expire within a few months if you cancel the card.

Allison totally agree.

Tried to use companion fare for a flight to Lisbon. I couldn’t because WJ uses one of their partner airlines for the direct flight. However we keep the card for the free checked bag

I have only used the voucher once. I did the comparison of buying the member price vs. voucher and it was like $20 difference. I still like the card as you rack up westjet dollars instead of points. So you know you’re using a dollar value to purchase tickets and just paying taxes. Also if you fly westjet a lot, you’ll save on the free baggage which is nice.

I'm canceling my
westjet card before the end of the year since it's just not worth it. I was planning to use my companion ticket for a recent trip to Europe but the fare was less than the companion ticket, but the extra BS fees they added skyrocketed the price to around $1000.
If I didn't have a credit from a cancelation I would have flown a different carrier.
My recommendation for a travel card is now AMEX. I got $800 worth of travel credits when I signed up and spent the required amount and they have other great travel perks, including excellent travel insurance included. Plus they double certain manufacturers warranties.
https://americanexpress.com/.../rose-gold-rewards-card...
AMERICANEXPRESS.COM
Get closer to rewards!

we have been a member for years.used the companion fare every year with no issues.but remember you still have to pay taxes and airport fees.each traveller also gets a free checked bag.that alone pays for the card.we tupically earn around 700 wsj dollars a year so 2 tics to orlando i only have to pay the taxes and fees-around 400. also make sure you get the elite card-not the cheaper one.

You never pay for checked luggage; we use our companion pass to fly from Calgary to St. Martin every year which involves going to Calgary to Toronto to St. Martin and it saves us money. We travel a lot so it is worth the money. I am now looking at obtaining the visa at TD Bank that covers air canada. Motto for 2025 is to compare prices between west jet and air canada and get the best deal.

I have this card, it's ok. We used the companion fare to Europe but I don't know if it saved us much, but the free bag is nice. Wondering if I book a flight for my son on this card does he get a free bag or only if I travel with him?

only if you travel with him

Gave it up. Only used a voucher once.
if you want to collect the WJ dollars to use for yourself then maybe, but I found the yearly fee wasn’t worth it

In Calgary you also get priority in the security line up...I didn't know this until my last flight!! Showed my card and they ushered me right through.

Jaci lol I love walking past like 300 people

Jaci you can do that for free just by booking your time slot.. takes you straight to the front of the line. https://yyc.clearme.com/new...
YYC.CLEARME.COM
Save Your Spot

Yes it's worth it just to save $ on the luggage fees

It all depends on where you go. I use my companion pass every year. We fly from Calgary to Halifax at least once per year and it is less with the companion.
I also rack up quite a few westjet dollars.
Worth it for my situation.

We travel Internationally and on longer flights go Premium. I would say that is where you get the best value. Also like the free checked bags. While we have kept the card we have started using our Scotia Bank Visa (Scene points) more for everday purchases and use the points for groceries.

Free bags are worth it for me. Normally we travel carry on only but a few times a year we take our golf clubs on vacation.

We think it’s worth it! We get about 3000 westjet points a year from it, free bags, typically change the companion voucher for lounge passes. The bags alone make up for the annual fee.

I enjoy it. It's good if you travel with a partner. The free luggage is worth the price of the card. Plus if you don't use your companion fare you can just swap it for 4 lounge vouchers.

The companion is good if flying prime holiday time or upgrading to premium. The bags are great and worth it. The bonus points for signing up are also worth it.

No value in the companion voucher IMO. We usually trade them for lounge passes. But the free checked bags are awesome, particularly on the Ultra Basic flights. I’ve saved many baggage dollars with this card.

Laurie have you used the free bags with the westjet card for that? I didn’t know my elite card worked on that tier.

Adam Yup! Many times.

Laurie omg I could have flown so many times so cheap

Adam Well now you know!

I prefer a cash back card so I can purchase anything I want with it. We also have the WJ card and find times we can’t use the voucher on time or other flights are still cheaper on other airlines even without the voucher….

In all the years I’ve never found a decent way to use it. But the WJ reward $$ and free bag makes it ok

We got one and I’m going to cancel it. Tried to use our companion voucher twice and couldn’t because they were westjet flights, but were operated by delta. We booked directly with delta and it was only $130 more than westjet and using companion fare. I find my airmiles card to be a better bet. My husband and I are flying to Curaçao on points and $100 cash.

We find the companion fare is worth it for us as we use it for Premier class tickets on our annual Mexico trip. Also use it as our prime credit card for all purchases to accumulate reward $.

From personal experience; I love the RBC WJ MC, I have never used the voucher but I have the WJ dollars/points. I have paid as little as $150cad for 2 tickets round trip to SF I always use the WJ points whenever I am traveling. Plus, no fee for bags for you and your companions. You can also trade your voucher for the VIP lounge.

The voucher isn't worth it unless traveling far where tickets are more. The free bags are why I keep the card. I don't like to travel light!

I’ve hardly used my companion voucher for what it’s intended to as half the time, I get a message that the fare is cheaper without the voucher. I think it would maybe be worth it more if you were booking Premium Economy seats.?

Hmmm the voucher is kinda meh
But I like the no fee for bags
Pays for itself and the points add up for cheaper flights in Canada and the USA for sure

Annette does that work on the no bags includes tiers? I find you might as well just upgrade the fair because you still have to pay for seat selection.

Adam we get our bag free no matter what we pay for the flight … even the no bag included seats
We get to have a carry on and a suitcase if we choose

Annette had this card two years and didn’t think that applied to those ultra low fares. I guess I will fly a lot more now.

The card is not worth it for the voucher. I had the card for 5 years and was only able to use the voucher one time where it made sense cost wise. All other times I tried to use it wasn’t available to be used or cost more than to book it other airlines. Earning WJ dollars and the free bags were nice but I cancelled the card this summer.

We use the voucher on more expensive flights but have to really watch the date it renews. Love the free checked bag, which we only use periodically. It is especially helpful now that planes do not have enough room for carryon. We check carryon sometimes now if we do not have a tight connection.

You cannot use it on a 1 way flight and if there is any other coupon code, you can’t use it (you can if it’s a sale without a code). We collect the WJ dollars from spending with can add up but mostly we like the free bags. But with the cost of WJ fares these days, it’s becoming less of a deal compared to just shopping around.

Chris Robertson
I use Avion so I'm not limited to one airline

I cancelled mine. Anytime you log in to use either your voucher or points, the price for the flight magically doubles. I still have WJd that have been sitting for years because it's more expensive to fly westjet and use the points than to just book another airline.

I have had it for awhile now. I use the companion voucher and take free luggage. I find that at times
westjet fairs are more expensive than its competitors.

The Costco card is a better deal. westjet companion vouchers aren't as good as they used to be. You do get a free checked bag though. Depends on how much you want to travel

We were enticed by the amount of air miles given for signing up, and figured the companion fair would pay us back for the price of the card. Very disappointed so far; booked with westjet yyc to Amsterdam via Heathrow and since the last piece wasn't a WJ plane we couldn't do companion. Also had trouble getting the airline to credit free first suitcase. So far we conclude it isn't worth the annual card price.