[READER QUESTION] How to Maximize Rewards when Flying WestJet
One of our Pointshogger readers asked me “I’m restricted to flying with WestJet to take on an umpiring position for the Canada Winter Games. I don’t usually fly with WestJet, is there any way I can clock in some rewards?”
The first thing I would suggest is if you’re a frequent flyer with WestJet and own one of the following cards RBC WestJet World Elite MasterCard or the RBC WestJet MasterCard, you should use them as you will earn 2 WestJet dollars for every dollar spent on WestJet flights. If you don’t have one and you are not a frequent WestJet flyer, don’t go out of your way to get one as there is an annual fee and getting it means you’ll be restricted to flights with the specified WestJet airline.
I would then suggest taking a look at Pointshogger’s Top Airline Credit Cards. Two of my favourites are the American Express Gold Rewards Card with 2 points per $1 for travel purchases and the Capital One Aspire World Travel with 2 points per $1 earned on any purchase.
Our Pointshogger reader also mentioned to me that he currently has the RBC Infinite Avion Visa Card, which is a great card for transferring points. One of the advantages of collecting WestJet Rewards is that you are able to cash out your earnings when you have reached $25 dollars, which is an extremely effortless limit to reach. You can then collect WestJet dollars from your flight purchase and the remaining balance can then be transferred from the RBC Infinite Avion Visa Card.
Let’s have a recap here. With the current situation, the most rewarding option would be to sign up for WestJet’s free loyalty program to earn WestJet dollars. If your flight costs $1000, then you automatically have just banked $10 WestJet dollars (1% on flights). You can then transfer points from your RBC Avion Visa Card into $15 WestJet dollars, in which you can then qualify for a cash-out ($25 WestJet dollars).
Instead of WestJet Dollars, you reader’s WS flight could earn AAdvantage Miles (only base miles, not elite qualifying).
Depending on the distance of the flight and how much your reader values AA miles, it could be another option. Also keep in mind that WestJet has some lenient routing rules (such as flying YOW-YYC-YYZ for about the same price as a non-stop) which could provide generous earnings on AA .
Yeah, definitely if you are an AAdvantage Miles collector, this would be a great option, especially if you happen to need to fly WestJet, then you can bank those points directly into your AA account instead.