[ANALYSIS] WestJet Rewards Expiry Policy

It seems like WestJet Rewards has changed is expiry policy on WestJet dollars. We’ve been talking about how you need to keep your account active once every 12 months to prevent your dollars from expiry.

There is actually a new wording now:

  • WestJet dollars that are earned but not used during your qualifying year will be banked into your WestJet dollars account for future use. These dollars expire after a period of five (5) years. The expiry date is set to coincide with the end date of your qualifying year. For example, if you earned WestJet dollars in your qualifying year of April 1, 2011 – March 31, 2012, those WestJet dollars will expire on March 31, 2017. You can choose to extend the expiration date of your WestJet dollars for one year for a fee of $20-$23. WestJet dollars awarded in connection with a contest or promotion may have expiry dates that vary from the above. Any such information will be specified as part of the contest or promotion rules.

The new policy suggests that  your points will now expiry 5 years from the day that they were deposited into your account. There does not seem to be an indication on whether you will need to have any activity on keeping the account active.

I am a little split on this new policy. I’m glad that we are no longer in a rush to earn dollars every 12 months. But I’m not a fan that the dollars will expire after the 5 years.

On the bright side, for the time being, you only need to earn a minimum of 25 dollars and you can already redeem that for a $25 credit against your flight. If you fly WestJet often enough, 5 years should be enough time to earn $25 credit.

So my strategy would be, every time I reach $25 credit, I would cash out as soon as possible. There is no need to hoard dollars.

If the $25 minimum requirement does not go up, then this new expiry policy is reasonable.

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