WestJet RBC® World Elite Mastercard‡

This is the card I'd point a WestJet loyalist toward, and I'd steer most other people away from it. The everyday earning is better than most airline cards, but the reasons to pay $139 a year are all on WestJet's side: a round-trip companion voucher every year and a free first checked bag for you and up to eight guests on the same booking.

What makes it more interesting than most airline cards is the newer earn structure, which RBC flags as new on its page. Two WestJet points per dollar on groceries, gas, EV charging and transit, with 1.5 on everything else, means the card earns well even in months you don't fly. Where it falls short is insurance: the emergency medical only covers the first 15 days of a trip if you're under 65, which is short for a travel card.

Welcome offer

RBC is advertising up to 70,000 WestJet points on the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard, which it values at up to $700 off travel, verified on RBC's page on October 13, 2026. Per the offer terms, applications must be received and approved between June 16 and November 18, 2026.

The points arrive in three pieces. Your first purchase, posted within 3 months of opening, earns 30,000 points (25,000 within 6 weeks and 5,000 within 12 weeks). Reaching $5,000 in qualifying purchases in those same 3 months adds another 30,000, and a 10,000-point anniversary bonus posts up to 16 weeks after the account turns one. Only the primary cardholder qualifies, and existing RBC cardholders who switch into this card are excluded.

Fees & eligibility

The card costs $139 a year with no first-year waiver, and each additional card is $59. Eligibility is a personal income of $80,000 or a household income of $150,000, the standard World Elite bar, and RBC notes the card can cost merchants more to accept.

The purchase rate is 20.99% and cash advances are 22.99% (21.99% for Quebec residents); RBC's terms treat balance transfers as cash advances. The product page does not advertise a foreign transaction fee waiver, so confirm the conversion fee in RBC's disclosures before spending abroad. As with any rewards card, the points only come out ahead if the balance is paid in full each month.

Earning rewards

The card earns 2 WestJet points per dollar in two bands. The first is WestJet itself: flights, WestJet Vacations and Sunwing Vacations, as long as the airline or tour operator is the merchant on your statement, so bookings through travel agencies or third-party sites may only earn the base rate. The second is everyday spending at grocery stores, gas stations, EV chargers, public transit and rideshare.

Everything else earns 1.5 points per dollar, a high base rate for an airline card. RBC values WestJet points at 1 cent per point (cpp), so the card returns 1.5% to 2% in travel value. One catch: Costco and Walmart are coded as warehouses, not grocery stores, so a big-box grocery run earns 1.5 points rather than 2.

Redeeming rewards

WestJet points work like cash inside WestJet's ecosystem. RBC values the 70,000-point welcome offer at $700 off travel, which puts them at 1 cpp, and you can apply them to the full cost of a WestJet flight, including taxes, fees and surcharges, starting at 2,500 points.

The same points pay for seat selection, checked bags and cabin upgrades, and for WestJet Vacations and Sunwing Vacations packages (5,000-point minimum per booking). Member Exclusive fares, discounted for WestJet Rewards members, must be paid entirely in points. The WestJet Rewards eStore takes points for gift cards and merchandise too, but flights are where they are designed to be used.

Perks & benefits

The headline perk is the annual round-trip companion voucher. You get one after your first purchase, and another each year when you spend $5,000 on the card in the voucher year. It prices a companion's round trip at $119 in economy within Canada and the continental U.S. ($219 in premium), or $399 in economy to the rest of WestJet's network ($499 premium), plus taxes and fees. If you can't use it, swap it for 30% off one base fare, a $200 WestJet Vacations or Sunwing credit, or two lounge passes.

The second big benefit is a free first checked bag for the primary cardholder and up to 8 guests on the same reservation, on WestJet-operated flights paid with the card. Status Lift adds $200 in tier qualifying spend for every $5,000 you spend, up to 50 times a year, which can be enough for Platinum. What is missing: there are no free lounge visits. Mastercard Travel Pass gives DragonPass access at US$32 per visit, and the only free lounge entries come from trading in the companion voucher.

Insurance

The insurance list looks complete, but several limits are modest for a $139 card. Emergency medical has no dollar cap, yet it only covers the first 15 days of a trip if you are under 65 and 3 days at 65 and older, so longer trips need a top-up or a separate policy. Trip cancellation, added in November 2025, pays up to $1,500 per person and $5,000 per trip, and trip interruption up to $5,000 per person.

The rest covers flight delay (after 4 hours, up to $500 per occurrence), delayed baggage, hotel burglary, rental car collision and loss damage on vehicles up to $65,000 MSRP for up to 48 days, and mobile device insurance up to $1,500 per claim. Purchase security runs 90 days and extended warranty doubles the manufacturer's warranty by up to a year. There is no lost or stolen baggage coverage.

My take

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