Beginning November 5, 2025, WestJet and RBC will present a suite of modifications to both the WestJet RBC ® World Elite Mastercard ‡ and the WestJet RBC ® Mastercard ‡.
These are the first significant updates given that 2019, developed to make the cards more competitive in Canada’s travel benefits market, though some changes come with new strings connected.
It’s also encouraging to see that RBC and WestJet are actively buying their co-branded cards.
Recently, they released the new WestJet RBC ® World Elite Mastercard ‡ for Company, and now they’re revitalizing the individual cards too, showing ongoing dedication to their co-branded cards and adapting to Canada’s fast-changing credit card landscape.
Let’s have a look into details of each card.
What’s Altering with the WestJet RBC ® World Elite Mastercard ‡
< img src ="https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/25064291/thumbnail"width="100%"alt= "table visualization"/ > The World Elite card is seeing both enhancements and a small charge bump. The yearly fee will increase from $119 to$139, which isn’t excellent, but it’s still pretty requirement for cards in the Visa Infinite and World Elite tier.
On the earning side, cardholders will now get 2 WestJet points per dollar invested in WestJet flights, WestJet and Sunwing Vacations, along with on groceries, gas, EV charging, transit, and rideshares.
This is a big advance in making the card more rewarding for everyday costs, though the lack of dining and Costco purchases seems like a missed out on opportunity.
Whatever else continues to earn at 1.5 WestJet points per dollar invested, which stays competitive.
The round-trip annual buddy coupon is also being revamped. Beginning in the second year, you’ll require to spend $5,000 annually to open it.
The bright side is that this threshold is relatively low and possible for a lot of cardholders.
< img src ="https://princeoftravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Elevation-Lounge.png"alt
=””width=”1200″height =”800″/ > You can exchange
buddy voucher for two lounge passes Plus, WestJet is including flexibility. Rather of just utilizing the coupon for a buddy flight, you can now exchange it for a 30%discount rate on a solo economy ticket, a$200 credit for WestJet or Sunwing Vacations, or two lounge passes. A Note on Timing for Companion Vouchers
The brand-new $5,000 annual invest requirement just applies beginning with your second-year coupon and onwards. Your very first coupon as a new cardholder isn’t affected.
If you’re a current cardholder and you receive your coupon before November 5, 2025, your next coupon (released in 2026 on your normal anniversary date) will also come without any spend requirement.
The exact same goes for new applicants: if you use now and receive your first coupon before November 5, 2025, your second-year voucher will still be issued instantly, without any costs threshold.
On the other hand, if your voucher date falls after November 5, 2025 (state, November 20), then your next one in 2026 will need $5,000 in spending in between November 21, 2025, and November 20, 2026.
If you have actually been on the fence about this card, now is the time to act– applying this month (September 2025) guarantees you secure not just your very first coupon, however also your second one without a spend requirement.
Insurance protection is getting an increase too, with Trip Cancellation and Mobile phone insurance added to the existing package.
On the other hand, the very first checked bag advantage is being fine-tuned.
Your ticket should be paid with the card for it to use, leaving some obscurity about whether it works on reservations fully paid with OTAs.
Leisure tourists likely won’t discover much difference, however it’s unclear how this will work for those taking a trip on company-issued tickets reserved through corporate portals, or for anybody redeeming flexible points such as Avion points towards WestJet flights through the RBC Air Travel Redemption Schedule.
What’s Changing with the WestJet RBC ® Mastercard ‡
< img src ="https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/25065266/thumbnail"width="100% "alt="table visualization"/ > The entry-level WestJet card keeps its$39 yearly cost, but adds brand-new everyday accelerators.
You’ll now earn 1.5 WestJet points per dollar invested in WestJet flights, WestJet and Sunwing Vacations, dining establishments and food delivery, and digital memberships, while all other purchases continue to earn 1 WestJet points per dollar invested.
Similar to the World Elite, the companion coupon now comes with a minimum invest requirement.
You’ll require to spend $2,500 on the card each year to receive it starting in the second year.
The voucher also gets more versatile, with the choice to swap it for a 25% discount on a solo economy ticket or 5,000 WestJet points that do not expire.
Insurance is also enhanced with the addition of Mobile Device insurance coverage, which is remarkably unusual for a card at this fee level.
These changes are purely favorable, since whatever is an enhancement while the annual fee stays the same.
The only tweak is the $2,500 invest requirement for the buddy coupon after year one, however even then, the bar is really modest.
My Honest Ideas on These Updates
In general, these modifications push both cards into a more powerful daily spending role.
The addition of groceries, gas, transit, dining establishments, and subscriptions as bonus classifications will make them even more gratifying to really keep in your wallet.
The fee increase on the World Elite isn’t ideal, but it keeps the card priced in line with competitors.
And while the minimum invest requirements on the buddy vouchers will require tracking, the limits are relatively low, and frankly, most cardholders will strike them without much effort.
Still, there are drawbacks.
The modification to the totally free examined bag benefit includes some uncertainty to what was when a simple perk, and the cards continue to do not have outsized redemption chances.
< img src="https://princeoftravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/westjet_787_yvr_departure-scaled.jpg" alt ="" width="2560" height="1706"/ > The brand-new accelerators are where things get more interesting.
Everyday make on groceries, gas, and transit makes the World Elite much more competitive, however I can’t help however notice the split in strategy: the base card gets sped up making in dining and food shipment but not grocery, while the World Elite gets multiplier in grocery but not dining.
Now, this is purely my own speculation, but it almost feels intentional.
Higher-income cardholders (the ones who qualify for World Elite) may be most likely to dine out and order shipment, while base-card holders might be more focused on groceries and cooking in your home.
If that holds true, WestJet might be trying to minimize the expense of rewards payouts by guiding each card towards a little various spending behaviours.
Again, simply a hypothesis, however a fascinating one.
At the end of the day though, if your main objective is to maximize everyday spend, the RBC ION+ Visa stays the much better play.
It earns 3x on groceries, dining, gas, and transit, all at a lower annual cost, and you can still move those points 1:1 into WestJet Rewards.
Unless you truly value the examined bag advantage or buddy voucher, the ION+ is difficult to beat.
Lastly, I believe WestJet missed the opportunity to add something exclusive for cardholders, whether that’s favored rates, top priority Elevation Lounge access, or discounts on seat choice and upgrades.
Those little touches could have made the cards much more engaging for frequent travellers.
Conclusion
The updates to the WestJet RBC cards show that RBC and WestJet aren’t letting their co-brand stagnate.
Between the new company card, expanded earn categories, and more flexible companion coupons, these products are clearly being placed to stay relevant in a market that’s moving rapidly.
Yes, there are a few compromises like the fee increase, spend requirements, and a bit of uncertainty with the inspected bag perk.
And I still wish WestJet had actually added something genuinely unique for cardholders, whether that’s lounge gain access to, preferred pricing, or a small discount rate on seat upgrades.
But in general, this is a meaningful refresh that makes the cards much easier to justify holding and in fact utilizing day to day.
For those who put consistent spend on the cards, these updates are a net win, and a welcome indication that RBC and WestJet are serious about contending in Canada’s travel credit card space.