How to maximize your WestJet Rewards dollars earning with these cards

This portfolio is pretty simple for earning. Put all your spend on the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard. This card earns the most dollars out of the few cards out there where you can earn or convert from. Only put spending on the RBC Avion or American Express Cobalt Card when you are at a merchant that doesn't accept Mastercard (which is extremely rare!) or need to utilize the points from the Amex card as detailed next.

When you do make purchases on the other two non WestJet cards you'll want to end up using the points as follows. Convert the RBC Rewards points only during their bonus offers for making transfers. These bonuses are typically seen twice per year and range from 15 to 30%. If you really need to redeem WestJet dollars outside of those promotion times you can convert your RBC Rewards Points but be aware you are losing some value. With the American Cobalt Card card you earn Membership Rewards points, 5 points per dollar on Eats & Drinks, 2 points per dollar on Gas, Transit and Travel Purchases and 1 point on all other spending. So how do you use in a WestJet Rewards portfolio? Simple, say you need to buy $750 worth of WestJet tickets and you have $200 in WestJet dollars sitting in your rewards account. Use the $200 to bring the ticket down to $550 and then put the rest of the ticket purchase on the American Express Cobalt Card. That $550 will net you 1,100 Membership Rewards points. Once the WestJet charge shows up on your Amex statement you can redeem 1,000 of those points to get a $10 credit against the WestJet charge. Now your ticket only cost $540. If you had put the purchase on the WestJet card, you would have earned the same 2% but that would have to be put towards a future charge. Since you cannot use WestJet Rewards dollars towards the taxes and fees on WestJet flights this is where the Amex card (or others also make sense). Take that same $750 ticket and say the taxes were $150. You have $800 in WestJet Rewards dollars, you can only redeem $600 towards the flight and still pay the $150 in taxes and fees. Put those taxes and fees on the Amex Cobalt and then redeem Membership Rewards Points against that charge. If you have 15,000 points that would cover the entire amount so now that $750 WestJet Ticket is truly free!

Related: Which credit cards can be used to cover award ticket taxes, fees and surcharges?

The Ultimate WestJet Credit Card Portfolio:

Card	Card Features
WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard	WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard • $250 WestJet dollars Bonus + Annual $99/$299/$399 Companion Flight when you sign up for and receive the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard. • Earn 1.5% back in WestJet dollars on every purchase you make with your card • Earn 2% back in WestJet dollars when you purchase WestJet flights or WestJet Vacations packages with your card • Companion flight vouchers are an annual benefit. • First bag free for the primary cardholder up to 8 people traveling on the same reservation to anywhere WestJet flies!
RBC Visa Infinite Avion	RBC Visa Infinite Avion  Start Avioning Today! Get 25,000 Welcome Points upon approval† +  1st year annual fee waived† - savings of $120. Earn 25% more RBC Rewards points on travel related purchases1  Book flights, hotel stays, cruises, vacation packages, car rentals with RBC Rewards site, powered by Orbitz Transfer your RBC Rewards points towards other eligible loyalty programs (WestJet Rewards, British Airways Executive Club, American AAdvantage, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. Look for the transfer bonuses to the airlines several times per year!) Premium suite of insurances including trip cancellation3, trip interruption3, travel medical4, car rental insurance5 Redeem your points toward your credit card balance using Payback with Points2 Instantly save 3₵ per litre on fuel▲ & earn 20% more Petro-Points§ and RBC Rewards points** when you link your Petro-Points card to any RBC Card online. Up to a 2.3% return on your spending depending on which reward ticket you book Unwritten ability to redeem for Business Class tickets although at a lower rate of return when compared to the Avion Reward chart
American Express Cobalt Card	American Express Cobalt Card • In your first year as a new Cobalt Cardmember, you can earn 2,500 Membership Rewards® points for each monthly billing period in which you spend $500 in net purchases on your Card. This could add up to 30,000 points in a year. • Earn 5 points for every $1 spent on Card purchases at eligible restaurants, bars, grocery stores and food delivery in Canada • Earn 2 points for every $1 spent on eligible transit & gas purchases in Canada and eligible travel purchases. That’s 2X the points on purchases that get you from point A to B • Earn 1 point for every $1 in Card purchases everywhere else. We won’t tell you where to spend, we’ll just reward you on your Card purchases • Get advance access to tickets to some of the hottest concerts, shows and events through Front Of The Line® by American Express Invites® and advance screenings to blockbuster movies. Plus, more great perks. • American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details, current product information and Terms and Conditions, click the Apply now link. • Conditions Apply

Related: American Express Cobalt Card Review / RBC VIsa Infinite Avion Review / WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard Review

Other Card Options:

You can boost your earning even more if you are willing to pay higher annual fees on the RBC card. For example if you take on the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege at $399 per year compared to the $120 per year for the Infinite you'll be able to boost your basic spending earning (non-category bonus) to 1.25 points per dollar. There is also the RBC Visa Platinum Avion but it costs the same as the Infinite so why bother but if you don't want to pay as much for annual fees you can also look at the WestJet RBC WestJet Mastercard and the RBC Rewards Visa Gold or Signature cards to earn RBC Rewards points that will convert to WestJet. For Amex you could also look at the American Express Gold Rewards card as an option.

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