A Guide to Airline Companion Vouchers in Canada

In Canada, there are three main airline companion vouchers that can be earned via credit card spending from Air Canada, WestJet, and Porter.

Each has its own quirks and standout features, so let’s go over the details.

The Air Canada Annual Worldwide Companion Pass

The Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass is earned upon spending $25,000 each year on any premium Aeroplan credit card:

• American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card
• CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card
• TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card

It works by having a fixed base fare for the second passenger (the first passenger pays the full fare) as follows:

• Canada & the continental U.S.: $99
• Hawaii, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean: $299
• South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa: $499
• Asia, Australia, and New Zealand: $599

The pass works for all economy fare categories, including Basic and Latitude, is valid for round-trip tickets, and has no blackout dates.

Like all companion vouchers, the Worldwide Companion Pass fare applies only to the base fare and you’re still on the hook for all taxes and fees. Therefore, the best-case scenario is booking flights in a higher fare category: if the first passenger books an Economy Comfort fare (e.g., to use eUpgrades to clear into business class) and the second passenger pays a base fare of just $99-599 round-trip.

Below is a round-trip flight between Toronto and Prague in Economy Comfort, representing a savings of $1,171.01 ($1,670.01 – $499).

You can see that booking this same flight in Economy Basic means paying more than twice as much for the second passenger – $499 instead of $230.01.

As a personal example of using the Companion Pass, my friend and I were travelling from Toronto to Vancouver relatively last-minute when cash fares were high, and her Companion Pass saved us $353.69.

Thanks for sharing your companion pass, Amy T

Note that Air Canada previously offered a Buddy Pass, which included a $0 base fare for the second passenger and could be exchanged for 30,000 Aeroplan points, but it has since been discontinued.

WestJet Companion Voucher

Similar to the Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass, WestJet’s Companion Vouchers offer a discounted base fare for the second passenger with no blackout dates. There are two variations: the one that comes with the WestJet RBC Mastercard and the one that comes with the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard. With the WestJet RBC Mastercard, you can only use it for Canada & the continental U.S.:

• $199 in economy
• $299 in premium

With the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard:

• $119 in economy within Canada & the continental U.S.
• $219 in economy within Canada & the continental U.S.
• $399 in economy to anywhere WestJet flies
• $499 in premium to anywhere WestJet flies

The WestJet Companion Voucher requires no spending and is earned simply by being a cardholder and paying the annual fee.

The ideal use case and caveats are identical to the Worldwide Companion Pass: you’ll get greater value with higher fare classes or for expensive last-minute or peak-season travel.

You also have the ability to redeem WestJet points on the same ticket when using a companion voucher at a rate of 1 cent per point. If you wish, you can redeem points for taxes and fees as well, but it comes out to less than 1 cent per point.

Don’t Want a Voucher? Trade It for Something Else

Interestingly, WestJet allows you to trade in your companion voucher for potentially more useful items if you don’t plan to use it. For the voucher earned with the WestJet RBC Mastercard, you can trade it in for:

• 5,000 WestJet points
• 25 off an Economy cabin fare

Screenshot by Amy T

For the voucher earned with the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard, you can trade it in for:

• 30% off an Economy cabin fare
• 2 lounge vouchers
• $200 WestJet Vacations credit
• $200 Sunwing Vacations credit

I’ve never used a WestJet Companion Voucher and am trading in the former for points, while holding off on the latter since the flagship Elevation Lounge in Calgary also accepts Priority Pass.

Porter Companion Pass

You can earn a Porter Companion Pass by spending $9,000 in the first year as part of the signup bonus for the BMO VIPorter World Elite Mastercard and then continue earning it in future by spending $50,000 per year based on the cardholder’s anniversary.

In terms of value, the Porter Companion Pass outperforms the previous two because the second passenger pays $0 base fare as long as the first passenger pays full price, and it applies to Porter’s entire route network in economy class with no blackout dates.

Since the second passenger has a $0 base fare, it’s easy to come out ahead with Porter’s Companion Pass.

Did you know Porter flies direct from Ottawa to Liberia, Costa Rica

The above example represents a savings of $383 (base fare only).

Takeaway

Airline companion vouchers can be earned by any combination of holding a credit card and spending $X per year on it. The ones from Air Canada, WestJet, and Porter all use a fixed-fare base for the second passenger when the first passenger is paying full price.

In Air Canada’s case, maximize your value by booking an international ticket in a higher fare class and using your eUpgrades to clear into business class. For all three, your value will be highest when booking a ticket with a higher base fare, such as a higher fare class, travelling in peak season, or at the last minute.

Porter’s offer is the most generous, with a $0 base fare, but it has the highest spending requirement of $50,000 per year.