Analyzing WestJet’s New Member Exclusive Fares (Let’s Be Perfectly Honest)

I’m so disappointed with the change, but I expected it once Onyx took over. I used to use the Member Exclusive fares to fly our family of 5 return YHZ/YYC for $1,950 all in. Now? $4,500.

Ricky I think you calculated the values wrong in your examples. You compare the Member Exclusive fares with the Economy not the Basic fare. They are more like the Basic fare as they don’t earn the Platinum 8% or other tier dollars plus elite qualifying dollars.

For me it is rare that the Member Exclusive fares are ever less than the cheapest fare options. Thus they are often (negative) value, and you don’t add the fact that they are often negative value in your equation of calculating their value.

Perhaps you can re-calculate the value as I believe you are way off base here. (As mentioned by most of the other commenters on here)

Bye bye WJ

I don’t see any discount. In your first screenshot:
Econo basic: $445
ME Fare: $450

It costs more than basic. It’s worthless.

Yes, after reading my Aeroplan program update and then WJ’s, I will no longer be a “westjetter”. Maybe it’s an early April fool’s joke. Oh well, they don’t get my vote.

The new ME fares seem to combine the limited value of a cashback program with the limited flexibility of a points program. The worst of both worlds. Apparently Westjet’s loyalty motto is “ if it ain’t broke smash it into pieces “.

Just last week I was starting to look at WestJet for reward flight and considering applying for the WJ card. Glad I didn’t go for it, there’s barely any value in these fares anymore. No reason to earn WSD vs. cashback.

Instead of spending hours upon hours in your meeting rooms trying to figure out how to fix this, I have a simple solution for you @Westjet.

Either you scrap this current system and bring back the old ME fares temporarily or you change it to a fixed 50% off of regular base fares temporarily. (Whatever is easier for your IT team. It does seem like they are much more competent than your loyalty team)

After doing this, fire your entire incompetent loyalty team who apparently prefers spending time smoking in toilets and tuning up their cars instead of actually doing work.

Then go ahead and hire a new loyalty team who will actually bring the true definition of loyalty back into your program.

Have them come up with a brand new program and take as long as they need, 6 months, 1 year, but please don’t put the ME program on pause “again” as you would lose all your loyal customers to Air Canada in that time.

There you go Westjet, You have 2 days to start the change! New Aeroplan launches on Nov 8th.

Btw if you don’t have the money to hire experienced loyalty execs, you can hire travel blog writers or customers like me who have experienced loyalty from many programs.

Consider this my application for the job :))).

I will be planning to stop getting new Westjet dollars because of theses changes. The program was great for North American flights for myself and friend. I even convinced about dozen or so friends/family to get the RBC Westjet cards over the last 2 years but going to advise them to cancel them going forward.

Great write-up and analysis. It makes me wonder if WestJet did the same analysis and came to the same dismal conclusion? One would assume so, which makes this change even worse.

I think I’ll dump my WJ card, shift my spend to my Alaska card (since both have a companion ticket) and re-apply for the US Delta Amex so I can accrue points for redemption.

Sad day.

To be honest, as a business WestJet did the right thing to cater to the 99%..all the point nerds are mad sure, but companies shouldn’t care about the 1%.. they shouldn’t care about maximizers who abused their systems to squeeze rewards. If all the point abusers leave WestJet it wouldn’t matter they are such a small fraction lets get over it.

Literally all they had to do was market the program: make ME fares searchable alongside revenue fares, and publish an award chart. In that case, a modest devaluation would have been palatable to existing ME users, and unnoticed or even seen as added value by others. Instead, this reeks of some executive who saw that only 1% used ME fares, and decided the best way to pump that number and get a hard-earned pat on the back was to move the goalposts by slapping the ME label on ubiquitous yet laughably small discounts. Transparency builds loyalty, and we have seen through you!

Why would I earn WSD when I can easily earn cashback at a similar rate? Cash is king! Without outsized rewards from WS, I have no reason to collect a points currency less flexible than cash. I’d rather fly with AC and pocket cash for hotels and other travel or life expenses.

@Andrew, I think Ricky, did sugar coat the changes. This is a drastic devaluation. It is basically a 400% devaluation. Not only did awards double in price ($125 – $250 YVR-YYZ) but then the cost of buying points doubled in price.

Time for everyone to dump your WestJet credit card.

This is ugly, just ugly!

In Chinese ff community, we call delta’s skymiles ‘joss paper in the air’, now it seems Westjet just can’t wait to take the crown.

Hope Westjet sees this comment, the changes to the loyalty program is disappointing to say the least and it’s in bad taste to severely devalue the program with zero warning and cancelling the ability to redeem hard-earned WJD for 4 months. Will be cancelling my RBC Westjet Mastercard and not flying Westjet. Thankfully we still have Air Canada and Aeroplan in Canada.

I have absolutely no intent to renew my WestJet credit card and I plan on telling every single one of my friends and family members that have one to cancel theirs. I am utterly disgusted with this move.

Good write up Ricky.
I just hope that the whoever head westjet reads this. And for whomsoever from Onex group – I hope you guys pay & get someone (who has atleast some elementary knowledge about airline loyalty programs) onboard to correct the big snafu your westjet execs have done.
If you folks don’t have $ to onboard a veteran loyalty exec, just hire some reader of airline / loyalty blogs – they can design a better program than your current “revamped ME fare”.
It’s just plain STUPID.

I don’t except WS will revert it and bring the old back

Haha the funniest line was about West Jet being the coupon clipping airline. I agree with Jayce: McDonald’s stickers are better value. West Jet is making the AC brunette look like an Ethihad blonde from those Sam Chui videos… Right?

I appreciate the honesty Ricky, especially as a media partner! No sugar coating the changes and offering clear, honest feedback.

While I don’t necessarily need the “good ‘ole days” of $125 fixed pricing (similar to how the WS MC voucher costs went up), something that wasn’t so variable would be nice. If I really wanted “fixed” costs, I can book through Delta. Delta has fairly variable award pricing, but I have no clue why I find this new program and search results so confusing – it’s like a math problem to determine if it’s worth it.

I think a quick fix would be to ramp up the discount percentage – perhaps 25% off base fares as a minimum across the board, going up to 50%, especially in premium cabins where base fares are significantly higher. That would definitely incentivize WS flyers to save up their WSDs to get value on premium cabins.

I’m wondering if part of the issue may be due to the money printing effect of issuing WestJet Vacation refunds in WestJet Dollars. Or preserving premium cabins since demand seems to be higher given the current travel situation. In any case, something needs to be done since the $15 WSD redemptions seem pretty good in comparison to the current program.

I just applied for the RBC Westjet card. Is it too late to cancel it?