Let’s be honest, travelling can be expensive.
Hotels, eating out, rental cars, insurance…it all really adds up.
Not to mention flights, which make up a significant percentage of the total cost of travelling.
If you’re anything like me, you’ll do what you can to reduce the total price of your vacation:
- budget websites,
- red eye flights,
- even driving to a nearby city that offers a cheaper flight.
Plus, I’m a big fan of collecting points with credit cards to redeem for flights and other travel expenses…
But is there anything else that can be done?
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Introducing companion vouchers – a free flight for your partner
What if you could take your spouse, partner, or best friend along with you for a fraction of the cost?
Almost sounds too good to be true, right?
Well, there actually are credit cards that will allow you to bring along a companion with you on your trip for a reduced price.
This article will fill you in on:
- how this great perk works,
- the credit cards that issue them,
- what they cost to use, and…
- where you can use these vouchers to fly.
Please Note: I won’t get into any specifics on how much these vouchers will save you since the combinations are endless and many cards give you this perk annually, but just imagine how much savings you could rack up.
How companion vouchers work
Companion vouchers come in many different forms.
How exactly you claim the voucher varies, but many have the same basic features:
- you need to purchase a ticket using either the credit card associated with the voucher or the Airlines’ rewards points that you have accumulated,
- they are only available once per year and cannot be carried over into future years, and…
- they only cover the base fare at most, leaving you to pay the taxes, fees, and additional charges.
Please Note: Not all vouchers pay the whole base rate. Some may require you to pay a reduced rate for the companion flight.
Which cards offer a companion voucher
Now that we have the basics down, let’s move onto the cards that offer them.
RBC WestJet World Elite Mastercard & RBC Westjet Mastercard
Probably the most well known, the
Simply purchase a round trip airfare through westjet.com and pay the following for your discounted companion flight:
- $199 for travel within Canada & the Continental United States,
- $399 for travel to Hawaii, Central America and the Caribbean, and
- $399 for travel to Europe.
On top of these base costs, you will also have to pay taxes, fees and additional surcharges.
The best part of this voucher is that it covers the same fare level as the purchased ticket, so if you buy a plus seat (WestJet’s premium in-flight offering), the voucher covers a plus seat as well, leading to some pretty great savings. Plus, you also have the option to redeem any amount of WestJet dollars to cover the paid fare, leading to double savings.
This card also offers free checked bags on WestJet flights for yourself and up to 8 additional guests traveling with you on the same itinerary.
With the price of baggage going up to $30 plus taxes for your first bag, this offers great savings even without using the voucher. All this for an annual fee of $119.
Where it can be used
These vouchers can be used on any flight in the WestJet network.
However, there are a few points to note about some of the destinations.
For the continental United States, WestJet, for the most part, only flies to popular destinations, such as:
- California,
- Florida,
- Las Vegas,
- New York,
- Boston,
- Nashville,
- Denver, and
- Houston.
If you feel like venturing off the path most travelled in the United States, WestJet won’t be able to help you.
If Europe is where you have your sights set, you will be limited to:
- Dublin,
- Glasgow,
- London, and
- Paris.
If you want to travel beyond these cities, you’ll have to hop on another European carrier when you get there.
But with this said, it’s the only companion voucher in Canada that offers this every year, without a high spend requirement to earn the voucher.
The
However, it can only be used for WestJet flights within Canada and to the Continental U.S. and costs $199 plus taxes to use.
RBC British Airways Visa Infinite
The
In order to earn this voucher, you will be required to spend $30,000 annually.
The British Airways voucher can only be used with an award ticket.
Use your Avios points to book a ticket and then you can use the voucher to bring someone else with you, all you have to do is pay the taxes and fees, making this one of the most valuable vouchers on the Canadian market.
Outside your typical fees and taxes, there is no cost for your primary ticket or your companion ticket, making this deal as close to free for both passengers as you can get.
There is one special bonus to this voucher that others don't have. If you won't be flying with anyone else, you can still use it, and pay 50% fewer Avios on your booking.
Where it can be used
This voucher is good for travel on British Airways’ flights, although we do have a limited number of places in Canada where this can be used:
- Montreal,
- Toronto, and
- Vancouver.
The first step is to make it to one of these airports, or another US hub such as Boston, New York, Chicago or Seattle.
Once there, while British Airways has global reach, realistically you should only use the voucher to fly to Europe, Africa, the Middle East, or India. Flights outside these areas could risk becoming quite long, and you might be better off finding another airline to travel with.
With that said, this still gives you an incredible range of destinations to use this voucher, and amongst the best set of international destinations on this list.
Though travel within Canada and the United States won’t be an option, here’s why British Airways could make sense for (most) Canadians.
Honorable Mention
While it doesn’t offer a companion voucher, the
×2 Award winner 
Simply call the Platinum Travel services line, discuss where you want to go, and see the available options. You can get a discounted seat for yourself and 7 additional passengers.
Here are some of the airlines available for this program:
- Air New Zealand,
- British Airways,
- Cathay Pacific,
- Delta,
- Air France,
- KLM,
- Emirates,
- Japan Airlines,
- Lufthansa,
- Swiss Air, and
- WestJet.
The discount you receive varies by airline, so the only way to know what is available is to call Platinum Travel services.
On top of this, the Platinum Card card also offers some incredible perks:
- an annual $200 travel credit,
- complimentary access to Priority Pass Lounges,
- special Toronto-Pearson benefits including priority security screening, and
- various complimentary upgraded hotels, car and golf memberships.
The question is: can you handle the $799 annual fee?
Best companion voucher credit cards
There are quite a few options for getting companion vouchers through credit cards, and they come in many different forms.
While the cost to bring a companion with you never completely disappears, it certainly can be a way to get a seat cheaply. In many cases the airfare is completely free, you just have to cover the taxes and fees.
Here is a summary for each credit card that offers a companion voucher.
| Credit Card | Type of Flight | Locations | Extra Fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay – can be any fare class | Canada, US, Mexico, Caribbean, Europe | Yes – varies according to destination | |
| Rewards | Europe, Africa, Middle East, India | No – however requires $30,000 annual spend to receive voucher |
We’d love to hear from you
Have you used a companion voucher? If so, what were your savings?
Please leave a comment below to share your experience.
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