Kip Powick Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 Brent Jang Globe and Mail ......11 November 2009 WestJet Airlines Ltd. plans to unveil its frequent-flier program at the end of November, introducing a "travel bank" in which consumers can save points toward reward trips. Passengers will be able to collect "WestJet dollars" by catching flights or using the airline's new RBC MasterCard, while rewards will be easily attainable, said Gregg Saretsky, WestJet's executive vice-president of operations. Air Canada customers seeking to obtain Aeroplan flights face paying a premium if extra miles are needed to qualify for a reward. But Mr. Saretsky said yesterday that his airline's new loyalty program will allow travellers to earmark their WestJet credits toward a flight, and even if there aren't enough credits accumulated, consumers can simply pay the difference in cash to qualify for a flight reward. WJA (TSX) rose 23 cents to $11.99. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deicer Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 Air Canada customers seeking to obtain Aeroplan flights face paying a premium if extra miles are needed to qualify for a reward. But Mr. Saretsky said yesterday that his airline's new loyalty program will allow travellers to earmark their WestJet credits toward a flight, and even if there aren't enough credits accumulated, consumers can simply pay the difference in cash to qualify for a flight reward. OK... I know I'm simple, but don't these two sentences say the same thing for two different airlines? I'm sorry, but I just don't buy the bafflegab. Iceman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
better4me Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 OK... I know I'm simple, but don't these two sentences say the same thing for two different airlines? I'm sorry, but I just don't buy the bafflegab. Iceman With Aeroplan, customers must have a required number of points to redeem a flight. The number of points increases as loads creep up. With the Westjet program, customers get a credit file bank where the Westjet dollars are parked. The Westjet dollars can be used towards the customers next Westjet flight. So theoretcally a person whoe flies Westjet for the first time with $200 base fare will earn $5 Westjet dollars. On their second flight they can use the $5 Westjet dollars against their next purchase. Jetblue's new Trueblue program and Air New Zealand's Airpoints program work this way. The low earning rate is a big deterent to some frequent flyers (I'm talking about travellers in the USA and NZ complaining about TrueBlue/Airpoints) and early indication is that Westjet will have the same issue. It has been caclulated that Westjet's program could take up to 20 flights to obtain a free flight. To earn faster free flights the traveller will have to use RBC cobranded card as their primary credit card. The other issue is that Westjet's program is simply an earn and burn program with no other loyalty perks such as preboard, dedicated checkin, exclusive seating area, upgrades to J class, etc. This is how Aeroplan/C will compete with the new Westjet system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deicer Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 So theoretcally a person whoe flies Westjet for the first time with $200 base fare will earn $5 Westjet dollars. On their second flight they can use the $5 Westjet dollars against their next purchase. So to simplify.... If you're short of 'points', or short of 'dollars' you still have to pay to top up. Still sounds the same to me. Only thing is, different bafflegab on polishing the turd..... Iceman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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