Canadians collect on a wing and a prayer
Almost all of us gather points. But how many use their rewards?
Robert de Klerk flies all over the country for his job as director of Western Canada sales for Quebecbased dairy giant Agropur.
Although he tries to save the company money when he’s booking his flights, as many as six a month, he also chooses flights that will reward him for his travels.
For a long time, he was a devoted Aeroplan collector. But when WestJet launched a new loyalty rewards program, de Klerk switched over.
“There’s no question, they wooed me away,” he says. “They’ve made it much easier to accumulate points and to use them. If you’re a regular flyer, the rewards accrue very quickly.”
He expects to have earned a couple of free flights by the end of the year and has used his rewards toward companion tickets, extra baggage fees and advance seat selection.
Loyalty programs from established carriers such as Air Canada still dominate the Canadian rewards landscape. They offer a variety of partners, where collectors can earn points and redeem rewards.
But the sheer size and scope of loyalty programs such as Aeroplan and Air Miles comes with a disadvantage for some collectors: they’re complicated.
In the past few years, upstarts such as WestJet and Porter have taken advantage of consumer crankiness toward the established programs, launching programs that are meant to be extremely simple.
Calgary-based WestJet debuted its rewards program in 2010, while Toronto-based Porter launched its VIPorter program in 2008.
Although neither company will disclose the number of members they have signed up, both offer streamlined programs that leave lots of room for growth and expansion.
“We’re focused on ensuring what we’re doing for our passengers is in their best interest,” Porter spokesperson Brad Cicero says. “We want to give value, so we did have an understanding of what other airlines were offering and made sure we were comparable or ahead of them.”
Both WestJet and Porter avoided the industry standard of accumulation systems based on distance travelled.
Porter offers a set number of points for each one-way flight, depending on the fare class. Every 10 flights at the mid-level Flexible fare earn one free flight; as do five flights at the more-expensive Freedom fare.
WestJet has adopted a dollar system that allows members to earn points valued at 1 per cent of the ticket price, an earning rate that increases to 2.5 per cent for travellers who spend more than $1,500. The more expensive the ticket, the more WestJet dollars earned. Within WestJet, those dollars can be spent, just as real money can, on tickets or upgrades, as whole fares or as part of a fare.
“You don’t have to look at a rewards chart. A dollar is a dollar,” says Marshall Wilmot, vice-president of product and distribution. “It’s designed to be different, simple and transparent.” On one hand, both programs make it easier for customers to use their rewards; neither has a blackout period. With WestJet, if a seat is available for purchase with cash, it’s available for point redemption.
On the other hand, because both airlines fly to fewer destinations and neither has retail or hotel partners, there are fewer chances to ac-
“You don’t have to look at a rewards chart. A dollar is a dollar. It’s designed to be different, simple and transparent.” MARSHALL WILMOT VICE-PRESIDENT OF PRODUCT AND DISTRIBUTION, WESTJET
cumulate points.
Porter has added 13 destinations since the program’s launch. It’s also planning to introduce Porter Escapes this year, which will let customers book hotels when they book flights, and this will offer them more opportunities to earn points.
This summer, WestJet signed an arrangement with American Airlines that also allows flyers to convert AA rewards to WestJet dollars and vice-versa. WestJet also offers an RBC Mastercard, so members can earn points on purchases.