There are currently 2 status match opportunities for those with elite airline status (extremely more difficult to reach than hotel elite status). These current promotions allow you to easily get elite status with WestJet and/or Porter.
Often, status match promotions also include a status challenge that allows you to keep that elite status even longer, with a shortcut compared to the normal requirements.
Here’s the information on the 2 status match promotions currently available (and also the basics about all this, since we haven’t shared much on this topic yet).
Overview of the status match promotions
I’ll start with the basics and then go into more detail below.
Basics of the WestJet and Porter status match promotions
I am going to take advantage of these 2 current status match promotions myself, since these opportunities are rarer in Canada.
If you have Air Canada Aeroplan elite status OR VIPorter elite status:
- WestJet is offering a status match until April 30
- Status is valid until June 30
- There is a status challenge to keep it until December 31, 2023
- At least $750 in qualifying spending required
- Official promotion page
- We give you a lot more details below
If you have WestJet Rewards elite status (including via their current status match from Air Canada):
- Porter is offering a status match until May 31
- Status is valid for 120 days after approval
- There is a status challenge to keep it until December 31, 2024
- At least $750 in qualifying spending required
- Official promotion page
- We give you a lot more details below
Basics of the benefits of airline elite status
In general, airline elite status can give you some free benefits that can be extremely valuable.
Also, airline elite status can give you some benefits on partner airlines, if the airline is part of a global airline alliance. For example, Air Canada Aeroplan elite status (the most desirable and valuable for Canadians) gives you Star Alliance elite status, so benefits on 25+ airlines.
Here are some examples of airline elite status benefits (it depends on the level and airline):
- VIP treatment
- Dedicated elite phone line
- Bonus points
- Access to airport lounges
- Priority check-in
- Priority boarding
- Free seat selections
- Free baggage allowance
- More flexible change policies
- And more
While I have had hotel elite status for a long time and love it, I had never had airline elite status.
But in July 2020, I won Air Canada Aeroplan 75K elite status during a quiz thanks to my good knowledge of the program (not available to you unfortunately, it was at a media event) and it’s true that airline elite status is as addictive as people said it was.
Basics of reaching airline elite status
Airlines offer these elite programs to reward their most valuable travelers, i.e. the ones who spend the most (not necessarily the ones who travel the most; there is an important nuance).
In short, there is unfortunately no real easy shortcut to reaching a first airline elite status. You have to spend a lot of money on flights, something we obviously don’t recommend.
(Flytrippers’ entire reason for existence is literally to help you avoid spending money on flights!)
In contrast, it’s so easy to get hotel elite status, including without even setting foot in a hotel. And on top of that, hotel elite status is so much more interesting in my opinion.
I’ll be talking about everything related to elite status thing again soon, it’s one of the topics I was assigned at the travel rewards event I was a speaker at in Toronto in October, along with airport lounge access which will also be the subject of a detailed guide with videos and infographics.
Basics of status matches
Because having elite status is so addictive, airlines occasionally offer status match promotions: most people who have elite status have it because they travel very often and they need that incentive to even consider changing airlines.
But with these status match promotions, once you have elite status, you can leverage it to simply enhance your travel experiences on other airlines (and on that airline’s partners if it’s part of global airline alliance).
And also, we recommend taking advantage of status matches to open up future opportunities for more status matches.
As in this case, a 1st status match also allows you to do a 2nd one that was not available from your initial status: Porter only allows matching from WestJet, but WestJet allows you to match from Air Canada. So with Air Canada Aeroplan elite status, you can match your status to Porter thanks to your first status match with WestJet.
Hotel chains also offer status matches, I will come back to this in the next travel rewards update roundup post.
To give you one example, last year, thanks to my Aeroplan elite status, I was able to take advantage of a generous status match promotion from Royal Air Maroc. I don’t really care about Royal Air Maroc, but it gave me oneworld Sapphire elite status because Royal Air Maroc recently joined the oneworld alliance.
That status match gave me some benefits, especially since I had some flights scheduled on American Airlines (including with Avios points). One example is having access to the American Airlines Flagship Lounge in Miami (MIA) before my flight to Colombia in January, one of the best airport lounges in North America (and I’ve been to many).
All savvy travelers should already have free access to airport lounges easily.
But even more upscale lounges exist, and they’re only for passengers with elite status or traveling in superior classes, as I explained to differentiate between first class and business class in our article on the deal we spotted Monday for a first class flight worth $10,000+.
| Best credit cards for airport lounge access |
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Best  Valuation (BONUS)(≈ 6.5% back on $10k)
Rewards: ≈ $1451
Card fee: $799
Spend required:$10k in 3 mos.
Best for: Unlimited + 1 guest worldwide Priority Pass + more
 LUCRATIVE
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Valuation (BONUS) ( 9.5% back on $2k)
Rewards: $340
Card fee: $150
Spend required:$2k in 3 mos.
Best for: 6 passes worldwide DragonPass
 SIMPLE
60k/100k
ends July 1st
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Valuation (BONUS) (≈ 5.9% back on $7.5k)
Rewards: ≈ $1041
Card fee: $599
Spend required:$7.5k in 3 mos.
Best for: Unlimited + 1 guest in North America Air Canada Lounges (on *A)
 LUCRATIVE
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| Terms and conditions apply. Flytrippers editorial opinion only. Financial institutions are not responsible for maintaining the content on this site. Please click "See More" to see most up-to-date information. |
| Best credit cards for airport lounge access |
WELCOME BONUS ( VALUATION) |
Lounge passes |
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Best 
|
Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $10k in 3 mos.
|
Rewards: ≈ $1451
Card fee: $799
|
Unlimited + 1 guest
worldwide
Priority Pass + more
|
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Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $2k in 3 mos.
|
Rewards: $340
Card fee: $150
|
6 passes
worldwide
DragonPass
|
ends July 1st
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Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $7.5k in 3 mos.
|
Rewards: ≈ $1041
Card fee: $599
|
Unlimited + 1 guest
in North America
Air Canada Lounges (on *A)
|
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Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $1k/month for 12 months
|
Rewards: ≈ $1180
Card fee: $250
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4 passes
in Canada
Plaza Premium only
|
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NEW 
|
Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $10k in 14 mos. (or $3k for lower bonus)
|
Rewards: $1000
Card fee: $399
|
10 passes
worldwide
Priority Pass & Plaza Premium
|
ends October 31st
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Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $6k in 3 mos.
|
Rewards: $853
Card fee: $599
|
6 passes
worldwide
DragonPass
|
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NEW 
|
Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $24k in 12 mos. (or $12k for lower bonus)
|
Rewards: ≈ $1126
Annual fee: $599
|
Unlimited + 1 guest
in North America
AC Lounges* + 6 DragonPass
|
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|
Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $4.5k in 3 mos.
|
Rewards: $330
Card fee: $0 $150
|
4 passes
worldwide
DragonPass
|
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|
Card: no business required
Min. spend (bonus): $15k in 3 mos.
|
Rewards: ≈ $1922
Card fee: $799
|
Unlimited + 1 guest
worldwide
Priority Pass + more
|
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Card: no business required
Min. spend (bonus): $10.5k in 3 mos.
|
Rewards: ≈ $1172
Card fee: $599
|
Unlimited + 1 guest
in North America
Air Canada Lounges (on *A)
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| Terms and conditions apply. Flytrippers editorial opinion only. Financial institutions are not responsible for maintaining the content on this site. Please click "See More" to see most up-to-date information. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Anyway, we’re going to start sharing these status match promotions with you so you can take advantage of them if you have elite status (or statuses).
Details of the status match promotions
Here is more information.
WestJet status match
WestJet is the only major airline other than Air Canada in Canada. It is by far the 2nd largest in the country. But it has recently refocused on Western Canada, so it is less convenient for travelers based elsewhere.
Still, if you want to get WestJet dollars that are easy to use, the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard has a nice welcome bonus if you have an upcoming trip that could be on WestJet. And the WestJet RBC Mastercard is one of the few low-annual-fee cards with a welcome bonus, even if it’s small obviously.
| Best credit cards for WestJet dollars |
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Valuation (BONUS) ( 8.1% back on $5k)
Rewards: $525
Card fee: $119
Spend required:$5k in 3 mos.
Best for: Companion ticket or 4 lounge passes
ends May 28th
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Valuation (BONUS) ( 7.1% back on $1k)
Rewards: $110
Card fee: $39
Spend required:$1k in 3 mos.
Best for: Simple fixed-value rewards for flights
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| Terms and conditions apply. Flytrippers editorial opinion only. Financial institutions are not responsible for maintaining the content on this site. Please click "See More" to see most up-to-date information. |
| Best credit cards for WestJet dollars |
WELCOME BONUS ( VALUATION) |
Best for |
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Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $5k in 3 mos.
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Rewards: $525
Card fee: $119
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Companion
ticket or
4 lounge passes
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ends May 28th
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Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $1k in 3 mos.
|
Rewards: $110
Card fee: $39
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Simple
fixed-value
rewards for flights
|
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| Terms and conditions apply. Flytrippers editorial opinion only. Financial institutions are not responsible for maintaining the content on this site. Please click "See More" to see most up-to-date information. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WestJet is offering this status match to give elite Air Canada and Porter travelers an incentive to try to switch to WestJet.
All Air Canada Aeroplan and VIPorter elite status levels are eligible for the status match.
The WestJet program has 3 levels, so the match works like this:
- WestJet Silver
- Air Canada Aeroplan 25K
- VIPorter Venture
- WestJet Gold
- Air Canada Aeroplan 35K
- Air Canada Aeroplan 50K
- Air Canada Aeroplan 75K
- VIPorter Ascent
- WestJet Platinum
- Air Canada Aeroplan Super Elite
- VIPorter First
It may take up to 10 business days for the status match to be completed.
And to keep your WestJet Rewards elite status until December 31, 2023, you must spend a certain amount on WestJet flights during the status challenge:
- WestJet Silver: $750
- WestJet Gold: $1250
- WestJet Platinum: $2000
That’s just 25% of the amounts normally required.
Taxes do not count as a qualifying spending, as is always the case for elite status. Taxes go to the governments, not to WestJet.
So the WestJet Silver level is relatively accessible if you have say 3 trips planned, but the rest is pretty expensive. And the match only lasts until the end of 2023, so it’s really not that interesting. WestJet is not part of a global airline alliance, but if you fly Delta you’ll get a few benefits.
But there’s no exclusion for those who have taken advantage of a match in the past (sometimes there is with some airlines), so it’s low risk to try it even without doing the status challenge. At worst you’ll probably be able to do it again if it comes back and you need it more than this year.
Here’s exactly how to get WestJet status match:
- Create a free WestJet Rewards account
- Take a screenshot of your Air Canada or Porter elite status
- Full name
- Elite status level
- Expiration date
- Complete the form on the WestJet website
Porter status match
Porter is the airline with the most premium positioning in Canada. One example is that they offer complimentary beer and wine in economy class, served in real glassware. Porter is trying to become a 3rd major player to compete with Air Canada and WestJet.
They are growing rapidly because they have ordered their first jets and are now serving all of Canada. They still have a much more restrictive network than the other 2 major players and even with their new terminal at Montreal/St. Hubert airport, they will remain a significantly smaller airline than the others.
They are offering this status match to take advantage of the fact that WestJet has decided to refocus quite a bit on Western Canada. So Porter wants to attract disappointed WestJet elite travelers in the East.
All WestJet Rewards elite status levels are eligible for the status match. They say even those whose WestJet elite status expired in December 2022 could be considered.
The VIPorter program also has 3 tiers, so the matches are pretty straightforward:
- WestJet Silver = VIPorter Venture
- WestJet Gold = VIPorter Ascent
- WestJet Platinum = VIPorter First
The status match could take up to 3 weeks.
And to keep your VIPorter elite status until December 31, 2024, you must spend a certain amount on Porter flights during the status challenge (the 120 days after your status match request is approved):
- VIPorter Venture: $750
- VIPorter Ascent: $1500
- VIPorter First: $2500
Again, taxes are obviously excluded.
So once again, the VIPorter Venture level is relatively accessible if you have say 3 trips planned, but the rest is pretty expensive. At least the status lasts a long time, so if you’re planning on traveling with Porter a lot, it’s a little more intriguing.
Here’s exactly how to get the Porter status match:
- Create a free VIPorter account
- Take a screenshot of your WestJet elite status
- Full name
- Elite status level
- Expiration date
- Send all that by email to viporter@flyporter.com
- Your VIPorter membership number
- Your WestJet screenshot
Want to get more content to learn how to earn free travel?
Summary
Status matches allow you to leverage an airline elite status you already have and easily obtain statuses from other airlines. The current WestJet and Porter promotions aren’t the most attractive, but they’re probably worth a try.
What would you like to know about the Porter/WestJet status match? Tell us in the comments below.
See the deals we spot: Cheap flights
Explore awesome destinations: Travel inspiration
Learn pro tricks: Travel tips
Discover free travel: Travel rewards
Featured image: WestJet elite status tag and Porter onboard service (photo credit: WestJet and Porter)
