WestJet and Virgin Atlantic Expand Loyalty Benefits, Unlocking More Value for Canadian Travellers

Big loyalty news for Canadians who fly WestJet and love stretching their points across the Atlantic.

WestJet and Virgin Atlantic have expanded their partnership, giving members of WestJet Rewards and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club the ability to earn on each other’s full networks, including codeshare flights.

If you’ve ever flown Toronto to London and wished your loyalty program worked harder for you, this update is worth paying attention to.

Let’s break it down.

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What’s Actually Changing?

WestJet Rewards members can now earn points across Virgin Atlantic’s entire network, not just select flights. The same goes for Flying Club members travelling on WestJet.

That includes VS and WS codeshare flights, which is particularly meaningful for Canadians using Toronto as their gateway to Europe and beyond.

The route at the centre of it all?

Toronto Pearson International Airport to London Heathrow Airport.

Virgin Atlantic’s Toronto to London service feeds directly into its Heathrow hub, opening up seamless onward connectivity to long haul destinations that are typically harder or more expensive to reach from Canada.

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New Redemption Options via London

WestJet Rewards members can redeem WestJet points as a form of payment on WestJet marketed flights operated by Virgin Atlantic, now bookable on WestJet.com.

That includes connections via London Heathrow to:

• Dubai (DXB)
• Malé (MLE)
• Cape Town (CPT)
• Johannesburg (JNB)

For Canadian travellers, that is a meaningful expansion.

South Africa and the Maldives in particular have historically required complicated routings or heavy points balances through other alliances. Having a clean Toronto to London to final destination routing, bookable with WestJet points, adds real simplicity.

And if you’re someone who prefers booking directly with airlines, this is right in line with that strategy. You can keep everything ticketed and managed through WestJet while still accessing Virgin Atlantic’s long haul network.

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Why This Matters for WestJet Rewards

WestJet has historically been more limited in global loyalty partnerships compared to larger alliance carriers. Expanding access through a premium long haul airline like Virgin Atlantic signals a more ambitious direction for its loyalty ecosystem.

For travellers based in Western Canada, this could be especially valuable when combining WestJet’s domestic network with a single connection in Toronto before heading overseas.

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Increased Capacity on the Toronto Route

Virgin Atlantic is also boosting capacity between Toronto and London with daily service operated by its Airbus A350-1000 for the summer season.

That aircraft seats 397 passengers and represents Virgin Atlantic’s flagship long haul product. For anyone chasing a more elevated experience across the Atlantic, that is good news.

More seats typically mean better availability, which can translate into more realistic redemption opportunities.

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The Bottom Line

If you are collecting WestJet Rewards, this is a very meaningful update.

Being able to earn across Virgin Atlantic’s full network and redeem points to destinations like Dubai, the Maldives, and South Africa adds real depth to the program.

As always, the value will come down to pricing and availability. But on paper, this is a strong step forward for Canadian travellers who want global reach without abandoning their primary loyalty program.

If you are planning Europe, Africa, or Middle East travel for 2026, it may be time to re-run the numbers through WestJet.

Happy travelling!