Vancouver Vacation Trip Reports:

• Redeeming American Airline Miles for Alaska Airline Seats
• Beware of Booking WestJet Flights on Delta.com (this post)

I am not sure how many of you have flown from Vancouver, BC to Los Angeles, CA, but WestJet has a few flights per day at good prices.

In case you are not familiar with WestJet, they are the second largest Canadian airline behind Air Canada and the ninth largest airline in North America (thank you wikipedia).  They are, however, not affiliate with any airline alliance.  For that reason, I was surprised to see WestJet flights bookable on Delta.com.

I used my American Express Delta Credit Card to book 4 WestJet tickets (3 tickets are in a cheaper fare class than the last ticket).  Total charged to the credit card was $839.19.  Read My Delta American Express Credit Card was Stolen… from my Front Door? to find out what happened to my credit card before I booked these tickets.

After a few days, I logged into my American Express account and saw 4 ticket charges along with 4 foreign transaction fees. Noooooo!  I hate foreign transaction fees!  I ended up paying $867.61, which is $28.42 more than I thought I would pay.

It is interesting how American Express breaks down the charges into specific ticket details.  On Sunday, $203.13 CAD was equal to $200.21 USD.

My trading of foreign currency pairs on the FOREX market are behind me, but looking at the CAD/USD exchange rate, it looks like I purchased the tickets at a high price.

Afterwards, I called WestJet to get my seat assignments.  I called Westjet at 1-888-WESTJET (1-888-937-8538) but their automated system is so annoying as they try to sell you one of their partner’s cruise packages.

I decided to use GetHuman.com to make my life easier.  I found WestJet’s GetHuman page and clicked the Start Call-Back button.

All you have to do is enter your phone number and click the Call Me Back button.  After a few minutes, the phone rings and you have a live person!  Technology at its finest!

The representative sounded British not Canadian and informed me that selecting your seats cost $15 per person.  $15 per person sounded like a lot of money but he told me that WestJet doesn’t charge any baggage fees, which is always nice.  He tried to make a joke that US airlines let you pick your seat for free but charge you for your baggage, while WestJet does the opposite.

Have you every flown on WestJet?  What was your experience with WestJet?  Leave a comment below.