The JetBlue TrueBlue program is especially valuable for people who frequently travel to the East Coast and the Caribbean, where most of JetBlue’s destinations are.
The airline loyalty program offers revenue-based award flights, which means that when cash fares go on sale, so do flights booked with points.
JetBlue Airways primarily serves the East Coast and the Caribbean, but it also has a decent number of flights to airports on the West Coast and the Midwest. The airline also flies to Mexico, Central and South America and the U.K.
How to earn JetBlue TrueBlue points
When you book through the airline or its travel affiliates, there are several ways to earn the points you can use to fly with JetBlue: booking JetBlue flights, booking vacation packages and other travel offers based on your flight info, shopping through the airline’s online portal and dining at certain restaurants.
But the easiest way to rack up TrueBlue points quickly is with one of the airline’s three co-branded credit cards:
- JetBlue Card
- JetBlue Plus Card
- JetBlue Business Card
JetBlue Card: Best for people who don’t travel often
The Jetblue Card, which is the airline’s only card with no annual fee, can be a good option if you’re not an avid traveler or you’re generally fee averse. You won’t get a big sign-up bonus or a lot of perks, but you’ll get three points per $1 spent on JetBlue purchases and two points per $1 at restaurants and eligible grocery stores.
JetBlue Card will also give you a 50% discount on eligible in-flight purchases — other airline cards offer just 20% or 25% off.
JetBlue Plus Card: Best for frequent flyers who want more perks
JetBlue Plus Card charges a $99 annual fee, but the sign-up bonus helps to make up for that in the short term. In the long run, you’ll also enjoy better rewards and more benefits that can easily exceed the value of the yearly cost.
When you first open an account, you’ll earn 40,000 bonus points after you spend $1,000 and pay the annual fee in the first 90 days. The card also offers six points per $1 on eligible JetBlue purchases and the same rewards rates on other purchases as JetBlue Card.
Some of the card’s more-valuable perks include 5,000 bonus points every year, a free first checked bag for you and up to three others on your itinerary (as long as you use your card to book the flight) and the 50% in-flight discount. What’s more, if you’re a big spender, you can earn Mosaic status after you spend $50,000 on the card in a calendar year.
JetBlue Business Card: Best for business owners who want to earn rewards
If you want all the benefits that JetBlue Plus Card offers but you need a card for your small business, JetBlue Business Card is the way to go.
Cardholders will get the same rewards rates and benefits when they fly as its consumer-focused sister card, JetBlue Plus Card. And like JetBlue Plus Card, JetBlue Business Card has a $99 annual fee.
You’ll also have the same chance to earn elite status with your spending. And JetBlue Business Card offers a sign-up bonus of up to 60,000 points: You’ll earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days, plus an additional 10,000 points when you add one or more employee cards within the first 30 days of opening your account — and a purchase is made with the employee card within the first 90 days of account opening.
How to redeem JetBlue TrueBlue points
On average, JetBlue TrueBlue points are worth 1.14 cents apiece, according to Credit Karma’s valuation. While the cost of an award flight is tied to the cash price of the ticket, there can be some variation from that average.
1. Book award flights
With TrueBlue, you can cover the full cost of a flight with points or use a mix of cash and points. TrueBlue points never expire, and there are no blackout dates or seat restrictions.
You can use the airline’s Best Fare Finder tool, which lets you compare flight costs for different dates for a specific itinerary.
You can also pool your points with up to six friends and family members to earn award flights more quickly.
2. Pay for the flight portion of a vacation package
JetBlue Vacations makes it possible to book both your flight and hotel at the same time. While you can’t cover the full cost of a JetBlue vacation package with points, you can pay for the flight portion of it.
3. Book flights with partner airlines
JetBlue Airways partners with other airlines, allowing you to earn points with them. And it’s worth noting that booking flights on either JetBlue or American Airlines through the JetBlue website or app can also help you earn points toward JetBlue’s status program, TrueBlue Mosaic.
Here are some of the airlines JetBlue partners with.
- Aer Lingus
- American Airlines
- Cape Air
- Emirates
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Icelandair
- JSX
- Porter
- Qatar Airways
- Seaborne
- Silver Airways
- South African Airways
Next steps
If you’re interested in the JetBlue TrueBlue rewards program, it’s free to join through the airline’s website. While it’s best to use one of the airline’s credit cards to rack up points fast, you can also start earning by booking flights with the airline, joining the TrueBlue Dining program or using the TrueBlue Shopping portal. You can even earn 300 points just for flying with your pet.
But remember, as you start earning TrueBlue points, take your time to compare flight options — including dates and destinations — so you can get the maximum value from your rewards.