JetBlue Frequent Flyer? Here's How The Loyalty Program Stacks Up (2024)

TrueBlue is the loyalty program of US airline JetBlue. As with most loyalty programs, this allows travelers with JetBlue to collect points and use these for free or discounted tickets. Frequent flyers will also benefit from status benefits when traveling with JetBlue.

The program is not tied up with any of the main airline alliances. This immediately limits the value of points and status with TrueBlue compared with many other loyalty programs, but there is still some excellent value and benefits with JetBlue. It is not the best value program out there - but there are strong points.

Earning points flying JetBlue and other partners

JetBlue is not a member of any of the main airline alliances (oneworld, Star Alliance, and SkyTeam). This means that there is no automatic extensive earning possible from a globally spread set of airlines. Likewise, status does not offer valuable benefits when traveling with other airlines (such as additional luggage, priority airport handling, and lounge access). Despite this, there are a range of additional earning options - and these can represent excellent value.

Find out more about the three main alliances and the benefits they offer

Points are earned with JetBlue based on the price of the ticket. With bonuses as well for Mosaic status, direct booking, and co-branded card holders, total earnings can be up to 15 points per dollar spent.

Earning with other airlines can be even more lucrative, as this is still based on the distance flown and the booking class. This method is generally considered to be more rewarding, especially for lower-priced economy and promotion or sale tickets.

The range of airlines is excellent for a non-alliance airline - including global options from each of the three main alliances. There are seven partner airlines - this is good, but much less than the 26 you would get with Star Alliance or the 13 with oneworld.

Points can be earned with:

• Hawaiian Airlines
• Icelandair
• JSX
• Silver Airways
• Qatar Airways
• Singapore Airlines
• South African Airways

Tables are published for each of these airlines on the JetBlue TrueBlue website. The example below, with earnings up to 125% of the distance flown in business class and 150% in first class, is for Qatar Airways.

Image: JetBlue

See Also

The Different Ways To Earn JetBlue TrueBlue PointsJetBlue TrueBlue Guide: How To Earn and Use PointsJetBlue TrueBlue program: How to earn and redeem - The Points GuyJetBlue Airways TrueBlue Frequent Flyer Program - Full Review

Limited redemption opportunities - but some good value is possible

One area to be careful of with JetBlue TrueBlue is redeeming points. Although points can be earned with several airlines, they can only be used for free awards with JetBlue, Qatar Airways, and Hawaiian Airlines. This is, of course, more restrictive than many other programs. It certainly emphasizes the program as only being a good option for regular JetBlue flyers.

Photo:Leonard Zhukovsky | Shutterstock

Using points for JetBlue flights is dynamically priced, with rates that vary based on demand and the underlying ticket price. Experience shows a value of around 1.3 cents per point is common. Pricing with Qatar Airways also varies.

Learn more about how to spend TrueBlue points

You can get better value sometimes with Hawaiian Airlines. Hawaiian Airlines flights have fixed-priced redemption rates based on the origin and destination region of the flight.

Photo: Minh K Tran | Shutterstock

Flights will have restricted availability, but always for the same fixed rate - presenting great value at times. As this is a program for US-based flyers really, the option to get value of Hawaiian could be useful at certain times.

Image: JetBlue

Middling points value compared to other programs

To get a better idea of the value achieved in practice, take a look at some extensive analysis carried out by the financial website Nerdwallet. It compared the loyalty programs of nine major US airlines, attempting to determine the value of each loyalty program by calculating two things:

• How much points or miles are worth with each program,
• The expected return on money spent with the airlines (based on the points or miles earning rate as well as spending value).

Photo:Wirestock Creators | Shutterstock

This analysis shows well the positioning of JetBlue's TrueBlue as a middle-of-the-road program. The program offers a value of 1.5 cents per point (American Airlines AAdvantage was the best in the US at 1.7 cents, but elsewhere, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club offers 1.8 cents, and ANA Mileage Club offers an impressive 2.8 cents). The program was placed fifth out of the nine US programs for overall value.

Nerdwallet's analysis went further to determine an overall ranking for airlines (including loyalty, operations, fees, and in-flight experience). It placed JetBlue seventh out of the nine airlines. This is a good guide but it doesn't quite tell the whole story. In reality, although the program lacks in some areas, it has lots to offer JetBlue flyers.

Take advantage of great benefits with Mosaic status

It's not just points and free tickets that determine the value of a loyalty program. Perks and benefits for frequent flyers are important, too.

TrueBlue was completely refreshed in 2023 and now uses an elite rewards system with options to tailor for each traveler. This is really only useful for JetBlue flyers - but there are some great perks, and better in many ways than some other programs.

Tiles are earned from JetBlue flights (one tile per $100 spent) and from co-branded credit card spend (one tile per $1000 spent). Improving benefits are then offered at milestone Tile levels (Mosaic 1, 2, 3, and 4), with further benefits being chosen and personalized as well.

There are valuable benefits on offer from the first level of Mosaic 1 (earned with just 50 Tiles). These are excellent benefits and are generally better than would be offered at an equivalent first level by some of the larger legacy loyalty programs.

Status is also generally easier to earn than with some other programs. The first level of Mosaic 1 is earned with 50 Tiles - this would need airline spending (assuming just earning this way) of $5000. The equivalent (albeit with arguably lower benefits) first level with American Airlines AAdvantage would require $8000 (to earn the required 40,000 Loyalty Points). Differences are even greater at the higher levels.

Read more about earning with AAdvantage

Benefits from the first level include:

• Priority check-in, security (at some airports), and boarding
• Two free checked bags
• Free inflight drinks (three per flight)
• Core seating free at booking
• Even More Space seating is complimentary at check-in
• Free same-day changes

Moving higher in the program, there are many more valuable benefits for JetBlue flyers. These include:

• Complimentary upgrades to Mint (four at Mosaic 3, and two more at Mosaic 4)
• Complimentary BLADE helicopter transfer in New York (four at Mosaic 4)

Photo:EQRoy | Shutterstock

There are also "You Pick" perks offered as a tailored choice at each Mosaic level. These include:

• Pet fee waiver
• A 20 Tile boost for the member or another nominated member
• A $99 statement credit on co-branded credit cards
• 15,000 point bonus
• IHG One Rewards Platinum status

Are you a user of JetBlue's TrueBlue loyalty program? Where do you find the best value in points or Mosaic status? How do you think it compares with other major airline loyalty programs? Feel free to discuss further in the comments section below.