Which JetBlue Credit Card Is Right for You?

Committed JetBlue flyers have three consumer options when looking for a credit card that will earn extra TrueBlue points:

• The JetBlue Card.

• The JetBlue Plus Card.

• The JetBlue Premier Card.

The credit cards, issued by Barclays, offer sign-up bonuses, plus the ability to earn extra points on JetBlue, restaurant and grocery store purchases. They’ll snag you discounts when you buy cocktails or food in-flight, and they also feature 0% intro APR offers.

The TrueBlue points you earn with any of these cards can be redeemed for flights on JetBlue or their partner airlines, or for packages with JetBlue Vacations. You can also pool points with up to seven other TrueBlue members or transfer points to another TrueBlue member for a fee. As Mastercards with no foreign transaction fees, the cards travel well all over the world, even if you're in a country JetBlue doesn’t serve.

From there, though, the cards go their separate ways. The JetBlue Card sticks to a shorter list of benefits, but its $0 annual fee makes it budget-friendly. The JetBlue Plus Card packs on the perks in exchange for an $99 annual fee. The JetBlue Premier Card adds on a few more extras, but not as many as you’d think considering its $499 annual fee.

When to pick the JetBlue Card

A worthy $0-annual-fee travel card isn’t easy to find, so if you're adamantly opposed to paying for the privilege of holding a card, the JetBlue Card is an option. It can certainly allow you to earn rewards while keeping costs low, especially since you can snag bonus rewards on more than just direct spending with JetBlue.

The in-flight discounts are also a nice plus for a $0 annual fee.

However, you won’t get as many extras as you would with a card that charges an annual fee. In the case of the JetBlue Card, new cardholders are eligible for this sign-up bonus: Earn 10,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days. That sum of points might cover a round-trip, short-haul flight — like New York to Boston or Washington, D.C., to Charleston, South Carolina — but it's a modest bonus at best and won't take you very far.

Plus, in exchange for no annual fee, there's also no free checked bag benefit, a key perk for many airline travel cards.

If you just want to quickly increase your stash of TrueBlue points without a lot of fuss, the JetBlue Card keeps it simple. But more frequent JetBlue passengers will probably get more long-term value out of one of the airline's more expensive cards.

» MORE: Full review of the JetBlue Card

When to pick the JetBlue Plus Card

One hallmark of the JetBlue Plus Card is its substantial sign-up bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases and paying the annual fee in full, both within the first 90 days, with the JetBlue Plus Card. That could cover one or two longer round-trip flights. You’ll get the same 50% off in-flight purchases, but you'll also earn a higher rewards rate on JetBlue purchases: 6 points per $1, which is double the earning rate of the JetBlue Card. (You’ll earn the same 2 points per $1 at restaurants and grocery stores and 1 point per $1 on everything else.)

Now, this is where the JetBlue Plus Card starts cooking with gas, despite its $99 annual fee:

• Free checked bags for you and up to three others on your reservation. Costing at least $35 per bag each way if you book the lowest Blue fares, this can save you a bundle on a round-trip vacation with a companion.

• A discount on JetBlue Vacations packages of up to $100 each year for packages costing at least $100. The discount comes in the form of a statement credit.

• A 5,000-point bonus each account anniversary. NerdWallet values JetBlue points at an average of 1.4 cents each for domestic redemptions, so that's up to $75 in value you get back each year automatically — making the effective annual fee $24.

• A 10% point bonus when you redeem points and travel on a JetBlue award flight.

Light packers, infrequent travelers or lower spenders are less likely to get the full value out of this card. Still, if a longer JetBlue flight or two is in your future, even if it’s not this year, it may be worth considering the JetBlue Plus Card for now, then downgrading to the JetBlue Card later to save on the annual fee. JetBlue points don’t expire, so you can hold on to that bonus for as long as you'd like.

» MORE: Review of the JetBlue Plus Card

When to pick the JetBlue Premier Card

With its $499 annual fee, the JetBlue Premier Card is the most high-end option. The welcome offer is more generous: Earn 80,000 bonus points and 5 tiles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 90 days. (Within the JetBlue rewards program, you can earn "tiles" toward qualification for the airline's Mosaic elite status.)

This card features all the benefits of the JetBlue Plus Card, and also adds:

• Priority boarding for cardholders, authorized users and up to four eligible travel companions. (Adding an authorized user will set you back an additional $150.)

• Up to $300 in statement credits on Paisly purchases per year, in the form of a $50 credit for each qualifying transaction of $250 or more (up to six transactions per calendar year). Paisly is JetBlue’s travel booking website. 

• A statement credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry every four years.

• Access to airport lounges. For now, you and a guest can go to Priority Pass lounges. Eventually, you’ll also be able to bring a guest into the two new JetBlue lounges that are in the works in New York and Boston.

Still, this would be a steep annual fee for anyone who travels on JetBlue only occasionally, and it’s not easy to fully offset the fee. For example, to earn back $300 in Paisly statement credits, you actually have to spend at least $1,500 on bookings through Paisly.

If you’d like some of these benefits without being tied to one airline, other travel cards offer statement credits for TSA PreCheck and Global Entry, access to Priority Pass lounges, along with other perks.