Every time.
We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence. While we don't cover every company or financial product on the market, we work hard to share a wide range of offers and objective editorial perspectives.
So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us for advertisements that appear on our site or when you click to or take an action on their website. This compensation helps us provide tools and services - like free credit score access and monitoring. With the exception of mortgage, home equity and other home-lending products or services, partner compensation is one of several factors that may affect which products we highlight and where they appear on our site. Other factors include your credit profile, product availability and proprietary website methodologies.
However, these factors do not influence our editors' opinions or ratings, which are based on independent research and analysis. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews. Here is a list of our partners.
JetBlue Premier Review: $300 Credit, Lounge Access and More
The Bottom Line
3.7
The card makes the most sense for JetBlue loyalists who frequently use the airline’s TrueBlue Travel booking platform, or those who are excited about JetBlue's branded lounges.
Rates, fees and offers
Rates, fees and offers
Annual fee
$499
Rewards rate
1x-6x
Bonus offer
Earn 80,000 bonus points and 5 tiles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 90 days.
Intro APR
0% intro APR for 12 billing cycles on balance transfers
Ongoing APR
APR: 19.49%-29.49%, Variable APR
Cash Advance APR: 29.74%, Variable APR
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
Foreign transaction fee
0%
More details from Barclays
More details from Barclays
- Earn 80,000 bonus points + 5 tiles after spending $5,000 on purchases and paying the annual fee in full, both within the first 90 days
- 6X points on eligible JetBlue purchases.
- 2X points at restaurants and eligible grocery stores.
- 1X points on all other purchases.
- Free first checked bag.
- Up to $120 application fee credit every 4 years for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®.
- Earn up to $300 in statement credits on Paisly purchases per calendar year.
- Earn 5,000 bonus points each year after your JetBlue Premier Card account anniversary.
Pros and Cons
Pros
New cardholder bonus offer
Travel credit
Airport lounge access
Free checked bag
Anniversary perk
Cons
Has annual fee
Travel credit is complicated
Lounge access is limited
Detailed Review
Credit cards that offer companion tickets — which let you fly someone for free, or at a significant discount — are rare and valuable. The JetBlue Premier Card dangles the possibility of two companion passes every year, on top of a valuable annual travel credit that can significantly defray its pricey $499 annual fee.
You’ll have to spend enough, and in the right way, to actually snag those perks, but if you’re willing to make the JetBlue Premier Card your everyday card, it's doable. You'll also get access to JetBlue's swanky branded airport lounges, although that network is, for now, vanishingly small.
For travelers who can't stomach a nearly $500 annual fee and/or don’t want to be wedded to a single brand, consider a less expensive general travel card instead.
JetBlue Plus Card holders can’t apply for the JetBlue Premier Card. The only way to get the Premier as an existing Plus cardholder is to request an upgrade.
JetBlue Premier Card: Basics
Card type: Airline.
Annual fee: $499.
Sign-up bonus: Earn 80,000 bonus points and 5 tiles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 90 days.
Rewards:
Unlimited 6x points on eligible JetBlue purchases, including TrueBlue Travel and JetBlue Vacations.
Unlimited 2x points at restaurants and eligible grocery stores.
Unlimited 1x points on all other purchases.
APR: 0% intro APR for 12 billing cycles on balance transfers, and then the ongoing APR of 19.49%-29.49%, Variable APR.
Foreign transaction fee: 0%.
Other benefits:
Earn 5,000 bonus points each year after your card anniversary.
Get 15% of your points back after you redeem for and travel on a JetBlue-operated award flight.
First free checked bag for cardholders and up to three companions on the same reservation when you pay with your card.
Priority Pass lounge access for cardholders and a guest, and complimentary JetBlue lounge access for cardholders and one guest.
Receive a credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, every four years.
Earn up to $300 in annual statement credits for TrueBlue Travel purchases, JetBlue’s online travel booking website.
In-flight discounts like 50% off of eligible food and drink purchases on JetBlue-operated flights.
Priority boarding on JetBlue-operated flights.
25 tiles toward elite Mosaic status.
Up to 14 monthly ClassPass credits for fitness classes.
How the JetBlue credit cards compare
| Empty Table Header | JetBlue Card | JetBlue Plus Card | JetBlue Premier Card |
|---|---|---|---|
Annual fee | $0 | $99 | $499 |
Sign-up bonus | Earn 10,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days. | 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. | Earn 80,000 bonus points and 5 tiles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 90 days. |
Ongoing rewards |
|
|
|
Other travel perks | 50% in-flight savings on cocktails and food purchases. |
|
|
Redemption bonus | None. | 10% redemption bonus when you redeem TrueBlue points for flights. | 15% redemption bonus after you travel on a JetBlue-operated award flight. |
Anniversary bonus | None. | 5,000 points bonus each year. | 5,000 anniversary bonus points each year after your account anniversary and after you’ve paid your annual fee. |
Compare to Other Cards
Vacation more, spend less. Subscribe to our free newsletter for inspiration, tips, and money-saving strategies – delivered straight to your inbox.
By signing up, you will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Benefits and Perks
Companion passes
The JetBlue Premier Card belongs to an exclusive group of credit cards that have a companion ticket benefit. With the Premier, it’s possible to get two every year. Even if you earned just one pass per year, you could completely cover the card’s annual fee.
Both companion tickets are contingent on spending:
Get a companion pass worth up to $500 after spending $15,000 in a calendar year.
Get another companion pass worth up to $1,500 after spending $75,000 in a calendar year.
The companion passes may be used to book any fare class. Taxes, fees and other charges must be paid by the cardholder.
Welcome bonus
New Premier cardholders can earn this welcome offer: Earn 80,000 bonus points and 5 tiles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 90 days. NerdWallet values JetBlue points at 1.4 cents each, so this offer could be worth around $1,000 in travel.
The five Mosaic tiles in the bonus offer are less useful than the big chunk of miles. Mosaic is JetBlue’s term for elite status within its TrueBlue loyalty program. Members need 50 tiles just to get to level 1. However, JetBlue Premier Card holders do get 25 tiles at the beginning of every calendar year.
Statement credits
The statement credits that come with the JetBlue Premier Card can go a long way toward offsetting its annual fee. The most valuable is the $300 annual statement credit that you get on travel purchased through TrueBlue Travel, JetBlue's booking platform (formerly known as the Paisly portal). You can use TrueBlue Travel to book hotels, car rentals, cruises and more, and there's no minimum purchase requirement.
In addition, cardholders get a $120 credit every four years for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
Free checked bags
Cardholders can reap big savings from the JetBlue Premier Card's free checked bag benefit. JetBlue charges up to $50 for the first checked bag, but cardholders and up to three others on the same reservation get their first checked bag free. Note that the JetBlue Plus Card has this perk, too, and its annual fee is just $99.
Lounge access
Premier cardholders and their authorized users can get a Priority Pass Select membership, which gives you unlimited visits to Priority Pass lounges. (Adding an authorized user to the Premier card costs $150.)
Premier cardholders also gain entry into JetBlue’s own branded lounges, but as of March 2026, there's only one of them. JetBlue's first lounge in New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport opened in December 2025; another in Boston Logan International Airport is set to open in 2026.
In-flight perks
The JetBlue Premier Card is the only JetBlue card that offers early boarding. Premier cardholders and up to four traveling companions on the same reservation can board in Group A, which is the third group out of 10.
The Premier card also gets you a 50% discount on eligible in-flight purchases on JetBlue-operated flights such as alcohol and meals. (You get this same discount with the JetBlue Plus Card.)
0% intro APR offer on balance transfers
If you transfer existing debt to your Premier card within 45 days of account opening, you won’t pay interest on that balance for the first 12 billing cycles.
Barclays, the issuer of the JetBlue Premier Card, accepts balance transfers of any loan, except debt on another Barclays credit card. Here's a look at all of Barclays' consumer JetBlue credit cards:
Drawbacks and Considerations
High annual fee
A $499 annual fee is nothing to sneeze at. Yes, you can offset much of it, but only if you can make full use of the card's $300 annual statement credit and perks like free checked bags, lounge access, etc.
Some of those perks will be easier to use than others.
Inflexible statement credit
The card’s generous $300 travel statement credit is only good for travel booked through JetBlue’s TrueBlue portal. If you want to make up for the card’s annual fee, you’ll likely feel pressured to use up that credit.
Underwhelming ongoing rewards
Despite the JetBlue Premier Card having a significantly higher annual fee than the JetBlue Plus Card, the reward rates on the Premier aren’t any better. Both cards earn 6x points on JetBlue flights; 2x on restaurants and groceries; and 1x on everything else. The only difference is that the Premier also earns the 6x rate on TrueBlue Vacations.
If you like flying JetBlue but aren’t wedded to TrueBlue for booking travel, it’s probably more prudent to get the Plus rather than the Premier. You’ll save several hundred dollars in annual fees and earn practically the same rewards.
Limited JetBlue lounge network
The JetBlue Premier Card is the only one of the three JetBlue consumer cards that offers airport lounge access of any kind. And while you won't have much trouble finding a Priority Pass lounge, the same can't be said for the airline's branded JetBlue BlueHouse lounge. As of this writing, there's only one, in New York. A second one is slated to open in summer 2026, in Boston — but that's still a highly limited footprint, especially when access to it is a selling point of the card itself.
How To Decide If It's Right For You
Let your commitment to the TrueBlue Travel portal be your guide in deciding whether to get the JetBlue Premier Card. The Premier offers TrueBlue credits and 6x points on TrueBlue bookings; the JetBlue Plus Card and JetBlue Card don’t. So if TrueBlue is or can be your go-to travel booking platform, the Premier could be a good fit.
If not, maybe opt for the Plus. It offers many of the same perks as the Premier, for a fraction of the cost.
Looking For Something Else?
Methodology
NerdWallet reviews credit cards with an eye toward both the quantitative and qualitative features of a card. Quantitative features are those that boil down to dollars and cents, such as fees, interest rates, rewards (including earning rates and redemption values) and the cash value of benefits and perks. Qualitative factors are those that affect how easy or difficult it is for a typical cardholder to get good value from the card. They include such things as the ease of application, simplicity of the rewards structure, the likelihood of using certain features, and whether a card is well-suited to everyday use or is best reserved for specific purchases. Our star ratings serve as a general gauge of how each card compares with others in its class, but star ratings are intended to be just one consideration when a consumer is choosing a credit card. Learn how NerdWallet rates credit cards.
About the author
Jae Bratton
Lead Writer & Content Strategist
