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.
JetBlue's partner airlines
- Cape Air.
- China Airlines.
- Condor.
- Etihad Airways.
- Icelandair.
- Qatar Airways.
- Singapore Airlines.
- South African Airways.
- United Airlines.
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 it has a much higher $499 annual fee.
How the cards compare
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 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases and paying the annual fee in full, both within the first 90 days.
Ongoing rewards
- 3 points on JetBlue purchases.
- 2 points at restaurants and grocery stores.
- 1 point elsewhere.
- 6 points on JetBlue purchases.
- 2 points at restaurants and grocery stores.
- 1 point elsewhere.
- 6 points on JetBlue and TrueBlue Travel purchases, including JetBlue Vacations.
- 2 points at restaurants and grocery stores.
- 1 point elsewhere.
Other travel perks
50% in-flight savings on cocktails and food purchases.
- 50% in-flight savings on cocktails and food purchases.
- First checked bag free for you and up to three companions on the same reservation.
- $100 annual statement credit after you buy a JetBlue Vacations package worth $100 or more.
- 5,000-point bonus each account anniversary.
- 10% point bonus when you redeem points and travel on a JetBlue award flight.
All of the perks of the JetBlue Plus Card, and:
- Priority boarding for cardholders, authorized users and up to four eligible travel companions.
- Up to $300 in statement credits on TrueBlue Travel purchases per year; terms apply.
- $120 statement credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry every four years.
- Access to Priority Pass and JetBlue airport lounges.
- Companion pass after spending $15,000 in a calendar year.
- 25-tile bonus each year.
- 15% point bonus when you redeem points and travel on a JetBlue award flight.
Still not sure?
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 $39 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 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases and paying the annual fee in full, both within 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 TrueBlue Travel purchases per year. TrueBlue Travel was formerly known as the Paisly portal.
- A statement credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry every four years.
- Access to airport lounges. You and a guest can go to Priority Pass lounges, as well as BlueHouse, JetBlue’s lounge at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Another BlueHouse location is in the works at Boston Logan International Airport.
- A companion pass after spending $15,000 in a calendar year, plus a second companion pass after spending $75,000 in a year.
- A faster path to status. Get a 25-tile bonus at the start of each year, which gets you halfway to Mosaic 1 status.
- A 15% redemption rebate of TrueBlue points when you book award flights on JetBlue or its partner airlines.
Still, this would be a steep annual fee for anyone who travels on JetBlue only occasionally, and it’s not easy to fully offset that cost.
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.
