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The JetBlue Plus Card is a good companion for JetBlue travelers because of its passive benefits like a 10% rebate on redeemed points, a 5,000-point bonus each cardmember year, and free checked bags. However, you’ll rarely want to use the card for everyday spending.
Review: Is the JetBlue Plus the best credit card for you?
The JetBlue Plus Card is the top-tier personal JetBlue credit card on the market. It comes with solid benefits if you’re a JetBlue flyer — but that’s a big “if.”
JetBlue isn’t nearly as prolific as US carriers like American Airlines, Delta, and United Airlines, which serve hundreds of destinations around the world. JetBlue is mostly found on the East Coast, and it flies to very few international destinations.
The JetBlue Plus Card-a-year JetBlue Plus Card is great to have for benefits like free checked bags, points rebates, and the ability to spend your way to elite status. But there are better cards to swipe if you’re trying to generate JetBlue points.
For example, JetBlue is a Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Rewards transfer partner, so depending on your spending habits, you could earn more points with cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, American Express® Gold Card, or Citi Premier® Card.
Here’s everything you need to know about the JetBlue Plus Card.
We’re focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won’t be worth it if you’re paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it’s important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.
How to earn rewards from the JetBlue Plus card
The JetBlue Plus Card currently offers an elevated limited-time bonus of JetBlue Plus Card. Insider estimates JetBlue points value to be 1.35 cents each, on average. That means you should have no problem getting around JetBlue Plus Card in free JetBlue flights from this bonus.
Apart from that, the card offers a modest return rate. Here’s what you’ll earn:
6 points per dollar when spending with JetBlue2 points per dollar for restaurant and grocery store purchases1 point per dollar for all other eligible purchases
Cardholders will also receive a 5,000-point deposit (worth around $67 in JetBlue flights) into their account automatically after each cardmember year, so it’s a good card to hang on to. However, if your primary goal is to earn JetBlue points, spending on this card may not be your best option. You can transfer several flexible points currencies to JetBlue:
Chase Ultimate Rewards points (1:1 transfer ratio)Amex Membership Rewards points (5:4 transfer ratio)Citi ThankYou points (1:1 transfer ratio if you have the Citi Premier® Card or Citi Prestige® Card, otherwise 5:4 transfer ratio)
In other words, you can earn JetBlue points faster by using one of the following cards instead of the JetBlue Plus Card:
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card — Earn 5 points per dollar on travel booked through Chase, 3 points per dollar on dining, streaming services, and grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), 2 points per dollar on other travel, and 1 point per dollar on everything else (read our Sapphire Preferred card review)American Express® Gold Card — Earn 4 points per dollar at US supermarkets (on up to $25,000 in spending per year, then 1x) and at restaurants, 3 points per dollar on flights booked with the airline or Amex Travel, and 1 point per dollar on everything else (read our Amex Gold card review)Citi Premier® Card — Earn 3 points per dollar on air travel, gas stations, restaurants, supermarkets, and hotels, and 1 point per dollar on everything else (read our Citi Premier card review)
How to use JetBlue points
Redeem points with JetBlue
JetBlue does not use the same methodology as many other airlines to price award flights. The price you’ll pay in points is determined by the price you’ll pay with cash. If a ticket costs a lot of money, you’ll pay a lot of points; and if JetBlue is having a sale on flights, you’ll pay fewer points.
Because of this, you can’t get outsized value for your points when flying on JetBlue. Insider estimates you’ll receive a value of 1.35 cents per point toward flights — so if you’re reserving a $500 flight, you’ll pay around 37,000 points, give or take.
You can also redeem your points with JetBlue Vacations to discount a travel package that includes flights, hotels, and rental cars. The value per point is similar to using your points for JetBlue flights.
Redeem points with Hawaiian Airlines
You can redeem your JetBlue points for flights on JetBlue’s partner, Hawaiian Airlines, and potentially get significantly more (or less) value from your rewards. That’s because JetBlue prices Hawaiian Airlines flights according to a region-based award chart. Here are the one-way prices:
Origin/DestinationHawaiiWest CoastEast CoastInternationalHawaii
Coach: 6,000 points
Business class: 12,000 points
Coach: 22,000 points
Business class: 45,000 points
Coach: 30,000 points
Business class: 70,000 points
Coach: 30,000 points
Business class: 70,000 points
West Coast
Coach: 22,000 points
Business class: 45,000 points
N/AN/A
Coach: 50,000 points
Business class: 120,000 points
East Coast
Coach: 30,000 points
Business class: 70,000 points
N/AN/A
Coach: 50,000 points
Business class: 120,000 points
International
Coach: 30,000 points
Business class: 70,000 points
Coach: 50,000 points
Business class: 120,000 points
Coach: 50,000 points
Business class: 120,000 points
N/A
Depending on the cash value of these tickets, this could be a fantastic use of points. For example, business class flights from the West Coast can easily cost $875 one-way, but only 45,000 JetBlue points. Using your points in this way means you’d get a value of 1.9 cents per point.
To book Hawaiian Airlines flights with JetBlue points, you must call JetBlue.
Benefits and features
First checked bag free
You and three companions traveling on your reservation will receive the first checked bag free. Checked bags cost $35 on JetBlue, meaning you’ll save $70 per person for a round-trip flight (a potential savings of $280 per trip).
One important note is that you must pay for your flight with the JetBlue Plus Card to qualify for free bags. Simply having the card is not enough.
5,000 bonus points per year
Each account anniversary, you’ll receive 5,000 JetBlue points. Insider estimates JetBlue points to be worth 1.35 cents each, making the annual bonus worth $67.50, on average. This effectively knocks down your card’s JetBlue Plus Card annual fee to around $32 per year.
JetBlue points never expire — if you don’t use them, they’ll roll over year after year.
10% points rebate
You’ll earn 10% of your points back when you redeem them for an award flight, with no cap. That’s pretty great, considering JetBlue points are easy to earn by transferring points from Chase, Amex, and Citi.
For example, if you plan to redeem 140,000 points for a round-trip lie-flat MINT seat from Boston to St. Lucia, you’ll get 14,000 points back — just for holding this card!
Ability to earn elite status through spending
JetBlue TrueBlue Mosaic elite status comes with benefits like:
Bonus points for flightsPriority boardingFree same-day flight changesFree seat upgrades, when availableFirst two checked bags freeFree inflight alcohol
Plus, you’ll get A-list perks when you fly American Airlines (up to two free checked bags, priority boarding, expedited security, complimentary Main Cabin Extra seats, complimentary same-day flight changes) when you attach your JetBlue TrueBlue number to your reservation.
You can earn Mosaic status by spending $50,000 in a calendar year with your JetBlue Plus Card. You’ll earn elite status for the calendar year in which you earn it, as well as the following calendar year.
50% savings on inflight food and drink
When you use your JetBlue Plus Card to pay for inflight food, cocktails, beer, or wine, you’ll receive a 50% savings in the form of an account statement credit.
0% intro APR offer
The JetBlue Plus Card also comes with a JetBlue Plus Card, followed by a standard APR of JetBlue Plus Card.
This can be handy if you’re trying to consolidate high-interest debt from other credit cards, but you will have to pay a higher-than-usual balance transfer fee of JetBlue Plus Card.
Fees and costs
This card comes with a JetBlue Plus Card annual fee, not waived the first year. That’s pretty standard for an airline credit card.
This card does not charge foreign transaction fees, so it’s good to use overseas. However, as with most other credit cards, there are fees for cash advances, balance transfers, late payments, and returned payments.
Comparison: JetBlue Plus card vs other JetBlue credit cards
JetBlue Plus Card
JetBlue Card
JetBlue Business Card
Annual fee
JetBlue Plus Card
JetBlue Card
JetBlue Business Card
Rewards rate
6 points per dollar with JetBlue
2 points per dollar at restaurants and grocery stores
1 point per dollar for all other eligible purchases
3 points per dollar with JetBlue
2 points per dollar at restaurants and grocery stores
1 point per dollar for all other eligible purchases
6 points per dollar with JetBlue
2 points per dollar at restaurants and office supply stores
1 point per dollar for all other eligible purchases
Welcome bonus
JetBlue Plus Card
JetBlue Card
JetBlue Business Card
Travel benefits
5,000 bonus points after each account anniversary
Free checked bag for you and up to three companions on your reservation (must use your card to pay for your flight)
10% rebate when you redeem points
Ability to earn JetBlue Mosaic elite status by spending $50,000 in a calendar year
50% savings on inflight food and drink when flying JetBlue
$100 statement credit each year when you use the card to purchase a JetBlue Vacations package costing at least $100
50% savings on inflight food and drinks when flying JetBlue
5,000 bonus points after each account anniversary
Free checked bag for you and up to three companions on your reservation (must use your card to pay for your flight)
Ability to earn JetBlue Mosaic elite status by spending $50,000 in a calendar year
50% savings on inflight food and drink when flying JetBlue
$100 statement credit each year when you use the card to purchase a JetBlue Vacations package costing at least $100
JetBlue Plus card vs other airline credit cards
JetBlue Plus Card
United℠ Explorer Card
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
Annual fee
JetBlue Plus Card
United℠ Explorer Card
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
Rewards rate
6 points per dollar with JetBlue
2 points per dollar at restaurants and grocery stores
1 point per dollar for all other eligible purchases
2x miles on eligible United purchases
2x miles on dining and hotel stays booked directly with the hotel
1 mile per dollar on everything else
2x miles on eligible Delta purchases
2x miles at U.S. supermarkets and at restaurants worldwide
1 mile per eligible dollar on everything else
Welcome bonus
JetBlue Plus Card
United℠ Explorer Card
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
Travel benefits
5,000 bonus points after each account anniversary
Free checked bag for you and up to three companions on your reservation (must use your card to pay for your flight)
10% rebate when you redeem points
Ability to earn JetBlue Mosaic elite status by spending $50,000 in a calendar year
50% savings on inflight food and drink when flying JetBlue
$100 statement credit each year when you use the card to purchase a JetBlue Vacations package costing at least $100
Two United Club one-time passes per anniversary year
Free first checked bag on United flights*
Priority boarding on United flights
25% back on United inflight purchases
Nexus, Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit
Complimentary Premier upgrades
500 Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) for every $12,000 you spend on purchases, up to 1,000 PQP
Expanded access to United award flights
Free first checked bag and priority boarding on Delta flights
$100 flight credit when you spend $10,000 or more in a calendar year
20% off inflight purchases as a statement credit
Access to Amex Offers (enrollment required)
Review
Gold Delta SkyMiles credit card review
*When you use your United℠ Explorer Card card to pay for your ticket, or the taxes and fees on an award ticket
JetBlue Plus Card frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Is the JetBlue Plus Card worth it?
If you fly with JetBlue at least once or twice a year and check bags, the JetBlue Plus Card is very worth it. Your savings on checked bag fees can make up for the card’s annual fee, and other benefits like a 10% redemption rebate and bonus points on your card anniversary only sweeten the deal.
However, if you won’t use the checked bag benefit and aren’t worried about earning elite status or getting inflight discounts, a card that earns points that transfer to JetBlue, as previously mentioned, is probably a better bet.
What credit score do you need for the JetBlue Plus Card?
Most people who are approved for the JetBlue Plus Card have a credit score in the excellent range, which means a FICO score of at least 800.
Is the JetBlue Plus card a Visa or Mastercard?
The JetBlue Plus Card is a Mastercard.