Unlike the JetBlue Plus Card, the JetBlue Card doesn’t let you check your first bag for free.
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Our take: If you want to earn rewards to use toward future travel on JetBlue Airways — but don’t fly enough to justify paying an annual fee — the JetBlue Card is a solid choice. Just know, you won’t have access to common airline benefits that typically come with airline cards that charge annual fees, like free checked bags and annual credits.
If you’re in the market for a good entry-level airline rewards card, the JetBlue Card is definitely worth it. The card gets you 3X points on JetBlue purchases and accelerated rewards on restaurant and grocery store purchases. It also offers 50% savings on eligible JetBlue in-flight purchases — all for a $0 annual fee.
That said, the card has a mediocre sign-up bonus and doesn’t offer common travel benefits provided by many other airline rewards cards, like free checked bags.
But if you fly JetBlue more frequently (more than twice per year), you may want to consider the JetBlue Plus Card instead. Although the card charges a $99 annual fee, it comes with a more valuable sign-up bonus, a higher rewards rate on JetBlue purchases and more robust benefits — which can easily cancel out its annual fee.
Intro Purchase APR
N/A
Regular Purchase APR
21.24% - 29.99% variable
Intro BT APR
0% introductory APR for the first twelve billing cycles following each balance transfer that posts to your account within 45 days of account opening
Regular BT APR
21.24% - 29.99% variable
Annual Fee
$0
Cash Advance Fee
The greater of $10 or 5% of the transfer
Foreign Transaction Fee
0%
Balance Transfer Fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
Sign-up bonus
The JetBlue Card lets you earn 10,000 bonus points after making $1,000 in purchases within 90 days of account opening.
While this sign-up bonus is low compared to the top travel rewards cards currently available, it’s on par for airline cards that don’t charge annual fees. In fact, you may be able to squeeze a cheap domestic plane ticket out of it. For example, we found a one-way nonstop Blue flight from New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX) for 8,700 JetBlue points.
What’s the sign-up bonus worth? Around $130 in JetBlue airfare
Who’s eligible to earn this offer? To qualify, you must live in the United States. You may not be eligible if you already have a JetBlue Card or had one in the past.
Rewards on every purchase
With the JetBlue Card, you’ll earn 3x points on eligible JetBlue purchases, 2x points at restaurants and grocery stores and 1x points on all other purchases. This is a competitive earning rate, particularly for a $0-annual-fee travel card.
JetBlue purchases include tickets, goods and services purchased directly from JetBlue. Note, however, car rentals and hotel reservations purchased outside of a JetBlue Vacations package and the purchase TrueBlue points do not qualify.
The restaurant category includes goods and services purchased directly at restaurants, bars and fast food establishments.
The grocery store category includes eligible purchases made at grocery stores and supermarkets. However, purchases made at large warehouse-type stores, like Target, Walmart or Costco, typically will not qualify for this category.
JetBlue points can be redeemed for any JetBlue-operated flight or flight plus hotel package. We peg the value of JetBlue points at an average of 1.3 cents per point, which is in line with the value of the average airline mile.
Booking a JetBlue ticket with your rewards is pretty easy: You simply start a flight search at JetBlue.com or on the mobile app. Choose the option to use TrueBlue points, and then select “search flights.” The cost of JetBlue award flights will depend on the type of fare, the route, the time of year and whether you’re flying coach or first class. You can find tickets ranging in cost from less than 10,000 JetBlue points all the way up to over 100,000 JetBlue points.
There are different types of fares to choose from, and each offers different benefits. However, you cannot redeem TrueBlue points for Blue Basic fare or for a Blue Basic advance seat select fee. Here are the main differences among the different types of fares:
| Fare options | What's included | Potential fees |
|---|---|---|
| Blue Basic | '
| '
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| Blue |
|
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| Blue Plus | '
| '
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| Blue Extra | '
| '
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| Mint | '
| '
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Examples of JetBlue redemptions that would offer good value include:
There are plenty of good values to be had on JetBlue — for both domestic and international flights — so it’s not hard to maximize your JetBlue points.
50% in-flight savings
Get half off in-flight food and drink purchases as a credit on your account, which you’ll receive four to six weeks after the purchase is posted. In-flight purchases eligible for the discount include meals, beer, wine and cocktails on JetBlue-operated flights. However, you won’t receive the discount on other in-flight items, such as earbuds, pillows or seat upgrades.
Points pooling
Points Pooling is a free program from JetBlue that lets you form a group of up to seven TrueBlue members. All the members’ points automatically go into one big pool, then the person designated as the “pool leader” can then choose anyone in the group to redeem JetBlue points in the pool.
Intro APR on balance transfers
The JetBlue Card offers a 0% introductory APR for the first twelve billing cycles following each balance transfer that posts to your account within 45 days of account opening (after which an APR of 21.24% - 29.99% variable applies). This allows you to pay down high-interest credit card debt faster and to pay less interest overall while also reaping the other benefits of an airline credit card.
No foreign transaction fees
The JetBlue Card doesn’t charge any foreign transaction fees, which makes it a good choice to use for international travel. A foreign transaction fee (FX fee) is a surcharge (typically, up to 3%) that some cards tack onto purchases made outside of the United States.
| Credit Cards | Our Ratings | Annual Fee | Rewards Rate | Welcome Offer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
JetBlue Card*
|
$0 | Earn 3x points on eligible JetBlue purchases, 2x points at restaurants and grocery stores and 1x points on all other purchases. | Earn 10,000 bonus points after making $1,000 in purchases within 90 days of account opening. | ||
JetBlue Plus Card*
|
$99 | Earn 6x points on eligible JetBlue purchases, 2x points at restaurants and eligible grocery stores and 1x points on all other purchases. | Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases and paying the annual fee in full, both within the first 90 days. | ||
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card*
|
$99 | Receive 6,000 anniversary points each year. Enjoy benefits including 3X points on Southwest® purchases, 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare, 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services; select streaming, 2 EarlyBird Check-In® each year, 10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying points boost each year, and more. | Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. | ||
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card*
|
$95 | Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more. | Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. |
If you’re loyal to JetBlue Airways, the JetBlue Card offers a great opportunity to earn rewards that can be redeemed for free travel without paying an annual fee. But if you fly JetBlue more than twice a year, you may want to consider the JetBlue Plus Card, which offers more perks, including free checked bags. The annual fee can easily be canceled out by the extra rewards and benefits you’ll receive if you spend enough on JetBlue each year.
Still, many travelers may find more value in the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or another top general purpose travel credit card. As long as you’re going to pay an annual fee, you may be better served by the added flexibility, the ability to maximize rewards through a large number of transfer partners and the available travel insurance benefits.
Unlike the JetBlue Plus Card, the JetBlue Card doesn’t let you check your first bag for free.
No, the JetBlue Card charges in foreign transaction fees. This means you won’t incur additional charges if you use the card to make purchases outside of the U.S.
The JetBlue Card is issued by Barclays Bank Delaware.
You can use your JetBlue Card everywhere Mastercard is accepted.
You can earn Mosaic status from your JetBlue Card spending, JetBlue travel spending or a combination of both. You’ll earn 1 tile for every $1,000 spent on your JetBlue Card, and 1 tile for every $100 spent on JetBlue travel. Note, 50 tiles get you to Mosaic 1 status, and 250 tiles get you Mosaic 4 status.
The information related to the JetBlue Card, JetBlue Plus Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card and Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has been collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply.
The content above is not provided by any issuer. Any opinions expressed are those of LendingTree alone and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any issuer. The offers and/or promotions mentioned above may have changed, expired, or are no longer available. Check the issuer's website for more details.