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New JetBlue Credit Card Lineup
JetBlue and Barclaycard announced their new lineup of co-branded credit cards along with a separate product for those being converted from the old American Express card. While none of these cards are truly spectacular, they aren’t terrible either and I suspect regular JetBlue flyers will find a lot of value in them. Let’s start by comparing all of the products.
| JetBlue Rewards Card (Converted from Amex) | JetBlue Card | JetBlue Plus Card | JetBlue Business Card | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
||
| Annual Fee | $40 | $0 | $99 | $99 |
| Earn Rate | 4X JetBlue, 2X Restaurants and grocery, 1X everything else. | 3X JetBlue, 2X Restaurants and grocery, 1X everything else. | 6X JetBlue, 2X Restaurants and grocery, 1X everything else. | 6X JetBlue, 2X Restaurants and office supply, 1X everything else. |
| Sign-Up Bonus | NA | 10K after $1K spend in 90 days. | 30K after $1K spend in 90 days. | 30K after $1K spend in 90 days. |
| Anniversary Bonus | NA | NA | 5K on account anniversary. | 5K on account anniversary. |
| Travel Benefits | $100 companion travel discount after spending $500 by June 30, 2016. | NA | First checked bag free for cardholder and up to 3 companions. | First checked bag free for cardholder and up to 3 companions. |
| Elite Status | NA | NA | Mosaic Benefits after $50K spending each year. | Mosaic Benefits after $50K spending each year. |
| Inflight discount | 50% savings on eligible inflight purchases. | 50% savings on eligible inflight purchases. | 50% savings on eligible inflight purchases. | 50% savings on eligible inflight purchases. |
| Redemption Bonus | 5% | NA | 10% | 10% |
| Foreign Transaction Fee | None | None | None | None |
Analysis
Now that we see all of the cards side by side, let’s look at what makes them interesting.
Sign-Up Bonus
TrueBlue points have varying value but they generally can be redeemed from 1-1.4 cents each. That makes the sign-up bonus on the Plus and Business cards worth about $300-$420. Not bad, but you are paying the $99 annual fee up front, so not great either.
Mosaic Elite Status
You can earn Mosaic elite status with $50,000 in spend each year. That is a lot of spend, but it may be worth it for some. Not only do you get 15,000 points when you qualify for Mosaic, but change and cancellation fees are waived, you get priority boarding, free alcohol and more.
Inflight Discounts
All of the JetBlue cards come with 50% off inflight purchases which is huge. If you fly on JetBlue a lot and see yourself spending money on board, then the savings can really add up. Even the no annual fee card has this benefit, which is nice.
Redemption Bonus
The Plus and Business cards give 10% back in points on redemptions. Not only does this add value to the cards, but it means the sign-up bonus is really worth 3,000 more points and the anniversary bonus is worth 500 more points. If you earn and redeem a lot of points, this will add up.
My Final Thoughts
I live on the West Coast and thus don’t have a lot of access to JetBlue. These cards are not for me. With that said, if you do fly JetBlue a lot (I know many East Coasters who do) and can benefit from the features of these cards, then they may be worth considering. I could even see a scenario where you get the Plus card for the 30K bonus and downgrade to a normal card in a year to preserve the account and the 50% inflight discount.
Perhaps the best thing that the new JetBlue credit card lineup has going for it is Barclaycard. You aren’t likely to have a lot of their other cards, so this may be a product to pickup when you are looking to avoid Chase, Citi or the other big banks. Overall this is a decent product offering. Not the best and not the worst.
If you are looking to apply, here are links:
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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
[…] The New JetBlue Credit Card Lineup Is Out: Some Nice Benefits But Are They Worth Applying For? […]
I live in the NorthEast, and absolutely LOVE to fly JetBlue….
To me, its the best airline for domestic travel.
I’ll likely get the Plus card sometime in the future:
a) Because I would like the 30k point bonus, and
b) I wont have to transfer Amex MR points to get JB points for my wife to travel with me.
And I like the idea of downgrading to the Regular card, after a year. Then I might get an “upgrade” offer to the Plus card, after a while.
The good news is that these cards are “new”, so I can finish off my Chase run on their co-branded cards now, before 5/24 gets fully implemented, (And the Amex SPG line, before they are discontinued) and THEN get the Plus card later in the year.