How Many JetBlue Points Get You A Free Flight?

JetBlue’s TrueBlue is one of the US’ most valuable loyalty programs. It provides customers with simple ways to earn points by traveling on JetBlue flights or one of its partners. Like many other loyalty programs, you can redeem TrueBlue points for an award flight or holiday package. However, the points required for a free flight depend on various factors.

Using your TrueBlue points

TrueBlue points are pretty easy to use, as the number of points required to book a flight is based on the current price for that particular trip. If the price of a ticket is lower, the number of points required for that trip will also be lower. TrueBlue points can be redeemed for any JetBlue flight on any seat and at any time because there are no blackout dates. However, award travel is not available for Blue Basic fares.

Photo: JetBlue

Ultimately, the number of points required for a free flight depends on the published base fare at the time of booking. The base fare can also change depending on the particular route you want to travel and the applicability of peak travel periods. As such, certain flights will require more points and higher government taxes/fees to redeem award travel. Here are a few examples:

• New York (JFK) – Palm Beach (PBI): 5,900 points per traveler
• New York JFK – Orlando (MCO): 5,500 points per traveler
• Boston (BOS) – Los Angeles (LAX): 13,200 points per traveler

The figures shown above are the minimum points required for a one-way Blue fare flight between the specified destinations on June 11. Points required can differ depending on the day and time you are traveling. For example, on the Boston-Los Angeles route, you will need 13,200 points when traveling on flight B6387 on June 11. However, you will need 11,400 points for the same flight on June 14.

Photo: JetBlue

According to JetBlue, customers are responsible for taxes and fees that apply to award travel, and they can vary depending on your departure and destination cities. Points redemption is not available for Even More Space seat selection, which requires cash payments and varies by route, except for Mosaic members.

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As a TrueBlue member, you can also book award travel on certain codeshare or interline flights. However, flights can be subject to blackout dates as determined by the operating airline. The Points Guy notes that you can currently redeem points for award travel on Etihad, Hawaiian Airlines, and Qatar Airways. An Etihad-operated flight from New York to Abu Dhabi requires at least 58,900 points for economy class.

Cash + Points redemptions

The cash + points redemption option is offered exclusively to TrueBlue members during the online booking process. It allows customers to pay for JetBlue-operated flights using both cash and points. You can use the cash + points option with as little as 500 points, but similar to booking with points only, the offer is not available for Blue Basic fares.

Photo: Wirestock Creators | Shutterstock

The advantage of using cash + points is that you can still book award travel even if you don’t have enough points for a trip or want to continue saving points, as TrueBlue points do not expire. Furthermore, you can still earn more points on the cash portion of the trip. You must be logged in to your TrueBlue account on the airline’s website to use the cash + points option.

Unlike points redemptions, cash + points requires a minimum redemption of TrueBlue points, which the airline can change at any time before the booking. Unless using the points pooling option, the points used towards this option must be contributed from a single TrueBlue member’s account. Both points and tiles can be earned on the cash portion of the flown booking.

The amount you can earn is calculated based on the cash used to pay the fare, excluding any taxes and fees. However, with the cash + points option, you cannot earn on other airline loyalty programs. On jetBlue-operated flights, rates may vary according to any of the following factors:

• Origin and destination
• Travel date
• Flight number
• Season
• Cabin
• Fare
• Point of sale

JetBlue Vacations packages

If you want to book a JetBlue Vacations package, you can redeem points on the flight, hotel, and car portion of a flight + hotel package. Just like redeeming your points for an award flight, you must check the “Use TrueBlue Points” box on JetBlue vacations.

Photo: JetBlue

You can also use the cash + points option to pay for the flight, hotel, and car portion of a flight + hotel package. However, this excludes travel insurance and certain taxes and fees, and you will not be able to earn any TrueBlue points on the cash portion of the booking.

Other ways to use points

While other international airlines allow loyal customers to spend points and miles on various activities, like shopping in a duty-free shop, dining in an exclusive restaurant, or renting a car, JetBlue has fewer options. Apart from booking an award flight or vacation package, one other option to use your TrueBlue points is to redeem them for a statement credit if you are a JetBlue Plus Cardmember.

Photo: Leonard Zhukovsky | Shutterstock

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TrueBlue points can be redeemed for a statement credit toward purchases of over $25 to a maximum of $1,000 annually. Otherwise, you can choose to donate your points in support of your favorite cause. Your points will go directly to the charity, with several options, including Make-A-Wish, DREAM Project, Foster Love, the American Red Cross, and the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP).

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