The Barclays JetBlue Card is a basic airline rewards option that lets you earn TrueBlue points on everyday spending without an annual fee. The card keeps things simple with few perks but offers decent bonus categories and savings on inflight purchases for casual JetBlue customers.
This credit card review will cover everything you need to know about this card to determine if you should add this card or a different card to your wallet. Let’s dive right in.
- Earn 10,000 Points Welcome Bonus After $1,000 in Purchases in the First 90 Days.
- 3x Points on JetBlue Purchases
- 2x Points on Restaurants and Groceries
- 50% In-Flight Savings on Food and Drinks
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- No Annual Fee
Welcome Bonus
The JetBlue Card currently offers the following welcome bonus: Earn 10,000 Points Welcome Bonus After $1,000 in Purchases in the First 90 Days.
Before jumping on this offer, you should know about a few key restrictions. You won’t be eligible for the bonus if you’ve had this specific JetBlue Card before – Barclays is quite strict about this rule. Additionally, while Barclays doesn’t have a hard limit on how many cards you can have with them, they are known to be quite selective with approvals.
If you’re considering this card mainly for the welcome bonus, you might want to look at other options. The JetBlue Plus Card typically offers much more generous welcome bonuses and comes with enhanced benefits, though it does carry a $99 annual fee.
Earning Points
The JetBlue Card earns TrueBlue points at the following rate:
The rewards structure falls short compared to leading travel cards, especially since JetBlue points typically carry a lower redemption value than major transferrable currencies. While earning 3x on JetBlue flights provides modest returns, cards like Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and American Express® Gold Card deliver superior earnings on both airfare and everyday categories.
The 2x rates on dining and groceries are particularly underwhelming when factoring in the lower point values. Unless you’re exclusively loyal to JetBlue, there are far better options for maximizing your spending rewards.
No Annual Fee
The JetBlue Card comes with no annual fee and offers basic benefits like 50% savings on inflight food and beverages and no foreign transaction fees.
The benefits are fairly slim compared to premium airline cards, which is typical for a no-annual-fee airline credit card.
Card Benefits and Perks
The JetBlue Card offers the following benefits and perks:
Inflight Savings: Save 50% on all food and beverages during your JetBlue flights when using your card. This discount applies automatically to your purchase, making it easy to save on everything from snacks to cocktails during your journey.
0% Intro APR: Enjoy 0% introductory APR for the first twelve billing cycles following each balance transfer that posts to your account within 45 days of account opening. Balance transfers cost the greater of $5 or 5%. After that (and for balance transfers that do not post within 45 days of account opening), your APR will be 20.99%, 24.99%, or 29.99%, based on your creditworthiness.
Points Pooling: Connect with family and friends to combine your TrueBlue points into a single account. You can pool points with up to seven other members, making it easier to book award flights faster.
Earn Points Towards Mosaic Status: Spending on the JetBlue card helps you earn Mosaic elite status. Members earn “1 Tile” for every $1,000 spent on JetBlue credit cards and “1 Tile” for every $100 spent on Jetblue flights.
No Foreign Transaction Fees: You’ll save money on every purchase while traveling internationally since this card doesn’t add the typical 3% surcharge that many other cards impose.
Redeem JetBlue Points
JetBlue TrueBlue offers a straightforward rewards program with flexible redemption options. Members can redeem points for any seat on JetBlue flights, with no blackout dates. The program uses a revenue-based model, typically offering solid value for economy bookings. In fact, our analysis shows that TrueBlue points are worth approximately 1.31 cents each when redeemed for economy flights. This value proposition makes TrueBlue points particularly attractive for budget-conscious travelers. For those seeking premium travel experiences, TrueBlue points can be used for JetBlue’s Mint business class, though the redemption value is generally lower, averaging about 1.1 cents per point. Despite this lower redemption rate, the program truly shines with its partnership redemptions, particularly with Qatar Airways. Members can book Qatar Airways flights directly through JetBlue’s website, often securing excellent value for long-haul business class travel. Another notable partner is Hawaiian Airlines, offering opportunities for inter-island hops and flights between Hawaii and the U.S. mainland. These redemptions can provide good value, especially during peak travel periods when cash fares are high. TrueBlue’s user-friendly features include points that never expire and fee-free changes or cancellations on award bookings. This flexibility allows members to book with confidence, knowing they can adjust their plans if needed. While JetBlue doesn’t belong to a major airline alliance, its partnerships with Qatar Airways and Hawaiian Airlines expand redemption options beyond JetBlue’s network. This combination of simplicity, flexibility, and strategic partnerships makes TrueBlue an appealing program for both casual and frequent travelers, offering consistent value for economy redemptions and unique opportunities for premium travel experiences.
Pros and Cons
Here are the advantages and disadvantages of this card:
Pros:
No Annual Fee: The card has no annual fee, making it accessible for those who want to earn JetBlue points without paying yearly costs.
Flexible Earning Structure: You’ll earn 3x points on JetBlue purchases, 2x points at restaurants and grocery stores, and 1x points on everything else, providing decent earning opportunities across multiple categories.
No Foreign Transaction Fees: This benefit saves you money when making purchases abroad, which is relatively uncommon for a no-annual-fee airline card.
Points Pooling: The ability to pool points with family and friends helps accumulate rewards faster for award tickets, adding flexibility to your rewards strategy.
Cons:
Limited Travel Benefits: The card lacks meaningful travel perks like free checked bags or priority boarding, which are common with other airline cards.
No Travel Protections: The card doesn’t offer any travel insurance or protection benefits, leaving you exposed when traveling.
Modest Welcome Bonus: While the card offers a welcome bonus, it’s significantly smaller than what you’ll find on competing travel rewards cards or the JetBlue Plus version.
Alternatives to JetBlue Card
Now that you know about this credit card’s various benefits and pros and cons, it’s time to see its alternatives.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (review) is one of the most popular travel rewards cards because it offers nice welcome bonus and extra points on travel and dining, which can be transferred to airline and hotel partners or redeemed directly for travel at a rate of 1.25 cents per point through Chase Travel℠. The Sapphire Preferred also offers great travel and purchase protections for a card with a $95 annual fee. Welcome Bonus: Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Earning Rewards: 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 3x points on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), 2x points on all other travel purchases, and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases. Card Benefits: Ability to transfer to airline and hotel partners, 25% bonus when redeeming points through Chase Travel, $50 annual hotel stay credit via Chase Travel, 10% anniversary points bonus, no foreign transaction fees, primary rental car insurance, trip delay insurance, trip cancellation insurance, baggage delay insurance, purchase protection, and extended warranty. Transfer Partners: Aer Lingus, Air Canada Aeroplan, British Airways, Emirates, Air France KLM Flying Blue, Hyatt, IHG, Iberia, JetBlue, Marriott, Singapore KrisFlyer, Southwest, United, and Virgin Atlantic.
Bilt Mastercard®
The Bilt Mastercard® (review) lets you earn valuable travel rewards on rent payments without fees while offering bonus points on dining and travel purchases. This no-annual-fee card stands out for its unique rent payment feature and strong travel benefits like rental car coverage and trip protection. Earning Rewards: 5x points on Lyft; 3x points on dining; 2x points on travel purchases; 1x points on rent payments without any transaction fees up to 100,000 points per year, and 1x points on everything else. (Five transactions are required per billing cycle to earn points.) Card Benefits: No transaction fees to pay rent and earn 1x points, primary rental car insurance, cell phone protection, trip delay and trip cancellation insurance, purchase protection, and no foreign transaction fees.
Is the JetBlue Card Worth It?
The JetBlue Card falls short as a go-to travel credit card for most travelers. While the card offers basic perks like no foreign transaction fees and inflight discounts, the lackluster benefits and modest welcome bonus make it hard to recommend over other no-annual-fee travel cards.
You can earn higher rewards from several other no-fee cards available today, which also provide more redemption flexibility. Even loyal JetBlue travelers would be better off choosing the JetBlue Plus Card or another premium travel card such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card that packs more valuable perks and better earning potential.
For a card with no annual fee, it simply doesn’t deliver enough value to earn a spot in your wallet.
