Details On The New JetBlue MasterCard

Barclaycard has been aggressively pursuing new partnerships in the travel loyalty space and that’s a good thing for consumers.  To that end, JetBlue and Barclaycard announced details of their new partnership this morning and revealed what consumers can expect from 3 new JetBlue co-branded MasterCards:

• JetBlue Card
• JetBlue Plus Card
• JetBlue Business Card

All of the cards come with two key benefits:

1. No foreign transaction fees.
2. 50% discount on movies, cocktails and food on all JetBlue flights.
3. Primary insurance for car rentals.

JetBlue Card

• New applicants can earn 10,000 bonus points when they sign-up and spend $1,000 in the first 90 days.
• Earn 3 points for every dollar spent on JetBlue purchases.
• Earn 2 points per dollar spent at restaurants and grocery stores.
• Earn 1 point per dollar on everything else.
• No annual fee.

JetBlue Plus Card

• New applicants can earn 30,000 bonus points when they sign-up and spend $1,000 in the first 90 days.
• Earn 6 points for every dollar spent on JetBlue purchases.
• Earn 2 points per dollar spent at restaurants and grocery stores.
• Earn 1 point per dollar on everything else.
• Free checked bag for primary cardholder and up to 3 companions.
• Spend $50,000 in a calendar year and receive Mosaic status for 1 year.
• 10% rebate on all award redemptions.
• $100 discount on a JetBlue vacation once a year.
• MasterCard World Elite Travel Services
• $99 annual fee.

JetBlue Business Card

• New applicants can earn 30,000 bonus points when they sign-up and spend $1,000 in the first 90 days.
• Earn 6 points for every dollar spent on JetBlue purchases.
• Earn 2 points per dollar spent at restaurants and office supply stores.
• Earn 1 point per dollar on everything else.
• Free checked bag for primary cardholder and up to 3 companions.
• Spend $50,000 in a calendar year and receive Mosaic status for 1 year.
• 10% rebate on all award redemptions.
• $100 discount on a JetBlue vacation once a year.
• MasterCard World Elite Travel Services
• $99 annual fee.

Side note, this account appears to have a bunch of tools for small business, like spending controls.  That’s something I value as a small business owner and why I shy away from using certain credit cards for business spending.

For folks that have the existing JetBlue American Express, this is a bit of a mixed bag (though I’d say it’s mostly positive).  While you’ll earn fewer points on JetBlue purchases (6 or 3 per dollar versus the 8 now), you pick up bonus spending on things like restaurants, grocery stores and/or office supply stores (hello, gift cards).  The ability to buy your way to Mosaic status for big spenders and the free checked bag are nice pluses as well.

For folks who hold the JetBlue AMEX now, you won’t be eligible for the sign-up bonuses mentioned above.  There was a mention during the press conference of the ability for existing cardholders to earn a $100 companion certificate, so that beats a sharp stick in the eye.

I like that they’ve rolled out products that cover a number of different types of customers.  A no-fee card is good for the occasional traveler who prefers JetBlue.  I still would recommend that most folks stay with something more general if they don’t plan to travel a lot.  The SPG Amex and the Chase Sapphire card both come to mind as flexible currency (though you can’t use either of their points on JetBlue).

The JetBlue Plus card is intriguing for frequent JetBlue travelers and/or big spenders.  Double points on restaurants and grocery stores would add up nicely for normal folks.  $50K is a high hurdle to qualify for Mosaic but could be worth it if JetBlue was your primary airline.

The JetBlue Business card piques my interest because of the double points on office supply purchases.  I buy a fair amount of gift cards from my local office supply store for business purposes.  While I’d prefer the Ink cards for 5X, Jetblue fans can load up here.  And, those with hefty business expenses could spend their way to Mosaic status.

For the time being, the JetBlue folks did quell concerns about the rest of their partnership with Amex.  During the Q&A it was also confirmed that no changes are expected to the partnership between American Express and Jetblue as it relates to the ability to transfer Membership Rewards points to your TrueBlue account.

The Last Two Pennies

If you figure that a TrueBlue point is worth somewhere between 1 and 1.5 cents each, the 10,000 point sign-up bonus is worth $100-$150 in free travel where the 30,000 point sign-up bonus is $300 to $450.  They’re both valuable in their own regard.  $300 in free travel is certainly worth the annual fee in the first year and it would be easy to get $99 a year in value out of the JetBlue Plus card.  And, getting any sign-up bonus with no annual fee is easy to justify if you don’t have other places to put that spending.

I’ll admit I don’t spend a lot of time focusing on the JetBlue program.  The reduced presence at my home airport of Washington-Dulles and the move to revenue-based redemptions aren’t a natural fit for my travel style.  But, it’s still an airline lots of people really like that flies to a bunch of places you actually want to visit.The partnership with Barclaycard certainly seems like a big plus for JetBlue fans.

 

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