Free checked bags
When you pay for your travel with the JetBlue Plus Card, you’ll get the first checked bag free for you and up to three travel companions. Without the card, your first checked bag would cost $35, so that’s a one-way savings of $140 if you and each of your traveling companions checked one bag. If your journey is round-trip, that savings multiplies to $280. If your family of four takes two round-trip JetBlue flights each year, that adds up to a savings of $560.
Annual bonus helps offset the fee
Some cards offer a one-time bonus, but the JetBlue Plus Card rewards cardholders with something extra every year. Each year on your cardmember anniversary, you’ll automatically be awarded 5,000 TrueBlue points.
Based on NerdWallet valuations, those annual bonus points are worth around $75, which lowers the card’s effective annual cost of ownership to $24.
Spend your way to status
If you’re a loyal JetBlue flyer who logs a lot of miles each year, the ability to earn elite status could be appealing. Spend $50,000 on your JetBlue Plus Card in a calendar year and you’ll earn 50 JetBlue tiles. That’s enough to earn Mosaic status, which comes with the following perks:
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Early boarding privileges.
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Free beer, wine and cocktails on board.
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Ability to redeem points for Even More Space seats at a reduced rate.
To be sure, $50,000 is a hefty threshold to reach. But if you fly JetBlue a lot, these perks can be quite valuable.
Offset charges with points
Cardholders can use the Points Payback feature to redeem their TrueBlue points for a statement credit to offset charges of $25 or more. You can offset up to $1,000 in purchases per calendar year and have up to 90 days after making a purchase to offset the charge.
While this may provide value for cardholders with a glut of points and no plans to fly, points are only worth 0.75 cent each when redeemed this way. That’s well below the value of 1.5 cents each that NerdWallet puts on TrueBlue points.
If you’re looking to use points to offset charges, a general cash-back credit card would be better. The Citi Double Cash® Card has a $0 annual fee and offers a straight 2% cash back on all purchases. You’ll earn 1% when you make a purchase and 1% when you pay the bill. There’s also no minimum redemption amount, and points can be used to receive a statement credit or deposited directly into a linked bank account.
