Is The New JetBlue Cash + Points Option A Good Deal?

JetBlue has grown in popularity since its founding in 1999, and even more as the airline has expanded its route map outside of the United States. The airline flies to numerous domestic destinations, but also to South America, Central America and the Caribbean. News also swirled last year that JetBlue would add its first transatlantic flights to London in 2021, although it remains to be seen exactly when these flights will launch since the announcement was made before the pandemic hit.

One major benefit that comes with flying with JetBlue is its TrueBlue loyalty program, which makes it easy to earn points good for flight awards. In addition to earning points on paid flights, you can also earn TrueBlue points with a co-branded JetBlue credit card like the JetBlue Plus Card* or the no-annual-fee JetBlue Card*. Even better, JetBlue is a Chase Ultimate Rewards partner. This means you can sign up for popular cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve®, then transfer your points to the JetBlue TrueBlue program at a 1:1 ratio.

Amazingly, you can also transfer points to JetBlue from the American Express Membership Rewards program as well as the Citi ThankYou program and select Capital One travel credit cards like the Venture® Rewards from Capital One®*. With so many ways to earn points you can use in this program, it should definitely be on your radar.

Introducing JetBlue TrueBlue Cash + Points Bookings

Beginning on June 23, 2020, JetBlue rolled out a new option that can help you cover the JetBlue flights you want with a combination of cash and points. This new option, aptly named “Cash + Points,” lets you book flights using a combination of cash and as little as 500 TrueBlue points in your account.

The main benefit of using Cash + Points is obvious. If you’re short on TrueBlue points for the flight you want, you now have the option to use up the points you have and pay for the remainder of your booking with cash. This means you can book the flight you want without having to spend months racking up more points in this program, and that you won’t be stuck with a random amount of points for years on end.

Cash + Points also lets you stretch your points further or use points to reduce the cost of airfare so it fits better in your budget. Most of all, Cash + Points bookings just give you more flexibility, and in the world of airline loyalty programs, flexibility is key.

Are JetBlue TrueBlue Cash + Points Bookings a Good Deal?

Unfortunately, pretty much every major adjustment to an airline loyalty program over the last decade has resulted in less value for consumers, and that’s regardless of the way the airlines try to spin their changes. Yes, Cash + Points Bookings do allow you more flexibility when you are ready to book airfare with rewards, but that necessarily doesn’t mean using your points this way is a good deal.

Take this one-way flight from New York City (JFK) to Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ) for early next year.

When you consider the cash price for these flight options ($234 for Blue and $304 for Blue Extra) and subtract the additional cost for airline taxes and fees, you can see how you would receive the following values if you redeemed points for either option:

• Blue: 1.33 cents per point
• Blue Extra: 1.32 cents per point

Since Cash + Points bookings were introduced, you’re now presented with a slider that lets you decide how many points you want to use for your flight, and what the difference would be if you covered some of your fight with cash.

This is where you should be slightly disappointed. When you agree to pay 5,000 points for the Blue booking that would normally cost 13,800 points plus $49.60, you’re shown a dollar figure you need to pay in cash—$188.10. Unfortunately, this means the 5,000 points you’re redeeming are only covering $45.90 in airfare. This means you’re getting less than one cent per point in value for the rewards component of your Cash + Points booking, which is nothing to write home about.

When Does it Make Sense to Use Cash + Points with JetBlue?

With that being said, there are always situations where it can make sense to use a cash and points booking option. First and foremost, sometimes it’s best to get something for your points if your only other option is not using them at all.

Here are some additional scenarios where you may want to consider this option:

• You are only slightly short on points for a flight you want to book. The best reason to use Cash + Points is when you’re short on points for a redemption you want and you just need to pay a small cash copay. Let’s say you want to book a round-trip flight that would normally cost 30,000 points but you only have 24,000 points in your account. In that case, using the Cash + Points option would let you use up your miles and get the flight you want, whereas you may be stuck with less optimal options otherwise.
• You have a low number of points you want to use up. Another time it makes sense is if you plan to pay cash for a JetBlue flight anway, and you only have a small amount of points (at least 500) you don’t want to waste. In this case, the miles you use toward your flight would create a slight discount, but that’s better than nothing if you weren’t planning to use them anyway.
• You don’t have any flexible points to transfer to your JetBlue TrueBlue account. If you have American Express Membership Rewards points, Citi ThankYou points, Chase Ultimate Rewards or a select Capital One travel credit cards, then you can transfer the points you need to JetBlue to make up for any shortfall. If you don’t have any flexible rewards points, on the other hand, Cash + Points bookings can provide a solid alternative.
• Your friends and family members don’t have JetBlue TrueBlue points of their own. If they did, you could call in a favor and use JetBlue Points Pooling to combine some points to pay for the redemption you want.

Other Details You Should Know

There are some caveats and “gotchas” baked into this feature, but you can avoid snafus if you know about them ahead of time. For example, JetBlue says on their FAQ page that you cannot currently change just one segment of a Cash + Points round-trip booking. For that reason, they suggest using Cash + Points for one-way flights only.

Second, you cannot use this feature to pay for a basic economy seat on JetBlue, which is known as a Blue Basic fare. This shouldn’t be surprising considering basic economy fares are intentionally restrictive, but it’s still worth knowing this detail ahead of time if you were hoping to score a basic fare and pay for part of it with points.

Also keep in mind that you will not earn TrueBlue points or Mosaic qualifying points on the points portion of a Cash + Points booking. Further, you can use TrueBlue points for the flight portion of a JetBlue Vacations package, but you will not earn TrueBlue points (or elite qualifying points) on even the cash portion of your transaction in this case.

Are JetBlue Cash + Points Bookings a Good Idea?

At the end of the day, only you can decide if a particular redemption is worth it or not. Sure, JetBlue Cash + Points bookings may not get you the same per point value as booking your entire flight with JetBlue points, but some people redeem all their miles for suboptimal redemptions such as merchandise or gift cards and never think twice.

If you want to use JetBlue Cash + Points, you should do it and never feel bad about it. Getting the best rate for your points should definitely be a goal, but not if it holds you back from booking the travel you really want or using your points at all.

Also keep in mind that, instead of using Cash + Points, you could just focus on earning more points in this program. The Barclays JetBlue Plus Card is an excellent option if you’re looking for a co-branded credit card that lets you earn TrueBlue points on your spending, and this card offers a sizable welcome bonus to boot. Also consider the Barclays JetBlue Credit Card, which lets you earn points at a slower rate without paying an annual fee.

Since you can transfer points from American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards and from some Capital One travel credit cards to the JetBlue TrueBlue program, the door is open to dozens of other travel credit cards you can use to earn rewards in this program as well.

Our advice? Compare all of the top travel rewards credit cards that let you earn points with JetBlue or transfer your points to this program later on. With the right rewards credit card, you should be able to earn enough points to cover the flights you want without having to settle for a suboptimal Cash + Points booking.