Blue's News - Oct 30

What's new with JetBlue

• This is the last week to enter the J. Crew Factory and JetBlue's promotion is still going on through October! Enter up to once per day to win any JetBlue Getaway destination including:
• Roundtrip airfare on a JetBlue getaway
• Hotel Accommodations
• and a $2,5000 J.Crew Factory shopping spree
  
  
• Are you ready for Hallo-win?  Share a picture on JetBlue's Facebook page by November 2nd and get the most 'likes' to win 100,000 True Blue points! That's the equivalent of 20 domestic flights all for posting a picture on social media - the odds are better for this than most other costumes if you've put some creativity into your costume this year. Happy Halloween!
  
  





• A great sale is going on through 10/30 (today!) for Getaways booked until 12/18/13. All members on the trip can get 30% off the base airfare for a getaway. Usually this kind of discount is only available at the mall! If you have some winter travel coming up, these cheap seats are a great offer to take advantage of.
  
  

Guide to Badges Part III

TrueBlue Badges Part III

In the introduction to badges, I detailed how to sign up and start getting some of your first badges and over 1,000 TrueBlue points in just a few minutes. Then there was the Jet Blue badges guide part II to net you 2,000 points in total. This next installment will cover earning your next few badges....

The Next Four Badges

At this point most of the low hanging fruit has been picked in the badge program. It's been relatively easy to score those 2,000 points without having to make a single purchase or even flight a single mile. Now, though, the level portion of badges begins to come into play as some badges won't be unlocked until you achieve the proper level so progress will be a bit slower and will take more creativity to keep earning for free.

The social media badges are an easy grab as always and Opinionator will require about 10-15 minutes in total to signup and get through a survey or two that you qualify for. I actually stuck with E-Rewards for a while and earned $25 worth of credit on their site, which translates to 500 more True Bleu miles. It took a bit longer than I expected, about 1-2 weeks by doing one survey per day (many I didn't qualify for) and I wouldn't say it's the most effective method for earning free points. It is a direct and reliable source, though, if you're only a few hundred points behind on a reward flight but don't want to spend any cash to buy miles. 

Another unique badge is ShopTrue. While this does require a purchase, which I try t stay away from for the sake of these guides, Shop True has a great selection of stores (Macy's, Home Depot, etc.) so it shouldn't be too hard to find an occasion to purchase through the portal. No points to be earned here with the badge, but your qualifying purchase will earn you at least 1pt/dollar if not more - so the earning potential here is up to you. This will also help moving up towards the next level, where more social media badges lie waiting.

That's 450+ points for these badges (and 950+ if you commit to doing E-Rewards) to round out at almost 3,000 points without flying a single mile! That's 3/5 of the way towards a domestic one way flight via reward points and we've still got plenty more free miles to earn so be sure to check out part IV coming soon.

 - John

JetBlue: Cheap, Satisfying Flights

An Airline's Survey is Telling

After my most recent flight with JetBlue, I received an email a few days later asking if I wanted to take a customer satisfaction survey. These days, surveys of this sort aren't uncommon: almost any interaction with a customer service rep will lead in an optional survey, viewing many companies' websites will prompt a random poll on feedback, and many businesses will call you to check up after a new purchase (like with my latest web domain purchase). 

Despite the popularity and pervasiveness of this, it seems as though airlines have always been willing to sit back and take feedback from those who speak the loudest - the ones who go out of their way to compliment service or deride delays angrily over social media or through customer service hotlines.

JetBlue's inclusion of a customer happiness survey illustrates that despite their cheap and affordable prices, they still highly value feedback and aim to improve their standards as an airline. In itself, this is not a huge step up, but rather shows attention to detail on JetBlue's part. Much like with their TrueBlue program, in flight amenities, and fair pricing, a little bit can go a long way when the time is taken to treat the customer well and keep our best interest in mind. 

While I secretly hoped to be rewarded with a badge or extra points at the end of the survey, I didn't mind as it was a well developed questionnaire with brief length, easy controls, and the data it asked for seemed relevant without being too detailed or laborious to recall. 

Blue's News - Oct 23

What's new with JetBlue

• J. Crew Factory and JetBlue's promotion is still going on through October! Enter up to once per day to win any JetBlue Getaway destination including:
• Roundtrip airfare on a JetBlue getaway
• Hotel Accommodations 
• and a $2,5000 J.Crew Factory shopping spree
  
  
• Terminal 5 at JFK in NYC turns five! A lot has happened with Jet Blue and other airlines at the youngest terminal over the last few years, including the new Airspace Lounge, WhereTraveler Books + More store, and a Taylor Swift concert.
  
  
  





• Big Blue made LifeHacker's Top Ten Best Airline Coach Seats list - the only truly domestic airline in the list (Virgin has so few flights it doesn't count). It had some tough competition like British Air, but came in at a respectable #7.
  
  
• Tomorrow morning JetBlue debuts their FDNY Foundation tribute plane, "Blue Bravest", flying it over the West side of Manhattan, NYC. Catch the plane at 7:15AM and tweet a picture of it to win:
• Snap a photo of our newest custom livery “Blue Bravest” (Tail# N615JB) as it comes to New York in the morning of October 23rd. Not in New York? Don’t worry, you can use the photo we’ll tweet in the afternoon!
• Post the photo to Twitter between 7:00:00 AM EST and 11:59:00 PM EST on October 23, 2013
• Your Twitter update must include the hashtag #BlueBravest and mention @JetBlue
• You must be following JetBlue’s Twitter account @JetBlue
Grand Prize (one winner)
• Two (2) roundtrip domestic travel certificates between any of JetBlue’s US destinations

Family Pooling by JetBlue

JetBlue Brings Family Pooling to TrueBlue

Jet Blue is introducing a revolutionary new feature to their reward points - free point pooling within a family. The best part? You don't even have to be related!

A "family" is defined as two adults over the age of 21 (who don't have to be related) and up to five children under the age of 21. Members of a family can see the total reward points being used in the family and once a goal is reached, the "head of household" (one of the 21+ adults) can redeem the entire family's points towards a trip for everyone.

When setting up a family, the head of household can also make a one-time point contribution to another member and set up a yearly contribution amount as well for years thereafter. This helps to consolidate points for not even just cheap, but, well, free - which no one else does. In most cases points transfers are prohibitively costly so it's not even worth doing.

These features are not rivaled by any other airline and create a truly easy way for couples, friends, and families to enjoy travel together without worrying about ridiculous exchange fees or worrying about who has what points on their frequent flyer account.

I plan to set one up soon and will do a followup post once I have some time to explore it. Sound off if you are planning to sign up for family pooling and check the video below for some more information. 

 - John

AirSpace Lounge at JFK's T5

The Independent Lounge for T5 Customers

Last week I was able to check out the AirSpace Lounge at JFK which opened up this summer. The lounge is independently owned and operated so anyone can purchase a day pass ($20-25, or free for Amex Platinum cardholders) that allows them to use any of the locations during a single day. In total, the off peak morning pass ran me about $27 after all was said and done. Sometimes passes may be more, as the cost is tied to how crowded the lounge is at any given time to prevent overcrowding and maintain a nice atmosphere.

The main lounge area

Upon arriving I gave my name only to find out that I needed to have my reservation number in order to check in. Somehow I had never received the email with the number and could only log in to the site and show a less than useful order history page to the two young ladies working the counter. They sympathized with me and after a call to their manager let me in despite the lack of official confirmation number. 

Although I was short on time and didn't get to spend more than a few minutes in the lounge (thank you, NYC subways) it was a pleasant experience. I was one of only two other people there at 9AM on a Saturday morning and was able to quickly secure my much needed screwdriver and chex-mix snacks at the bar once I was inside. The overall size of the lounge is smaller than most, but comes equipped with a usual fruit/tea/coffee station, tables, two laptops for use, a meeting room off to the side, and comfortable seating spread throughout. 

The entry to the lounge includes a $10 credit for any extra food or drink beyond the complimentary snacks. While I spent mine on a cocktail ($8), there are plenty of reasonably priced options on the menu that were also tempting - and may have won over if I didn't have a flight so soon.

Overall it was a positive experience, though I do wish I skipped going inside and instead opted for the opportunity to use my already purchased pass anytime in the next 3 months instead of my original reservation date. This isn't a lounge that is worth the cost unless you're going to be there at least an hour or more due to the cost, but it's a great option if you need to kill some serious time.

 - John

Blue's News - Oct. 16

What's New with JetBlue - Oct 16

• J. Crew Factory and JetBlue's promotion is still going on through October! Enter up to once per day to win any JetBlue Getaway destination including:
• Roundtrip airfare on a JetBlue getaway
• Hotel Accommodations 
• and a $2,5000 J.Crew Factory shopping spree

• Gizmodo shares how to find if your Jet Blue seat will have an outlet for most airlines.

• Add Detroit, MI to the list of cities you can Jet on Blue to!

• WhereTraveler Books + More opens in T5 at JFK to offer travel tips, souveneirs, eco-friendly products, and more while waiting for or arriving from your Jet Blue flight.

Free Even More Speed® to Help Washington's Bills

Free Speedpasses for Bills of all kinds!

JetBlue has announced that they have a strong desire to see some bills passed in our nation's capital, Washington D.C. That's why they've put out a promotion that specifically applies to those flying out of the D.C area airports - DCA, IAD, or BWI.

Anyone with the legal first name of Bill (or a variant, i.e. William, Billy, Willa, etc.) can get a free Even More Speed® upgrade when going through a DC airport. Anyone traveling with said Bill can take advantage of the promotion as well. Just show your government ID to the agent at the check in desk upon arrival to the airport and get the instant upgrade.

What is Even More Speed®? It's JetBlue's fast track option to get you through the airport quick and easy by utilizing special queues to usually get through security and other processes more swiftly. Normally at a cost of $10-$15/flight, this nice add-on can make a big difference, especially in airports that are highly traveled and often crowded like DC's.

I don't know any Bills unfortunately, but hopefully you do and can take advantage of this offer, which lasts until October 31st 2013.

Gilt Trip Badge

Shop with Gilt City and Earn Points

One of the affiliate badges that you can earn through JetBlue's TrueBlue program is through Gilt City, flash sale site that is marketed as a high-end version of Groupon for mostly apparel but also city-specific experiences and random lifestyle items as well. 

As with many sites of its kind, the value in items for sale can vary and such things as shipping and returns can often be nebulous ventures. However, I recently saw a deal for a restaurant I had been planning to visit with the misses and took an opportunity to grab the deal - and the badge. The dinner for two deal to Essex in NYC was just too good to pass up!

I'm still waiting for my badge to validate, but the Gilt Trip badge necessitates that you sign up for Gilt City through JetBlue's link and spend a minimum of $50 on a purchase which will net you 1,000 TrueBlue points. In addition to that, each dollar spent will earn five TrueBlue point for the next six months.  If the site turns out to be useful, it's a really great deal considering you don't need a branded credit card to be receiving 5pts/dollar after you sign up with the affiliate link.

This will be my first partner JetBlue badge that I've targeted specifically, have you gotten the Gilt Trip badge yet? How long did it take to validate? JetBlue has stated it can take well over a month but I'm hoping for it to come through a bit sooner than that. I'll be updating once the points come through.

 - John

Blue's News - Oct 8

What's New with JetBlue - Oct 8

• J. Crew Factory and JetBlue's promotion is still going on through October! Enter up to once per day to win any JetBlue Getaway destination including:
• Roundtrip airfare
• Hotel Accommodations
• and a $2,5000 J.Crew Factory shopping spree

• JetBlue provides some interesting background and a peek into the creative process that went behind the branding behind their new Mint class seats. Check out their dedication to their ethos and desire to really challenge the norm!

• Did you know JetBlue has an online store? The number one place to get all your JetBlue branded swag, you can use the ShopBlue portal to get travel accessories, clothing, and gadgets to show your pride and make travel easier.

• The It's a Date Sale 2-day sale continues through tonight (10/8/13) with fares starting at just $59 from select locations. Travel dates are Oct. 22 - Dec. 18 with blackout from Nov. 22 - Dec. 2. 

Guide to Blue Badges Part II

TrueBlue Badges Part II

In the introduction to badges, I detailed how to sign up and start getting some of your first badges and over 1,000 TrueBlue points in just a few minutes. This next installment will cover earning your next 4 badges, making a total of 10, and getting to level 3. 

The Next Four Badges

The next four badges aren't a whole lot harder than the first six and you can do them without the help of anyone else (later on you'll need some friends' on social media) and without spending any money. The badges we're going after this time are the Recruiter, Leader, On the Map, and In A Badge Mood. What I really love about these is that JetBlue really makes an effort to make them accessible, fun, easy, and logical. Again, you'll need some basic social media accounts to take advantage of these, but that's it!

That's a total of 10 badges unlocked without a lot of effort with almost 2,000 TrueBlue points to show for it. From here on out the badges will take a little more work to acquire and levels will come into play as restrictions for earning better badges, but there are still a lot of ways to score more points without having to fly a single mile. Check out the next installment for more info on the remaining badges that can get you free miles without spending a cent!

- John

Blue's News - October 2

What's New with JetBlue 

• JCrew Factory is having a 1 year birthday contest where you can win a JetBlue Getaway for 2 including hotel and round-trip tickets. 1 Entry per day up until October 31st.
  
• More details on the A321 plane layout for the new Mint Class seats.
  
• USA Today's coverage of the Mint Class unveiling.