JetBlue Giveaway 2x for V-Day

Instagram, Tweet, or Facebook to Win

Currently JetBlue is hosting a really easy promotion with two grand prizes. All it takes is posting a picture of you and your significant other to win a romantic trip for two this Valentine's day. You can post on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram using the hashtag #SAVacation.

Blue's News - Jan 29

What's new with JetBlue

• JetBlue has partnered with Eithad Airlines, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, to codeshare 40 routes throughout the US. Eithad plans to start routes to Los Angeles this summer and more routes will be shared after.

Free TrueBlue Points for Valentine's Day

Use a JetBlue Partner for Valentine's Day

Valentine's day is fast approaching, and being the forward thinking person I am, I have begun to consider what to do this year for my not-insignificant other. Last year we enjoyed an amazing dinner at Delmonico's in NYC, but this year I am certainly tempted to kill two birds with one stone and incorporate a gift from FTD into the holiday.

As a JetBlue partner, FTD will let you earn 20 points per dollar when you use the JetBlue partner link. The fine print on the deal is pretty standard: gift card purchases are not eligible, shipping and service fees do not apply, etc. 

With a reasonable purchase of $20-40 worth of flowers or chocolates, you can easily net 400-800 TrueBlue points! Conveniently (and dangerously) FTD displays the points you'll earn beneath their products, just in case math isn't your strong suite. 

While this is nice, it doesn't help narrow down the seemingly unending combinations of flowers, chocolates, and ribbons that FTD seems more than ready to sell to you - which is why I have chosen my top three picks from the site in order from least to most expensive (least to most points!):

1. The Deeply Devoted™ Bouquet by FTD® - VASE INCLUDED - No one was ever upset by received a rose on Valentine's day, so most likely your significant other won't either. It's definitely on the lower end of FTD's selection t $29.99, even though it could be had for a lot less if you went to the store and got it yourself. But, for the "deeply devoted" person, this may make a suitable gift that'll net you 400 TrueBlue points. Be warned, the page will automatically try to upgrade you to the $39.99 version!

2. Memorable Moments Bouqet - VASE INCLUDED - Yeah, you know what you're doing with this one. At $69.99 you're not breaking the bank but you're also clearly out to let that special someone know that they're...memorable. It's not tacky, which means it was hard to find on FTD's site, and will rake in 1,400 points if you choose to go with it. Again, beware the automatic "upgrade" on the page.

3.Gifts from the Heart Ultimate Valentine's Day Gift - Woah, are you planning to propose or something here? Dropping $169.99 on this ultimate gift will result in not only a romantically fulfilling evening, but also a whopping 3,400 TrueBlue points which is the better half of a free domestic flight. This gift is so ultimate that there isn't even an upgrade option that they try to push on you - you've already hit the highest tier of romanticism and financial carelessness. Kudos to you, friend. 

And don't worry, I'll remind you again before the big day hits.

 - John

JetBlue Bill of Rights

True Customer Care

One of the best parts about JetBlue, besides the awesome in flight perks, cool company culture, and affordable tickets is their dedication to customers via their Bill of Rights. JetBlue established a guidelines so that when unforeseen circumstances arise you can know exactly what to expect. This is especially important with all of the recent delays and cancellations in the northeast with the snowstorms and vortexes. 

Blue's News Jan 21

What's new with JetBlue

• Another killer storm caused some outages and delays for JetBlue in the Northeast...
  
   
• Detroit Free Press has an article on getting a better seat for your next flight, and rightly notes that JetBlue has 2-3 more inches on many of its planes. Check out the article for more tips as well.
  
  
• Otherwise a slow news week! Check in Friday for a review of JetBlue's Passenger Bill of Rights.

- John

Travel Alerts & MLK Day

Change/Cancellation Fees Waived for Jan 21 and 22

With some incoming storms in the Northeast, there have been many preemptive flight changes and cancellations. JetBlue is waiving change and cancellation fees for flights tomorrow and Wednesday as a result. Most of the affected airports are NYC metro, Massachusetts, and other northeast hub regions. The full list of affected airports is available at the JetBlue travel alerts page.

In slightly better news, happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day and thanks to JetBlue to celebrating it in a really meaningful way! The philanthropy this company puts forth is amazing and always uplifting.

TrueBlue Rewards Partners

What's Worth the Trouble

Like any airline or hotel program, Jet Blue's TrueBlue program has some affiliate partners that give bonuses or offer point earning crossovers. They are of varying qualities and amounts - some easy and a great way to nab some extra points and others aren't as worth the hassle. 

A quick run down of points offers.

So, to get a quick idea of what may be worth your time, I've made this handy chart. What isn't listed is the badges that can also be earned from some of the affiliates, but I talk about those in my TrueBlue badges section.

So far, I've redeemed the e-Rewards and JetBlue by Amex offers. The e-Rewards is pretty quick and easy and so is the JetBlue Amex. These are by far the best two to start with for getting bonus TrueBlue points.

I'm currently waiting on some Marriott points to post from my Marriott branded Chase credit card, which will net me 5 points / dollar from booking directly with Marriott (+ 20% for the platinum level membership that comes with the card). I think the points are more valuable so I have them set in my Marriott profile to automatically transfer to JetBlue. It's been a few weeks since my statement posted and I am still waiting for the points.

Unfortunately the ShopTrue site has been "under construction" since November - but once it is back up it should be a great shopping portal to earn some extra rewards. I also tried to switch to Energy Plus, a third party energy retailer but their site doesn't seem to be letting me sign up. The last page in the registration process times out and leaves me without anything useful. I'll be checking back on it in a few weeks and posting if it goes through.

Next up I am planning to give Laithwaites wines a chance. The introductory offer is good, 15 bottles of wine for $69.99 plus $19.99 shipping and handling. It's a service, though, so be sure to cancel right after the first delivery or you'll be paying a lot more for less wine come the next billing period. This makes for some well-priced bottles of wine and nets over half the points needed for a domestic flight.

Have any experience with these other affiliates? I'd love to hear.

 - John

What's New with JetBlue - Feb 15

What's new with JetBlue

• JetBlue's stock has been rising lately - a great sign of the fortitude of the company despite the recent run-in with Hercules.
   

• Book by today (1/15/14) and receive 20% off domestic flight prices!

• From now until January 31st, you can earn a bonus 2,014 TrueBlue points when booking as a new customer through RocketMiles.

• Book a Getaway to Charleston, SC by January 15 and get 12 TrueBlue points per dollar spent! 

• Finally...by using the hashtag #IChipInFor to tweet about how you volunteer in your life and what organizations are important to you by January 20 and you could win $1,000 for a charity of your choice! That's a great way to get a guy who never tweets to be active on Twitter :D

- John

JetBlue COO Answers Questions on Storm

And starting next week we'll be back to regular content and off the storm coverage!

 - John

Blue's News - Jan 7/8

What's new with JetBlue

• As I'm sure you all know, the new year brought some new storms with it...

• And yesterday JetBlue suspended service in the Northeast major areas to give their staff and crew a chance to recover, partially due to the new rules for pilots that went into effect January 5th...which some people are (appropriately) upset about, but I commend them for knowing that no one wins when employees doing critical jobs are over worked and sleep deprived. But they have a handy chart to show you your compensation if you have had flights cancelled:

• Also, JetBlue is offering additional customer compensation in addition to their normal bill of rights:
• TrueBlue points and service credits will be automatically created  and deposited into accounts by January 20th
• Customers who incurred out-of-pocket expenses between January 3 – January 10 as a direct result of cancellations will be reviewed and taken into consideration for reimbursement. Customers may submit their receipts and request for review toHercules@jetblue.com. Only submissions with receipts will be considered for reimbursement and all submissions must be made by January 31, 2014. Customers who have already submitted requests via jetblue.com/contact-us will be contacted by a crewmember and do not need to resubmit.

• So in the mean time JetBlue has posted a FAQ about storm cancellations and re-schedules...

• Not a fun week for anyone, but here's to staying safe during this crazy cold weather and our good health! It's good to be alive and it's good to be a customer of an airline who values its employees and is doing the right thing to compensate customers! 

- John

Friday Weather Update - Hercules Blizzard

More refunds & cancellations!

Head on over to BlueTales for the latest weather updates:

"For customers able to reschedule their flights, we’re still offering a fee waiver for select cities today (Friday January 3, 2014)

• Baltimore, MD (BWI)
• Boston, MA (BOS)
• Buffalo, NY (BUF)
• Hartford Springfield, CT (BDL)
• New York (JFK)
• New York (LGA)
• Newburgh, NY (SWF)
• Newark, NJ (EWR)
• Pittsburgh, PA (PIT)
• Portland, ME (PWM)
• Providence, RI (PVD)
• Reagan National Airport (DCA)
• Rochester, NY (ROC)
• Syracuse, NY (SYR)
• Washington Dulles (IAD)
• Westchester County, NY (HPN)
• Worcester, MA (ORH)

Customers may rebook their flights for travel through Thursday, January 9, 2014 prior to the departure of their originally scheduled flight. Customers with cancelled flights may also opt for a refund. Original travel must have been booked on or before Tuesday, December 31, 2013.

Because we’re also seeing some more weather coming this weekend, we will also waive change/cancel fees and fare differences for customers traveling on Saturday, January 4, 2014 and Sunday, January 5, 2014 to/from the following cities:

• Chicago, IL (ORD)
• Rochester, NY (ROC)
• Buffalo, NY (BUF)
• Syracuse, NY (SYR)

Customers may rebook their flights for travel through Thursday, January 9, 2014 prior to the departure of their originally scheduled flight. Customers with cancelled flights may also opt for a refund. Original travel must have been booked on or before Friday, January 3, 2013.

To rebook travel or request a refund online, click here. For further assistance please call us at 1-800-JETBLUE (1-800-538-2583).Customers are encouraged to check the status of their flight online prior to leaving for the airport. Customers with web-enabled cell phones and PDAs may check flight status at mobile.jetblue.com."

Hercules on the Way, JetBlue Delays and Cancellations

Travel Safe and Watch for Updates!

For those of you who unfortunately were hoping to travel this weekend, be safe! So far Hercules has caused over a thousand flight cancellations and it hasn't even begun snowing up here in NYC yet.

You can keep up to date on JetBlue's travel alerts and remember that there are no change and cancel fees for areas where the storm is relevant.

As always, call 1-800-JETBLUE if you need assistance!

 - John

Blue's News - Jan 1

What's new with JetBlue (besides the year!)

• Happy new year! Things have been a little slow over here while I have been taking a vacation from work (and the blog) but I am excited to be back! JetBlue has been busy, unlike myself...

• From now until January 31st, you can earn a bonus 2,014 TrueBlue points when booking as a new customer through RocketMiles.

• A heartwarming video of JetBlue finding people on Craigslist who needed rides to their families for the holidays and then offering them free round trip flights! Really awesome work and a fantastic gesture to #FlyItForward! Check out more on the movement at the BlueTales blog.

Post by JetBlue Airways.

• Book a Getaway to Charleston, SC by January 15 and get 12 TrueBlue points per dollar spent! 

• Finally...by using the hashtag #IChipInFor to tweet about how you volunteer in your life and what organizations are important to you by January 20 and you could win $1,000 for a charity of your choice! That's a great way to get a guy who never tweets to be active on Twitter :D

- John