The Best Ticket to Free Flights
The JetBlue card from American Express is the only branded credit card that JetBlue offers for customers in the US. As a smaller airline, it doesn't have multiple versions of the card or others through Visa or MasterCard. While this can be somewhat disappointing for those looking to churn multiple credit cards or load up on sign-on bonuses, there are several reasons why this card is a better deal than most others and a great card to have in your wallet.
The Card
The card itself is nothing special - as of writing it has a 15.29% APR and a $0 introductory fee, with an annual $40 fee every year after the first. As far as annual fees are concerned, this is definitely cheaper than most cards that offer good rewards, which may be in the $70-90 yearly fee range, especially from Amex. This makes it an attractive option to keep around even if one wanted to churn it, since the upkeep is so minimal and the benefits can definitely pay for themselves quickly. Late payment fees are up to $35. I was given an $8,500 limit initially on the card, but that may vary depending on the applicant. The card itself is a normal, thin, plastic card and chooses not to go for the weighted or chipped option that many high end credit cards today gravitate towards, simply because this is not meant to be a status symbol or a conversation starter. It's a card with good benefits, low fees, and helps with obtaining cheap flights - much like JetBlue itself.
The Benefits
Outside of all the standard American Express benefits and great customer service, the Jet Blue from American Express also offers a 20,000 point bonus when $1,000 is spent in the first three months. This may seem small compared to the 30-75,000 point offers on many other airline cards, but don't forget that JetBlue offers regional and domestic flights starting at 5,000 points (and roundtrips at 10,000 points) so this $200 can be stretched pretty far.
Purchases from JetBlue.com are also eligible to receive 8pts/dollar and all other purchases earn 1pts/dollar. This is a really great return when booking with JetBlue and one of the highest payouts from any branded credit card. If the qualifying $1,000 was spent at JetBlue, that'd bring the total bonus up to 28,000 points which gives a lot of options towards free flight bookings or heavily discounted airfare options.
One of my favorite benefits is 50% off in flight purchases - that's half off food, alcoholic beverages, and whatever else you need to make the flight memorable (or forgettable). The discount is returned as statement credit and makes it reasonable to order food and drink on a plane and not feel ripped off. A fantastic option to have in your utility belt for you or your flying companions.
Finally, cardholders can receive a $50 statement credit per year when they purchase a JetBlue Getaway vacation package. These bundles are usually a really great value and knocking $50 off the price tag only makes them a better deal.
The Badge
By far the coolest part of getting the JetBlue from Amex is that it ties into the TrueBlue badge program. After you get through the first few levels of badges, earning them becomes a lot more difficult and this is a nice bonus. It took me over a month to get my badge to come through after receiving my card, but it was worth the wait!
