10xTravel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. All values of Membership Rewards are assigned based on the assumption, experience and opinions of the 10xTravel team and represent an estimate and not an actual value of points. Estimated value is not a fixed value and may not be the typical value enjoyed by card members.
JetBlue is an airline that most U.S.-based travelers are probably familiar with. The airline runs a ton of routes throughout the United States and has been voted the best low-cost carrier in the country several times. However, many people overlook the JetBlue TrueBlue frequent flyer program despite the fact that TrueBlue points are easy to earn and redeem.
Unfortunately, one of the largest disadvantages of the JetBlue TrueBlue program is that it prices award flights according to a dynamic pricing model. This essentially means that the award price of any given JetBlue flight is tied to the cash price of the flight, thus making it difficult to find award flight redemptions that offer more than 1 cent per point.
By contrast, certain other frequent flyer programs price their award flights using award charts, which set fixed prices for specific routes or distance ranges, regardless of the cash prices. With these programs, you can consistently find award flight redemptions that offer considerably more than 1 cent per point/mile in value.
Notably, the JetBlue TrueBlue program offers much more value on average than most other frequent flyer programs that utilize dynamic pricing models. Plus, the program uses fixed region-based award charts to price flights operated by partner airlines, including Cape Air, Etihad Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, Icelandair, Japan Airlines, Qatar Airways, and TAP Air Portugal. And these flights can often provide great value.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at how the dynamic pricing model used for JetBlue-operated flights works. We’ll also take a look at the award charts used to price partner flights through the TrueBlue program.
Award Pricing for Flights on JetBlue
All JetBlue-operated award flights available through the TrueBlue program are priced using a dynamic pricing model, meaning that the award price of a flight will depend on the cash price of that same flight.
However, compared to other programs that use dynamic pricing models, the JetBlue TrueBlue program offers slightly more value. Despite the fact that award prices are tied to cash prices, you can often find a value of 1.5 cents per point or more when redeeming TrueBlue points for JetBlue flights. With most other programs that use dynamic pricing models, you’d have trouble finding redemptions that offer any more than 1 cent per point/mile in value.
You also have the option to purchase JetBlue-operated flights with a combination of points and cash using the “Points + Cash” feature. However, redeeming points this way typically yields a value of about 0.9 cents per point, which is considerably lower than if you use points for the entire cost of the award flight.
Award Chart for Flights on Cape Air
Through the JetBlue TrueBlue program, you can book flights on a variety of partner airlines with TrueBlue points, one of which is regional airline Cape Air. This airline operates only in the New England area of the U.S. (New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Connecticut), the Caribbean, Montana intra-state flights and a few routes in the Midwest.
The TrueBlue program prices Cape Air award flights according to a fixed award chart. However, this award chart isn’t published anywhere on the JetBlue website. Nonetheless, we were able to put together an award chart based on searches we conducted through the JetBlue website.
Since Cape Air operates many of its routes out of Boston, this award chart includes the prices of Cape Air-operated award flights between Boston (BOS) and specific destinations:
| Between Boston and: | Economy |
|---|---|
| Saranac Lake, NY (SLK) | 20,400 |
| Bar Harbor, ME (BHB) | 16,100 |
| Augusta, ME (AUG) | 4,000 - 14,900 |
| Rutland, VT (RUT) | 10,400 |
| Lebanon, NH (LEB) | 13,000 |
| Nantucket, MA (ACK) | 11,300 - 37,200 |
| Martha’s Vineyard, MA (MVY) | 12,300 - 36,100 |
This award chart doesn’t include all of Cape Air’s New England routes. To see the other routes operated by Cape Air in the New England area, you can visit the Site Map page of the airline’s website.
Cape Air also operates another route network in the Caribbean, mostly out of San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU). So, we’ve also compiled an award chart for selected routes operated out of San Juan:
| Between San Juan and: | Economy |
|---|---|
| Mayaguez (MAZ) | 4,300 |
| Nevis (NEV) | 42,800 - 71,100 |
| Anguilla (AXA) | 63,300 - 67,200 |
| St. Thomas (STT) | 18,800 |
| Tortola (EIS) | 54,500 - 59,100 |
Once again, this award chart doesn’t include all of Cape Air’s Caribbean destinations and you can see all Caribbean destinations by viewing the Site Map page of the JetBlue website.
Since the TrueBlue program has fixed pricing for Cape Air flights, you should be able to find outsized value by redeeming TrueBlue points for Cape Air flights with relatively high cash prices.
Award Chart for Flights on Etihad Airways
You can book partner award flights on Emirati airline Etihad Airways through the JetBlue TrueBlue program. And, due to the fact that these award flights are priced according to a fixed award chart, you can often find great value per point on these award flights. Unfortunately, this award chart isn’t published anywhere on the JetBlue website.
We were able to piece together an award chart based on Etihad Airways-operated routes that we searched through the JetBlue website. However, it’s worth noting that we didn’t find Etihad Airways premium cabin award space on any of the routes that we searched. Etihad offers some of the best premium-cabin products in the airline industry, which puts them in very high demand. For this reason, the award chart only includes economy-class rates.
Here’s the Etihad Airways award chart that we were able to compile for flights between Abu Dhabi (AUH) and certain destinations:
| Between Abu Dhabi and: | Economy |
|---|---|
| East Coast U.S. (New York) | 59,000 |
| Europe (Amsterdam) | 39,000 |
| Southeast Asia (Bangkok) | 39,000 |
| India (Delhi) | 25,000 |
| Middle East (Doha) | 9,000 |
| East Asia (Tokyo) | 49,000 |
| South Africa (Johannesburg) | 44,000 |
| Maldives | 25,000 |
This award chart doesn’t include every destination served by Etihad Airways, so you may be able to find Etihad award space through the TrueBlue program on other routes as well.
The award rates listed above are favorable on many routes, so you should be able to get outsized value by redeeming your TrueBlue points for Etihad Airways award flights.
Award Chart for Flights on Hawaiian Airlines
Through the JetBlue TrueBlue program, you can redeem points for award flights on several partner airlines, one of which is Hawaiian Airlines.
Hawaiian Airlines award flights can be booked online through the JetBlue website just like JetBlue-operated flights. But, unlike JetBlue-operated flights, Hawaiian Airlines-operated award flights are clearly priced according to a fixed region-based award chart.
Unfortunately, this award chart isn’t published anywhere on the JetBlue website. Still, from searching for Hawaiian Airlines flights on the JetBlue website, we’ve been able to piece together the award prices of some Hawaiian Airlines routes:
| Route | Economy | First |
|---|---|---|
| Intra-island Hawaii flights | 5,000 | 10,000 |
| Los Angeles (LAX) to Honolulu (HNL) | 20,000 | 50,000 |
| San Francisco (SFO) to Honolulu (HNL) | 20,000 | 50,000 |
| New York (JFK) to Honolulu (HNL) | 37,900 | N/A |
| Sydney (SYD) to Honolulu (HNL) | 45,000 | 99,900 |
| Tokyo (HND) to Honolulu (HNL) | 37,900 | 99,900 |
| Seoul (ICN) to Honolulu (HNL) | 45,000 | 99,900 |
| Tahiti (PPT) to Honolulu (HNL) | 20,000 | N/A |
The rates listed in the chart above are for one-way flights on these routes. If you wish to know the price of a round-trip award on these routes, just double the rate listed in the chart above. All award flights are subject to a cash fee of at least $5.60 per person per one-way flight.
Based on the route data above, we can infer that all flights from the U.S. West Coast to Hawaii probably cost the same number of points (20,000 points in economy and 50,000 points in business). And, we know that all intra-island Hawaii flights cost 5,000 points in economy class and 10,000 points in business class. However, from there it gets a little trickier to build out an accurate award chart for Hawaiian Airlines.
It’s worth mentioning that we couldn’t find any business-class award availability on flights between New York (JFK) and Honolulu (HNL) or between Tahiti (PPT) and Honolulu (HNL). Business-class awards may or may not be available on these routes; we just couldn’t find any availability.
Since these Hawaiian Airlines flights have fixed prices throughout the year, you can often find great value per point on them during peak season. So, if you have a balance of TrueBlue points, redeeming them for Hawaiian Airlines flights could get you more value than redeeming them for JetBlue flights.
Award Chart for Flights on Icelandair
JetBlue TrueBlue members also have the option to redeem their points for flights on Icelandair, which are priced according to a fixed region-based award chart. This award chart, however, is not published anywhere on the JetBlue website. This makes it difficult to know the exact mileage required for an award flight on Icelandair.
Nonetheless, we’ve put together an award chart based on routes that we searched through the JetBlue website between Icelandair’s hub in Reykjavik (KEF) and certain destinations:
| Between Reykjavik and: | Economy |
|---|---|
| Amsterdam (AMS), Stockholm (ARN) | 14,700 -39,000 |
| New York (JFK), Boston (BOS), Toronto (YYZ) | 21,500 - 31,800 |
| Seattle (SEA) | 39,200 - 42,400 |
| Rome (FCO) | 31,800 - 69,900 |
Of course, there are many more Icelandair routes available through the JetBlue TrueBlue program beyond those listed above. However, with this award chart, you can predict the award rates for flights to most of Icelandair’s destinations.
For example, since flights between Reykjavik (KEF) and Seattle (SEA) require between 39,200 and 42,400 points, we can expect that a flight between Reykjavik (KEF) and Portland, Oregon (PDX), which is served by Icelandair, would also fall in that range.
Award Chart for Flights on Japan Airlines
TrueBlue members can also redeem their points on flights with Japan Airlines, the national airline of Japan. These flights, like all other TrueBlue partner flights, are priced according to an unpublished region-based award chart. However, by searching for Japan Airlines-operated routes through the JetBlue website, we were able to create an award chart for some or the Japan Airlines routes available with TrueBlue points.
And, unlike with several of the other TrueBlue partners, you can book Japan Airlines premium cabin awards with TrueBlue points. Here’s the TrueBlue award chart we compiled for some of the popular routes operated by Japan Airlines:
| Route | Economy | Premium economy | Business |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii to Japan | 30,000 | 40,000 | 55,000 |
| U.S. and Canada West Coast to Japan | 39,000 | 49,000 | 64,000 |
| U.S. East Coast to Japan | 39,900 | 59,000 | N/A |
| U.S. West Coast to Southeast Asia | 53,400 | N/A | 99,000 |
| U.S. West Coast to India | 59,000 | 98,000 | 128,000 |
| Central Europe to Japan | 29,000 | 59,000 | 59,000 |
| Western Europe to Japan | 34,500 | 59,000 | 79,900 |
| Central Europe to Southeast Asia | 58,000 | N/A | N/A |
| Western Europe to Southeast Asia | 59,900 | N/A | N/A |
Many of the rates in the award chart above are very favorable, particularly between the U.S. and Japan. So, if you plan on flying to Japan from the U.S., then purchasing your flight through the JetBlue TrueBlue program could potentially provide excellent value per point.
As you may have noticed, the award rate for Japan Airlines-operated flights between Central Europe and Japan is the same in premium economy and business class. So, if you’re looking for a Japan Airlines award flight on this route, you should look for business class as it won’t cost you any additional points.
Award Chart for Flights on TAP Air Portugal
Through the JetBlue TrueBlue program, you also have the option to spend points on award flights operated by TAP Air Portugal. Since these flights are priced according to a fixed region-based award chart, TAP Air Portugal awards flights can often provide high value per point.
Unfortunately, as with all other TrueBlue partner airlines, the award chart used to price TAP Air Portugal flights isn‘t published on JetBlue’s website. This makes it harder to predict what the price of a specific award will be.
However, by searching flights on certain routes, we’ve been able to piece together the following award chart for flights between Portugal and certain destinations:
| Between Portugal and: | Economy | Business |
|---|---|---|
| Northeast and Midwest U.S. and Canada | 29,900 | 79,900 |
| Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Mexico | 39,900 | 84,900 |
| European destinations less than 500 miles | 6,000 | 9,000 |
| European destinations between 501 and 1,000 miles | 12,900 | 24,900 |
| European destinations over 1,000 miles | 19,000 | 49,000 |
While these are the award prices you can expect when booking TAP Air Portugal flights online with TrueBlue points, we recommend searching for yourself through the TrueBlue website as these prices tend to change fairly often.
But, if you’re looking to book a flight across the Atlantic Ocean and you have a balance of TrueBlue points, then booking a TAP Air Portugal-operated award flight between the U.S. and Lisbon (LIS) may be a great way to do so while getting good value per point.
Award Chart for Flights on Qatar Airways
TrueBlue members can also use points to book award flights operated by Qatar Airways, sometimes at a good value. These award flights can also be booked through the JetBlue website and are priced according to a fixed region-based award chart. However, this award chart isn’t published anywhere on the JetBlue website.
Nonetheless, by searching for routes operated by Qatar Airways, we were able to piece together an award chart for flights between the U.S. and certain destinations served by Qatar Airways:
| Between U.S. and: | Economy | Business |
|---|---|---|
| Doha (Qatar) | 39,000 - 44,900 | 90,000 - 98,000 |
| Middle East | 46,000 - 53,000 | 114,900 - 122,900 |
| India | 59,000 - 70,900 | 116,000 - 134,000 |
| Europe | 59,000 - 68,000 | 126,000 - 157,000 |
| Maldives | 72,000 - 77,900 | 134,000 - 142,000 |
| South Africa | 73,900 | 149,000 - 157,000 |
| East Asia | 83,900 | 170,000 |
| Southeast Asia | 69,000 - 83,900 | 116,000 - 170,000 |
| Oceania | 83,800 - 97,900 | 180,000 |
As you can see, the actual prices of Qatar Airways-operated award flights should fall within the ranges listed above. So, if you’re able to find Qatar Airways flights with high cash prices, you should be able to find high value per point on these award flights.
Award Pricing for Upgrades on JetBlue
In addition to redeeming points for flights on JetBlue and Hawaiian Airlines, you can use TrueBlue points to upgrade your cabin class on JetBlue flights (but not Hawaiian Airlines flights). However, TrueBlue points can only be used for upgrades to business class or Mint class (and not for upgrades to Even More Space seats).
Just like award flights on JetBlue, upgrade awards on JetBlue flights are priced using a dynamic pricing model, meaning the award rate is directly tied to the cash price. Despite this dynamic pricing scheme, you can still get around 1.4 cents per point by redeeming for upgrades to business class or Mint class. So, when booking upgrade awards, you should strive to get that much value or more.
If you don’t have enough points for a particular upgrade to business class or Mint class, you can pay for that upgrade with a combination of points and cash.
The Bottom Line
All in all, for a program that uses dynamic pricing for its own award flights, the JetBlue TrueBlue program actually offers a solid amount of value. While the value you can get from most dynamic pricing programs caps out at around 1 cent per point, booking JetBlue-operated award flights and upgrade awards through the TrueBlue program can often yield a value of around 1.5 cents per point. While that value isn’t as great as the value you can get from certain programs that use fixed award charts, it’s good for a dynamic pricing program.
Plus, TrueBlue doesn’t use dynamic pricing for partner award flights but instead uses fixed region-based award charts (although they aren’t published). By finding partner-operated award flights with relatively high cash prices, you can find redemptions that provide several cents per point in value. So, in fact, purchasing JetBlue-operated award flights is actually one of the lowest-value ways to redeem TrueBlue points.
So, even though the TrueBlue program was devalued considerably when it switched to a dynamic pricing model, there are definitely still ways to get good value through this program. And, considering how many routes JetBlue operates around the Americas and the recent addition of partner award flight redemption options, it’s definitely a program worth paying attention to.
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Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
10xTravel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. All values of Membership Rewards are assigned based on the assumption, experience and opinions of the 10xTravel team and represent an estimate and not an actual value of points. Estimated value is not a fixed value and may not be the typical value enjoyed by card members.
Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
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