Wait, what?! All You Can Jet is back? Sadly, no. At least, not exactly.
According to a statement from the airline, JetBlue is giving three lucky jetsetters the chance to travel with a companion on an uncapped number of flights to destinations in the JetBlue network. "The pass returns with a social sweepstakes inviting travelers to fly with a blank slate by clearing their Instagram feed for the chance to win unlimited travel for a year with the All You Can Jet pass."
Oh. So ... it's another All You Can Jet contest. And one only three soon-to-be frequent flyers will win.
As a former "All You Can Jetter," I'm honestly a bit bummed. JetBlue's unlimited pass kickstarted my travel-writing career, and gave me a full month of incredible memories.
Back in September 2010, I paid $699 for an unlimited All You Can Jet pass, and a few friends and I got to travel around the country for 30 days. I even ventured a bit beyond, with my first trips to Bermuda, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and St. Martin, paying negligible taxes and fees on top of my regular pass rate. It was a magical experience, and I wouldn't hesitate to purchase a pass again.
Sadly, that simply is not an option this time around — and judging by the chuckle I've received when suggesting the return of the All You Can Jet pass to various JetBlue employees over the years, I'm guessing a paid program won't be returning anytime soon.
So, good luck with the giveaway! If you're determined enough to work through the necessary steps, the good news is that JetBlue's new pass is valid for 360 days (as opposed to 30), and since flights are booked in "Y" class, you have last-seat availability, with no blackout dates. Taxes, airport fees and baggage fees must be paid separately, and Mint is unfortunately not included.
The airline has added a whole bunch of new hoops to jump through, too. I imagine, as a result, that you'll be competing with a relatively small pool of applicants.
To enter the sweepstakes, which kicked off this morning, hopeful All You Can Jet travelers must:
- Delete or archive all photos from your active and public Instagram account starting Feb. 27, 2019 at 12am EST. The feed must remain clear through the end of the entry period on March 8, 2019 at 8:59am EST.
- Fill in the blank: All You Can ____ and choose an image of your own to illustrate a place, activity or a person you’d like to visit (should you win the coveted pass).
- Visit jetblue.com/AYCJ to upload the image.
- Create a custom image frame to fill in the blank: All You Can ____.
- Download the image with the custom frame.
- Post your custom image on your active and public Instagram using @JetBlue and the #AllYouCanJetSweepstakes hashtag in the caption to submit your sweepstakes entry.
- Keep your Instagram feed clear, except for the All You Can ____ image, until 11:59pm EST on March 8, 2019 to be eligible to win.
Talk about commitment! Deleting or archiving all of your existing Instagram photos — like JetBlue did to foreshadow the contest — is a big ask. I might suggest creating a separate feed for this purpose, but the instructions clearly note that the account must be "active," so I'm guessing judges will be keeping an eye out for signs of entrants cutting corners by building out a second profile.
Your best course of action will likely be to archive images, so you can restore them later. Here's how to do that:
1. Open each post individually, then tap the "..." in the top right corner.
2. Tap "Archive" from the pop-up menu. Remember — you'll need to keep your feed empty through March 8, 2019.
3. After the contest, tap the clock icon to pull up your archive, select "Posts" from the dropdown then hit the "..." again.
4. Click "Show on Profile" and repeat for each archived image.
So, will I enter? Not a chance. I have more than 4,300 posts on my feed — there's no way I'll be manually archiving (and reinstating) thousands of photos just for a small shot at winning a giveaway, especially considering that travel is kinda part of the gig here at TPG.
If you manage to win, though, you'll be in for a treat! So good luck, and happy ... archiving.
