Buy JetBlue points for as low as 1.85 cents per point: Is it worth it?
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
JetBlue TrueBlue has launched two limited-time promotions for buying points. Your discount or bonus will depend on the offer tied to your account. Both promotions will last through April 20, 2022.
The most popular promotion is for up to a 30% discount. A discount kicks in when you purchase a minimum of 3,000 points and grows based on the number of points you buy. Although less widespread, one TPG staff member was targeted for an offer to receive a 60% mileage bonus when purchasing at least 40,000 points.
Depending on which promotion you're targeted for, you can buy JetBlue points for as little as 2.07 cents or 1.85 cents each. These aren't the best deals we’ve seen for TrueBlue points and it doesn't always make sense to buy points, so we’ll give you an overview of the promotions and discuss when it makes sense to take advantage of them in this article.
For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
Latest JetBlue buy-points promotion
After visiting the dedicated buy-points page and selecting how many points you want to buy, you'll be prompted to log into your account. After logging in, you'll see the buy points promotion that is linked to your account.
If you're targetted for the general 30% discount when buying TrueBlue points, here's the breakdown:
- Buy 3,000 – 14,500 points = 10% discount
- Buy 15,000 – 29,500 points = 20% discount
- Buy 30,000 – 50,000 points = 30% discount
When buying with the higher 30% discount, you can purchase points at 2.07 cents per point. This is far cheaper than the usual 3.8 cents but still significantly lower value than TPG’s valuation of 1.3 cents apiece.
If you're targetted for the 60% bonus, here's the breakdown:
- Buy 7,000 – 19,500 points = 20% bonus
- Buy 20,000 – 39,000 points = 40% bonus
- Buy 40,000 – 50,000 points = 60% bonus
When buying points with the highest 60% bonus, you're buying points at 1.85 cents per point.
Note that you can purchase a maximum of 50,000 points per transaction and a maximum of 120,000 points per calendar year. If you want to buy 120,000 points, we recommend buying 40,000 points each in three consecutive transactions to unlock the 30% discount or 60% bonus on your points purchases.
Related: How to redeem points with the JetBlue TrueBlue program
Does it make sense to buy TrueBlue points?
Buying points and miles without a discount or bonus is rarely a good idea, but sometimes travelers can get enough value out of their miles and points that it can make sense.
Several of us at TPG max out our points purchases from airlines and hotels, taking advantage when there’s a solid buy-points promotion. This is because we get more value from these points than what we pay by taking advantage of sweet spots.
That’s possible because many programs have region or distance-based redemption rates rather than strictly revenue-based. The problem with revenue-based redemptions is that there’s a fairly fixed value that you’re going to get from these points and miles.
JetBlue TrueBlue is one of these types of programs. This makes it easy for TPG to calculate a fixed value of TrueBlue points at 1.3 cents each, but it also means that you’re not going to get much more than this in value from any TrueBlue redemption.
TrueBlue points typically cost 3.8 cents each, including the tax recovery fee, and this promotion only lowers the cost to 2.07 cents per point when purchasing with the 30% discount or 1.85 cents with the 60% bonus. You’ll pay far more than what these TrueBlue points are worth, even with the highest discount, so this promotion is a skip for most travelers.
If you’re just a bit shy of an award flight, buying a small number of points to bridge the gap might make sense — and this promotion will at least let you do that at a discount.
Even then, you should consider other options first and don’t buy points unless you have an immediate use in mind. You could transfer points from Chase Ultimate Rewards (1:1, instant transfer) or American Express Membership Rewards (250:200, instant transfer). Or, you can pool your points with up to six other JetBlue TrueBlue members to get enough for the redemption.
Related: A guide to earning transferable points
Which credit card to use
JetBlue point purchases are processed by Points.com, so these purchases won’t code as travel. You won’t earn bonus points from cards such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
So, you’ll want to use the best non-bonus category credit card for your situation. Based on TPG’s valuations, The Blue Business®️ Plus Credit Card from American Express’s 2x Membership Rewards (on the first $50,000 per calendar year; then 1x thereafter, terms apply), or Chase Freedom Unlimited’s 1.5% cash back on purchases would be the most rewarding choices.
Related: The best travel rewards credit cards
Additional reporting by Kyle Olsen and JT Genter.