JetBlue adds frequent flyer rewards for incremental spending

JetBlue Airways has unveiled recent perks for less-frequent flyers who’re striving for elite status, the newest carrier to rethink its loyalty program to reflect shifting travel habits.

The brand new system establishes more incremental steps to earn perks, including the selection of early boarding (barring basic economy ticket holders), priority security screening, an alcoholic drink on board, or bonus frequent flyer points, each time a customer earns 10 so-called tiles.

A customer earns one in every of those tiles for each $100 they spend on JetBlue and its travel booking platforms, or on flights operated by its partner within the Northeast U.S., American Airlines. Customers can even earn a tile by spending $1,000 on a JetBlue bank card.

The changes are a part of JetBlue’s larger overhaul of its TrueBlue program, which the carrier announced Wednesday.

Other changes include:

• JetBlue breaking up its elite Mosaic status into 4 levels, with advantages corresponding to every. To earn level 1 of that program travelers will need 50 tiles, and that comes with advantages like access to seats with extra legroom at check-in and same-day flight changes.
• At the highest level, after earning 250 tiles, travelers can upgrade, if available, to the Mint business-class cabin. They can even rating 4 helicopter transfers on Blade between Manhattan and John F. Kennedy International Airport or Newark Liberty International Airport.
• JetBlue can be offering perks when a customer moves up a level of elite status like pet fee waivers or a $99 bank card statement credit.

The brand new plan comes as airlines adjust their lucrative frequent flyer programs to be tied more to customer spend, including on rewards bank cards. Many carriers have been raising the bar to achieve status. Also they are catering to changing travel habits, reminiscent of an increased dominance of leisure travelers since traditional corporate travel hasn’t recovered to pre-Covid pandemic levels.

American Airlines late last 12 months, for instance, raised the spending threshold required for patrons to earn elite status. It also introduced interim advantages for frequent flyer program members who rack up loyalty points but not enough for elite status, with perks like earlier boarding and coupons for “preferred location seats,” that are closer to the front of the plane but haven’t got extra legroom.

United Airlines, for its part, recently began dropping qualifying points toward elite status within the accounts of consumers who had achieved one in every of those levels within the previous 12 months, a way the airline says will give them a “head start in your status goals.”

And Delta Air Lines said in January that it might start offering free Wi-Fi on board its planes for travelers who’re enrolled in its SkyMiles frequent flyer program.

“We’re at a degree where the dollar is just about the almighty if you must earn status,” said Kyle Potter, executive editor of Thrifty Traveler, a travel and flight deal website. “There’s not an entire lot of incentive to remain loyal to that airline … unless you are a classic road warrior.

“JetBlue and other airlines are smart to supply these mid-points, to place something in reach, some reason to maintain flying that airline even when reaching that big step of status doesn’t seem possible,” he said.

JetBlue is in the midst of trying to amass budget carrier Spirit Airlines, however the Justice Department sued to dam the deal earlier this 12 months. If JetBlue prevails, the carrier plans to cast off Spirit’s ultra-low-cost model and retrofit its planes in JetBlue’s style.