JetBlue True Blue

Yesterday, JetBlue made three positive announcements that were welcome news to its frequent flyers and to its premium transatlantic passengers, but as has become normal with press releases nowadays, the airline didn't bother to mention that while on the one hand it's making a few positive moves, it's also making some negative changes that a lot of its customers won't like.

JetBlue has just announced that in an attempt to offer a more premium offering, it plans to open airport lounges at New York JFK and at Boston Logan, and that alongside a soon-to-be-released new premium credit card, it will also boost some perks that it offers to its more frequent flyers.

The radical changes to Delta's SkyMiles program were only made public a couple of weeks ago, but already the vultures are circling. On Monday, Alaska Airlines was the first to offer SkyMiles members an alternative home and now JetBlue has joined the fray with what appears to be a very generous status match offer to Delta flyers looking for a more appropriate frequent flyer program.

Historically, members of JetBlue's loyalty program have only been able to use points to save money on the flight portion of a vacation deal but as of today, TrueBlue points can be used to save on the cost of a whole vacation package.

Today, American Airlines and JetBlue have taken another step towards cementing their alliance (despite the fact that the DoJ is actively trying to break the alliance up) by announcing further reciprocal status benefits for their elite flyers and by confirming that customers flying with JetBlue will finally be allowed to use their Admirals Club memberships to access American's lounges.

Earlier this year, Qatar Airways and JetBlue announced that their "strategic partnership"  would be expanding with the airlines codesharing on more routes and with reciprocal loyalty program benefits on the way for Privilege Club and TrueBlue members. As of yesterday, one of those reciprocal benefits was finally delivered with JetBlue and Qatar Airways flyers now able to earn points/miles on both airlines.

American Airlines and JetBlue first announced their (slightly surprising) partnership back in July last year but other than offering members of each other’s loyalty programs the ability to earn their preferred currency when flying, so far the partnership has offered little in the way of reciprocal elite status benefits. Starting this today, however, that has all changed.

American Airlines and JetBlue have today announced that they are now offering near-universal reciprocal mileage earning and elite status credit accrual for members of the AAdvantage and TrueBlue programs. Flyers from both airline programs can now choose whether to earn AAdvantage Miles or TrueBlue points when they book with either airline and depending on which they choose, they'll also earn credits towards elite status too.