JetBlue TrueBlue - JetBlue Amex - worth keeping?

My wife applied for this card last year and got a nice sign-up bonus. It's coming up for renewal and I'm trying to decide if it's worth keeping it with the annual fee. She flies JetBlue every so often, but also does DL and US. I'm not all that familiar with JetBlue since I've never flown them and not sure if any bennies outweigh the fee that's about to hit.

Anyone love/hate his card?

Moved to the B6 forum which is the primary venue for discussion of all thing JetBlue, including the credit card.

Long ago JetBlue points could only total as high as 100, and expired within one calendar year of their accrual. If you held and used a JetBlue AmEx those points never expired.

Now JetBlue points are a much higher denomination, and renew their shelf life one year from each time you fly or gain points. Thus that perk no longer is useful unless you fly JetBlue fewer than one time per year. (Which if that were the case, why would you want their AMEX anyway)

Also the JetBlue business card used to give you 5% back via OPEN savings on flights. This is no longer the case.


The JetBlue AmEx is sadly fairly useless.


It's only perk is on rare occasion they will declare a month or two where flashing your JetBlue Amex will get you a free cocktail once in the sky.

You would likely be much better off with the Starwood Preferred Guest AmEx which can be redeemed on many airlines for a 20% bonus.
(20K points in spending turns into 25K airline miles)

+1
JetBlue AmEx is fairly useless. JetBlue points and its FFP are almost worthless. grt2106 is right about the Starwood AmEx. That's a keeper. BTW, you actually get a 25% bonus, not 20%.

Yeah it's a 25% bonus 20K + 25% = 25k

OR A 20% Discount.

25K minus 20% = 20K. :P

The only value TrueBlue points have is the rare occasion, like right now, where points on flights are valued at a 25% reduction. Making some $113 dollar flights available for 5,200 points. That's a deal... but only happens, again, like once if not twice a year.

I can't think of any situation where the jetBlue AMEX has value over any other AMEX card. It needs a perk that puts it ahead for TrueBlue members, and currently has none.

This is kind of what I was thinking too. I've seen no real benefit for having this card. I think I will get her a DL Amex and cancel this one.

Thank you all for your input.

Agree that the JB Amex is a poor value compared to most other CC's.

I like to fly Jet Blue, but i usually fly on low fares which don't earn many points.....so the Jet Blue FF program is not very useful for me.

Worth keeping another year for $20? I called to cancel and they offered 6,000 points or $20 off the annual fee. Normally, I would cancel in a heartbeat, but considering my Experian credit score has taken a huge hit in the past few months (3 inquiries), I thought about keeping it for another year. CSR also mentioned that my "Member Since" membership with AmEx will end if I don't apply a for another AmEx card before cancelling this one. I didn't realize that being a continuous AmEx member mattered; she implied that being a current AmEx member will help you in scoring another AmEx card. I think that's nonsense...

What do you think???

Worth keeping another year for $20? I called to cancel and they offered 6,000 points or $20 off the annual fee. Normally, I would cancel in a heartbeat, but considering my Experian credit score has taken a huge hit in the past few months (3 inquiries), I thought about keeping it for another year. CSR also mentioned that my "Member Since" membership with AmEx will end if I don't apply a for another AmEx card before cancelling this one. I didn't realize that being a continuous AmEx member mattered; she implied that being a current AmEx member will help you in scoring another AmEx card. I think that's nonsense...

What do you think???

My amex cards say member since 94, for a period between 94-98 I was an authorized use on my parents card, In about 2003 I got my first Amex of my own, which has the 94 date despite not having a card authorized user or not since 98.

IMHO it's useless...I keep saying I'm going to cancel every year and fail to do so. The TrueBlue redemption for award travel is now a joke and I never use the card. The signup bonus was great back in the day but that's long gone. Don't really see what the major benefit is to keep this card. No comp extra speed, extra space, etc. There was the promo for the free adult bev but haven't seen that in a long time.

I should also add that I don't plan to fly jetblue again. Well, at least, I try not to. I don't know how negatively it'll impact my FICO. But, for $20??? I have to think about this one...

Just cancelled mine. Not worth the fee, though the 25K bonus points I got a year ago sure were nice. :D

Anyone else get a retention offer?

I cancelled my JB Amex last year.

The value in the TB program is very low for me

If you want an AMEX, the Hilton Honors AMEX is free, period. It's a great deal basically. You accrue at a good percentage and never any blackouts on hotel rooms meaning you actually can use the points.

Canceled mine last month, no offer made to keep me. Granted, I only used it for the signup bonus and to pay for one flight. Should have bought one more thing with it before I canceled as my B6 points will expire this fall if I don't fly on them again and have no trips scheduled.

I had called in to AMEX earlier today to ask about any good low-interest balance transfer cards, and was advised that the JetBlue Amex has a 3.99 intro offer for 15 months for all transfers, in addition to a fixed charge of 4% or 5$, whichever is greater.

I had called in to AMEX earlier today to ask about any good low-interest balance transfer cards, and was advised that the JetBlue Amex has a 3.99 intro offer for 15 months for all transfers, in addition to a fixed charge of 4% or 5$, whichever is greater.
There are plenty of 0% no-fee balance transfer cards out there. Off the top of my head, I believe the Chase Slate card is one of them.

I have had the jetBlue Amex since 2006, it was my first airline card. I have racked up a ton of points, granted with the old program I felt the card was more useful than it is now. I still earn a lot of points since I use the card a lot and it is nice that when I book a flight I get 8X points per dollar spent. I fly about 10-11x a year and most of my flights are on jetBlue, occasionally I fly American. It would be great if there were perks with the cards or some kind of status (free upgrades to EMS for FF or something). I do enjoy my flights on jetBlue, I should note I have only ever flown domestically.

There are plenty of 0% no-fee balance transfer cards out there. Off the top of my head, I believe the Chase Slate card is one of them.

Yeah... this just seems to be AMEX's current offering at the table for a low-interest card.

For some inexplicable reason, Chase does not want to approve me for their cards, beyond my CO/UA Presidential Plus card. It has a high credit limit, but even when I get rejected and call in, they insist that it is due to an internal scoring system that is giving me a low score, and not something that I can fix by divesting/reducing my credit limit on the other card. Oh well, that's a loss of business for Chase and an increase to AMEX. :rolleyes:

Yeah... this just seems to be AMEX's current offering at the table for a low-interest card.

For some inexplicable reason, Chase does not want to approve me for their cards, beyond my CO/UA Presidential Plus card. It has a high credit limit, but even when I get rejected and call in, they insist that it is due to an internal scoring system that is giving me a low score, and not something that I can fix by divesting/reducing my credit limit on the other card. Oh well, that's a loss of business for Chase and an increase to AMEX. :rolleyes:

What is your FICO like?

What is your FICO like?

Low 800's.

Yeah... this just seems to be AMEX's current offering at the table for a low-interest card.

For some inexplicable reason, Chase does not want to approve me for their cards, beyond my CO/UA Presidential Plus card. It has a high credit limit, but even when I get rejected and call in, they insist that it is due to an internal scoring system that is giving me a low score, and not something that I can fix by divesting/reducing my credit limit on the other card. Oh well, that's a loss of business for Chase and an increase to AMEX. :rolleyes:

Did you ever have any problems with any of the banks that Chase has merged with over the years?

I have seen them deny for something that happened 15 years and 4 bank mergers ago.

-Dave

Not that I can think of. Credit history is long, thanks to my father opening a card when I was very young and routinely paying it off. That being said, my recent (~5 year) spending patterns have been much higher, since I'm actually utilizing the credit lines. But never missed a payment, etc.

Not that I can think of. Credit history is long, thanks to my father opening a card when I was very young and routinely paying it off. That being said, my recent (~5 year) spending patterns have been much higher, since I'm actually utilizing the credit lines. But never missed a payment, etc.

The value in the JB amex card is when you purchase tickets through jb and pay with the jb card you earn more points.

JB is not the same as other legacy airlines in a sense that they have no different trueblue tiers and etc, there's no such thing as 1st class and no meals. But they do offer great service, newer planes and more frequent direct flights to places other carriers don't cover well and thats the reason I fly jb. Although I do wish they'd offer more recognition for frequent flyers.

So... if you fly jb often and purchase your ticket online directly from jb it's a no brainer to keep the card especially with the retention offer. Also, having the card means your point won't expire after a year, but if you don't fly jb then it's a waste.

I still wouldnt cancel the card though if you already have it, amex might be able to upgrade or convert it to a different account with no annual fee.

But they do offer great service, newer planes and more frequent direct flights to places other carriers don't cover well and thats the reason I fly jb. Although I do wish they'd offer more recognition for frequent flyers.


Says the guy that is located in their mother fortress!

Says the guy that is located in their mother fortress!

I actually fly other birds on other airlines out of this mother fortress as well ;) I still find JB more convenient. It's a matter of opinion.

edit: another point, if the airfare ever drops you can call and get credit for the difference.

your card is about to become a lot more valuable with the possibilities of redemption on HA using B6 points.