Chart

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?k...d8F6_S2IzDk5SA

Situation

I am going to be at college for the next 6 years and want to know the optimum balance between price and reward. I will either fly Delta round-trip nonstop from SFO to JFK or JetBlue nonstop from SFO/OAK/SJC to JFK. Currently, the lowest fare is $364 for Delta (kayak.com/delta.com) and $354 for JetBlue (jetblue.com) based on my next flight. Alaska (Higher fare), American (Higher fare), Continental (10 round-trips for 1 reward flight), United (Higher fare), US (Higher fare), and Virgin (Calculated 10 round-trips for 1 reward flight) have either higher fares or reward programs that are not adequate.

Delta and JetBlue Reward Programs Summary

5000 SkyMiles round-trip from SFO to JFK. 25000 SkyMiles gets Silver Meallion status, 50000 gets Gold, and 75000 gets Platinum. Silver gets 25% bonus miles, Gold gets 100%, and Platinum gets 100%. SkyMiles never expire as long as there is activity within a 2 year range. Medallion status is for one calendar year, so I don't fly enough to even reach the first status.

24 TrueBlue points round-trip from SFO/OAK/SJC to JFK. 100 TrueBlue points gets 1 free round-trip flight. It costs $154.38 to buy 25 TrueBlue points and $181.25 for 30. TrueBlue points expire in 12 months from the date obtained.

Conclusion

It looks like Delta has JetBlue beat by almost $200 over 6 years. I prefer JetBlue, but does $200 justify a better flight experience? That's where you come in. If I did my math wrong and the difference is minimal (I was thinking less than $100) enough, I will choose JetBlue.

Of course, this is all just speculation. There's no telling how prices will fluctuate or how airlines will change their frequent flyer reward programs over this very long period of time.

Thanks for your input!