Wow, Jetblue really made my brain exercise this week!
Please find in this link a highly optimized Jetblue 25 for 25 plan from NYC:
I'm new/longtime lurker only so I can't post links XD But put docs dot google dot com in front of /spreadsheets/d/1x9y_mbwLE4Klztlaw8vq6Ae_oXRJbTJ7EDGeZULfqIQ/edit?usp=sharing
Total cost: $3.25k or 181k points and $508 on domestic routes only. The point value is 1.5 cents.
Total time spent: 7 trips (5 on weekends) over 9 days and 2 nights (2 nights at hotel required). If you work M-F, you'll likely need to take 3 days off work.
I've also included the per flight points cost; value to points ratio; flight #s; and expected hotel and public transport costs
(+$620). Everything is ready to book now, subject to price fluctuations over the last few days. I included a few tabs with tips/tricks on searching for the best dates/combinations as well. If you'd like a downloadable copy, DM me your email.
I did not book this exact trip, since I already had a EWR<>MCO trip planned for the end of the year. I included that 8 trip itinerary, which is a little cheaper at $3.12k (time/cost tradeoff), in the 2nd tab.
What I tried to optimize for, in no particular order…
- Weekends over weekdays. Unless the route was cost prohibitive over weekends (looking at MVY), I tried to book weekend routes. In the end, 5 of 7 trips are weekends only, while 2 happen over weekdays. If you’re someone who can travel on weekdays, you’ll definitely achieve this plan at an even lower cost!
- Low chance of missing connections. Where self-transfer connections look tight (<60m), it’s often because the earlier flight is the inbound plane for the following route, according to FlightAware. The exception is 17-18 in the 7 Trip route, but this has a risk-controlled backup plan. (The 50m layover is in LGA so you can bang out and go home.)
- Cost. I tried to pick route combinations that took advantage of the lowest price offered by Jetblue on any day. I also wanted to spend <$200 per destination. In the end, the avg cost per destination is $130.
- As few repeat cities as possible. BOS and FLL are flown to once. Only JFK repeats. For cities that Jetblue offers transit capabilities, like MCO/FLL/SJU/DCA/TPA, I tried to book it as a connection where possible. The cost/time had to make sense though.
- Domestic. No passport required. This optimized for cost too. I REALLY wanted to make the SJU<>STX $100 run but the overall trip wouldn't price out below my threshold.
- No late night arrivals (>10pm) when ending the trip in a satellite city to NYC (BDL; HPN; PHL; ISP). I wanted to be able to route home on public transport.
- Limit hotel stays during mileage runs. Ensure hotels are convenient to airport. Only 2 in this list. PVD and PIT are great because they have well-rated, affordable, and even walkable hotels nearby. (Guess which hotel this New Yorker chose...)
Any feedback, let me know
Thank you to everyone who posted their routes including all the bloggers because it definitely helped with ideas!!
If you want to see how this plays out with cancellations/weather/unexpected drama, please follow bubby.tea.reviews on Instagram because I'll probably update there.