darcie_InsideFlyer

InsideFlyer magazine is reviewing JetBlue TrueBlue in our April issue and would like your input.

If you would like to participate, please post your response in the thread with the pros and cons of membership in JetBlue TrueBlue and grade the program from A to F (A being the highest grade). You can include a plus or minus with the rating.

You can also respond directly to the editors at InsideFlyer at [email protected] if you would prefer.

Thank you.

ByrdluvsAWACO

I guess I will go first.

Pros:

• Partnership with American Airlines
• Online bonus
• No blackout dates

Cons:

• Points based system
• Lack of an elite tiers
• Extremely poor parter selection... One hotel partner?

Overall I give the program a C+. TrueBlue isn't useful enough to be more than a secondary FF program alongside one of the legacy carrier FFP's.

Seat13c

A Con to your pro... No black out dates is good but its hard when there is only one or two available seats for redemption between given city pairs.

pointsjunkie53

PROS

no blackout dates

Cons

do not like the new FF program
not enough partners
use it as secondary FF program

probably will get enough points for one great trip and then will get rid of the amex card and not worry about jetblue anymore. will use other programs.

C-

legalalien

I'm a brand new member, so perhaps I misunderstand some aspects of the system.

Pros

No blackout days
Point based
Plenty of bonus offers, at least for now
Partnership with AA

Cons
No fixed redemption levels (hard to have a target)
Short expiration window, and very few ways to keep points from expiring
No Elite levels = no perks
Partnership with AA limited to only some routes

Grade: C+

sbm12

TrueBlue seems to exist to make sure that they have a loyalty program and to reward the most profitable customers. It is not designed for the same sort of arbitrage games that the legacy programs were built around. The earning formulas are a bit convoluted to figure out but if you do understand them - and if you spend a lot of money flying on the carrier - you can make out quite well in terms of earning points and redeeming for a good return on the investment. If you don't spend much money you don't do as well on that RoI.

The "no blackout dates" thing is a bit of a red herring IMO because most programs do not have those but they can still choose to not release seats. They aren't blacked out but they still do not exist. Inventory/revenue management is much more sophisticated now than it was in the era of blackout dates. What is more significant is that JetBlue does not limit reward seats at all. If you have enough points you can buy every seat on the plane. Yeah, it would be a ton of points, but you can do it.

The main cons I see, in addition to the limited RoI opportunities for the discount fare purchaser - are:

• Limited earning partners, airline or otherwise
• VERY limited redemption partners
• Short point expiry horizon and difficulty to extend (fly/AmEx only)
• Potential for extremely high redemption costs, though I suppose that's better than simply not available.

Overall I'd say C- as the rating if you're flying on discount fares. If you are frequently traveling on higher fares or only on short hops that don't earn much on legacy programs it can be as high as a B or B+ but I don't think that applies to many of their customers.

PTahCha

Pros:

* Ancillary benefit for a great airline product
* Points based on fare paid, plus any EML purchases
* Go long and go frequent bonuses

Cons:

* No elite program
* Points expire unless you fly or keep a B6 Amex card
* Moving target redemption
* Difficult to request credit for missing points (I have one that's pending 28 days now)
* No dedicated customer service function for the program - you basically talk to a reservation agent, who's playing telephone between you and back-office.

Grade: C

nsx

I agree with your entire evaluation, PtahCha. As to the elite program, that was promised over a year ago, but it has never materialized. JetBlue really dropped the ball on this one.

sbm12

At this point about the only thing an elite program would get you is free EML. The other main benefit - bonus points - is already there.

Skink

They could come up with other perks for an elite program. Priority baggage coming out first and perhaps additional bags allowed without additional fees. Maybe an elite phone number that you don't have to hold for 30 minutes. And even priority lines for check in and bag drop.

nsx

Priority for boarding, standby priority (mostly for IRROPS, but also missed flight or earlier flight), and maybe free premium TV.

Seat13c

No business lounge. Would be nice to have a place a little more quiet to get some work done, perhaps grab a snack or drink, and not have random kids kicking my bags while wait for the next flight.

(I know its not technically a TrueBlue item, but something I think goes hand in hand with a frequent flyer program).

bmg42000

I would give it a B . Finally I get rewarded for paying the top fares when flying to Florida in December If I flew on CO or DL I would get 2000 miles for this flight but on b6 I get 5000 points (which is good for a cheap 1 way flight) . My 8 year old has earned free flights this way . There is no way to get a trip to Europe to use points on other airlines .

mr27

+1 ^. That would be a nice addition. It couldn't be any worse than a UA RCC.

LiaJB

Quick note: to be fair, there is a rather large department dedicated to True Blue and taking True Blue calls. (As an example, they're the department that handles AYCJ passes.)

However, you have to go THRU the Res agent to get to one, and some TB agents get whiny about having to take the call. But you have every right to ask to talk to the TB agent, and they do exist, and they are more than capable of taking the call.