billymach4

I have already read all of the comments pro/con. I reviewed the program. In my opinion it is on track!

You go JetBlue.

Keep on flying!

IADOrange

My thoughts are still mixed on this. As a frequent transcon flier (BUR-JFK-SYR mostly), I liked getting more points for the longer flight. I did some math and it looks like I may end up a little behind on this one since I tend to always try and find the lowest fare. One thing about the old program that I always hated that isn't going to happen with this program, however, is the fact that when I had a connecting flight, I would only receive points for the longer leg (eg.BUR-JFK was 6 points, and JFK-SYR was 2 points, but I would only get 6 points credited).

I'm hoping they manage to keep the majority of their flights around 7,000 points. That would put me between 4-5 transcons (with the AMEX card) for a roundtrip, which is a bit more than what I need to do now, but the additional seat availability more than makes up for that. The bonus point system they have would probably lower this down a bit, and I'm really really happy that they have bonus points for taking multiple transcon trips.

What this program really needs to seal the deal for me is more "elite" type perks. Say, for instance, if you reach 5,000 points (not counting bonus points) in a 12 month period, you get priority boarding. 10,000 points gets you a free 2nd bag and maybe a few drink coupons or something. 15,000 gets you free (or reduced price - maybe $10-15 for a transcon) EML seating and maybe something along the lines of a special true blue reservations phone number (God only knows how many times JetBlue's website has failed on me and I've had to sit on hold for 30 minutes to purchase tickets).

Other additional perks they might consider are waitlist priority, maybe a special security line at their larger hubs (MCO and JFK come to mind), or, my pipe dream, a TrueBlue Lounge in T5

Pretty much all of these perks (well, other than the lounge) cost JetBlue next to nothing to implement (so few people bring 2nd bags anyway, especially frequent fliers, that it is unlikely to affect their bottom line, there are normally a few empty EML seats per flight anyway, and the true blue phone line is simply a matter of giving true blue members priority in the telephone hold system). Implementing them, however, would really put JetBlue in a position to take a lot of people away from legacy programs (United P.S. out of JFK comes to mind - it's filled with frequent fliers, many of whom travel in Economy Plus, which in my mind is inferior to EML on JetBlue and who might rather take advantage of the flexibility JFK offers into the LA area via BUR/LGB/LAX).

I think this also offers JetBlue a real opportunity to try and take on Southwest. There is still a lot of expansion that can be done on the west coast for JetBlue, in particular short hops in CA/NV/AZ. If they can manage to show residents of these areas that TrueBlue allows them to get free flights faster than Rapid Rewards, they could probably compete pretty well on routes like BUR-OAK, LAX/BUR/SAN-LAS, BUR/LAX-PHX, etc (assuming they can get better frequencies than they do now - 4 or 5 flights a day between these destinations is the minimum they would need to be reasonable competition). LGB is pretty much full in terms of expansion right now, but they could definitely squeeze more flights out of LAX and BUR than they do now.

sbm12

Don't count your chickens before they hatch on this one. I'm sure there will be move inventory available, but we still need to see the cost breakdown to know just how good a deal we're getting on those seats.

I'd expect just about everything you mentioned there, other than the lounges, to show up around Q1 '10, after the Sabre deployment is completed. Right now their internal training efforts are focused very heavily on making Sabre work well and making that transition smoothly. That is critical for the overall function of the carrier and it is no surprise that it has priority over the loyalty program. Once it is deployed, however, they will have the opportunity to add some additional training in for their front-line staff on these other benefits (and the ability to integrate them into the res and revenue management systems) and they'll start to show up. I have no idea what the levels will be or the specifics of the individual benefits, but they are coming.

bmg42000

Eventually (after the Sabre migration) , it would be nice to be able to choose the specific fare class (like on CO.com or AA.com or DL.com ). Sometimes it may pay to take a slighty higher fare basis so that one meets a bonus threshhold .

nsx

An express security line is the single most important elite perk. Southwest claimed for years that they couldn't do it, then suddenly they did it anyway.

As to the T5 lounge, that would be great except when weather hits JFK and suddenly you have 5 or 10 times as many people as the lounge can handle.

JetBlue cannot beat Southwest in California without high frequency in each served market and without eliminating change fees in those markets. Those are killer advantages for Southwest.

buffcoat

See, perks don't matter that much to me - I just want good flights available for low points or miles. Obviously I'm not their top priority in designing the plan - I only fly maybe 10 times a year - but the vast majority of the times I've flown in the past 3 or 4 years, my security line time (everywhere but Las Vegas Sunday morning, which is just a matter of the sheer number of people) has been less than 5 minutes most of the time and always less than 10. So elite security lines mean less to me than most other things the airlines can offer.

I think different flyers have different priorities - some people really want the Club access, some really want upgrade potential (obviously not on JetBlue).

JFKmike

My first post-- glad to know I'm not alone in my passion to optimize FF programs to these depths.


Looking at the program details published so far, I'm guessing Amex will soon change the $1 dollar spend to 1 point conversion.

I can't see a scenario where you can cash in an award flight by only charging $5,000 (or $2,500 on double points items) long term.

I think I will convert my membership rewards points into the new jet blue points on Sept 29th!

sbm12

Welcome to FlyerTalk!!

Why not? For the cheaper flights it actually probably isn't a bad deal for jetBlue.

I'm not sure why you'd do that, unless there is a specific reward you are looking to redeem and the seats are available at that point. Otherwise there isn't much of a reason to take the points out of MR.

mikeef

As an infrequent Jet Blue flyer, I like the looks of this program. I generally avoided the carrier because I knew my points would expire after a year. V2 gets me around that hurdle.

The biggest potential downside I see is that the program is confusing, baking in all of the bonus tiers, $ per mile spent (Corporate travelers aren't going to like getting fewer points because they booked through a TA rather than the website.) and determining the appropriate reward level. Not everyone is a FTer, so I'm thinking that there is the potential for some mass confusion here.

One final note: When I compare the comments here, which are generally positive, with the comments at DL, which are almost universally negative, it does appear that JBLU did a good job. Any program changes that can generate positive comments from a bunch of FTers is probably a good one.

Mike

nsx

Post of the week! ^

NoBaggage

I think TrueBlue will work out to be better for more people in the long run. We may have to wait and see about the details, but I think JetBlue wants a more useful rewards program for all of us. And I expect there will be ways to top off your old points with new ones or use up you old points in some way. I'm sure they won't leave us hanging. They can always add partners, special offers and maybe even a TrueBlue lounge. I'm optimistic.

Randy Petersen

Let me join others in welcoming you to FlyerTalk. A privilege to have you and yes, you are not alone!

nickfromct

I spoke to someone at Jet blue about the new true blue and she told me anyone with true blue awards currently in their account, those awards will still be subject to blackout dates even after the new program startup. Too bad. She also told me they haven't figured out all the details of the new program.

NoBaggage

I expect it's fairly worked out, but I bet it hasn't been transmitted to the staff in detail.

sbm12

The issued a press release today with some more of the details: http://investor.jetblue.com/phoenix....494&highlight=

It turns out that the transcon bonus is going to be called the "Go Long" bonus and will cover all flights >2000 miles. That will include the Barbados and St. Lucia routes, not just "true" transcons; Bogata comes up a hair short.

They also have the fine print about what the "base fare" includes and excludes for the purposes of earning points:
Glad to see more official details trickling out...