The new United and JetBlue Blue Sky partnership began this morning. TPG aviation reporter Sean Cudahy wrote a story overviewing the new United-JetBlue Blue Sky partnership, including the earning rates you can expect and other upcoming changes.
But, in this article, I’ll dive into what we’ve found while searching for United-operated award flights through JetBlue TrueBlue and for JetBlue-operated award flights through United MileagePlus. Here’s what you should know.
Booking United flights through JetBlue TrueBlue
Now, you can redeem JetBlue TrueBlue points for United-operated flights. Generally, you’ll always find the same award pricing for United flights booked through JetBlue, regardless of the date you travel.
However, award space can be difficult to find for United flights booked through JetBlue TrueBlue on some routes, and it’s usually almost impossible to find any award space in business class.
On some — but not all — routes, you’ll see awards pricing at a higher tier close to departure. For example, we found nonstop United flights between Newark and Johannesburg priced at 27,800 more points when booked within three days of departure.
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We also found that nonstop United flights between Newark and Dubai cost 26,600 more points when you book them shortly before departure.
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You’ll want to focus on nonstop flights, as each segment is priced individually. For example, a one-stop itinerary from Los Angeles to Seoul via San Francisco on United-operated flights would cost 81,800 JetBlue points plus $260.60.
But a nonstop itinerary from San Francisco to Seoul would cost 69,900 points plus $260.60. And a nonstop itinerary from Los Angeles to San Francisco would cost 11,900 points plus $5.60. Hence, the points required for the one-stop itinerary are simply the sum of the two nonstop segments that comprise it.
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Finally, it’s worth mentioning that United-operated flights booked through JetBlue don’t seem to follow a strict distance-based points cost (even if you focus on nonstop flights and exclude close-in bookings). For example, nonstop United-operated flights cost 39,900 JetBlue points plus $5.60 for the 1,023-mile route from Newark to Palm Beach, Florida.
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However, you’ll only need to redeem 39,000 JetBlue points plus $5.60 for the 3,370-mile route from Newark to Anchorage.
This being said, the minimum JetBlue points you can expect to pay on United flights within the continental U.S. appears to be 11,900, as found on the 140-mile route from Houston to Austin.
Meanwhile, the minimum JetBlue points you’ll pay on United flights outside the continental U.S. appears to be 15,900, as found on the 129-mile route from Guam to Saipan, one of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Booking JetBlue flights through United MileagePlus
We had more issues when searching for JetBlue flights we could book through United MileagePlus. Sometimes, we couldn’t find any JetBlue-operated flights bookable through United, even on routes where JetBlue operates nonstop flights.
And even when we did find JetBlue-operated flights, the award pricing was often far higher than the United-operated options.
Other JetBlue partner awards were also priced less expensively than JetBlue-operated flights on some routes. For example, a JetBlue-operated flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Medellin, Colombia, would cost 20,000 United miles plus $20.60, while an Avianca-operated flight would cost 17,500 miles plus $20.60.
We found no JetBlue Mint transatlantic itineraries bookable through United MileagePlus, but this doesn’t mean they don’t exist. However, TPG’s Nick Ewen found a JetBlue Mint itinerary bookable from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles for 80,000 United miles plus $5.60. Alternatively, you can book an economy seat on this JetBlue-operated flight for 35,000 United miles plus $5.60. However, you could fly on a connecting United-operated itinerary for just 13,300 miles plus $5.60.
Based on the data points we collected, the award rates for nonstop JetBlue-operated flights booked through United MileagePlus seem to be based on distance thresholds. Here are a few flight distances and how many United miles they’d cost for a seat in economy:
- Short flights of 155 (San Juan to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic) and 187 miles (New York City to Boston): 15,000 United miles
- Flights of 1,035 (Palm Beach, Florida, to New York) and 1,056 miles (San Juan to Medellin): 20,000 United miles
- Flight of 1,951 miles (New York City to Aruba): 30,000 United miles
- Flight of 2,343 miles (Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles): 35,000 United miles
- Flights of 2,704 (San Francisco to Boston) and 3,451 miles (New York City to London): 45,000 United miles
Bottom line
The new Blue Sky alliance is great for JetBlue and United members, giving them more ways to earn and redeem their points and miles. However, none of the award rates we found are compelling enough for me to want to transfer rewards to JetBlue TrueBlue or United MileagePlus. And even if you have JetBlue points or United miles that you want to redeem, remember that there may be better-value options for your miles than the new redemption options unlocked by the Blue Sky alliance.
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