When JetBlue announced three new credit card offerings, the airline’s regular customers took notice.
“They’re our primary airline, and we basically put everything but our mortgage on our card,” says John Overholt, a librarian in the Boston area who is planning to apply for The JetBlue Plus Card. “It’s time we got something more useful out of it.”
But JetBlue customers who were carrying the JetBlue Card from American Express have a harder decision to make.
JetBlue is offering a special deal to people with the old card, but the new Barclaycard MasterCard options are good enough to make existing cardholders wonder which they should choose.
» MORE: JetBlue replaces AmEx for existing cardholders
Let’s look at them side by side.
| JetBlue Card from American Express (now defunct) | JetBlue Rewards MasterCard (replacement for AmEx) | The JetBlue Card | The JetBlue Plus Card | The JetBlue Business Card | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rewards rate per $1 spent | 2 points on JetBlue purchases, 1 point elsewhere | 4 points on JetBlue purchases, 2 points at restaurants and grocery stores, 1 point elsewhere | 3 points on JetBlue purchases, 2 points at restaurants and grocery stores, 1 point elsewhere | 6 points on JetBlue purchases, 2 points at restaurants and grocery stores, 1 point elsewhere | 6 points on JetBlue purchases, 2 points at restaurants and office supply stores, 1 point elsewhere |
| Annual fee | The annual fee is $40 | $40 | $0 | $99 | $99 |
| Sign-up bonus | Earn 20,000 TrueBlue® points after you use your new Card to make $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. | None | Earn 10,000 bonus points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days. | Earn 30,000 bonus points after $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days | Earn 30K points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days |
| Other travel perks | None | $100 companion travel discount after spending $500 in purchases by June 30, 2016 | First checked bag free for up to four people on JetBlue flights | First checked bag free for up to four people on JetBlue flights | |
| Redemption bonus | None | 5% redemption bonus when you redeem TrueBlue points for flights | None | 10% redemption bonus when you redeem TrueBlue points for flights | 10% redemption bonus when you redeem TrueBlue points for flights |
| Anniversary bonus | None | None | None | 5,000 points bonus each year | 5,000 points bonus each year |
Additional details
All of the new JetBlue cards have a few improvements over the old JetBlue Card from American Express. They all come with EMV chips, which the old card didn’t have. Better yet, none of the new JetBlue cards has a foreign transaction fee, while the JetBlue Card from American Express had a 2.7% fee. For frequent travelers, the ability to use a card abroad without paying a fee on every purchase is key.
Like the JetBlue Card from American Express, all the new JetBlue cards offer 50% savings on in-flight purchases such as cocktails, food and movies. That’s an unusually good deal.
» MORE: JetBlue TrueBlue rewards program review
Determining the better card for you
If you’re an existing JetBlue Card from American Express customer, you have a choice to make. You can go with the replacement card, called the JetBlue Rewards MasterCard, or one of the new cards.
The rewards rate on the JetBlue Rewards MasterCard is slightly higher than that of The JetBlue Card, but still not as high as The JetBlue Plus Card. However, its annual fee is in between those two cards too: $40, compared with $0 for The JetBlue Card and $99 for The JetBlue Plus Card. Avid travelers might find The JetBlue Plus Card’s higher fee worthwhile because the rewards rate is higher. If you’re a frequent JetBlue flier, you’ll want to do the math to see whether the extra points are worth it.
» MORE: Our best travel rewards credit cards
Most people, however, won’t be able to get the JetBlue Rewards MasterCard; it’s only for those who had the old AmEx. If you’re like Overholt, who wasn’t an AmEx customer before the switch, it’s a matter of deciding whether you’ll earn enough in additional rewards on The JetBlue Plus Card or the JetBlue Business Card to make the $99 annual fee worthwhile. If not, go with The JetBlue Card.
Virginia C. McGuire is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: virginia@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @vcmcguire.
Image via iStock.
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