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Yesterday I discovered that Korean Air was still listed as a Chase transfer partner one day after it was supposed to be removed.
So I went to check again this morning to see whether Korean Air was still there. It’s not. But a new transfer partner appeared: JetBlue TrueBlue.
When Chase announced Korean Air was leaving the Ultimate Rewards program, I wrote that I expected they would add a new transfer partner though I didn’t necessarily expect it would be literally ‘one in one out’ and I didn’t expect it would be a US frequent flyer program.
Since Chase has so much invested in the Ultimate Rewards program I look forward to seeing what they add. Virgin, Air France, Iberia and Aer Lingus weren’t original transfer options and have been added in the last several years.
Barclays issues the JetBlue credit card but they don’t have exclusivity that extends to transferable points currencies. This addition means you can effectively earn more JetBlue points using Chase credit cards than you can with the JetBlue credit card from Barclays.
For instance if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (which offers 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening and has an annual fee $0 the first year, then $95) you not only earn double points on all travel and dining but no annual fee Chase cards that earn points quickly can have their points transferred to the Sapphire Preferred card and on to airline miles, including JetBlue.
Now, JetBlue is a revenue-based program, you buy award tickets based on the price of the ticket. That’s why I value TrueBlue points at 1.3 cents apiece. You’ll often be able to use them around 1.5 cents apiece towards airfare. If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve® you can buy points-earning tickets at 1.5 cents apiece so that may be a better option that points transfers, although transfers are still great for topping off a JetBlue account. points at 1.5 cents apiece towards travel through the Ultimate Rewards portal.
Chase’s transfer partners are now:
- Airline programs: United MileagePlus, British Airways Executive Club, Air France KLM Flying Blue, JetBlue TrueBlue, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Hotels: World of Hyatt, Marriott Rewards, Ritz-Carlton Rewards, IHG Rewards Club
No other bank transferable points program in the US has more than one mainland US airline as a partner. Chase now has three.
Not remotely an even trade. If Chase can’t add something worthwhile for aspirational flying, they can have their card back when my next annual fee is due. While KE has never been my first choice for redemption, it’s easy availability in premium classes to Asia in a pinch made it a huge value proposition. Losing KE makes my UR points worth much less to me and not in any way positively differentiated from Amex.
I’m sure you noticed that Delta has been having award ‘sales’ recently. A couple of days ago they offered USA/HKG for 34,000 miles R/T in coach. That’s a good deal if the dates work for you. I like having Delta ‘orphan’ miles just for these deals. I could have used all my miles for 2 R/T tickets, but didn’t.
Having the Chase Reserve card can offer better value. Delta offered a 15.000 mile R/T ticket NYC/ATL. Sounds like a good deal right? When I checked the Chase site, the cost was 14,000 points. By using Chase, I’m able to conserve my ‘orphan’ Delta miles for the next opportunity By using my Chase miles, I saved my Delta points, pulse earned Delta miles for my ticket. My Chase account can take the hit. 😉
This is why I /we have to check all avenues when booking tickets.
Agree with @Mak – this is nice but doesn’t come close to making up for the loss of KE. This will be a boon to people who use or can use JetBlue, no question about it. But those who live in the areas B9 services forget that they don’t cover large swaths of the US at all. And many cities have pretty thin schedules.
Just yesterday I was contemplating getting a Jetblue credit card, but will now wait.
I earn lots of UR points through Chase’s cards, so acquiring Jetblue as a transfer partner is a good thing.
Gary, any information on the transfer ratio if it will be 1:1 or same as amex that’s 1.25:1 giving amex quite the devaluation to use MR to B6 transfer
@DrEnjoy:
Barclay JetBlue card if u can rack up 50k gives u Mossaic status thru the following calendar year with some descent benefits like buying Even More Space seats with TrueBlue points (calling in after booking to upgrade with points is somehow even less then doing it online) so it still has it’s benefits over UR
Very disappointing. Chase now has a huge Asia hole now that Singapore and United can’t close. I have need to fly Singapore at some point in the coming year or so but after that I think it’s time to start looking at Citi to earn and burn if Chase can’t address this problem.
@Gary, I am finally below 5/24 and want to apply for the CSR. I currently have a CSP, so I gather I need to downgrade it first to a Freedom card before applying for the CSR. But what happens to the UR points tied to that account? Will I still be able to transfer them to my new CSR account even after the CSP account is closed? Should I transfer them first to my Ink UR account (never combined them) and could I then transfer them from my Ink to my new CSR account? Trying to take your advice on the Chase Combo but don’t want to screw this up.
Yuck…Jet Blue, a low cost domestic carrier. That doesn’t make up for losing Korean. It’s insulting. Chase has to do better than that!
@Frank if you product change to Freedom, your CSP points are in the Freedom account. The only risk here is that you are not approved for the new card. However if you have an Ink Bold/Plus/Preferred you can move your points from Freedom to that card and from there to miles/points. And if you have an Ink Bold/Plus/Preferred you can move them from CSR to that card first before product changing if you’d like as well.
@bee the ratio is 1000 -> 1000
@Gary Thanks. I assume you meant “move them from CSP to that card first” in your last sentence, correct? So, Chase doesn’t care how many times I move the same points between different accounts?
I never have flown JetBlue. Is the only airline partner available for JetBlue point redemption Hawaiian airlines? I see you can earn trueblue points on many partners but the only airline I see for redemption is Hawaiian airlines
This isn’t the worst if you want to use JetBlue to fly mint, but I’m a bit more bullish on MR points over UR these days because the partners are a lot better.
I’ve had the JetBlue plus card for a few years now and I”ll definitely keep it. The free checked bags is looking better now with the $30 bag fee. Toss in a few extra points each anniversary and it’s worth keeping, if not putting any spend on…