JetBlue Rolls Out Reward Points ‘Deal of the Year’

If you’re a member of Virgin America’s Elevate program, JetBlue has a deal for you. The airline is offering to match — or better — Virgin’s frequent flyer points with its own TrueBlue points.

“Get out of the red and into the blue with our white-hot points match!” reads a JetBlue points match promotion.

This campaign — #goforthwithjetblue — is JetBlue’s latest effort to court Virgin American fliers since VA’s takeover by Alaska Airlines. (JetBlue lost a bidding war for Virgin.)

Frequent flyer website Point Me to the Plane has described JetBlue’s point-match special as “pretty awesome,” while another site, View From the Wing, has gone as far as calling it the “deal of the year.”

But it’s a limited time deal, so you’ll have to act quickly to participate. Here’s how it works:

• Email a screenshot of your Elevate account dashboard to [email protected] by July 4. Your screenshot must include your first and last name as well as your Elevate points balance. JetBlue asks that you include your TrueBlue number in your email. If you’re not a TrueBlue member yet, no problem. You can sign up here. JetBlue will then assess your eligibility and email you back.
• Book and fly one round-trip flight with JetBlue by Aug. 31. After you make that flight, JetBlue will transfer your Elevate points to your TrueBlue account. Click here for more details.

And remember, American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest points all transfer to Virgin America Elevate, so you have a chance to further leverage those points. Says The Points Guy:

You could maximize this offer by transferring your [Starwood Preferred Guest] points. If you transfer 40,000 Starpoints (worth $1,000 based on TPG’s most recent valuations) to Virgin America, you’ll get 50,000 Elevate points with the two 5,000-point bonuses from SPG (worth $750-$1,150). Assuming you have at least 1 point in your Elevate account before this transfer, those Elevate points will be matched to 75,000 TrueBlue points if you fly one round trip with JetBlue (worth $750-$1,050). Effectively, your $1,000 investment of Starpoints could be worth $1,500-$2,200 with this promotion.

Wow. That’s quite the price-matching deal.

Are you an Elevate member? What do you think of JetBlue’s offer? Share your comments below or on our Facebook page.