JetBlue Presents Its First Ever Premium Credit Card – Teaming Up With Barclays

Credit card deals are one of the most lucrative sources of income for an airline, possibly second only to the carrier's frequent flyer program. Credit card issuers are constantly on the lookout for deals of this sort as in one easy swoop they gain access to a client base willing and incentivized to spend and use their product. One of the newest deals in this field comes from JetBlue and Barclays. A deal which is interesting for at least a couple of reasons.

Reason n.1 – Barclays Partners With JetBlue For a Premium Credit Card After Loosing AA

I'll start by explaining why the deal is interesting to my eyes, which doesn't directly relate to what the card itself has to offer passengers. Barclays has been for quite some time an American Airlines partner. The British bank has been one of two financial partners for AA, alongside Citi. However, that will soon no longer be the case.

Citi has just recently struck an exclusive deal with American Airlines which effectively kicks out Barclays. Therefore, it was inevitable that the British bank would immediately be on the outlook for a new airline to partner with to offer a new premium credit card. Aviation and loyalty programs are just too lucrative of a business in the US to remain on the sidelines and look at all the other banks rake in the big bucks.

Fast forward a few months and JetBlue is the airline that Barclays will be intensifying its partnership with JetBlue to launch the airline's first Premium Level consumer credit card. A credit card which offers quite a few interesting perks for frequent flyers. Let me drive you through what is in store with this Barclays-JetBlue partnership.

Reason n.2 – What the New Barclays Co-Branded Premier Card Offers Passengers

Once again, this is a premium level credit card which also means that it comes with a premium price tag. This isn't the cheapest credit card to maintain year after year, with its 499$ (USD) annual fee price tag. However it is a fantastic option if you do travel enough (with JetBlue) to take full advantage of the perks it comes with. Let's unpack which are the main privileges it offers those who sign up for it.

• Lounge Access: the new JetBlue Premier Card is quite interesting in this regard. It will, in fact, grant access to JetBlue's new lounges at New York JFK Terminal 5 (opening late 2025) and Boston Logan International Terminal C (also coming in late 2025) for the cardholder and additional guest. It, however, also ensures access to a vast number of additional independent lounges as it also includes a subscription of the Priority Pass network.
• Priority Boarding: Also, as is often the case with premium airline co-branded credit cards, the holder will enjoy priority boarding. When flying JetBlue the Premier Cardholder will automatically be placed in the Group A boarding group.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• First Checked Bag Free: Provided the flight is operated by JetBlue itself and that the flight was paid with the Barclays Premier Card.
• Statement Credits: up to 120$ every 4 years for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry and up to 300$ per year for bookings via Paisley (JetBlue's travel service booking platform).
• Bonuses: the card also comes with some very interesting and generous bonuses provided you actively use the card. You will get upon signup and after spending 5,000$ within the first 3 months a hefty 70,000 TrueBlue points welcome bonus, along with 5 Mosaic status tiles. Additionally, for every year the annual fee is paid you will also get another 5,000 TrueBlue points.

Finally let's talk about TrueBlue points accrual by using the new JetBlue Barclays Premier Card by Mastercard. For generic expenses you'll earn 1 TrueBlue point for every dollar spent. However, there are some accelerators which can be leveraged, such as:

• 6x points per $1 spent on eligible JetBlue and Paisly purchases including JetBlue Vacations
• 2x points per $1 spent at restaurants and eligible grocery stores

Also 1 Mosaic Tile will be awarded per 1,000$ of eligible spend on the JetBlue Premier Card. Just to put that into perspective, you'll need 50 Mosaic tiles in order to qualify for Mosaic 1 status which is the level just above the free entry level.