JetBlue has quite a few airline partners, most of which consist of interline and codeshare agreements, which allow you to seamlessly book travel and connect on two airlines. Notably, they partner with Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar, and don’t participate in the same smear campaign that the big three US carriers do.
However, as of now, you can only earn JetBlue TrueBlue points for travel on a small percentage of those airlines. The good news is that JetBlue has just added another airline to that list. You can now earn JetBlue TrueBlue points for travel on Icelandair.
The points earning rates for travel on Icelandair are as follows:
- 0.5 points per flown mile in Economy
- 1 point per flown mile in Economy Comfort
- 1.25 points per flown mile in Saga Class
While the partnership is only live as of May 4, 2017, you can actually retroactively request credit for Icelandair flights completed as far back as April 3, 2017.
Unfortunately it’s not yet possible to redeem JetBlue TrueBlue points on Icelandair. While I’m happy to see JetBlue add more partners on which you can earn points, I’d love to see them add redemption partners as well.
Icelandair doesn’t have all that many airline partners, so it’s great to see them add another partnership. However, I still think the Icelandair points earning opportunities are better with Alaska Mileage Plan. Here’s their chart for travel on Icelandair:
Personally I think each Mileage Plan mile is worth a bit more than each TrueBlue point (though if you have the JetBlue Plus Card you get a 10% refund on redemptions, which brings it closer to breakeven), but let’s assume they’re equal in value. Here’s how the earning rates compare:
- Alaska gives you 250% miles for Saga Class, Icelandair gives you 125% points
- Alaska gives you 125% miles for Economy Comfort, JetBlue gives you 100% points
- Alaska gives 100% miles for the most expensive Economy fares, while JetBlue gives you 50% points
- Both airlines give 50% miles for discounted Economy tickets
Icelandair Saga Class
Bottom line
I’m happy to see the new agreement that allows JetBlue TrueBlue members to earn points on Icelandair. Icelandair is a carrier without too many partners, so it’s good to have an alternative program where you can earn miles. However, all else being equal, I consider crediting Icelandair flights to Alaska to be a better deal than crediting to JetBlue.
I’m always rooting for JetBlue, and I’d love to see them introduce some reciprocal redemption opportunities.
Good luck getting your True Blue points for your travel on Icelandair. I've been trying since September 2019 (four months) to get my points for four round trip Icelandair flights, flown in August 2019, that I specifically booked through that airline because of their agreement with Jet Blue. Big mistake. I've called Jet Blue multiple times and been told "it takes a while". Really? That seems to be the best they can do. I have...
Good luck getting your True Blue points for your travel on Icelandair. I've been trying since September 2019 (four months) to get my points for four round trip Icelandair flights, flown in August 2019, that I specifically booked through that airline because of their agreement with Jet Blue. Big mistake. I've called Jet Blue multiple times and been told "it takes a while". Really? That seems to be the best they can do. I have very little hope, after all this time and hassle, that I will ever see the points I'm owed.
I traveled IcelandAir to KEF in September. I purchased my ticket from IcelandAir and entered my TruBlue # on the IcelandAir website. Since that time I have not been credited for travel to/from KEF on IcelandAir. When I enquired with JetBlue about my earning points for travel on IcelandAir they told me that "We do not have a frequent flyer partnership with IcelandAir, we do have a code share agreement".
Has something changed with...
I traveled IcelandAir to KEF in September. I purchased my ticket from IcelandAir and entered my TruBlue # on the IcelandAir website. Since that time I have not been credited for travel to/from KEF on IcelandAir. When I enquired with JetBlue about my earning points for travel on IcelandAir they told me that "We do not have a frequent flyer partnership with IcelandAir, we do have a code share agreement".
Has something changed with JetBlue/IcelandAir since this article's posting?
Lucky, Im starting to think of investing hardcore on JetBlue (regarding flying more with them and accumulating points), and if I need a route they dont offer, then resulting to AA. Im tired of UA and its crappy service & Ive never flown nor have the desire to fly Delta.
Im rooting for JetBlue, think their Mint product is fantastic, their prices are friendly...what do you think? And then ill be able to redeem their TrueBlue points towards Emirates correct?
As a Saga Gold member, I am happy that this now works the other way round too, and you can now credit Jet Blue flights to Icelandair - not only will you get award points, but also tier points for those flights, with the 20% executive bonus applying too.
Miles earned don't come close to what you can get with Alaska, and sadly this partnership does not cover lounge access like there is with...
As a Saga Gold member, I am happy that this now works the other way round too, and you can now credit Jet Blue flights to Icelandair - not only will you get award points, but also tier points for those flights, with the 20% executive bonus applying too.
Miles earned don't come close to what you can get with Alaska, and sadly this partnership does not cover lounge access like there is with Alaska.
A couple of days ago, I booked a flight KEF-JFK-AUS for October during one of Icelandair's flash sales (ex-KEF, that they only advertise in Icelandic), so I definitely welcome this.
This could be pretty interesting for me. Do points earned on Icelandair qualify for Mosaic status?
This is great news-- it would be great to see Icelandair cooperate with more partners. I'd love to fly them soon. I wonder if they have any plans to expand their route network?