Airline loyalty programs have announced a variety of new elite benefits and modified elite requirements for 2021, given that this is a time unlike any other.
In mid-December 2020, JetBlue announced that the TrueBlue program would have reduced elite requirements for 2021, as well as offer additional perks for Mosaic members.
The coolest of these new elite perks is a Mosaic companion benefit, so this post is a reminder of that, since the feature is only valid for bookings as of January 1, and there’s also a bit of work required to book.
In this post:
JetBlue Mosaic companion benefit
While this perk is temporary, it’s awesome. Between January 1 and May 20, 2021, JetBlue Mosaic members receive a companion benefit, whereby a companion can travel with a Mosaic member while just paying the taxes and fees:
- You must book and fly between January 1 and May 20, 2021
- You can pick a different companion every trip if you’d like
- This only applies to paid bookings, and not award bookings, or bookings paid partly with points
- Even Mint business class bookings qualify
- The base fare will be reduced by 50% for each traveler, and each passenger can earn TrueBlue points based on that
- In 2020 Mosaic members could gift that status to someone else, so even members with gifted Mosaic status can take advantage of this
Since this benefit is now live, it’s worth noting that you have to book by phone to take advantage of the Mosaic companion benefit — this isn’t bookable online, even if logged into your Mosaic account. So you’ll have to pick up the phone, but the process should be easy enough at least.
Two for one JetBlue Mint flights? Yes please!
Free Even More Space seats for JetBlue Mosaic members
JetBlue has finally started offering Mosaic members free Even More Space seats on a first come, first served basis at the airport. This is expected to be a permanent new benefit.
As a reminder, Even More Space is JetBlue’s extra legroom economy section. Historically JetBlue offered Mosaic members Even More Space seats at significantly reduced points rates, though that was devalued a few months ago, rather bizarrely.
I can’t say I’m terribly impressed by the implementation of this, though:
- It’s only valid for the Mosaic member, and not any travel companion
- You can’t select an Even More Space seat during online check-in, but rather this can only be requested with an airport agent, which seems like an outdated approach
Still, it’s great to see elite members get extra legroom economy seating, even if it’s only on the day of departure, and the process isn’t ideal.
Mosaic members will receive free Even More Space seats
JetBlue 2021 Mosaic qualification requirements
JetBlue has lowered Mosaic qualification requirements in 2021 in the same way it did in 2020. On top of that, there’s a new way to qualify for Mosaic status through a combination of credit card spending and flying. No matter which way you qualify, you’ll be awarded 15,000 TrueBlue points upon qualification.
The four options for 2021 JetBlue Mosaic status qualification are as follows:
- 7,500 qualifying points (vs. the usual 15,000 points)
- 6,000 qualifying points + 15 segments (vs. the usual 12,000 points and 30 segments)
- $50,000 spent on purchases with your JetBlue Plus or JetBlue Business Card during the calendar year (as before)
- $30,000 spent on purchases with your JetBlue Plus or JetBlue Business Card + 4,000 qualifying points during the calendar year (new and exclusively for 2021)
Earning Mosaic status will be easier than normal in 2021
Additional Mosaic perks for overqualifying
While JetBlue Mosaic requirements are being lowered for 2021, there are some perks for those who earn more qualifying points than necessary:
- If you earn 10,000 qualifying points, receive 10,000 bonus points
- If you earn 20,000 qualifying points, gift Mosaic status to anyone of your choosing, valid through 2022
- If you earn 30,000 qualifying points, receive a free roundtrip flight certificate for JetBlue’s Core experience
Those who more than qualify for Mosaic are getting extra perks
Bottom line
JetBlue TrueBlue continues to impress with the perks that it’s adding for Mosaic members. The program has reduced Mosaic requirements for 2021, all while offering new perks like a companion benefit for five months, as well as a permanent new Even More Space perk.
JetBlue’s Mosaic companion benefit is now live, though you’ll have to pick up the phone to take advantage of it. As much as I’d love to book a cheap Mosaic fare right now, the reality is that there aren’t many markets where this makes sense right now, given coronavirus cases, quarantine requirements, etc.
What do you make of these JetBlue Mosaic changes, and has anyone used the Mosaic companion benefit yet?
Disclaimer: I am not a flyer of Jet Blue but my opinion is because others nay follow.
I don’t know if the spend on credit cards for status has been lowered but I hope not. The airlines need to fill seats, not encourage spend on cards.
@Boston - thanks for the info! I imagine my best bet would be to book on my CapOne Spark card and then just erase the purchase once it posts.
I purchased round trip flights for 2 from LAX-JFK in Mint using the "Mosaic Companion Pass" on Jan 1st. The representative suggested that the best way to do so was to purchase them as one-way tickets. I had previously purchased a RT ticket for one person on the dates that I wanted in order to secure the "pods" in Mint. When the representative had the tickets setup for payment I cancelled my original flight and...
I purchased round trip flights for 2 from LAX-JFK in Mint using the "Mosaic Companion Pass" on Jan 1st. The representative suggested that the best way to do so was to purchase them as one-way tickets. I had previously purchased a RT ticket for one person on the dates that I wanted in order to secure the "pods" in Mint. When the representative had the tickets setup for payment I cancelled my original flight and the money went into "travel bank". The representative used the travel bank credit to purchase the tickets and snapped-up the "pods" seats before someone else got them. There was $150 or so difference between the original RT booked flight cost and the resulting cost of the 4 legs using the companion pass since the fare had increased slightly since the time I had purchased it and the time I was able to use the Pass. It is a great deal, especially if you must travel and you can bring along someone for basically free. In this case I made it unnecessarily complicated by having purchased a ticket ahead of time but I figured that there would be a run on Mint seats because of the sale, and I wanted the single seat for myself, as a bonus my friend got one too.
@JoshB
Yes and no, the companion tickets can only be booked by phone via the Mosaic Line paying via credit card, travel bank, etc. As a work around, you might be able to book using points via the travel portal and then cancel the ticket generating a JetBlue travel bank credit. Then via the Mosaic desk, you could book the companion ticket using the travel bank funds. However, you can never book the companion...
@JoshB
Yes and no, the companion tickets can only be booked by phone via the Mosaic Line paying via credit card, travel bank, etc. As a work around, you might be able to book using points via the travel portal and then cancel the ticket generating a JetBlue travel bank credit. Then via the Mosaic desk, you could book the companion ticket using the travel bank funds. However, you can never book the companion offer if you paid for the original ticket with TrueBlue points.
I am not sure about the free EMS benefit though... In the past, I am almost guarantee an empty seats on most short haul flights next to me in the EMS section. Now it is not going to happen anymore. Anyhow, I hope it is a temporary Covid-19 "bring back travel" benefit.
Hey Lucky, would the Companion ticket still apply to a flight booked with Chase or Amex points (which are treated as cash) as opposed to True Blue points?
Companion perk is very nice, but after 5 months nothing here is really earth shattering. And in context of other airlines still leaves a lot to be desired.
@Steve Hull - I dont know about others, but if I asked about an EMS seat upgrade and the only available seat was a middle, I'd keep my core seat. So I'm not sure that you'd have to worry about that any more than you do now.
Any status match pportunites now?
Get out your buckets! This ship is taking on water fast.
Just a quick correction to your article: The Even More Space seat upgrade benefit is available to companions travelling on the same reservation as the Mosaic member: "To request available same-day Even More Space seats for free for you and eligible travel companions on your reservation . . ."
Do you think if traveling alone, one would get 50% off their ticket via Mosaic?
On the Even More Space upgrade, this sadly may make it more likely the middle seats in EMS are filled. Usually, at least in the exit row, you can luck out maybe 70% of the time having the middle seat empty if you’ve used points to upgrade to or outright bought an aisle or window in those rows.