Earlier this year, United Airlines and JetBlue announced that the already close ties between the two airlines were getting even closer. The partnership, dubbed “Blue Sky,” has included a number of incentives designed to benefit members of both airlines’ loyalty programs. The latest announcement included further integration between the two companies, including increasing the available offerings through the JetBlue Vacations program.
That all sounds appealing — and yet a recent report from Ben Schlappig at One Mile at a Time suggests that there are some fairly substantial caveats to the airlines’ partnership, at least under certain conditions. Schlappig phrases it bluntly: “JetBlue TrueBlue has just added carrier imposed surcharges for travel on United.” This applies to TrueBlue customers looking to redeem miles on United international flights, not domestic flights — but the surcharges aren’t exactly small.
For example, one flight cited in the article — a one-way route connecting London and Newark — will now cost a TrueBlue member redeeming miles an additional $265.60. Another international route Schlappig investigated also involved paying over $200 in fees in addition to the miles being redeemed.
While Other Airport Lounges Cut Access, JetBlue Expands to More Travelers
It’s a little easier to get into BlueHouse now, if you have the cashFrustration with JetBlue over certain surcharges is not a new phenomenon; this Reddit thread from 2024 includes several JetBlue travelers upset about the high cost of flying into London. What is notable here, as Schlappig points out, is this cost is being passed along to customers redeeming award travel — and could reflect larger changes going on behin the scenes. His whole analysis is worth reading, but it may also foreshadow bigger changes to come in redeeming miles for flights.
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