At Frequent Miler, we keep a database of point valuations called “Reasonable Redemption Values.” These are estimates of the “worth” of airline miles, hotel points, transferable points, and more. The idea is that we try to identify the point at which it is “reasonable” to get that much value or more from your points.
This information is critical for making informed decisions. In fact, it’s a key component of the First Year Value information shown on our Best Credit Card Offers page, and it’s similarly used to show which cards offer the best value for everyday spend and which offer the best category bonuses.
When we first started looking at the value of airline miles, we used a laborious manual process to create estimates, but we now have a much better way of pinning down the value of JetBlue TrueBlue points.
Points Path, which is a Google Flights extension, keeps records of both the point prices and cash prices of all searches done via its platform. Points Path founder and former Frequent Miler writer, Julian Kheel, has made this data available to us for the purpose of identifying rewards program point values.
Thanks to Julian and Points Path, we now have access to the results of almost 800,000 domestic and international TrueBlue search results that show both the cash and award prices for the same flight (including partner flights). Using this data, we can provide a far better estimate of the “Reasonable Redemption Value” of JetBlue points than we were ever able to obtain by using manual calculations.
Based on an analysis of Points Path’s data, we’ve concluded that the new Reasonable Redemption Value (RRV) for JetBlue points = 1.3 Cents Per Point.
Points Path Data
Listed below is a summary of the raw data from Points Path. There are two values that are important to us. The median is the point that half of the observed results offered better point value and half offered worse value. We also have the average value of all the searches, in total and by booking class.
| Cabin | Median Value (cpp) | Average Value (cpp) | Number of data points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economy | 1.27* | 1.38* | 706,194 |
| Business | 1.09 | 1.12 | 82,180 |
| Combined | 1.26 | 1.35 | 788,374 |
Calculations
For our airline RRV values, we’re going to use the midpoints between the average value and the median. The reason is that the difference between the two is an indicator of how often more valuable sweet spots can be found in a given category.
If the median is 1 cent per point, that means that half of all searches produced a value of less than 1 cent per point, and the other half above 1 cent per point. However, if the same data showed an average of 2 cents per point it would mean that some of the 50% of searches that were above 1 cent per point were so far above that they doubled the result to 2 cents per point. Likely, that would indicate a higher prevalence of available sweet spot awards with outsized redemption value…something we like to see.
That’s not the case with JetBlue, however, where the median and the average are very similar:
- Points Path Median Observed Value for JetBlue TrueBlue redemptions: 1.26 cents per Points based on the past 365 days of data as of February 22, 2025)
- Points Path Mean Observed Value for JetBlue TrueBlue redemptions: 1.35 Cents Per Point
(based on the past 365 days of data as of February 22, 2025 - Range: 1.26 to 1.35.
- For our RRV, we’ll pick the middle point between 1.26 and 1.35 and then round it to one decimal, or 1.3 Cents Per Points.
Conclusion
The exercise described above resulted in an unchanged Reasonable Redemption Value (RRV) for TrueBlue points of 1.3 cents each. That’s the point at which most readers are likely to get that much value or more.
Please keep in mind that this does not mean that you will always get 1.3 cents per point value from your JetBlue points. In practice, you’ll sometimes find better redemptions and sometimes you’ll find worse. However, we believe that 1.3 cents is a “reasonable” expectation for what your TrueBlue points are “worth” when used towards award flights.
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[…] enjoyed by legacy carriers in airline alliances, you can reasonably expect to get 1.33c per point. According to Greg’s work, you’ll likely get more like 1.43c each, but we adjusted airline miles downward in May of […]
[…] are looking to use rewards for JetBlue flights can get good value from these bonuses. According to our calculations, JetBlue points buy about 1.43c each in airfare. Our Reasonable Redemption Values peg them at 1.33c […]
Hello I just completed my vacation back from Jamaica, and would like to know how I could use my True Blue Points.
Please educated me. Another thing, why do we have to pay for luggage both ways?
[…] Totally covered by the 50,000 sign up bonus. Remember, you do have to pay the $99 annual fee for the card, so the flights aren’t really “free” but paying $132 out of pocket is much better than paying $673. In this example, you’re getting 1.42 cents per point value for each JetBlue point which is right at the value this post from FrequentMiler said they are worth. […]
[…] Totally covered by the 50,000 sign up bonus. Remember, you do have to pay the $99 annual fee for the card, so the flights aren’t really “free” but paying $132 out of pocket is much better than paying $673. In this example, you’re getting 1.42 cents per point value for each JetBlue point which is right at the value this post from FrequentMiler said they are worth. […]
[…] had a 60,000 point sign up bonus (the current bonus at the time of this writing is 40,000 points). This article from Frequent Miles puts the value of JetBlue points around 1.4 cents each and I think that’s around the value I’ve gotten from them. Even having to pay the $99 […]
“dropped to 0.85 to 1.1.” is that supposed to be to .85 from 1.1?
No, I think he meant from something like it dropped from 1.95 cents to 1.1 cents — a decrease of 0.85.
Here’s what I said: “This meant that the point value range (previously 1.3 cents per point to 2 cents per point) dropped to 0.85 to 1.1.”
And here’s what I meant:
previous range: 1.3 to 2
new range: 0.85 to 1.1
Does that make sense?
yes! it does. Thank you.
Greg, If one lives in a JB Hub City and Has their CC i think its a no brainer as between the 10% Back on Award, (20% if u have the Personnel & Business Card) 5k Renewl Bonus, 15k Mosaic Bonus, Family Pooling, and having Award Booking option avail. as long as there is a seat to me is extremely valuable
I’m a Mosaic thru CC Spend and saved myself close to 50k in Points for the Free changes i made for 4 award tickets when pricing dropped a few days before my recent family trip
Having said that if u dont have the JB points in your account and having a CSR its obviously a better return when booking using UR @ 1.5 cents per Dollar and u earn some TB points too but for myself being a Mosaic its not a good value due to giving up on the free change/cancellation fees
[…] What are JetBlue TrueBlue points worth? by Frequent Miler. Nice to see a revisit to this topic. […]
[…] What are JetBlue TrueBlue points worth? by Frequent Miler. Nice to see a revisit to this topic. […]
I love Jet Blue, and MINT in particular. I too was looking at low values for points travel using MINT, regardless of the MINT fare. A $499 one way from Vegas had the same point valuation as a $999 fare. My recollection was around 1.1 cents.
Honestly, Delta One’s hard and soft products on that route aren’t as good, and using points works out to about the same terrible valuation.
MINT is one experience for which I don’t mind paying.
Love jetblue points. I go to Haiti often from Miami. Flights are usually $500 roundtrip, which is ridiculous since the flight is <2h. I often find 5k jetblue points roundtrip for the same flights though. What a steal!
The sweet spot for JetBlue points is definitely on flights to and from Bermuda, and short-haul. I’ve seen them worth as much as 2 cents per point to Bermuda.
Thanks for the analysis. Your findings are OK for me because I use my JetBlue points opportunistically when they have a lowball fare: I generally only fly them when I find a crazy fare with them, and their award pricing mechanism then gives me the maximum value for my points when I use my points to buy those tickets.
That said, I am curious when folks say they use their JetBlue points for things OTHER than flying JetBlue. Is there a way to get more than 1.43 cents value out of that?
For one thing, you can book partner flights. The rates aren’t anything special, but if you’re flying in premium cabins and comparing against cash costs, you might consider it better than 1.43c (though not usually good enough to transfer to JetBlue over other partners if you’re transferring points).
Thanks. It sure doesn’t sound like I’m missing anything!
Wait…you can transfer JB points to partners??? I thought that wasn’t possible. Or is this only with Hawaiian? Because I’d totally transfer to Aer Lingus.
No, you can’t transfer miles/points from one airline to another (not directly, anyway….and indirectly isn’t worth it). You can use airline miles from Airline A to fly on Partner B. In JetBlue’s case, I think that Hawaiian is actually the only airline that you can use for partner awards.
Another potentially use could be for vacation packages, though I haven’t looked far into it myself.
Shouldn’t you factor in the opportunity cost of not earning miles when paying with miles? That could be around 10-15% with JetBlue
Then there is also the 10% (or more) points rebate to consider if you have the Jet Blue credit card(s).
but then you have to factor in the fee for the card…
Their regular card has no fee.
We don’t factor in the opportunity cost of not earning miles with any of our Reasonable Redemption Values as it is so highly variable (depends on the airline / fare class / where you credit the flight / what your status is / etc). There isn’t a meaningful way to calculate that for every airline, so we instead do not include that opportunity cost in RRVs (nor do we do so with hotels).