My JetBlue blunders chasing Mosaic 2 or higher

Last year, my family of four completed the JetBlue 25 for 25 promotion, so all four of us now have JetBlue TrueBlue Mosaic 1 elite status through January 31, 2051. On a podcast episode near the end of last year, Greg and I discussed JetBlue Mosaic Perks You can Pick and whether my family should select a perk that would provide obvious (if not near-term), more “concrete” value or whether I should leverage a short-term chance to positon myself to earn Mosaic 2 status or higher in the hopes of parlaying it into something more useful down the line. We agreed that chasing status didn’t make much sense….but we also agreed that it would be a much more fun experiment. Unfortunately, I’ve made some early blunders that are going to make the experiment harder to complete than I’d hoped.

Making an irrational choice for Mosaic Perks You Pick

Once my wife, two sons, and I reached Mosaic 1, we each had the opportunity to select a “Perk You Pick”. You can find more information about Mosaic Perks You Pick on this page, but the three options most folks will consider are:

• 15,000 TrueBlue points
• 20-tile bonus toward elite status
• Gift a 20-tile bonus that can be given to another member

The rational choice would have been to take 15,000 TrueBlue points each. My family would end up with 60,000 total TrueBlue points (and since our points are pooled, they are even easier to redeem than if we had to redeem separately). Even if we only valued those points at $0.01 each, that’s $600 in points. In reality, they can easily be worth closer to $800 or more. As an example, Condor business class from the East Coast to Germany can be booked for as few as 54,000 TrueBlue points and $5.60.

However, on the podcast last year, we discussed a less rational option.

As a reminder, here are the JetBlue elite status levels and tile requirements:

• Mosaic 1: 50 tiles
• Mosaic 2: 100 tiles
• Mosaic 3: 150 tiles
• Mosaic 4: 250 tiles

I realized that if I selected 20 tiles and each of my 3 other family members gifted me 20 tiles, I would end up with 80 tiles. That’s nearly enough for Mosaic 2 elite status.

Mosaic 2 status isn’t a huge upgrade over Mosaic 1, but the chance to select EvenMore Space at booking for me + 2 companions would enable us to snag a full row of extra legroom at the time of booking.

More importantly, earning Mosaic 2 would give me a chance to gamble on the future.

A grand gamble on Mosaic 2 or higher status

Let me be clear: this entire section is entirely based on speculation. Don’t take it as a prediction or advice. It is merely an explanation of the thought process that led to chasing Mosaic 2.

It has been speculated that United may be interested in purchasing JetBlue. Given the current regulatory environment and the tightening of the Blue Sky Partnership, I think there is at least a decent chance that we could see a merger between JetBlue and United happen in the next year or two (note that this is firmly in the speculation stage; it hasn’t even reached a “rumor” stage yet, so don’t mistake speculation for an expectation).

If a merger happened between JetBlue and United, we have no idea what that would mean for JetBlue TrueBlue points or JetBlue Mosaic elite members. However, it seems plausible that elites would probably be mapped to corresponding tiers with United. Presumably, those with Mosaic 1 might map to United Silver.

If JetBlue and United merged, and if JetBlue Mosaic members get mapped to United elite status, and if Mosaic 1 maps to United Silver, would United honor the 25-year expiration for those who completed 25 for 25? Nobody knows. Anyone who pursued 25 for 25 knew that there was some gamble involved as to whether JetBlue would last for 25 years or whether JetBlue status would last in the case of a merger. We have no idea, but there is a chance it gets honored one way or another.

Going after Mosaic 2 would be taking the gamble a little farther yet. It could be worth earning JetBlue Mosaic 2 or higher in the hopes that it becomes United Gold or higher in the case of a merger. Having Star Alliance Gold could certainly come in handy, and having United Gold could be beneficial for times when I fly United.

Continuing our parade of “what ifs”, if JetBlue and United merge and if JetBlue elite members get status with United and if JetBlue Mosaic 2 maps to United Gold, and if I was a Mosaic 2 status holder who also happened to have completed 25 for 25 (and thus have an account that shows an elite status expiration date of 2051), is there some chance that United would grant Gold status that gets coded to last until 2051?

I don’t think that will happen. It’s not just that it doesn’t seem highly likely; it actually seems pretty unlikely. However, I think there is some faint hope that some or all of those things could happen. Even if only a faint glimmer of a chance, I would regret not trying for Mosiac 2 or higher in case it becomes something good with United.

As someone sitting on a family pool of more than 1.3 million JetBlue TrueBlue points thanks to 25 for 25, I decided that I would be willing to gamble away the opportunity for a sure 60,000 points more (if we each selected 15,000 points for our Mosaic Perks You Pick) in exchange for a shot at more meaningful United status down the road.

So I decided that we would take the tiles and try to reach Mosaic 2 or higher.

Choosing our Perks You Pick: Let the errors begin

Based on all of the above, I decided to select 20 tiles as my Perk You Pick, and that my wife and two kids would each give me 20 tiles, which would bump me to a total of 80 tiles if all went according to plan.

And, since I would earn those 80 tiles in 2026 by waiting until January 2026 to select our perks, I figured that there was a chance that I’d immediately earn a Perk You Pick for reaching 50 tiles in 2026, which I could then use to select another 20 tiles and immediately have the 100 tiles necessary to reach Moasic 2 status.

A couple of readers pointed out that we might have had a chance to do even better yet. When our Mosaic 1 status renewed in 2026 thanks to having completed 25 for 25, maybe we would each get another set of Perks You Pick. If we did, maybe I could double up and end up with another 80 tiles. That would be enough for Mosaic 3, which includes Move to Mosaic certificates. That could be huge.

Spoiler alert: the plan didn’t quite work. Some of that is due to the system, and some due to unforced errors.

There does not appear to be a new round of Perks You Pick in 2026

For starters, we each received the ability to select one Mosaic 1 Perk You Pick. All four of us selected our perks in late January 2026, and we have not received another Perk selection.

In hindsight, that isn’t surprising. While some may have assumed that Mosaic 1 status from 25 for 25 would be “re-granted” each year, similar to if we had requalified for status repeatedly, the reality is that 25 for 25 completers received status one time, with a 25-year expiration date. In other words, our accounts all show that we have Mosaic 1 status through January 31, 2051. Whereas someone who earns Mosaic 1 today would have an expiration date of January 31, 2027, our accounts accurately reflect the 2051 expiration of status. I think that’s going to prevent us from getting a new Perk You Pick in future years. Instead, the 20-tile “Perk You Pick” was a one-time deal (I think).

I am pretty sure that’s an accurate guess in part because I have earned more than 50 tiles in 2026 (thanks to gifts from my family), and I have not gotten a new Perk You Pick based on earning 50 tiles this year.

Speaking of having more than 50 tiles, I didn’t end up with as many tiles as I’d have hoped.

JetBlue launched Family Tiles, and my hurry to be an early adopter hurt me

Here’s where my completely unforced errors come into play.

We picked our perks on January 31, 2026. Back to this in a second.

On February 1, 2026, JetBlue was scheduled to launch Family Tiles, which is a new feature whereby parents can earn the tiles that their children would have earned for flight activity. In other words, if I spend $100 on a flight, I would ordinarily earn 1 tile. If I spend $100 per passenger on a flight for myself and my two sons, and if my sons have joined my Family Tiles pool, I would earn 3 tiles (1 for my flight and 1 for each of their flights). That’s a great way for parents to get credit for the money they spend on a flight for their family.

However, JetBlue actually made Family Tiles go live a few days early. I was prompted to join Family Tiles a couple of days before February 1st.

On January 31st, I first added my two sons to Family Tiles with me so that the tiles they earn would count toward my elite status.

Then, I chose my 20-tile Perk You Pick (giving me 20 tiles in 2026).

Next, my wife chose to gift me 20 tiles as her Mosaic 1 Perk You Pick, bumping me to 40 tiles. Then, the trouble started.

I tried to have one of my sons choose the 20-tile gift. It prompted him to gift the tiles to me (since we are in a Family Pool), so we selected to gift the tiles to me and hit the button to submit. Unfortunately, he got an error saying the request couldn’t be completed.

After hitting that error a couple of times, we tried with my other son’s account. We got the same error. I realized that perhaps they couldn’t gift tiles while in the Family Tiles pool.

However, since we had already joined Family Tiles, I figured that the tiles my sons earned would count toward my tile balance. I therefore had one son choose 20 tiles for himself. That went through without an error. But, unfortunately, his Perks You Pick tiles did not count toward my tile total.

I immediately realized that JetBlue may have the system coded not to pool tiles earned in this way. Sure enough, when Family Tiles launched the next day, and I read through the terms, I realized that Family Tiles pools tiles earned through travel purchases. The way I read the terms, Family Tiles does not pool tiles earned from Perks You Pick. What a bummer! Now, one of my sons is stuck with 20 useless tiles (he won’t earn another 80 tiles this year for Mosaic 2), and I was stuck at 40 tiles.

It dawned on me that it might be possible to have my other son (who had not yet successfully selected a Perk You Pick) leave our Family Tiles pool, and then perhaps he could select the 20-tile gift and give me the tiles when he was not in the Family Tiles pool. Sure enough, that works. I removed one son from the Family Tiles pool. Then, he was able to successfully gift me 20 tiles. Per the terms, I now need to wait at least 30 days to add another child (including if I want to add him back).

That gave me 60 tiles. I expected that, since that put me past 50 tiles “earned” in 2026, I would earn a Perk You Pick based on having now earned 50+ tiles in 2026. I figured that would give me an opportunity to select 20 tiles and get back to the 80 tiles I’d originally hoped to have.

Sadly, that did not work; I did not receive a new “Perk You Pick” after earning 50 tiles in 2026.

As noted previously, I assume this is because the system recognizes that my Mosaic 1 status was based on a one-time qualification for a period of 25 years. If I am correct about that, I think that means that I will not get another opportunity to select a 50-tile Perk you Pick again for the next ~25 years.

That’s kind of a bummer. While I can partially understand JetBlue not wanting folks like me to double up on the free tiles, it is sort of counterintuitive not to still provide the 50-tile perks as an incentive for 25 for 25 fliers to continue choosing to spend money with JetBlue year after year. If my assumptions here are true, we won’t be able to select a Perk You Pick again in any year unless we earn 100 tiles in a single year (I assume that we will get a new selection upon reaching Mosaic 2 or higher). To be fair, they have said that changes to perks are coming in 2027, so it is possible that significant changes could be coming.

Unfortunately, in my case, the unforced error of expecting Son #1’s 20 tiles from Perks You Pick to count toward the Family Tiles pool now has me 40 tiles short of Mosaic 2. If I had just selected our perks before joining Family Tiles, I’d have 80 tiles instead of 60. If I had 80 tiles, the distance to Moasic 2 would feel a lot closer.

I’ll still probably reach for Mosaic 2 this year

While I am annoyed with myself for jumping on Family Tiles before selecting our Perks You Pick, I am still closer to Mosaic 2 today than I am likely to ever be again, particularly considering that we are very early in the year. I therefore think I’ll still likely chase Mosaic 2.

I had intended to open a JetBlue Business credit card, but since the JetBlue Plus card is currently featuring an elevated offer, and since I recently passed 5/24 (again), as I write this, I intend to apply for the JetBlue Plus card soon. I’ll look to put a large tax payment on the card in the near-term. I should then have enough capacity to spend during the rest of the year to reach the $40K I need to spend in order to earn 40 more tiles (though I may take my time just to see whether and how many tiles I earn from flight activity).

I got a little excited about the offer to earn 3x tiles on paid hotel stays that was available on 2/11 & 2/12. A reader pointed out that it could make for a good opportunity to pick up tiles. A paid hotel stay of ~$1,334 (before taxes) would earn the ~40 tiles I’d need for Mosaic 2. I actually had a stay in mind that would have been a perfect fit. Unfortunately, that stay wouldn’t happen until August, so it didn’t fit the travel window for that promo. That was a bummer! Maybe JetBlue will run another similar promotion that will fit my travel plans, so I won’t work hard to immediately earn 40 tiles and Mosaic 2 but will rather look to knock out a good chunk of spend near-term and then a steady stream over the rest of the year.

It is a bummer that I didn’t get the easy Mosaic 2 status for which I’d hoped (or an easy shot at Mosaic 3 if we had all doubled up with a new set of 2026 Perks You Pick), but 25 for 25 has nonetheless positioned me to have a more realistic shot at Mosaic 2. And now I have learned that the Family Tiles pooling feature is great for earning tiles based on money spent on tickets, but it won’t pull together tiles that pool members have earned from Perks You Pick.

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