Now book TAP Air Portugal with JetBlue TrueBlue points

As flagged by @findflightsforme, JetBlue TrueBlue points can now be used to book flights on TAP Air Portugal, including both economy and business class redemptions. This is great news for TrueBlue members as single-segment economy class one-ways cost 19,000 TrueBlue points each way and business class rings in at 59,000 TrueBlue points each way with no surcharges, both of which are very competitive deals for what I think is an underrated way to get to Europe.

I’ve flown TAP Air Portugal business class between New York JFK and Lisbon a couple of times, each time wondering why they don’t get more attention. On the one hand, I find an overnight business class flight from the east coast to Lisbon to be too short to fully enjoy the experience, but on the other hand the seats are comfortable, food is decent, and while service hasn’t been doting, neither has it been bad. The most disappointing part of the experience is the ground game in Lisbon as the lounge isn’t great and their ground operation in general just isn’t particularly smooth. That said, I’d imagine that west coasters would be pleased to find business class from San Francisco to Lisbon for just 59.000 points one way.

Note though that connections price cumulatively and TAP’s calculators are faulty, so it may be significantly cheaper (though perhaps inconvenient) to book legs separately. And the challenge will be finding availability. Economy class has scattered availability over the next few months, almost nothing over the summer, and then limited availability pick back up in the fall.

There isn’t an award chart set out for this partnership, but pricing is thus far consistent for nonstops to/from their North American gateways. For instance, San Francisco to Lisbon costs the same 19K points each way as New York to/from Lisbon.

JetBlue does not levy any surcharges on these awards, so you’ll just be on the hook for mandatory taxes & fees, which are just $5.60 departing the US.

There are always more taxes due when departing Europe, though the amount varies based on departure airport.

Keep in mind that in addition to serving quite a few routes between the US and Lisbon, TAP Air Portugal also flies between Porto and Boston/New York. I visited Porto many years ago and found it to be a fun city to explore for a few days that wouldn’t have been on my radar if not for a cheap flight.

It is also worth a mention that you aren’t limited to using TrueBlue points to book travel between the US and Europe. You can also use TrueBlue points to book other routes in TAP’s network, like intra-European flights or flights between Europe and Africa. This business class flight from Lisbon to Accra isn’t a terrific award price at 69,000 points one-way, but it’s worth knowing that stuff like this is out there, too.

Overall, I think it’s terrific news that JetBlue TrueBlue is expanding partnerships and redemption opportunities with international partners. Whereas TrueBlue points traditionally had fixed-value and could only be used on JetBlue, the recent expansion to partner awards and the ability to book them online is certainly a value-add for long-time JetBlue loyalists.

Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.