When JetBlue Fares are High, Jump the Q and Get Business Class for 120,000 Miles
The Stoic philosophy posits that “the obstacle is the way,” meaning that life’s difficulties aren’t something to avoid, but rather to welcome as opportunities.
Well here at FCF, we say (respectfully) to heck with that! We’re taking the shortcut when it comes to those darn obstacles.
Mind you, fluctuating airline prices were something that Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher-king Marcus Aurelius did not have to worry about.
But even he would be impressed with this workaround. Let’s call it…
Jumping the Q
We recently learned that Qatar is publishing free award seats for travel — on JetBlue. There’s nothing better than a healthy symbiotic relationship.
For example, Qatar’s free award seats on JetBlue start at 78,000 miles each way, or 156,000 round-trip (120,000 if you use the frequent Amex 30%-40% points-to-miles transfer bonus), and taxes run from $55 (New York-Dublin) to $422 (Boston-London), depending on the route.
At that cost, it’s not the best return on miles, but this Qatar-JetBlue workaround is well worth checking out when JetBlue and other carriers’ published premium fares are high, say $3,500+ for Business international tickets. You’ll find that published international Business Class fares are often at their highest when:
- booked close in
- you don’t have the minimum-stay requirement
- flash or low-cost fares are not offered on your route
JetBlue Fare Trends
JetBlue’s New York-to-Edinburgh Business Class fares have quite a range from $2,993 to $5,937. In July, with less than a handful of dates offering the lowest fare of $2,993, the typical average fare for travel on most days is $3,818. Compare that to United whose fares are $3,853 to $6,028 with a typical average of about $5,078.
Here’s a glimpse of JetBlue’s current Business Class fare trends:
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JetBlue Seats
JetBlue is no slacker in the seat department, either. Let’s take a closer look at its fuselage.
JetBlue’s Airbus A321 long-range aircraft offers fully enclosed Mint Suites. There are 24 available on international flights and each one includes a 6’8” lie-flat bed, a sliding door for privacy with direct aisle access, a 15-inch TV or larger, in-suite power, customizable lighting, and more. It’s the perfect setup for a relaxing trip across the pond.
Miles Into the Wild Blue Yonder
Although JetBlue is a transfer partner of Amex, Chase, and Citi, beware that cash, miles, and free awards in JetBlue’s TrueBlue mileage program are not a deal. When you use JetBlue’s TrueBlue points, just as regular fares vary, the points required for an award flight will also vary depending on the destination, day of the week, season, and advance booking window. The number of points required for a particular flight is based on the published base fare at the time of booking, which depends on various factors including the flight chosen and applicability of peak travel periods. Here are some details:
- Cash and miles options for both domestic and international flights can cost more than a regular published fare plus the value of the miles.
- Award ticket taxes to London are in line with American, Delta, and United – around $350 per round trip.
The “When Fares Are High” Workaround
With that said, we were happy to see an alternate way to get JetBlue award space using miles. If you have a ton of Amex (a transfer partner), transfer them to British Airways or Iberia, to get the frequent 30%-40% bonus, and combine them with your Qatar Airways Avios, it’s still not a great deal when fares are at their lowest. If you’re an inflexible traveler with firm dates, you might just have to grin and bear it.
FCF’s Availability Treasure Map Trends
Note that the Qatar workaround doesn’t help all the time. We checked several JetBlue routes and there are only a handful of routes to Europe with award space as shown in the chart below. We didn’t find any award space using Qatar miles on JetBlue’s New York-Paris, Amsterdam, and London (LHR & LGW) routes.
We also checked some Transcon routes where we found the lowest cost was 74,000 each way or 148,000 round-trip to include Boston to Los Angeles and San Francisco, Miami to Los Angeles, and New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Again, no deal.
Here are the routes with availability at time of publishing. Because these trends are constantly changing, be sure to check in advance to see how things are going.
Flying on JetBlue Using Qatar Avios
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Out of the Blue Comes Q
We love finding creative ways to beat high fares, and this one works well when you’re faced with unwanted JetBlue fare peaks. Qatar to the rescue! Talk about an unexpected hero! Hey, we’ll take it.
JetBlue Business Class fares (including new upcoming routes) have quite a large range. For example, we’re seeing prices of $2,593-$5,168 for Boston-Paris coming in April next year. So keep your eye on them, and if any of those fares make you feel blue, take that opportunity to jump the Q. And I’ll see you up front.