JetBlue Premier Card: The $499 Mystery No One Asked For

by joeheg

In January 2025, JetBlue and Barclays introduced the JetBlue Premier Card, a new premium credit card aimed at loyal JetBlue travelers. Since I already have the JetBlue Plus Card, I received an offer to upgrade. It didn’t take long to review the card’s benefits and ask myself: Who is this card actually for?

a close-up of a credit card

JetBlue Premier Card Benefits

For an eye-popping $499 annual fee, here’s what the JetBlue Premier Card offers:

  • Priority Pass Select membership
  • Paisly Statement Credit – Get a $50 statement credit for every $250+ Paisly purchase, up to six times per year (max value: $300).
  • Global Entry/TSA PreCheck Credit – Up to $120 every four years.
  • Group A boarding on JetBlue-operated flights.
  • Free first checked bag for the cardholder and up to three companions on JetBlue-operated flights.
  • 10% points rebate when redeeming for a JetBlue-operated award flight.
  • Annual 5,000-point bonus after your cardmember anniversary.
  • 50% savings on eligible inflight purchases.
  • Earning structure:
    • 6X points per $1 on JetBlue and Paisly purchases
    • 2X points per $1 at restaurants and grocery stores
    • 1X points per $1 on all other purchases

At first glance, this sounds like a decent set of perks, but when you compare it to the JetBlue Plus Card—which costs just $99 annually—the differences start to look… underwhelming.

The only additional perks you get for the extra $400 per year are:

  • Priority Pass Select membership
  • Paisly statement credit (if you use it enough)
  • Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit
  • Group A boarding

If you already have Priority Pass access through another card (which many frequent travelers do) and a Global Entry/TSA credit from a different premium card, that leaves you paying $400 for Group A boarding and a Paisly credit that requires multiple large purchases.

Is that really worth it? IMHO, no.

Why Does the JetBlue Premier Card Exist?

Barclays has a habit of introducing “upgrade” versions of existing airline co-branded credit cards. Two other examples include:

American Airlines Aviator Silver Card

  • Available as an upgrade from the Aviator Red.
  • Has benefits that cater to frequent AA flyers, like additional Loyalty Points, companion certificates, and Wi-Fi credits.
  • Has a $199 annual fee

Emirates Skywards Premium Card

At the same $499 annual fee as the JetBlue Premium, the Emirates premium card offers:

  • Gold Tier status for the first year (renewable with $40K spend).
  • 10,000 bonus Skywards Miles after spending $30K per year.
  • 3X miles on Emirates purchases, 2X miles on travel, and 1X miles on everything else.
  • Priority Pass Select membership
  • Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit
  • 25% discount on buying/gifting miles

Now, I’m not sure how many people are jumping at the chance to have an Emirates-branded credit card, but at least the Gold Tier status and earnings structure make sense for someone who flies Emirates regularly.

This brings me back to JetBlue Premier: Does it offer the same value proposition for JetBlue flyers?

The Upgrade Dilemma

If you go to the Barclays website, the sign-up bonus for the JetBlue Premier Card is:

Earn 70,000 bonus points + 5 tiles after spending $5,000 and paying the annual fee in full within the first 90 days.

But there’s a catch—if you have or previously had a JetBlue Plus Card, you’re not eligible for the welcome bonus.

That means my only option is to upgrade—without a sign-up bonus. And if I had canceled my JetBlue Plus Card in the past, I’d be completely out of luck.

Final Thoughts: Who Is This Card For?

Honestly, I’m struggling to find the target audience here.

  • Frequent JetBlue travelers? They likely already have TSA PreCheck/Global Entry credits from other cards.
  • NYC-based JetBlue flyers? No Priority Pass lounge at JetBlue’s JFK terminal makes that perk useless.
  • Paisly users? You’d need six separate $250+ purchases to maximize that benefit.

It’s hard not to wonder: What were they thinking?

For $499 a year, you’d expect more exclusive perks—maybe Mint-related benefits or a bonus toward Mosaic status. But as it stands, the JetBlue Premier Card feels like a solution in search of a problem.

Would you pay an extra $400 yearly for early boarding, an iffy statement credit, and some redundant perks? Because I sure wouldn’t.

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