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?
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.
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.