Monday, May 21, 2018

The 2018 JetBlue Business Card Review, Plus 3 Great Alternatives

If you’re constantly flying with JetBlue for business, then you might be considering upgrading your experience by doing your spending with the JetBlue Business Card. This business travel credit card is one of the three Barclays business credit cards that offer airline-specific travel rewards for your business spending.

And, yes! With the JetBlue Business Card in your wallet, you’ll be able to travel in style—if and only if you’re traveling with JetBlue specifically, that is. We’ve compiled all the details on the JetBlue Business Card so that you can decide whether or not this will be the right fit for your business spending.

But if you decide this card isn’t quite the right fit for you, we’ve offered a few alternatives, too. So, no matter what, you’ll be getting the best travel rewards possible for your spending.

jetblue-business-card

A Look at the JetBlue Business Credit Card’s Reward, Perks, and Discounts

If you’re a frequent JetBlue flier, you might get a lot of mileage (sorry, we had to) out of the JetBlue Business Card. Here’s an overview of what you can earn when you spend on the card:

JetBlue Business Card Rewards

The most fundamental of the JetBlue Business Card’s features will be how—and how much—this business credit card rewards your business spending. As you spend with the JetBlue Business Card, you’ll earn travel points at these rates:

  • 6x points for every dollar you spend directly with JetBlue
  • 2x points for every dollar you spend on:
    • Restaurants
    • Office supply stores
  • 1x points for every dollar you spend everywhere else

You’ll be able to redeem the points you earn for your spending as JetBlue travel at a value of around 1 point per cent.

JetBlue Business Card Travel Perks

The JetBlue Business Card offers good sustained spending rewards, for sure. But those travel perks for cardholders? They’ll offer up some serious value. As you’d hope for from a dedicated airline card!

Here are just a few of the most notable travel perks you’ll access through the JetBlue Business Card:

Inflight Discount: When you make inflight purchases with your JetBlue Business Card, you’ll be able to access a whopping 50% discount. This, of course, will only apply to purchases on JetBlue flights, but if you’re often buying meals or drinks on JetBlue flights, then this discount could prove extremely valuable.

First Checked Bag Free: The JetBlue Business Card allows you and up to three companions on your reservation to check a first bag for free on JetBlue flights.

Vacation Package Discount: The JetBlue Business Card will give you a $100 statement credit if you buy a JetBlue Vacations package worth at least $100.

Earn Mosaic Status: If you spend at least $50,000 on your JetBlue business credit card in a given calendar year, you’ll automatically step up to TrueBlue Mosaic status, which will upgrade your JetBlue travel experience even more. With this upgrade, you’ll be able to access early boarding, a second checked bag for free, complimentary alcohol onboard, and free itinerary changes and cancellations.

JetBlue Business Card Bonuses

You’ll be able to access two kinds of bonuses if you opt for the JetBlue Business Card:

Welcome Offer: If you’re able to spend at least $1,000 in purchases during your first 90 days after opening your JetBlue Business Card account, you’ll earn a welcome offer of 40,000 bonus points. To put this welcome offer into perspective, you’ll simply have to spent an average of a little over $333 a month to access around $400 worth of JetBlue travel.

Anniversary Bonus: You’ll also be able to earn 5,000 bonus miles for every account anniversary you have with the JetBlue Business Card.  And though other business credit cards that offer anniversary bonuses will only offer them to cardholders that spend a certain amount in a calendar year, you’ll be able to access the JetBlue Business Card anniversary no matter how much you spend.

→TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read): The biggest values in rewards and perks for the JetBlue business card are, as you might expect, when you fly JetBlue. You can also earn very good sustained rewards—but the perks are in the travel.

JetBlue Business Card Fees

As with any business credit card, all ofJetBlue Business Card’s perks, rewards, and bonuses don’t come for free. You’ll have to pay an annual fee of $99 in order to access them.

That said, you won’t have to pay a foreign transaction fee on any business spending you do abroad with the JetBlue business credit card, so you’ll be able to send overseas without worrying about sneaky fees.

→TL;DR: You’ll have to pay a $99 fee for the JetBlue Business Card, but there’s no foreign transaction fee.

The JetBlue Business Card’s Top Competitors

The biggest downside of the JetBlue Business Card’s perks, rewards, and bonuses? They’re limited to travel with JetBlue and JetBlue only. If you’re entirely loyal to JetBlue, that’s great. But that’ll limit you if you ever want to take your rewards elsewhere—or if you’d like to get more value out of your business spending.

In that case, look to business credit cards that offer more general travel rewards.

These top alternatives to the JetBlue Business Card are worthy competitors. They’ll also enable you to earn big travel rewards, but you’ll be able redeem them more widely and avoid the enforced airline loyalty that comes with an airline-specific business card.

Best for Transferrable Travel Rewards: Chase Ink Business Preferred

The Chase Ink Business Preferred gives the JetBlue Business Card a run for its money in terms of what you’ll be able to earn from you spending.

For one, the Ink Preferred offers one of the most generous welcome offers available on the market—80,000 bonus points if you spend $5,000 within three months of opening your account. You’ll also earn 3x rewards for the first $150,000 you spend annually on:

  • Travel
  • Shipping
  • Search engine and social media advertising
  • Internet, cable, and phone services

Plus, with 1x rewards on every dollar you spend on everything else.

The top feature of the Ink Preferred, though, is that the points you earn with this card are remarkably valuable when you redeem them through Chase Ultimate Rewards. You’ll get 1.25 cents worth of travel for each point, which makes the Ink Preferred’s welcome offer worth $1,000.

Granted, the Ink Preferred with an annual fee, but it will round in at just $95, even less than the JetBlue Business Card’s $99 annual fee.

Best No-Fee Travel Rewards: Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard®

Maybe you’re completely fee-averse and want to find a business travel rewards card without any annual fee at all. You can—and still get a ton of benefit.

Among your pretty stellar options is the Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard®. This no annual fee business travel card will reward you for your spending at the following rates:

  • 3x rewards for every dollar you spend on travel you book through the Bank of America® Travel Center
  • 1.5x rewards for every dollar you spend on anything else

You can’t find rates like these on any other free business credit card. Plus, when you spend $1,000 within 60 days of opening your account, you’ll earn a welcome offer of 25,000 bonus points that you can easily redeem as a $250 statement credit toward travel purchases.

Even better, you’ll be able to access a 0% intro APR period of nine months with this alternative to the JetBlue Business Card, so you’ll be able to carry a interest-free balance for nine whole months. Afterwards, your APR will set in at a rate that will depend on your creditworthiness and the market Prime Rate, so be sure to see the issuer’s terms and conditions to get the latest APR information.

Best for Luxury Travel Rewards: American Express Business Platinum

If you’re a real luxury traveler, however, you can get the absolute highest bang for your buck with a business credit card that can get you the most high-end travel perks possible for your business travel. If that sounds like you, you’ll want to give serious consideration to the American Express Business Platinum.

Though airline-specific business credit cards like the JetBlue Business Card are able to offer pretty stellar travel perks for their own flying experience, the Amex Platinum will allow you to travel comfortably no matter which airline you decide to travel with.

You’ll have to pay a premium for these perks—$450 a year—but the Platinum will more than pay for itself, especially if you’re already planning on accessing any of the following with your own money:

  • Airport lounge access
  • Global Entry or PreCheck application credit
  • $200 credit for incidentals for any airline
  • Boingo WiFi plan

And that’s just a few of the many Amex Platinum benefits.

Plus, you’ll be able to access welcome offer of up to 100,000 bonus points if you spend at least $25,000 within your first three months with the card. You’ll also earn 5x rewards for all of the travel you book through amextravel.com.

→TL;DR: If you plan to fly other airlines, or you want to have the ability to be take your rewards elsewhere, it’s worth exploring other business credit cards. They can provide other perks, whether you’re looking for no fee, more luxury, or better flexibility.

So, Should You Pick the JetBlue Business Card as Your Go-To Travel Card?

Now that we’ve combed through all the information you’ll need to decide whether or not the JetBlue Business Card is the right card for your business, we encourage you to step back and take in the bigger picture.

We’ve learned that:

  • Though the JetBlue is a stellar option for JetBlue frequent flyers, its airline-specific nature seriously limits the value you’ll be able to get out of it.
  • A more general business travel rewards card will allow you to fly as you see fit and access rewards even if you choose to fly on an airline other than your go-to.

At the end of the day, travel rewards cards like the Ink Preferred, the Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard®, and the AMEX Business Platinum will allow you the freedom you deserve as you travel for your business.

The post The 2018 JetBlue Business Card Review, Plus 3 Great Alternatives appeared first on Fundera Ledger.



from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/jetblue-business-card

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