Jetbue or Southwest credit cards?

[DisneyBliss7]

DH and I are debating between getting the JetBlue card or the Southwest card...
Curious who has these cards and which you'd prefer? Which one can you earn more points on? We have flown on both airlines and loved them both. Thank you!

 

[kaytieeldr]

See the "I love credit cards!" thread on the Budget Board.

 

[DisneyBliss7]

See the "I love credit cards!" thread on the Budget Board.

Oh ok thank you!!!

 

[monarchsfan16]

I have both cards. In theory, the JetBlue one will accumulate points faster. Southwest is my primary, though, because they fly out of my local airport in NH. I have to go to Boston for JetBlue, and Boston is not my top choice airport. I've also had some less than stellar experiences with JetBlue since acquiring the card.

 

[mamamelody2]

DH and I both have the SW card. I got one, got the 50,000 points sign-up bonus. Then I referred DH to get the card and got another 10,000 and he got the 50,000. Those points got the 2 of us to WDW November 2017, then 4 of us (Me, DH, 2 sons) to WDW last September. We also just booked flights for this September with points.

 

[Captainkidd76]

I've also had some less than stellar experiences with JetBlue since acquiring the card.

I have as well. It's almost not worth the hassle when you go to redeem your points if you're flying with your family. It's bizarre how difficult they make it.

 

[PerfessorZ]

DH and I are debating between getting the JetBlue card or the Southwest card...
Curious who has these cards and which you'd prefer? Which one can you earn more points on? We have flown on both airlines and loved them both. Thank you!

I have both and I find SW to be superior for me, despite the fact that JB flies out of my small, local airport, but the closest I can hop a SW flight is over an hour away.

To start, SW awards bigger sign up bonuses. SW also offers companion pass which, if you work to achieve, can save you a bundle as well. SW pts are also worth more, point for point, than JB. SW points are typically worth about 1.5 cents a pt vs 1 cent a pt for JB. SW offers free baggage, while JB charges for luggage.* SW also has liberal cancellation and rebooking policies that allow you to recoup pts if your fare goes down after you book.

Jet Blue used to impress me with their tv sets built into the back of the seats, but what was high tech in 1999 is merely quaint in 2019.

* SW offers 2 free bags per ticket, regardless of whether you use your credit card or points to purchase the ticket. Jet Blue offers one free bag per person up to 4 with tickets purchased with a Jet Blue PLUS (not their standard) credit card.

 

[nordkin]

Look at the Chase Sapphire preferred card. You can transfer the rewards points one for one into both JetBlue and Southwest’s rewards programs as well as other airlines and hotels. It does give double rewards for travel purchases. It does not give you preferred boarding or free luggage.

 

[Jimsig]

For me I went with the JB Plus card. Unless SW starts flying non-stop from BOS to MCO I can't see myself flying them enough to make it worth my while getting their card. I can also fly JB out of PVD. Because I don't fly SW I went with the JB Plus card as it includes free baggage in the yearly fee. It also has no foreign transaction fees which has helped a couple times when we went to Canada.

 

[Darcy03231]

I have both and for us, JetBlue is the one we use over Southwest.

 

[PatMcDuck]

I have both cards. My husband has a SW card too (different account, like others have said, get separate cards to get more free points.) I was happy flying SW out of PHL and then EWR to MCO. Now SW has pulled nonstop flights to MCO from Newark, and their PHL flights are usually more expensive. I am sad about this, because I love SW! not just the 2 free bags, but the ability to change flights without paying a fee, and to get credits each time the fare drops.

JetBlue is my new go to for trips to MCO from Newark. You DO get a free bag (1) for each person with the credit card with the Plus card. The flights on points seem to take more points, vs SW. (At least to me it seems that way). I love them, but in January had a bad experience with a cancelled Sunday return flight, they offered a Tuesday flight to JFK as only alternate option. No other airlines cancelled flights to EWR, but the storm was in Boston, one of their Hubs and it was a chain reaction mess, but still frustrating. Weather so whatever.

Now we got credits on JetBlue from that, and they handle credits very differently vs. SW. SW ties them to the person's name that they came from, but JB allows anyone to use them. Interesting. Also you need to book them by a certain date, not use them by a certain date like SW.

 

[n2mm]

I also have the jetblue plus card. The yearly fee is $99. I cover that with our first r/t flight for the 2 of us with free luggage fees. You get a 5000 bonus every year. Double grocery points and 6 times for jetblue airline flight purchases. I looked at SW card and it didn’t wow me. I got 40,000 points during signup.

 

[PerfessorZ]

To reiterate, 40,000 JB points = approx $400 worth of airfare
40,000 SW points = approx $600 worth of airfare

If you get a personal SW card (currently 40,000 pt bonus) and a business SW card (currently 60,000 pt bonus), and hit the minimum spends, you will only be a few thousand points away from Companion Pass status, which allows you to designate a friend or family member to fly along with you FREE wherever you fly for the remainder of the calendar year you earn it PLUS the entire following calendar year. My wife and I both achieved Companion Pass status a couple years ago and took our family of four on 3 trips to Orlando and 1 to California on bonus points alone (with some left over). I think I calculated it once and it was over $5500 in airfare. We did shell out a several hundred in annual fees for our collective 4 cards, but it was way, way worth it.

 

[Jimsig]

JetBlue is my new go to for trips to MCO from Newark. You DO get a free bag (1) for each person with the credit card.

As an FYI to others, only the JetBlue Plus card gets you a free bag and up to 3 others on the same reservation. The regular JB card does not get free bags.

 

[Jimsig]

Here is a comparison of the 2 JetBlue cards

https://www.barclaycardus.com/apply...ignId=2446&cellNumber=16&referrerid=PTRBAEPTS

And here is info on the SW cards

https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/southwest/AEP40kPlus?REF=FULLSITE&clk=2643070&CELL=6PLX

 

[n2mm]

As an FYI to others, only the JetBlue Plus card gets you a free bag and up to 3 others on the same reservation. The regular JB card does not get free bags.

Yep, true. Free checked luggage is for the card holder plus 3 companions all on the same itinerary. I’ve had the card for a few years now. My jetblue flights are under $70 each way most times and SW is normally over $125 one way. If the prices were similar I would look into SW, but right now I’m sticking with JB.

 

[hsmamato2]

I have both cards. In theory, the JetBlue one will accumulate points faster. Southwest is my primary, though, because they fly out of my local airport in NH. I have to go to Boston for JetBlue, and Boston is not my top choice airport. I've also had some less than stellar experiences with JetBlue since acquiring the card.

I have both..... JB was nice but SW is way easier to use the points IMHO. SW wins for me

 

[The Pho]

I have as well. It's almost not worth the hassle when you go to redeem your points if you're flying with your family. It's bizarre how difficult they make it.

JetBlue card has been great for me. In what way is it difficult for you? I just use the app and hit use points button, no different than paying with the card.

 

[hsmamato2]

For me I went with the JB Plus card. Unless SW starts flying non-stop from BOS to MCO I can't see myself flying them enough to make it worth my while getting their card. I can also fly JB out of PVD. Because I don't fly SW I went with the JB Plus card as it includes free baggage in the yearly fee. It also has no foreign transaction fees which has helped a couple times when we went to Canada.

yeah JB is good for flying out of Boston

 

[hsmamato2]

JetBlue card has been great for me. In what way is it difficult for you? I just use the app and hit use points button, no different than paying with the card.

the roundabout way of using points and getting the 10% back was a PITA..... I guess it's a different process now but for me SWA is a no brainer process