Is the JetBlue Premier Card Worth Its Annual Fee?

JetBlue is stepping into the premium travel credit card space with the JetBlue Premier World Elite Mastercard. The card, which launched on Jan. 29, 2025, with a hefty $499 annual fee (and an extra $150 for each authorized user), offers perks like lounge access and statement credits for the airline’s travel portal.

But those perks come with notable limitations, and the card falls short of competitor offers. Although JetBlue plans to open its own lounges, it won’t be until at least late 2025 before the first arrives. The card also offers up to $300 in annual statement credits when you shop with Paisly, JetBlue’s online platform for booking hotels, car rentals and activities. But you can’t use up the entire credit in one transaction, making it a hassle to get this perk’s full value.

Is the JetBlue Premier Card worth its $499 annual fee for you? Here’s a rundown of the card’s benefits.

JetBlue Premier Card benefits

Sign-up bonus

Earn 70,000 TrueBlue points after spending $5,000 in the first three months from account opening, worth $1,125 in travel. (NerdWallet values TrueBlue points at 1.5 cents per point; this is a baseline value, so you should aim to get at least this much in value when redeeming your points.)

You’ll also earn five “tiles” toward qualification for JetBlue’s Mosaic elite status. It takes 50 tiles to earn Mosaic 1, JetBlue’s entry-level elite status.

As of January 2025, this is the highest current sign-up bonus available for a JetBlue credit card and the only one that offers a boost toward earning elite status.

Rewards rate

The JetBlue Premier Card offers reward rates that are nearly identical to the JetBlue Plus Card, its midtier card offering with a $99 annual fee.

Here’s how points earning works for the JetBlue Premier Card:

• 6 TrueBlue points for every $1 spent on eligible purchases with JetBlue and Paisly, including JetBlue Vacations.

• 2 points for every $1 spent on eligible restaurant and grocery store purchases.

• 1 point for every $1 spent on all other purchases.

• 1 elite-qualifying tile for every $1,000 in eligible purchases.

A key difference between the premium JetBlue Premier Card and the JetBlue Plus Card: You don’t earn additional points on Paisly purchases with the JetBlue Plus Card.

Lounge access

The most noteworthy perk of the JetBlue Premier Card is lounge access, and likely why the card commands such a high annual fee. But there’s a catch. While JetBlue has announced that it will open its own JetBlue-branded lounges, none have opened so far.

Currently, JetBlue has plans for two lounges: one at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, set to open in Terminal 5 in late 2025, and one at Boston Logan International Airport, which will come soon after in Terminal C.

In the meantime, cardholders and authorized users will each get a Priority Pass Select membership, giving them and one guest unlimited access to lounges, Minute Suites and Be Relax Spas in the Priority Pass network. However, domestic Priority Pass lounges can be hit or miss.

Plus, there are plenty of other cards that come with a Priority Pass membership. For example, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® comes with a Priority Pass Select membership, as well as access to its well-regarded Chase Sapphire lounges, including locations at New York-JFK and Boston.

Statement credits for Paisly purchases (up to $300)

Another major perk of the card is up to $300 in statement credits for travel purchases on Paisly — although it may not be so easy to get the full value of the credit.

The Paisly platform unlocks discounts for hotel bookings, vacation rentals, car rentals and activity bookings. This is open to members of TrueBlue, JetBlue’s frequent-flyer program, but passengers with an upcoming JetBlue itinerary will see the most savings when booking with Paisly. With each Paisly purchase, you’ll earn TrueBlue points in addition to the points you earn for spending on the JetBlue Premier Card; however, points cannot be redeemed for Paisly purchases.

While a $300 credit can cover a significant chunk of the $499 annual fee, there’s a catch: You earn a $50 credit for each qualifying transaction of at least $250. That means you’d need to make six qualifying purchases per calendar year (spending at least $1,500 upfront) to use up the entire $300 credit.

JetBlue travel perks (priority boarding, free checked bag, etc.)

Top-tier airline cards often come with travel perks when flying on that airline, and the JetBlue Premier Card is no exception.

Cardholders, authorized users and up to four travel companions on the same reservation will get Group A priority boarding. You’ll still be behind JetBlue Mint and Mosaic elite passengers, but this gets you almost to the front of the line.

And when you use your JetBlue Premier Card to purchase JetBlue-operated tickets, you and up to three others on your reservation can check your first bag for free. (This perk is also available if you have the JetBlue Plus Card.) You’ll also get 50% off in-flight food and drink purchases on JetBlue flights.

JetBlue TrueBlue point bonuses

The JetBlue Premier Card also includes an anniversary bonus and a points redemption bonus. After each account anniversary, you’ll get 5,000 bonus points. On TrueBlue award flights, you’ll get 10% of your points back after travel is completed.

But these perks shouldn’t be your main driver to sign up for the JetBlue Premier Card. The JetBlue Plus Card offers the same perks for a much more palatable annual fee.

» Learn more: 5 top credit cards with anniversary bonuses

Statement credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry

The JetBlue Premier Card includes a credit for the TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fee every four years.

Many premium travel cards also come with the same credit, so this perk may not be that useful if you already have such a card. However, you can also use this credit for other people as long as the fee is paid using this card.

» Learn more: What you need to know about Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit cards

Who should get the JetBlue Premier Card?

JetBlue loyalists will likely find the most value in opening the JetBlue Premier Card, with its current sign-up bonus offer that includes a boost toward earning Mosaic elite status. And if you already have a habit of making travel bookings through Paisly, it might be easy for you to use up the $300 statement credits.

Still, it’s hard to justify that $499 annual fee when comparing it to existing competitors in the premium travel card space.

It comes with sexy perks like lounge access, but JetBlue-branded lounges are still an unproven concept. It won’t be until late 2025 — assuming there are no launch delays — that customers can see for themselves just how good JetBlue’s lounge offerings will be. And the Priority Pass Select membership it comes with can be obtained through other premium travel cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, The Platinum Card® from American Express (enrollment required, terms apply) and the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.

Until JetBlue’s lounges open, it's worth taking a serious look at the midtier JetBlue Plus Card, which offers many of the same benefits and rewards earning rates at a fraction of the JetBlue Premier Card’s annual fee.