JetBlue TrueBlue shopping portal guide

JetBlue may be relatively new among carriers that operate in the U.S., but it consistently ranks among the best in customer satisfaction. While mostly a domestic airline, the carrier has also added new international destinations over the last few years, including in Caribbean resort areas like Belize and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic and European destinations like London, England (LHR and LGW) and Paris, France (CDG).

The airline’s TrueBlue frequent flyer program can be useful for customers who want to save money on flights by earning points while traveling and with co-branded JetBlue rewards cards. However, there’s another way you can earn points toward future JetBlue travel — by making online purchases through the TrueBlue Shopping portal.

If you want to earn more JetBlue points this year regardless of how you pay for purchases, read on to find out everything to know about the TrueBlue shopping portal and how to use it.

What is JetBlue TrueBlue Shopping?

TrueBlue Shopping is JetBlue’s shopping portal that helps loyalty members earn bonus points by shopping online with eligible retailers.

You must be a TrueBlue loyalty member to shop and earn bonus points. After joining, you can navigate to the portal and select partner retailers you want to shop with. There are hundreds of stores to choose from, including department stores, home improvement, tech sites and more. The points you can earn vary, and some offer a flat rate per purchase. Many current retailers earn about 10 to 100 points per $10 spent.

When you click “shop now,” you’ll be directed to the online store and can make your purchase like normal.

Unlike some other loyalty program shopping portals, JetBlue TrueBlue Shopping also has an option to link a deal to your credit card and shop in-store with select retailers. You register an eligible payment card, and then you can earn the listed points value when you use the card to make a purchase with an eligible retailer. Or, in some cases, you can shop online without needing to click through the portal first and still earn your points as long as you pay with the linked card.

Benefits of JetBlue TrueBlue Shopping

TrueBlue Shopping lets members earn more points for spending money online, which can help them rack up the rewards needed for an award trip that much more quickly. Members can shop through the portal or link an eligible card to take advantage of card-linked offers in-store and online.

Members can also:

• Earn variable rates on purchases; some retailers offer a flat rate per purchase, while others earn upwards of 10 points per $10 spent
• Use promo code coupons and special offers to save even more on select spending, when eligible
• Check back regularly for special rewards offers that update throughout the month

How to sign up and access TrueBlue Shopping

Using TrueBlue Shopping is relatively easy, especially once you get the hang of it. A few simple steps are required to get started, including the following:

Step 1: Sign up for a JetBlue TrueBlue account

If you want to earn bonus rewards through TrueBlue Shopping, you’ll need to become a JetBlue loyalty member first. You can join the JetBlue TrueBlue program by signing up on the airline’s website.

To sign up, you’ll need to provide your:

• Email address
• Full name
• Date of birth
• Address
• Phone number
• Known Travel Number (if you have one)

You’ll also need to create a username and password you can use to log into your account.

Step 2: Sign into the JetBlue TrueBlue shopping portal

Next, you’ll need to log into the JetBlue TrueBlue shopping portal. You can do this by heading to trueblueshopping.jetblue.com and logging in with your name and email.

Step 3: Browse retailers and offers

Once you’re logged in, you can browse hundreds of stores that you may already shop in regularly such as Home Depot, Walmart, Old Navy, Lowe’s and more. You can search for stores by category, by special offers or directly by name. After clicking “shop now,” you’ll be directed to the retailer’s site where you can make your purchase and earn points.

Clicking through the TrueBlue shopping portal first is essential if you want to earn bonus rewards. According to JetBlue, purchases are automatically tracked via cookies and your points are calculated automatically based on the details of your purchase.

Step 4: Check out special card-linked offers

There are also special “card-linked offers” available through TrueBlue Shopping. These offers apply when you use a card you registered to your JetBlue TrueBlue account to make an eligible purchase at a participating store.

If you’d rather use the card-linked offers in-store or online, simply register your eligible card to your TrueBlue account and pay with that card when you visit a participating store. After you link your card, it can take up to 24 hours to begin earning the offers on your spending.

Step 5: Watch out for bonus rewards to show up in your account

JetBlue says points earned through TrueBlue Shopping will show up as “pending” in your account within five business days. Once validated by a participating store, the points will move to “approved” status within up to 30 days. Once a store approves your rewards purchase, points will be credited to your JetBlue TrueBlue account within two days.

Can you earn JetBlue points through TrueBlue Shopping?

You’ll earn JetBlue points when you make a purchase with an eligible retailer, either by clicking through the portal or using a card-linked offer. Like other shopping portals, however, your points-earning purchases are tracked using cookies. As such, it’s important to make sure you have cookies enabled within your browser settings.

Also be aware that some purchases through the portal will earn bonus points based on spending, whereas others offer a flat rate of bonus rewards for specific purchases. This means you could earn something like one to 10 additional points per dollar spent on eligible purchases, or a flat rate of 300 to 1,200 points for a qualifying purchase instead.

Based on Bankrate’s recent points valuations, JetBlue TrueBlue points are worth about 1.3 cents each, so you can rack up a lot of value with boosted earnings through the shopping portal — which can help you score free award flights and status with JetBlue in the future.

Best credit cards for JetBlue TrueBlue Shopping

While you don’t need to use a JetBlue co-branded credit card to benefit from the TrueBlue shopping portal, having a co-branded credit card from this airline can help you earn TrueBlue points that much faster. This is because points earned on portal purchases and travel rewards card spending are entirely separate. As a result, you can easily “double dip” on rewards by using a card like the JetBlue Plus Card* to make purchases through the portal. Even if you don’t have a travel rewards card, any rewards credit card will allow you to double-dip.

The fact that JetBlue is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards and the Citi ThankYou program also opens the door to even more points-earning opportunities. For example, you could use a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points that transfer to JetBlue at a 1:1 ratio.

Other points-earning cards that could help you maximize rewards you can transfer to JetBlue TrueBlue later include the Citi Premier® Card and the American Express® Gold Card, to name a few.

The bottom line

The JetBlue TrueBlue shopping portal is easy to use, and it helps members earn more rewards for online purchases they were going to make anyway. Individuals who use a travel credit card to pay for eligible purchases can multiply their efforts by earning additional points or miles for each dollar they spend.

If you’re trying to boost your rewards in this program, you’ll want to learn about TrueBlue Shopping and get in the habit of using it each time you shop online. Whether you use the portal or regular purchases you need to make, or you only use the portal when you round out your holiday or back-to-school shopping list, you’ll get the chance to earn more points for eligible purchases at hundreds of online stores.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the JetBlue TrueBlue shopping portal

• What do I do if points are missing after a purchase?

  If you believe you’re owed points for purchases made through TrueBlue Shopping, you can complete the Missing Points Claim form with the program. We recommend waiting at least five days after your transaction processes to make sure your points don’t show up first.
  

• How long does it typically take for the points to be approved and credited to the account after a purchase?

  Points earned through TrueBlue Shopping will show up as “pending” in your account within five business days and moved to “approved” status within up to 30 days. From there, points will be credited to your JetBlue TrueBlue account within two days.
  

• What happens if a purchase is canceled or refunded?

  Members don’t earn points on purchases that are ultimately canceled or refunded.
  

*The information about the JetBlue Plus Card has been collected independently by Bankrate. The card details have not been approved or reviewed by the issuer.