American Airlines and JetBlue Airways Introduce Reciprocal Elite Benefits

American Airlines and JetBlue Airways entered into a Northeast Alliance in 2020, allowing the 2 airlines to feed passengers onto each other’s flights into key destinations in the Northeast U.S., particularly New York’s JFK airport. The alliance is intended to be a win-win for passengers — customers on JetBlue now have access to a huge international network on American, and American customers have access to more frequencies domestically.

With the alliance, American and JetBlue have announced reciprocal elite benefits valid on both carriers.

What JetBlue Elites Receive on American

You’ll only be able to partake in benefits on American if you’re a JetBlue TrueBlue Mosaic elite member. Here’s what you’ll be offered:

• Priority check-in, available in most airports that American serves
• 2 free checked bags, up to 50 pounds per bag (you’ll only be able to partake in this benefit if you check-in with an American agent until further IT improvements are rolled out)
• Priority screening, available in select airports and all hubs
• Group 4 Priority boarding (with AAdvantage Gold members)
• Priority baggage handling, including the orange priority tag on all bags
• Complimentary same-day changes on American flights (need “E” availability and must have the same origin/destination and routing)

What American Elites Receive on JetBlue

All AAdvantage elite levels — from Gold to ConciergeKey — are able to partake in benefits on JetBlue. You’ll receive:

• Priority check-in at the Mosaic or Mint queue
• 2 free checked bags, accessible via all forms of check-in
• Priority baggage handling, indicated by a tag on the bag at check-in
• Priority security, available in select airports
• Priority boarding with all Mosaic elites on all flights

Mileage Redemptions

In addition to the elite benefits announced, you’ll also be able to soon redeem American Airlines AAdvantage miles on JetBlue flights. The cheapest option will be economy class, starting at 12,500 miles (typical for American flights), and the most expensive option will be 65,000-mile one-way journeys in JetBlue’s Mint class from several major cities to Los Angeles (LAX) and New York (JFK). This is a steep price tag to pay for this premium product, so you’ll want to be sure you check out all your options before committing to a ticket.

Hot Tip: The ability to redeem JetBlue TrueBlue points on American flights should be available at a future date (TBD).

What’s Coming Soon?

Soon, you’ll be able to select “preferred” seats on both airlines, though both airlines have advised this will only include seats located in better areas of the plane, not seats with additional legroom or benefits.

Final Thoughts

The relationship between American Airlines and JetBlue is definitely going to bring a lot of benefits to flyers, and elite passengers now have more to look forward to when flying either airline. While the benefits certainly could have been stronger, and extra-legroom seating would have been greatly appreciated, the newly announced benefits are a great starting point and will encourage travelers to book both products moving forward.