Is It Worth Using JetBlue TrueBlue Points To Book United Flights?

JetBlue and United’s Blue Sky partnership has officially taken off. While the full rollout is still in progress, reciprocal award bookings using points and miles have been live since October 2025.

This is great news for travelers, as it offers more flexibility for booking flights across both networks in ways previously not possible.

Even more interesting, this partnership paves the way for booking United flights with transferable currencies via JetBlue TrueBlue. Now that the partnership has been live for nearly 6 months, let’s take a closer look at these rates to see if they’re worth considering.

JetBlue and United’s Blue Sky Partnership So Far

Less than 3 years after the end of the American Airlines and JetBlue alliance, United stepped in to launch the Blue Sky partnership.

That first phase allowed for reciprocal mileage earning and redemptions on either carrier, meaning JetBlue TrueBlue members can earn and redeem TrueBlue points on United flights. Likewise, United MileagePlus members can earn and redeem MileagePlus miles on JetBlue flights.

In February 2026, the airlines added the ability to book reciprocal cash flights on either carrier.

The Future of Blue Sky

In the coming months, members of both programs can expect reciprocal elite benefits, including priority boarding, preferred seating, same-day flight changes and standby, and more.

Later this year, United’s MileagePlus Travel will move to the JetBlue Travel platform and expand its offerings for hotels, rental cars, cruises, packages, and travel insurance.

Finally, early next year, JetBlue will grant United access to up to 7 daily slots at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). This allows United to reenter JFK, an airport where it currently has no presence and is otherwise dominated by American, Delta, and, of course, JetBlue. JetBlue and United will also share 8 flight times at Newark (EWR).

We haven’t yet heard an update on reciprocal lounge access, but now that JetBlue has opened its new BlueHouse lounge at JFK — and another location is on the way for Boston (BOS) — we hope to hear more about this very soon.

Booking United Flights With Transferable Points and Miles

Right now, United Airlines MileagePlus has just 2 transfer partners: Bilt Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards. Both programs transfer at a straightforward 1:1 ratio.

However, the Blue Sky partnership introduces additional redemption opportunities through JetBlue TrueBlue, which partners with an expanded range of programs beyond Chase Ultimate Rewards. These include:

• American Express Membership Rewards (5:4 transfer ratio with a 250-point minimum)
• Capital One Miles (5:3 transfer ratio)
• Citi ThankYou Rewards (1:1 transfer ratio)

Let’s take a look at some example flights and the prices you’d pay in TrueBlue points to get an idea of what level of pricing you can expect.

First, let’s look at a quick domestic hop: Newark to Chicago (ORD), a hub-to-hub route connecting 2 of the country’s biggest business markets. The lowest cost for this nonstop flight is 15,000 TrueBlue points, which would require 18,750 Amex Membership Rewards points, 25,000 Capital One Miles, or 15,000 Citi ThankYou points.

Next, let’s look at one of United’s most premium routes: its transcontinental flight between Newark and San Francisco (SFO).

Finding nonstop United flights on the route is a bit harder in this situation, but the most common rate we found for an economy ticket is 39,900 TrueBlue points. Interestingly, we weren’t able to find any business class redemptions for United flights on this route — only JetBlue Mint flights with connections.

You would need to transfer 50,000 Amex Membership Rewards points, 67,000 Capital One Miles, or 40,000 Citi ThankYou points to JetBlue to book this same ticket.

Now, let’s look at a short-haul international route from another United hub: Houston (IAH). You can book the carrier’s nonstop flight to San Jose, Costa Rica, for 26,300 TrueBlue points. With transferable points programs, you’d need to transfer 33,000 Amex Membership Rewards points, 45,000 Capital One Miles, or 27,000 Citi ThankYou points to JetBlue.

Finally, let’s look at a long-haul international flight option — Washington, D.C. (IAD) to Frankfurt (FRA) in this example. You can book this flight for 41,000 TrueBlue points one-way in economy.

As such, you’d need to transfer 51,250 Amex Membership Rewards points, 69,000 Capital One Miles, or 41,000 Citi ThankYou Rewards.

Bottom Line:

Amex Membership Rewards and Capital One miles transfer to JetBlue TrueBlue at less-than-ideal ratios, meaning the value often doesn’t work in your favor. In contrast, Citi ThankYou points transfer at a straightforward 1:1 ratio, which could potentially make sense in some situations.

Book United Flights With Aeroplan or LifeMiles

It’s also worth comparing other award currencies to JetBlue’s rates. The tried-and-true methods for booking United flights with alternate currencies include Air Canada Aeroplan and Avianca Lifemiles.

For example, both programs offer a 1:1 transfer ratio with Amex Membership Rewards, giving them a leg up on JetBlue TrueBlue, which has a subpar transfer ratio. Let’s take a look at each of our example routes to compare pricing between Aeroplan, Lifemiles, and TrueBlue.

Newark to Chicago

Aeroplan employs a dynamic pricing model, but you can expect relatively stable pricing on domestic United flights. For example, the majority of United flights between Newark and Chicago will be bookable for 15,000 Aeroplan points.

It’s a similar case with Lifemiles, which also charges 15,000 miles for the one-way flight.

In this example, all 3 programs charge the same number of points or miles for the one-way United flight.

However, there’s a big difference that reveals a clear winner: the transfer ratios. Because of JetBlue’s subpar transfer ratio with American Express, you’d need to transfer more points (18,750) from your Amex account than you would to book this flight through either Aeroplan or Lifemiles, each of which would require transferring only 15,000.

Newark to San Francisco

This transcontinental flight can be booked for just 15,000 Aeroplan miles, a relative bargain for a flight this long.

Lifemiles charges the same rate: just 15,000 points for the journey across North America.

For the same route, JetBlue routinely charges 39,900 points one-way, which is made even worse when you consider that you’d need to transfer 50,000 points from Amex to book through TrueBlue. If you have Amex points to spend, it’s hard to justify transferring 50,000 when you can transfer a mere 15,000 to either Aeroplan or Lifemiles to book the same route.

Houston to San Jose, Costa Rica

Once again, Aeroplan wants just 15,000 miles for most of United’s nonstop flights between Houston and San Jose.

Lifemiles mirrors Aeroplan’s pricing here, too, with just 15,000 miles needed to book the one-way flight.

JetBlue TrueBlue, on the other hand, wants 26,300 points for this same route, which would require transferring 33,000 Amex points to JetBlue. This is a losing proposition once again when compared to the 15,000 points or miles required by the other 2 programs, which, remember, both have 1:1 transfer partnerships with American Express.

Washington, D.C. to Frankfurt

In our final example, we have a nonstop United flight from Washington, D.C. to Frankfurt. Booking through Aeroplan would require 40,000 miles one-way.

Meanwhile, booking through Lifemiles costs the same 40,000 miles.

JetBlue’s pricing is close to the other 2 programs — just 41,000 points for the one-way flight. However, the transfer ratio dictates that you’d need to transfer 51,250 points from American Express to yield the 41,000 TrueBlue points required. Plus, JetBlue charges about $226 in taxes and fees, while Aeroplan charges just $58, and Lifemiles even less at $29.

Hot Tip:

Want to learn more? Learn about all the best ways to redeem Air Canada Aeroplan points and Avianca Lifemiles for maximum value.

Final Thoughts

Based on multiple searches, JetBlue TrueBlue often prices award flights the same as — or even higher than — other Star Alliance partners like Air Canada Aeroplan or Avianca LifeMiles. This is largely due to TrueBlue’s highly variable pricing model, as well as less favorable transfer ratios from programs like Amex Membership Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards.

Of course, if you already have a stash of TrueBlue points, gaining access to United’s extensive network is certainly a plus. However, we can’t recommend transferring valuable transferable points for this purpose, especially when there are at least 2 better options available.