How I Scored a Round-Trip JetBlue Mint Flight With Just 1 Amex Platinum Bonus

Years have passed since I last experienced JetBlue Mint, the airline’s premium business class product that offers lie-flat seats, elevated dining options, and personalized service.

The idea of relaxing in a lie-flat seat, enjoying curated cocktails, and savoring a high-end dining experience at 35,000 feet was just too enticing to ignore. That’s why I decided to make it my short-term goal to fly JetBlue Mint again, especially since my last Mint flight from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to Los Angeles (LAX) was 10 years ago.

However, there was only one minor issue: Mint fares are not usually affordable. But with some savvy travel card planning, I was able to book a round-trip Mint ticket using the welcome bonus offer on The Platinum Card^® from American Express. Here’s how.

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The Platinum Card^® from American Express

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The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.

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The Platinum Card^® from American Express

The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.

Welcome Offer

Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.

80,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

Up to $1,760

Annual Fee

$695

APR

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Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent

Why We Like This Card

When it comes to cards that offer top-notch benefits, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better card out there than The Platinum Card^® from American Express.

Make no mistake — the Amex Platinum card is a premium card with a premium price tag. With amazing benefits like best-in-class airport lounge access, hotel elite status, and tremendous value in annual statement credits, it can easily prove to be one of the most lucrative cards in your wallet year after year.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• The best airport lounge access out of any card (by far) — enjoy access to over 1,400 worldwide lounges, including the luxurious Amex Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass lounges (enrollment required), Plaza Premium Lounges, and many more!
• 5x points per dollar spent on flights purchased directly with the airline or with AmexTravel.com (up to $500,000 per year)
• 5x points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels booked with AmexTravel.com

Cons

• $695 annual fee (rates and fees)
• Airline credit does not cover airfare (only incidentals like checked bags)

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Card Highlights

• Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Earn 5X Membership Rewards^® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards^® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.
• $200 Hotel Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts^® or The Hotel Collection bookings through American Express Travel using your Platinum Card^®. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
• $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back in statement credits each month on eligible purchases made with your Platinum Card^® on one or more of the following: Disney+, a Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
• With American Express Global Lounge Collection^® you can enjoy access to over 1,400 airport lounges globally, including The Centurion^® Lounge, Unlimited Delta Sky Club^® Access when flying an eligible Delta flight, Escape Lounges, Lufthansa Lounges when flying Lufthansa Group, Plaza Premium, Priority Pass™ Select Lounges, & Additional Global Lounge Collection Partner Lounges subject to visit limitations. Lounges may have their own rules, like additional access rules and guest fees, and for Priority Pass Select, you need to enroll and there are unlimited airport lounge visits for Card Members. With Delta Sky Club Access, Card Members will receive 10 Visits to the Delta Sky Club to be used from February 1 until January 31 of the next calendar year and can unlock Unlimited Delta Sky Club Access by spending $75,000 in eligible purchases on their Card in a calendar year. To find a lounge, visit the membership section in the American Express^® App or visit http://www.americanexpress.com/findalounge#/loungefinder.
• $155 Walmart+ Credit: Save on eligible delivery fees, shipping, and more with a Walmart+ membership. Use your Platinum Card^® to pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership and get up to $12.95 plus applicable taxes back on one membership (excluding Plus Ups) each month.
• $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Platinum Card^®.
• $200 Uber Cash: Platinum Card^® Members can ride or dine in style with $15 in Uber Cash each month, plus a bonus $20 in December after adding their Card to their Uber account. Use your Uber Cash on rides and orders in the U.S. when you select an Amex Card for your transaction.
• $199 CLEAR^® Plus Credit: CLEAR^® Plus helps to get you to your gate faster at 50+ airports nationwide and get up to $199 back per calendar year on your Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Card. CLEARLanes are available at 100+ airports, stadiums, and entertainment venues.
• Receive either a $120 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck^® (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your Platinum Card^®. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
• Shop Saks with Platinum: Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases in Saks Fifth Avenue stores or at saks.com on your Platinum Card^®. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
• Unlock access to exclusive reservations and special dining experiences with Global Dining Access by Resy when you add your Platinum Card^® to your Resy profile.
• $695 annual fee.
• Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
• Terms Apply.

Financial Snapshot

• APR: See Pay Over Time APR
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

American Express Membership Rewards

Amex Platinum Card Welcome Bonus Offer

Here’s the current public welcome offer for the Amex Platinum card:

However, some applicants have reported targeted welcome offers of up to 175,000 points after spending $8,000 within the first 6 months. These elevated welcome bonus offers can usually be found through targeted channels, like the CardMatch tool or specific referral links from a friend or family member.

I checked CardMatch first but had no luck with a higher-targeted welcome offer. However, when I logged into my American Express online account, I saw an elevated welcome offer of 125,000 points with the same minimum spending requirement as the public offer.

I applied and was approved immediately. Upon receiving the card, I immediately worked on meeting the minimum spend requirement in 1 swoop. Since I pay my own quarterly taxes as a 1099 filer, I paid my taxes using my Amex Platinum card through the tax-payment processor Pay1040, which charges a fee of 1.75%.

Although I had to cough up $140 in fees to use a credit card to pay my taxes, we value Amex points at 2.2 cents apiece. Therefore, my welcome bonus offer of 125,000 points is worth more like ~$2,750, which felt like a small price for a heap of points!

How I Booked JetBlue Mint With Amex Points

When I first flew JetBlue Mint a decade ago, I paid just 25,000 TrueBlue points to travel across the country from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to Los Angeles (LAX). Since then, airfare pricing has risen significantly, as this would be an incredible deal today.

Typically, I can find more affordable flights from U.S. East Coast cities to Caribbean destinations such as Fort Lauderdale to Barbados or New York (JFK) to Aruba, among others. These Caribbean routes usually offer lower Mint fares than transcontinental flights, such as those from New York to Los Angeles or Boston (BOS) to San Francisco (SFO).

JetBlue also operates European flights from the East Coast to Amsterdam, London, Dublin, and Paris, along with newer routes to Madrid and Edinburgh. However, these flights are typically priced much higher than the Caribbean routes.

I wanted to find the lowest Mint award rates I could book, so I began checking rates for travel in April 2025 from the East Coast to the Caribbean, focusing on finding the lowest fares in points available.

Since I had already planned to be in New York City in April, I researched all the JetBlue Caribbean destinations that offer Mint business class from New York (JFK), like Aruba, St. Thomas, St. Martin, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Then, I used JetBlue’s Best Fare Finder tool to search by month and find the lowest rates.

After researching, I found Mint award space from New York (JFK) to San Juan (SJU) in mid-April for just 68,000 points round-trip and $11.20. This was the absolute lowest rate I could find, and even better, the dates worked for my schedule.

Since Amex Membership Rewards points can be transferred at a 1:0.8 ratio to JetBlue, I transferred 74,000 Amex points (1:0.8) to cover the cost of my JetBlue Mint award flight of 68,000 points. Even though the transfer ratio isn’t 1:1, and I’d usually refrain from transferring Amex points to JetBlue, this option was the most suitable for my travel plans.

Even though JetBlue is operating its original Mint business class with the alternating 2-2 and 1-1 layout to Puerto Rico, I’m still really looking forward to the comfort of a lie-flat seat and excellent inflight cuisine.

Final Thoughts

I used fewer than 75,000 Amex Membership Rewards points to book JetBlue’s swanky Mint business class from the East Coast to the beautiful Caribbean — and for a round-trip ticket. What’s more, I earned all those points from a single welcome bonus offer on the Amex Platinum card, and I still have plenty left to plan my next adventure.