United JetBlue Partnership
United Airlines and JetBlue's new partnership is officially live. The United JetBlue partnership, dubbed “Blue Sky,” allows travelers to earn and redeem miles for flights on either airline. Eventually, those with elite status will also get some reciprocal perks with flying with both airlines.
What The United JetBlue Partnership Means For Travelers
After announcing their new partnership back in May, United and JetBlue officially launched Blue Sky on Oct. 23. The Blue Sky collaboration will continue rolling out in phases over the next year and beyond. These are the benefits travelers can begin to take advantage of right now:
- JetBlue TrueBlue members can earn TrueBlue points and tiles (the metric required to reach Mosaic status) on United flights. TrueBlue members can earn 5 points per every $1 spent on United flights, while those with Mosaic status earn 8X points.
- United MileagePlus Members can earn MileagePlus miles on most, but not all, JetBlue flights. MileagePlus members can earn 5 miles per every $1 spent on JetBlue flights, while those with Premier status can earn up to 11X miles, depending on your level of status.
- Passengers can redeem United MileagePlus miles on JetBlue flights, and vice versa for TrueBlue points on United flights, for both domestic and international routes.
More Benefits Coming in 2026
The airlines say more benefits are coming in 2026. Here's what travelers can expect:
- Sometime in the first quarter of 2026, United and JetBlue will begin offering each other's flights for sale through their own websites and mobile apps. Travelers will also be able to book combined United and JetBlue itineraries, giving JetBlue flyers access to United's global network. For example, you could book a domestic JetBlue flight from New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX) and connect onward to Sydney (SYD) on United.
- Also coming in early 2026, frequent flyers with status will enjoy some reciprocal benefits when flying on either airline, including priority boarding, complimentary access to preferred and extra legroom seats, and same-day changes or switches.
- United will integrate its travel booking platform for hotels, rental cars, cruises, and more into JetBlue's Paisley platform.
- JetBlue is also giving United up to seven daily roundtrip slots at New York's JFK Airport beginning sometime in 2027.
Award Redemptions
When we first heard about Blue Sky, we were most excited about the option to redeem JetBlue TrueBlue points and United MileagePlus miles for JetBlue and United award flights. As JetBlue is not currently a part of any airline alliance, partnerships like this one with United can offer valuable way to book JetBlue flights with transferrable points and miles.
Until last week, we didn't know what award rates would look like for either airline. After digging into these redemption options, our excitement has lessened a bit.
Redeem United Miles for JetBlue Flights
You can now redeem United miles for JetBlue flights, but award space on some routes, especially JetBlue's transatlantic routes, was difficult to find. Many o JetBlue's nonstop routes yielded no search results whatsoever, although it's possible that JetBlue flights are still being loaded into United's system.
In general, booking JetBlue flights through United will cost more miles than booking through JetBlue itself, although just how much more depends on where you're flying. This JetBlue transcontinental route from Los Angeles (LAX) to New York (JFK) was 35,000 United miles one-way in economy.
Meanwhile, JetBlue is charging just 11,00 points for that exact same flight — 14,800 points if you want to avoid basic economy.
It's the same story for most JetBlue's Caribbean routes like those to Aruba (AUA); Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ); and San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU).
United's award pricing for JetBlue's transatlantic routes is slightly better. For example, this JetBlue flight from Boston (BOS) to Madrid (MAD) was bookable for just
By comparison, JetBlue is charging 33,800 points for the same flight in basic economy. Still, either option is hardly the cheapest way to get to Europe with points and miles.
In our searches, award availability for JetBlue Mint business class was virtually nonexistent. But that's hardly surprising as it appears JetBlue has been blocking partner awards for its Mint business class seats for awhile now.
Using JetBlue Points For United Flights
United flights are now also bookable with JetBlue TrueBlue points. It appears domestic United flights can be booked for as few as 11,900 points each way.
That can be a good deal, depending on what United is charging for its own flights at that time.
You can also book United's long-haul international routes through JetBlue, but you won't find better rates than United's own award pricing.
There was no United Polaris business class award availability on any of the routes we searched.
United JetBlue Partnership: ToP Thoughts
United and JetBlue's new partnership is now live, and while it's great that members have more ways to earn and redeem points, we're a little disappointed that the redemption rates aren't better, especially for JetBlue flights. The partnership will continue to roll out and evolve over the next year and change, so we'll be keeping an eye on it to see if any more award space opens up, particularly for business class flights. Let us know what you think of Jet Blue and United's new partnership in the ToP Facebook group.
