Best Way to Book JetBlue Business Class: AMEX Business Platinum Pay With Points

JetBlue offers a terrific Business Class called Mint. You get lie-flat seats, tasty food, and terrific amenities. And depending on the Mint seat you choose, you can even get an individual suite with extra privacy.

Mint is only available on select JetBlue routes. But there are lots of new Mint routes planned!

The challenge is getting a Mint seat using points. Unless there’s a seat sale, it’s usually NOT a good deal to redeem JetBlue points for a seat in Mint Business Class.

But now you can use AMEX Membership Rewards points linked to The Enhanced Business Platinum® Card from American Express OPEN card to get 50% of your points back when you book JetBlue Mint Business Class tickets. This can be a good deal!

Using the AMEX Business Platinum 50% Points Back Perk With Pay With Points Can Be a Great Way to Book a Comfortable JetBlue Mint Business Class Ticket!

I’ll show you how to book a JetBlue Mint Business Class ticket using AMEX Pay With Points!

JetBlue Mint Business Class

Link: JetBlue Mint

Mint Business Class seats are only available on certain JetBlue routes. Here’s a look at the current and planned Mint routes to and from Boston, Fort Lauderdale, and New York (JFK).

From Boston to:

Aruba (future route)
Barbados (seasonal)
San Diego (future route)
San Francisco
Seattle (future route)
St. Lucia (future route)
St. Maarten (future route)

From Fort Lauderdale to:

Los Angeles (future route)
San Francisco (future route)

From New York (JFK) to:

Aruba (seasonal)
Barbados (seasonal)
Grenada (future route)
Las Vegas (future route)
Los Angeles
San Diego (starts August 15, 2017)
San Francisco
Seattle (future route)
St. Lucia (future route)
St. Maarten (future route)

JetBlue Is Expanding Their Mint Business Class Service

Million Mile Secrets team member Keith has experienced Mint service several times. He really enjoys the delicious food, large entertainment screens, and extremely comfortable seats.

Even paying cash for Mint Business Class seats can sometimes be a good deal. For example, you can regularly find one-way transcontinental fares between New York and Los Angeles or San Francisco for $549+. This can be 50% less than Business Class prices on competitors like Delta or United Airlines.

And Mint fares can occasionally cost only slightly more than regular coach airfare. For some folks it might be worth it to pay a little extra for the experience.

But why pay cash if you can use points?

JetBlue Business Class With Points

Link: Get 50% of Your Points Back With AMEX Business Platinum

If you have the AMEX Business Platinum card, you can redeem AMEX Membership Rewards points for ANY Business Class ticket through the AMEX travel portal and get 50% of your points back.

Remember you can combine AMEX Membership Rewards points from other cards to take advantage of this perk as long as you have the Business Platinum card.

You can also use this perk to get 50% of your points back on coach tickets. But you’ll be limited to the airline you select.

If You Have the AMEX Platinum Card, You Can Use Pay With Points to Get an Especially Good Deal on JetBlue Mint Business Class Tickets

When you book this way, your AMEX Membership Rewards points are worth 2 cents per point. Plus, it’s like paying cash for a flight. So you’ll earn JetBlue points towards elite status! And you don’t have to worry about blackout dates!

This perk is one of the reasons I got the Business Platinum card!

Here’s how you can use this perk to get a great deal booking JetBlue Mint Business Class tickets.

Step 1. Log-In to AMEX Travel

First, log-in to the AMEX travel portal.

Log-In to the AMEX Travel Portal

Step 2. Search Flights

Next, enter your desired flight details. For Mint Business Class seats, you’ll have to search an eligible JetBlue route.

In this example, I searched one-way from New York to Los Angeles in January 2017.

Search an Eligible JetBlue Route That Offers Mint Business Class

Step 3. View JetBlue Mint Business Class Options

The search results will show you Business Class options across multiple airlines.

You can click JetBlue to filter the results.

Click JetBlue to Filter the Business Class Flight Search Results

Note: You’ll get 50% of your points back on ANY Business Class flight using Pay With Points with your Business Platinum card. But it works better with JetBlue because the Business Class flight prices tend to be cheaper, so you won’t use as many points.

Step 4. Select a JetBlue Flight

Depending on the route you search, there might be multiple flight options.

This is the case with flights from New York (JFK) to Los Angeles because JetBlue has multiple flights per day.

You’ll see flights cost ~$549 or you can use ~55,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points to book this flight with Pay With Points.

Step 5. Pay With Points

Next, you’ll enter your passenger details and proceed to the payment screen.

Select Pay With Points.

Select Pay With Points to Pay for Your Flight With AMEX Membership Rewards Points

For this flight, you’ll use ~55,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points to pay for the ticket.

Apply Your AMEX Membership Rewards Points to Pay for the JetBlue Mint Business Class Flight

Step 6. Get 50% of Your Points Back

After you use points from the Business Platinum to book a Business Class ticket with Pay With Points, you’ll get 50% of the points back.

AMEX completes the process automatically. It takes 6 to 8 weeks to get your points back in your account.

In this example, you’ll get ~27,500 AMEX Membership Rewards points back (55,000 / 2).

This means you’re essentially paying ~27,500 AMEX Membership Rewards points for a $549 fare. So you’re getting 2 cents per point ($549 / 27,500). And that’s a great deal!

Why Pay With Points Is Better Than AMEX Points Transfer

JetBlue is an AMEX Membership Rewards airline transfer partner. But points do NOT transfer at a 1:1 ratio.

For every 250 AMEX Membership Rewards points you transfer, you’ll get 200 JetBlue points.

To book the flight in the earlier example, you’d need 41,400 JetBlue points.

You’ll Pay 41,400 JetBlue Points to Book the Mint Business Class Seat in This Example

Because of the unfavorable transfer ratio, you’d need to transfer 52,500 AMEX Membership Rewards points to JetBlue to have enough points to book the award flight.

AMEX Membership Rewards Points Do NOT Transfer to JetBlue at a 1:1

You’ll use nearly double the number of points by transferring AMEX Membership Rewards points.

Because the final amount of points you’ll use for a $549 JetBlue Mint Business Class ticket is:

~27,500 AMEX Membership Rewards points using Pay With Points
52,500 AMEX Membership Rewards points to transfer to JetBlue

One positive about JetBlue award flights is there are no blackout dates. As long as a seat is for sale with cash, you can use points to get a seat. That’s likely not the case on competitors during peak travel times.

Pay Fewer Points Than Other Airlines’ Business Class on Certain Routes

Depending on the route, using the 50% points back perk with AMEX Pay With Points can mean you’ll use the fewest amount of points.

For example, a United Airlines Business Class flight on a similar route (Newark to Los Angeles) and on the same date as the earlier JetBlue example costs 50,000 United Airlines miles.

The Standard United Airlines Business Class Award Flight Costs 50,000 United Airlines Miles

You might be able to find Business Class Saver Award seats for 25,000 United Airlines miles on certain dates. But available seats at the cheaper level can be extremely limited.

And Delta alternatives are even worse. You’ll pay 75,000 Delta miles for a similar flight on the same date. If you’re flexible, you might be able to find slightly cheaper Delta Business Class award flights on this route for 67,500 Delta miles.

Delta Business Class Award Flights on This Date Cost 75,000 Delta Miles

Delta is also an AMEX Membership Rewards airline transfer partner. So if you transferred points directly to Delta for this flight, you’d be using nearly 3X the number compared to booking the JetBlue flight using Pay With Points. That’s NOT a good deal.

You also have to pay a fee of 0.06 cents per point (up to a maximum of $99) when you transfer AMEX Membership Rewards points to a US airline. There are no fees when you Pay With Points.

Bottom Line

You can get a great deal using AMEX Membership Rewards points linked to your AMEX Business Platinum account to book JetBlue Mint Business Class flights.

Because with the Business Platinum card, you get 50% of your points back when you use AMEX Pay With Points to book ANY Business Class ticket.

Depending on the route and the dates, booking with Pay With Points can save you from using double or triple the number of miles you’d need to use on a Business Class award flight with a competitor like Delta or United Airlines. Plus, you’ll save money on the excise tax you’d pay if you transferred AMEX Membership Rewards points directly to a US airline partner.

Have you used Pay With Points to book Business Class tickets? I’d love to hear about your experience!