JetBlue, an airline based in the United States, offers an exceptional Business Class product that it calls “Mint”. Every JetBlue Mint seat reclines to become a lie-flat bed and the on-board service is great, with friendly crew and quality catering.

Unfortunately for Australian-based points enthusiasts, JetBlue doesn’t have a lot of partner airlines. This means it’s not that easy for Australians to book reward seats on JetBlue.

But in an exciting new development, the New York-based airline recently forged a partnership with Qatar Airways. This means that you can now redeem Qatar Airways Avios for JetBlue flights – including in Mint. There are no fuel surcharges when booking JetBlue flights, so you’ll just pay any third-party taxes.

Award availability is surprisingly good on its long-haul routes between New York, Boston and Europe. We’ve even seen some JetBlue flights with up to 7 Mint seats available to book with Avios!

Just be aware that JetBlue does not operate any lounges. Mint tickets do not include lounge access, even for trans-Atlantic flights.

You can also now use JetBlue TrueBlue points to book Qatar Airways flights. Redemptions are available on the JetBlue website, and yes, JetBlue does sell its TrueBlue points. (In fact, you can even get a 90% bonus when buying TrueBlue points until 31 March 2024.)

How to get Qatar Airways Avios

If you have American Express Membership Rewards points, you can transfer these to Qatar Airways Privilege Club at a 2:1 rate.

You can also move Avios between your British Airways Executive Club and Qatar Airways Privilege Club accounts. Both Qatar Airways and British Airways sell Avios at different prices.

Booking JetBlue award flights on the Qatar Airways website

Qatar Airways only displays real-time award availability on its website for a few partner airlines – but one of those is JetBlue. Simply log into your Privilege Club account on the Qatar Airways website, and then search for award flights.

You can also use ExpertFlyer, a paid subscription service, to search for accurate JetBlue partner award availability.

If an award seat is available, you can book it directly on the Qatar Airways website.

JetBlue award flight pricing through Qatar Airways Privilege Club

Qatar Airways Privilege Club doesn’t seem to have an award chart for JetBlue redemptions. But you can use its online calculator to check the number of Avios required to book any specific route.

It costs 78,000 Qatar Avios, plus taxes, to book any one-way JetBlue Mint flight between the USA and Europe. For a Boston-London redemption, those taxes are just USD10.10 (~AU$15) per passenger:

By comparison, a British Airways Club World seat on the same route would cost slightly more Qatar Avios – and substantially more in additional charges:

If redeeming for an American Airlines Business seat from Boston to London, the cost in Avios would be lower – but you’d also pay more in extra cash charges:

A JetBlue Economy Class seat across the Atlantic costs just 25,000 Qatar Avios, plus taxes:

Although JetBlue flies narrow-body aircraft across the Atlantic, its Economy Class food, service and in-flight entertainment is very highly rated.

You can also book JetBlue Mint on many US trans-continental routes (such as Los Angeles-Miami), as well as from Boston or New York to selected Caribbean destinations.

JetBlue domestic Economy redemptions are very reasonably priced…

The number of Qatar Avios needed to book Mint on a route like New York-Los Angeles is a fair bit higher than Economy. But it’s still not terrible value compared to the cash airfare, especially when you consider the high-quality product.

It’s often hard to find partner airline award availability within the USA, so JetBlue could be a good left-field option.

When redeeming Avios, the sweet spot is often routes under 2,000 miles. If you happen to find a JetBlue Mint award seat on a route under 2,000 miles, such as Boston-Sint Maarten, you can book this for just 26,000 Qatar Airways Avios + taxes.

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Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.