If you are thinking of booking JetBlue flights to the US on Avios, here’s a way of saving

Yesterday we explained how you can now redeem Avios on JetBlue, both for transatlantic flights from the UK and Europe to New York and Boston, and for US domestic flights.

At present there are no surcharges on JetBlue transatlantic redemptions, meaning that the taxes and charges element is low.

As was flagged in the comments, the optimum Business Class solution if you don’t have a BA American Express 2-4-1 companion voucher or a Barclaycard upgrade voucher is to mix and match British Airways and JetBlue.

This has the added advantage of getting you lounge access in London on the outbound leg on British Airways, since JetBlue doesn’t offer lounge access.

This is what it costs (off-peak pricing used for BA, taking the ‘most Avios, least cash’ option) to use Avios to fly one-way from London to New York in Business Class:

• BA: 80,000 Avios + £175 one-way in Business Class between London Heathrow and New York JFK

• JetBlue: 78,000 Avios + £254 one-way in Business Class between London Heathrow and New York JFK

and coming home:

• BA: 80,000 Avios + £175 one-way in Business Class between New York JFK and London Heathrow

• JetBlue: 78,000 Avios + $10 one-way in Business Class between New York JFK and London Heathrow

The JetBlue numbers are very similar if you swap Heathrow for Gatwick and/or New York for Boston.

The cheapest overall option is therefore to fly British Airways outbound and JetBlue inbound.

The total cost is (80,000 Avios BA out + 78,000 Avios JetBlue in) 158,000 Avios plus (£175 BA out plus $10 JetBlue in) £183 in taxes and charges.

This is cheaper than doing BA both ways (160,000 Avios off-peak + £350) or JetBlue both ways (156,000 Avios + £268). Strange but true.

If you really want to save money ….

Even cheaper, of course, is doing the whole thing on JetBlue and flying from Dublin, Amsterdam or Paris. This means you avoid long haul business class UK Air Passenger Duty and the high London airport charges.

From Dublin, a one way to New York JFK in Business Class has charges of just €38.

But what’s JetBlue like in its premium Mint and Mint Suite seats? You can read our review of JetBlue’s Mint Suite here. Our review of the front-row Mint Studio is here.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (January 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.