British Airways and JetBlue apply for permission to codeshare

In a surprising move, given the close relationship between British Airways and American Airlines, BA and US carrier JetBlue have applied for permission to launch codeshare flights.

We are likely to see this sooner rather than later as:

“The Joint Applicants respectfully request expedited treatment so that they may begin
offering the code-share services described herein.”

You can see the list of routes covered in the US regulatory filing (PDF).

The deal will allow:

• British Airways to sell connecting flights from the UK to multiple US destinations via a connection to JetBlue in New York or Boston

• JetBlue to sell connecting flights from New York and Boston to selected European cities via a connection to British Airways in London

The European destinations covered are Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hamburg, Lisbon, Lyon, Munich, Oslo, Paris, Stockholm, Warsaw and Zurich.

It is important to note that JetBlue’s transatlantic flights are not included so you won’t be able to earn British Airways tier points on JetBlue’s transatlantic services. You can already earn Avios on these flights by crediting them to a Qatar Airways Privilege Club account.

You WILL be able to earn British Airways tier points and Avios on JetBlue domestic flights, as long as they carry a British Airways flight number. This will only be possible if you are connecting to a British Airways transatlantic flight.

Even if approved, this arrangement does NOT allow British Airways to offer JetBlue reward flights to Executive Club members, and vice versa. This doesn’t matter, however, as you can already redeem Avios for JetBlue flights via Qatar Airways Privilege Club.

It’s worth noting that British Airways and JetBlue use different terminals in both New York JFK and Boston so transfers between the airlines will not be seamless.

It’s not clear where this deal leaves the British Airways relationship with American Airlines, and it’s not clear if this is another step (following JetBlue’s partnership with Qatar Airways) to the airline joining the oneworld airline alliance.

Any attempt to add JetBlue to the BA / AA / Finnair / Iberia / Aer Lingus transatlantic joint venture agreement would see strong regulatory pushback, especially after JetBlue lobbied heavily to obtain Heathrow landing and take-off slots on the basis of increasing competition.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (March 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:

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

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

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.

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

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to 120,000 points. You receive 80,000 points when you spend £12,000 within three months and a further 40,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 60,000 points. You receive 40,000 points when you spend £6,000 within three months and a further 20,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

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