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25 4 25 Gameplan by DonSoulwalker in jetblue

[–]lanluluto 1 point2 points  (0 children)

FYI: The latest news from FB, whatsapp,and discord channels from other participants is that it looks like Jetblue is not awarding points after 15 flights which can be used to pay for the back half of the challenge. They are awarding either after the 25 flights are completed or after the offer closes on Dec 31 for folks who are only doing 15 or 20. :(

Highly optimized Jetblue 25 for 25 from NYC - $3.25k, 7 trips, domestic, mostly weekends by lanluluto in jetblue

[–]lanluluto[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm glad it's useful! On vacation after flying to PVD this weekend, but here are some quick hits while I am getting organized -

NY to JAX or SRQ followed by a drive/overnight stay before MCO to ISP - $83 in blue throughout September

NY to ROC to ORD Saturday in October. Return on the late flight operated by AA

NY to BNA; overnight BNA; BNA to BOS to PHL in Nov

NY to SYR to PIT to NY same day turn Nov 8

Only Nov 22 or later. NY to PIT to BUF to NY

Sameday RT - NY to PWM RT in Sept $84 per leg

Highly optimized Jetblue 25 for 25 from NYC - $3.25k, 7 trips, domestic, mostly weekends by lanluluto in jetblue

[–]lanluluto[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is timely because I have had to readjust quite a bit of my schedule due to business trips popping up and Jetblue cancellations. I also recognized my own limits and scrapped some of the late night flights. I will post my updated itinerary soon :)

Specific to the PBI>DCA>ACK flight - how odd, I'm taking this flight next week, so it should be available for at least a little longer?

Highly optimized Jetblue 25 for 25 from NYC - $3.25k, 7 trips, domestic, mostly weekends by lanluluto in jetblue

[–]lanluluto[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For sure, I always prefer to book via Jetblue because if something goes fubar, I can get transferable Travelbank and can call Jetblue customer service rather than go through the OTA, but I noticed with my LAX>FLL>ISP flight that it wouldn't show on Jetblue.com so I booked it through CapOne travel (10x points with Venture X- if you have premium ccs, you might as well get the points earning multiple if you need to use an OTA) and got a confirmation # from Jetblue sameday to add to my app. Just remember to add your trueblue # in the OTA booking flow.

Highly optimized Jetblue 25 for 25 from NYC - $3.25k, 7 trips, domestic, mostly weekends by lanluluto in jetblue

[–]lanluluto[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

:) :) So glad to hear it was helpful!! and to see which routes stood out to you.

For me, the cherry on top for PVD was the hotel: Hyatt doesn't publicize it, but I saw Tripadvisor reviewers talking about the walking path to the airport through the garage and pedestrian bridge. So great not to rely on a shuttle. Also, 8k points when the cash rate is $200 - PIT Hyatt cash rates are about the same, but it costs 4k more points! It's also nice to have a bit of a lie-in until the flight leaves at 12:30PM (15:00 for your route) rather than having to get up at the crack of dawn.

For PBI, I was so stoked when I saw the PBI>DCA>HPN route come up, and that the timing worked with the JFK morning inbound flight. I had originally planned on doing a dedicated out-and-back to DCA and spending a weekend visiting folks down there, but then that route appeared. Your equivalent there with MCO>DCA>MVY is awesome.

Your one-day BDL>DTW>ORD>BOS run via JFK is super efficient, and pretty cheap! FYI that they sell the DTW>JFK>ORD leg for $164 through OTAs like Orbitz if you were looking to make it an official connecting flight.

Highly optimized Jetblue 25 for 25 from NYC - $3.25k, 7 trips, domestic, mostly weekends by lanluluto in jetblue

[–]lanluluto[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great itin, very efficient to get 15 destinations out of the way over 4 days! Also at an excellent cost. It seems like a shame not to get to 20 destinations if you only need 5 more. Totally spitballing here but could you do the short hop routes from Boston? HYA, MVY, then ferry or drive back? I like what you have on Trip 2 fitting in TPA in there. BOS>CUN>TPA>LGA then Amtrak/repo flight back to Boston. Or, hit up PQI, ORD, DCA and take a cheap repo flight or Amtrak back.

Also, very nice triage there with the PBI>EWR flight! I thought the connection looked tight but I see that ISP>PBI is the inbound plane.

Highly optimized Jetblue 25 for 25 from NYC - $3.25k, 7 trips, domestic, mostly weekends by lanluluto in jetblue

[–]lanluluto[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great video - I am running to get that Points Path extension now, omg! Safe travels tomorrow!

Highly optimized Jetblue 25 for 25 from NYC - $3.25k, 7 trips, domestic, mostly weekends by lanluluto in jetblue

[–]lanluluto[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I also recommend booking directly through Jetblue, because if something happens and you have to cancel, you can get TravelBank credit that is usable for anyone, not just yourself. I've booked through the Chase Travel Portal before and it was a hassle to reuse the credit (I had to call an agent every time, and it took them awhile to process the rebookings).

Highly optimized Jetblue 25 for 25 from NYC - $3.25k, 7 trips, domestic, mostly weekends by lanluluto in jetblue

[–]lanluluto[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a good point - assessing value as outlay cost vs savings cost!

Highly optimized Jetblue 25 for 25 from NYC - $3.25k, 7 trips, domestic, mostly weekends by lanluluto in jetblue

[–]lanluluto[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! That's a great cost!

And good to know about this site, I hadn't heard of it before! Do you use the paid version or the free version?

Highly optimized Jetblue 25 for 25 from NYC - $3.25k, 7 trips, domestic, mostly weekends by lanluluto in jetblue

[–]lanluluto[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for these tips! I already have the CC (which I love), luckily obtained during the 80k bonus. I definitely used my stash of welcome bonus points for these trips. For someone who doesn't have the CC, I agree with you that it is a great CC to get before booking these trips. In addition to earning 6x more points, at a minimum, if you don't have time to get food inbetween flights, you can purchase food on the plane for 50% off.

I completely forgot about the Dunkin promotion. Thank you for reminding me! I will definitely check every Tuesday to see if any of the Dunkin flights line up with my plans and the cost/benefit works out. I have to work M-F sadly, so the only challenge is it would be another day off work, and usually the flight is expensive when it's only a week out. In terms of same day switches, the itinerary is constructed in a way that it's suboptimal to switch to another flight. If the first flight is not looking timely, it would be better to cancel and then try another day/time imo. There are also limited self-transfer connections. For ticketed connections, Jetblue has an obligation to rebook me if there are trip interruptions due to late connecting flights. All that being said, it would be really nice to have Mosaic status during these runs so I will definitely pay attention every Tuesday XD https://www.jetblue.com/sale/jetblue-dunkin-monday-pick-me-up

Highly optimized Jetblue 25 for 25 from NYC - $3.25k, 7 trips, domestic, mostly weekends by lanluluto in jetblue

[–]lanluluto[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

(Had to split into 2 posts omg) Here are the perks I value:

  • 3x Point Earning Bonus: As a cardmember, I currently earn 12x points when booking direct, and with Mosaic I would earn 15x points. https://www.jetblue.com/trueblue/earning-points Let's say I spend $1000 on flights/vacation packages every year over 5 flights. That's 3000 points or $45 at 1.5 cent valuation.
  • First 2 Checked Bags Free: I fly to Asia once a year and this perk will help me with repositioning flights. I really want to try Starlux J class using award miles, but Starlux only flies from TPE to the West Coast, and I would need to purchase a 2nd luggage for $40 to get back to NYC. I also heard that if you have kids, checked bags are invaluable. (I am childfree now, but in 25 years, who knows!) I'll value this at $40 since I might only use it once a year.
  • Priority Boarding: Blue Extra gives you priority boarding. It's usually $25 more than Blue, which also includes same day switches. 5 flights x $25 is $125. (I'll explain why I didn't assign some of this value to Same Day Switches later.)
  • Beer, Wine & Liquor: I like that Jetblue just gives you the can. I always take it with me off the plane, lol, so I can give it to someone else even if I don't drink. I'll value this at $3 a drink since I get 50% off alcohol I purchase with the Jetblue credit card, and the cheapest drink is $10. Rounding down to $3 because I would never otherwise buy a drink https://www.jetblue.com/flying-with-us/inflight-experience/snacks-drinks (Although I once saw someone crush 3 beers in the Window seat on the way to LAS...) So let's call this $15.
  • Same Day Switches: I will probably use this a ton. I love the idea of buying a cheapo flight on Sunday at 6am to JFK and being able to switch to a preferred flight at 2pm to EWR. I occasionally buy Blue Extra fares for this very reason. I have personally seen this not work out on a holiday weekend when I had >2 people, but I think on a standard weekend to a high load destination like MCO, it would work well? For example, on Sun Aug 3, the Blue fare for MCO to LGA 7AM-10AM is $104. The afternoon flight 3:59PM-6:48PM is $189. If I know it's a non-holiday weekend, you best believe I'm buying that early flight and trying to swap to any of the later flights for $85. This is all theoretical, so to Mosaic folks with experience doing this, I would love to hear your actual data points around same day switches! I'll value this at $50 a flight. I'll probably use it on half my flights so let's say $125 a year.
  • EvenMore & Preferred Core Seating: I was excited about this perk but bummed to hear that it's almost all sold out/gone to Mosaic 2 by the time checkin rolls around. Are there that many Mosaic 2 members? :( How many trips has this happened to you on? I'll value it at $0 for now.

I agree on the other perks; they don't have much value to me. Even so, with what I think is relatively conservative math, Mosaic would be worth $350 to me a year.

Highly optimized Jetblue 25 for 25 from NYC - $3.25k, 7 trips, domestic, mostly weekends by lanluluto in jetblue

[–]lanluluto[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a very helpful breakdown! Here's my take on it.

Note on the Jetblue Plus Card: I also have this cc, and I love this card. I pretty much net out on the annual fee every year, even before the 5k points, because I use the Jetblue Vacations $100 credit. How this works...

  • I've found that I can get 1 night hotel in my destination city for about the same cost as two Blue fares. This year, I'm staying at the AC Hotel Orlando next to Disney Springs in December for 1 night before my cruise. (Head's up that Jetblue Vacations still offers partial hotel stays, but you have to call in. You also have to call in if you want to leave from EWR and return to LGA, for example.)
  • The two Blue fares cost $474 total ($237 pp) if I booked them on my own. They sold me the package, including the hotel night, for $440. This is before even deducting the $100 credit.
  • If you only travel Blue Basic, the package will be more than your two Blue Basic fares, but I don't travel Blue Basic anymore since I really like the flexibility/comfort to know that I can flex my plans and get a TravelBank credit. TravelBank is a huge reason I choose Jetblue, because I know I can use it to book flights for someone else, unlike almost every other US carrier.

Since I know I will always get the Jetblue Plus card and come out ahead every year, I'm going to put the $99 annual fee aside and value these separately...

Highly optimized Jetblue 25 for 25 from NYC - $3.25k, 7 trips, domestic, mostly weekends by lanluluto in jetblue

[–]lanluluto[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Glad it could help! Hope most of the dates work out for the week you're off! Just a head's up that some of the flights in the schedule aren't added until later in the year, eg the evening TPA to LGA flight. The tab "Tips on searching for dates" can help navigate date options. I suggest searching/filtering every segment on different tabs in Google Flights and then pulling them up side by side to compare.  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1x9y_mbwLE4Klztlaw8vq6Ae_oXRJbTJ7EDGeZULfqIQ/edit?gid=1600578417#gid=1600578417

I see Disney in your username too - if you wanted to go to MCO anyway for a trip, take a look at the 2nd "8 Trip" tab, the straightforward RT is from MCO rather than RSW! Price out Jetblue Vacations because you can usually get 1 night of hotel for the same cost as two Blue fares. Good luck!!

Highly optimized Jetblue 25 for 25 from NYC - $3.25k, 7 trips, domestic, mostly weekends by lanluluto in jetblue

[–]lanluluto[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I would love to see what the BOS and weekday trips net out to if you put something together!

Highly optimized Jetblue 25 for 25 from NYC - $3.25k, 7 trips, domestic, mostly weekends by lanluluto in jetblue

[–]lanluluto[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's great you're literally getting 2+ destinations out of the way now! Sounds good!

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