rewrite this title United–JetBlue Partnership Goes Live for Earning, Redeeming – NerdWallet

Blue Sky, the loyalty partnership between United Airlines and JetBlue Airways, is now live, enabling members of each airline’s loyalty program to earn miles or points when flying the other airline and redeem them for award flights.

The partnership between United MileagePlus and JetBlue TrueBlue, which launched on Oct. 23, 2025, was announced in May. And this rollout is just the start. Other benefits expected to come include the ability for each program’s elites to access their benefits when traveling on the other airline, starting early 2026.

Starting the first quarter of 2026, customers will also be able to book itineraries for either airline using cash, regardless of which airline’s app or website you book with. Currently, you can only do that for award flights.

You can earn JetBlue TrueBlue points when taking United flights by booking your flight through United and adding your TrueBlue loyalty number to the booking. You’ll also earn tiles, which is the metric JetBlue uses to determine elite status.

TrueBlue members earn 5 TrueBlue points per $1 spent on the base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges, while Mosaic elites earn an additional 3 points per $1 spent. (For JetBlue flights booked directly with the airline, you’d typically earn 6 points per $1 spent as your base.)

Similarly, to earn United MileagePlus miles on JetBlue flights, make your booking with JetBlue and add your MileagePlus number to your reservation.

MileagePlus members will earn United miles based on the fare paid and whether they have elite status — just like how it works when you take a United flight.

General members earn 5 miles per $1 spent, with the rate rising to 7 for Premier Silvers, 8 for Premier Golds, 9 for Premier Platinums and 11 for Premier 1K members.

However, not all fare classes are eligible for mileage accrual, and some JetBlue routes are not eligible for mileage earning with United.

Ineligible flights are those between Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and the following destinations: Aruba; Cancun, Mexico; Los Angeles; Las Vegas; and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

JetBlue also flies to those destinations from nearby New York-John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).

To book an award flight on either airline, the process is the same as how you’d normally do it. If you have TrueBlue points, you’ll need to book through JetBlue’s app or website, and if you have MileagePlus miles, you’ll go to United’s app or website. If there’s availability, you will see United flights show up in the search results on JetBlue, and vice versa.

However, it might not be the best deal to redeem your JetBlue points or United miles for flights on the other airline. Based on initial searches, it was typically more expensive (but not always) to use JetBlue points or United miles to book with the other airline.

If you have a travel credit card that earns transferable rewards, you’ll probably want to avoid transferring your points to United miles to book JetBlue flights, and vice versa. Instead, you would probably get better value by transferring directly to JetBlue, for example, to book JetBlue flights.

Top photo courtesy of United Airlines.