JetBlue Travel Bank Account Guide (Expiration, Fees) [2020]

Sometimes you get hit with a surprise and you’re forced to cancel or miss a flight and you end up left with travel credits. Other times, you might experience some type of inconvenience and receive travel credits as a form of compensation. When it comes to JetBlue, these travel credits will be put into a Travel Bank and you’ll be able to use them for select travel expenses. 

In this article, I’ll break down everything you need to know about the JetBlue Travel Bank, including all of the relevant rules and restrictions for things like expiration and transferring credits. I’ll also provide you updated information about how your travel bank account is affected by coronavirus.

What is the JetBlue Travel Bank?

The JetBlue Travel Bank is an online account that allows you to view/manage your travel credits and to use them for future flights and select fees.

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How do you access your JetBlue Travel Bank?

• You can click here to access and log-in to your JetBlue Travel Bank.

You can log-in with your TrueBlue credentials or with the Login ID and password provided in your Travel Bank welcome email.

If you have new travel funds, you should look in your inbox for a welcome email with your login information. Note that you will probably receive two emails. One will have your log-in ID and one will have your password which will expire within 24 hours. You do not need to have a TrueBlue account in order to receive these emails and have a Travel Bank account. 

If you did not receive this email, call their reservations center at 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583).

How do you get travel credits?

You can get JetBlue Travel credits issued to you in a number of different ways. A lot of times it can come from the result of a cancellation or changed flight.

Let’s say you booked a nonrefundable ticket and then decided to change that to a different flight and your new flight was cheaper. In that case, it is possible that the difference in ticket price could be converted into travel credits. So if you originally booked a $400 flight and it changed to a $200 flight, you could be credited for the difference (minus change fees). 

But note that if a nonrefundable ticket is not changed or canceled prior to departure you will forfeit all funds. This is why it’s always important to never no-show when you’ve booked a non-refundable ticket. 

If you booked a refundable ticket you could still receive travel credits if you decided to not show up for your flight and never changed or canceled the flight. 

You might also receive travel credits for experiencing some type of inconvenience. For example, if your flight was significantly delayed it is possible that you could be issued a travel credit. Or if your in-flight entertainment system did not work or seat did not work properly it is possible that you could also be issued a travel credit.

Basically, any time that you are significantly inconvenienced during your travel experience with JetBlue you could request a travel credit and possibly get one.

Do the JetBlue travel credits expire?

Your travel credits will expire one year from the date of issuance unless otherwise noted (see the coronavirus exceptions below).

You can view the expiration date for your travel credits on your Travel Bank statement. If you have multiple travel credits within your account, the travel credits with the soonest expiration date will be used first.

Something to note that is really nice about these travel credits is that you don’t have to complete your travel before the expiration date. All you have to do is to make sure that you book your travel before the expiration date.

JetBlue makes this clear: 

If you receive a refund on a flight that was originally paid for with JetBlue travel credit (for full or partial payment), the expiration date for these funds will revert back to the original expiration date of the credits that were used to purchase the flight.

The catch here is that if you ended up canceling that reservation then you would have a refund back to your Travel Bank and your credits would then expire. So you really want to try to be sure about your travel plans and to avoid canceling those so that you do not lose your credits.

As far as I can tell, there is no standard policy for granting extensions for JetBlue travel credits that expire. However, if you have status with JetBlue you might contact customer service and give it a shot because you never know what they might say.

Vacation packages

You might be wondering if you can use your travel credits for vacation packages. JetBlue travel credits may only be used towards the air-portion of a JetBlue Vacations Package. 

You can also receive a different type of credit via a vacation package. JetBlue Vacations credits are good for one year from the date of issue and may be used towards any portion of a JetBlue Vacations Package.

What about codeshare flights?

On many occasions, you might have a flight on JetBlue and also have a flight on another partner airline or codeshare partner. You need to know that “If any itinerary includes a segment not operated by JetBlue then the funds MAY NOT be placed in a Travel Bank.” 

Also, if any itinerary includes a segment not operated by JetBlue then funds from Travel Bank may not be used. So when it comes to using these travel funds from your Travel Bank you need to make sure that you are only flying on JetBlue flights.

How to use your JetBlue travel credits

You can use your Travel Bank travel credits online. When booking online at jetblue.com, you’ll have the option to use your JetBlue travel credit during the payment portion of the booking. You will need to log-in and then you’ll be able to view your balance and then choose how much of your balance you want to use for that specific flight.

This means that if you would like to also pay with a credit card you can simply choose to use your travel funds first and then select the option for paying for the remaining balance with a credit card.

One thing that is special about these credits is that you can use them for other people. So if you have three other people traveling with you, you could book their flights with funds from your Travel Bank. Even if you are not flying with them you can still use your credit for other people (if you call in to do this you might be subject to a booking fee).

This is not the same as the travel credits for Southwest, which require you to use them for the passenger who received the credit. One workaround for those travel credits for Southwest is that you can convert them into LUV vouchers which can be used for other people although there is a fee associated with that conversion.

You can read more about Southwest travel credits here.

What can you use your travel credits for?

You can use travel credits for airfare and some associated fees. They may not be used toward ShopBlue merchandise and also may not be used for the following purchases: 

• Even More Space seats
• Unaccompanied Minor fees
• Pet fees
• Baggage fees
• Purchases onboard
• Flights on partner airlines

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Using travel credits to cover change fees

You can use your travel credits to pay for changes in airfare and the change/cancel fee that goes with it. However there are a number of restrictions when trying to use your travel credits for certain types of fees. Here is a list of fees that you cannot use your travel credits for:

• Change/cancel fees on TrueBlue Point bookings
• Same-day change fees
• Ancillary fees

Multiple Travel Banks

Multiple Travel Bank accounts may be used per reservation, but only one Travel Bank per customer may be used. So for example, if three passengers have Travel Banks and you wanted them all on one single reservation, you could use each of their Travel Banks. You may need to call in to do this but the phone fee should be waived.

Merging travel funds

Travel credits may be merged into one Travel Bank account, as long as the credits are all under the same customer name (once merged, they cannot be unmerged). This does not mean that you can merge Travel Bank accounts between different passengers. This just means that if you have multiple credits under your name you can merge them to your own Travel Bank account. 

To merge credits, call 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583) to speak with a reservations crew member.

What if I forgot to use a credit?

If you book a new reservation and forgot to use your travel credit there still is hope for you. In that case you will need to call in and ask them to retroactively apply your travel credit and you should be able to do this as long as you received the credit before your booking.

But if you have already taken the flight then you would NOT be able to apply your travel credits to that flight. So it’s key to get this done before departing on your flight.

Coronavirus extensions

• If you have a Travel Bank credit from a previous flight purchase that is expiring between February 27, 2020 and June 30, 2020 it will now expire December 31, 2020.
• Travel Bank credits issued between February 27, 2020 and June 30, 2020 for flight purchases will now have a 24-month expiration period as opposed to the typical 12 months.
• Travel Bank credits issued after June 30, 2020 will expire 12 months from their date of issue.

Read more about the latest covid updates here.

Final word

JetBlue has a pretty generous policy when it comes to their travel credits. They allow you to use them for other people which is a pretty flexible policy, especially compared to Southwest. It’s also nice that the expiration does not kick in until one year after they are issued and that you all you have to do is make your booking before that deadline.