If you’ve canceled a JetBlue Airways flight and didn’t purchase a refundable fare, you’re not completely out of luck.
Nonrefundable JetBlue fares let you retain the value of your ticket in the form of JetBlue travel credits. These credits live in your JetBlue Travel Bank — an online bank account for funds toward future JetBlue flights, and other JetBlue expenses.
These credits can be used to pay for future airfares and some other JetBlue-related expenses including the air portion of a JetBlue Vacations package, change fees for Blue Basic fares and any applicable increase in airfare when changing a booking. Just note that they typically expire 12 months from the date your ticket was created.
Here’s how to use JetBlue travel credits (and how to get these credits in the first place):
JetBlue travel credits can be used to cover a slew of purchases through the company including:
Airfare and taxes on JetBlue-operated flights.
The air portion of a JetBlue Vacations package.
Change or cancellation fees, and any applicable increase in airfare for changes.
Flights booked for someone else.
To book with your JetBlue credits:
Log in to your TrueBlue account.
Make a new reservation through the standard booking page.
When you get to the payment page, select travel credit as your form of payment. A dropdown menu will appear and your credit amount will be displayed.
If your new purchase exceeds the cost of your JetBlue voucher’s value, you’ll have to use another payment method, such as a credit card, to make up the difference.
Your JetBlue travel credits will live in the JetBlue Travel Bank, where you can see your remaining balance and the expiration dates. It requires a separate login from your TrueBlue account, so check your email for instructions.
To redeem your travel credits, you can use the JetBlue website as usual and follow the instructions above. You do not have to go through the JetBlue Travel Bank.
When you cancel Blue, Blue Extra, Blue Plus and Mint fares, you receive the value of that airfare as a JetBlue travel credit.
You can also get a JetBlue travel credit when you cancel a Blue Basic fare, which is the lowest JetBlue fare class. But, the Blue Basic situation is less ideal because you’ll owe JetBlue a change or cancellation fee for the privilege of getting that credit. The Blue Basic change and cancellation fees are:
For flights within North America, Central America, or the Caribbean: $100 per person.
All other routes: $200 per person.
In most cases, you can’t cancel your flight after it’s already taken off. If you try to cancel after the scheduled departure time, your money associated with the reservation is typically forfeited, unless you purchased a refundable fare.
If you don’t show up for your flight on time and you booked a refundable airfare, you won’t be eligible for cash back, but you do get the money associated with the segment as a JetBlue travel credit.
Unlike credits from other airlines such as Southwest, which issues travel funds that never expire, the JetBlue versions do expire. The JetBlue travel credit expiration date is typically 12 months from the date it was issued.
You’ll need to pay a $25 fee for any JetBlue flight reservation changed or canceled over the phone or through chat. However, you can save this $25 per person fee by making your own itinerary adjustments on JetBlue’s website.