Dive Brief:
- JetBlue and United Airlines have expanded their Blue Sky loyalty partnership by offering reciprocal loyalty perks for TrueBlue and MileagePlus traveling with either airline, the companies announced Thursday.
- Members of each loyalty program are eligible for both airlines' tier-dependent benefits including respective priority boarding, extra legroom seating, priority check-in and free checked bag.
- The airlines expect to add more benefits to Blue Sky in the future, including traveling on both JetBlue and United with connected interline tickets.
Dive Insight:
JetBlue and United Airlines are expanding the perks of their partnership, with more additions planned for the future, as loyalty programs generate returns despite rising fuel costs.
JetBlue leadership credited Blue Sky for driving co-brand loyalty sign-ups during the first quarter of 2026. Loyalty was a bright spot in an otherwise weak quarter, driven in part by double-digit co-brand spend growth and record TrueBlue active membership.
United’s loyalty offers play into its strategy of creating “brand loyal” customers who will continue to fly United despite rising fares and loyalty changes that make MileagePlus less attractive for customers without a branded credit card. The airline’s loyalty program outperformed during the first quarter of 2026, with revenue up 13% year over year for the quarter.
JetBlue isn’t United’s only loyalty partner. Lyft members can connect their accounts with MileagePlus to earn miles from Lyft rides. As of April, MilePlus members can also spend their accumulated miles to pay for Lyft trips.
The rideshare platform’s partnerships, which include DoorDash and Southwest Airlines among other brands, are now connected to 27% of all rides, according to an earnings call last week. MileagePlus members take a higher than usual number of rides to airports, which are more profitable for Lyft.
The rollout of reciprocal loyalty benefits between JetBlue and United are just the latest development in the partnership. When it rolled out last fall, Blue Sky let MileagePlus and TrueBlue earn and redeem loyalty points across both airlines, as well as book flights from either carrier’s website.
