I’ve always enjoyed the simplicity of JetBlue. Living in Utah, it’s not particularly convenient to fly with JetBlue, but because of my affinity for the airline, I’ve stuck to it for trips home to the East Coast. I loved the nonrestrictive ease of its TrueBlue loyalty program compared to other frequent flyer programs that aim to confuse and minimize reward payouts. The only downside was that TrueBlue points expired. But JetBlue offered a simple solve: Sign up for a JetBlue American Express Card and the company promised your points would never expire.

JetBlue frigging lied.

The company just updated its TrueBlue program to a confusing, limiting and entirely complex model. It’s no different than Delta or American or United at this point. And the really annoying part: JetBlue is forcing anyone with award tickets from the previous TrueBlue system to redeem them immediately or lose them. How “immediately”? I had five awards with airline (each good for a one-way ticket). Two need to be used by January 30. If you’ve ever tried to book an award ticket (with any airline), you’re probably aware that five weeks time very much limits the possibilities of where you end up and when.

JetBlue, this is SO annoying. It will likely force me to cancel my JetBlue AmEx and sign up for a Delta card instead. Do I like Delta more than JetBlue? No. But living in Utah, Delta’s Western hub, it makes more sense to carry a Delta card, particularly when JetBlue is reneging on the details of its credit card and frequent flyer agreements.
On the plus side, because I have to fly during cold January, I’ll be heading here.

That’s the hotel bar at the El San Juan Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I’ll be splitting my time between there (second stool from the right), and Vieques—a tiny, outlying island off the main island.

I’m very excited about this trip, but super frustrated that I had to drop everything and plan it yesterday without a single, personalized communication from JetBlue alerting me that my award tickets were expiring.

Bush league.