JetBlue Airways and Virgin America this week announced new
reward tiers that provide additional perks for their most-frequent travelers.
JetBlue Airways this fall expects to launch TrueBlue Mosaic
for members who have earned 15,000 flight points or have completed 30 flight
segments and reached a minimum of 12,000 flight points in a year.
Members in that tier, along with any companions traveling on
the same reservation, would get a free second-checked bag, expedited security
screening at 36 airports and early boarding. Additionally, those members would have
access to a dedicated round-the-clock customer service line and would gain a
new option to redeem points for extra-legroom seats.
In testing with select flyers since last year, Virgin
America this week officially introduced Elevate Gold for travelers who annually
earn 50,000 status points and Elevate Silver for travelers who earn 20,000
status points.
Virgin America now allows one free checked bag for Silver
and up to three for Gold members. In addition, flyers in both tiers receive
such perks as priority check-in, security clearance and boarding, "an
expanded advance purchase upgrade window" for first-class seats and
complimentary "space-available" access to the carrier's Main Cabin
Select premium-economy product, among other perks.
Meanwhile, Virgin America later this summer plans to launch
Main Cabin Express, "designating the most sought-after seats in its Main
Cabin—seats in rows five, six and nine aboard the company's Airbus A319 planes
and rows five, six, seven and nine aboard A320 planes," according to the
carrier.
While Gold and Silver members would have complimentary
access to such seats at the time of booking, others can pay a $20 fee 24 hours
prior to departure for those seats in addition to "priority boarding
privileges and preferred overhead bin space," according to the carrier.