Free tickets: Just one reason why I still love Jet Airways’ co-branded credit cards.

One of the many reasons I stick to Jet Airways as my frequent travel choice is that they spread out to the parts of India and abroad where I usually need to go over. Their hub is Mumbai, so that works for me as well. And I have a preference for full-service carriers. So, all the pieces add up.

While I was very disheartened about Jet Airways and Citibank parting ways long ago, Jet Airways moved on to partner with four different co-branded card partners in India itself (HDFC Bank, American Express, ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank). While I have a lot of reasons to keep these cards, and I have 5 in the family (HDFC JP Diners Club for Shipra, Amex JP for Shipra & Me, ICICI Bank for me and IndusInd Bank for me), one of these reasons I wrote about extensively three years ago still stands.

The Free Ticket Codes

Every year, like clockwork, I receive ticket codes from Jet Airways for the various cards we hold. Like I’ve written earlier, these ticket codes by themselves should be able to pay for the cards.

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The codes are usually valid for tickets sold in the Deal class (B,O,W), or in the Saver class as well sometimes. You need to book about 14 days out, and I think it was about 7 days out earlier. I was booking some travel yesterday for myself and Shipra, and we yet again managed to get some great value out of our cards. For instance, here is a 7900 INR discount we got on one ticket.

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So, these codes by itself make the business case of having the cards and paying fees for them. Each ticket gets us a tier point and some miles, apart from the ability to save a lot of money on some flights.

What has been the most amount of discount you have received for a ticket booked on Jet Airways’ co-branded credit cards?

About Ajay

Ajay Awtaney is the Founder and Editor of Live From A Lounge (LFAL), a pioneering digital platform renowned for publishing news and views about aviation, hotels, passenger experience, loyalty programs, travel trends and frequent travel tips for the Global Indian. He is considered the Indian authority on business travel, luxury travel, frequent flyer miles, loyalty credit cards and travel for Indians around the globe. Ajay is a frequent contributor and commentator on the media as well, including ET Now, BBC, CNBC TV18, NDTV, Conde Nast Traveller and many other outlets.

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Comments

  1. No clue on Base Fare waiver Tickets….But I have received 20000 Welcome Miles (JP AMEX Paltinum) credited to my JetPrivilege account from AMEX, even before card gets delivered to me.
    Note: Joining Fee waived being a Plat

  2. I have the hdfc jet world card variant. Agree with the others, getting the free ticket code from hdfc bank is a major hassle, needs strong follow up since they conveniently tend to blame jet and vice versa. It usually takes 4-5 months! This has happened to me two years in a row, hence I will cancel the card upon renewal. No discount is worth this hassle. I am happy with Citi Prestige, keep accumulating points all year round and then transfer to a partner when they have a bonus going, like additional 50% on British Airways last time.

  3. As a plat, I dont pay fee – do I still get the free ticket?

    In any case, with the recent restrictions, there isn’t much value in free ticket.

  4. This is the part where I hate JET Airways. I have to call them million time to get codes. Even I have all the cards and I don’t get tickets on any of them.

  5. Lucky you. I have to call a zillion times every year , and receive my code after more than 6 months of renewal. I called them again on Friday , only to be told to wait some MORE time. No assistance from AMEX regarding this matter.

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