Background
I participated in the JetBlue Status Match Challenge where I matched my American Airlines AAdvantage Gold to JetBlue Mosaic 1. Recently, I wrote about that process in my other post here, but in this post, I’d like to go over one of the perks, which is the Mosaic Free Same-Day Switch.
I needed a flight from Fort Lauderdale to the New York City area. JetBlue had the lowest-priced flight at 8 pm, while the afternoon flights I’d prefer were essentially double the price. So I decided to put the “Free Same-Day Switch” Perk to the test and see if I could hop on an earlier flight for free. Generally, I feel it would be quite easy as JetBlue has a lot of flights between these two markets, but flying on a holiday weekend made it a lot harder for me.
Mosaic Free Same-Day Switch
Normal passengers may do a same-day confirmed change for a fee of $75, but this is waived for Mosaic 1 (and up) members.
ExpertFlyer was handy in helping me find seat availability, and all we need is the full-fare economy “Y” space to be able to make the swap. Pretty much as long as a seat is for sale on the flight you want, you can switch to it.
What I’ve Learned
The rule for standard passengers is that they may do a same-day confirmed change starting at midnight on the day of departure. BUT, Mosaic members get a head start, 24 hours before your flight’s scheduled departure. So, if your flight is at 5 pm Sunday, you can start changing to a same-day flight as of 5 pm Saturday as a Mosaic, while non-status passengers have to wait until midnight Sunday.
One issue is that the JetBlue website doesn’t recognize this and will try to charge you a fee when you hit “change”. In speaking with an agent on the Mosaic Line, you’ll need to chat, message, or call in and they can do it for you starting 24 hours before departure. In theory, starting at midnight, you should be able to complete the same-day change on your own via the website. I think all you have to do is click change, and the flight options should pop up.
Co-Located Airports
Another thing is using co-located airports to your advantage!
I was flying on a route with a lot of options. My originally booked flight was from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to New York (JFK). You can do a same-day change between any of the co-located airports.
The New York Area allows:
JFK, LGA, EWR, HPN, ISP
The South Florida Area allows:
PBI, FLL, MIA
One potential downside is that the computer system sometimes doesn’t recognize these co-located airports as an option and may try to charge you. This did happen to me when I tried changing airports. The Mosaic phone agent told me not to worry and they could help via chat or over the phone.
My Flight Change Process
Two hours before the T-24 hour mark of my originally booked flight, I saw two flights that I wanted to switch to that had 1 or 2 seats. I checked to see what options I’d have out of Fort Lauderdale since that would be my preferred airport to depart from as the hotel I was staying at was closest to Fort Lauderdale. And, I was pretty flexible when it came to the New York Airports (EWR, LGA, or JFK).
But once 8 pm hit, all the flights I wanted to switch to were all showing 0 seats available.
The only flights with space that I could see out of Fort Lauderdale were a 6 am and a 7 am flight which was just too early for me. I wanted something after 8 am but before my 8 pm flight, which gave me about 10 flight options to choose from between FLL-EWR/JFK/LGA.
Available…Then Disappears
So, I kept refreshing for 20 minutes and would see 1 pop up here and there for times I didn’t want, and finally, I saw 2 seats pop up for a noon flight. I decided to call the Mosaic Line, and it took about 10 minutes to connect to an agent. Sadly, the seats disappeared by then. I also put myself in the chat queue, and it took around 10 minutes to get connected to an agent as well, so I left the chat line.
Again, the same noon flight popped up about an hour later, and this time the Mosaic line picked up immediately, but by the time I spoke the seat was gone.
At this point, I decided to check from West Palm Beach (PBI) and saw 1 seat on a 1 pm pop up. The Mosaic Line was a 10-minute wait, but the chat answered immediately, so the chat agent put me on the PBI flight. Woo-hoo, we got a flight! While not preferred as PBI was about a 50-minute car ride from my hotel, and FLL was only 20 minutes away, I’d get home early!
Not Giving Up Yet
In the morning, I checked ExpertFlyer, and FLL was showing 0 seats throughout. Around 9 am, I saw a 2 pm pop-up from FLL, and since I was still at the hotel, I used the chat to switch to that flight which I didn’t have to wait too long for. I first tried online but I think since my new ticket was showing PBI, it wasn’t allowing me to switch back to FLL for free, which the Mosaic agent did warn me about. No worries, chat helped! There was a window seat left towards the back, and I was just happy to get on from FLL.
One More Change…
I got to FLL around 10 am, and while waiting in the lounge, I saw one seat on the 1 pm to EWR. Better yet- there was an Even More seat aisle available! Once I made sure that it wasn’t delayed, I decided to take it. I visited the help desk at the terminal, and the agent put me on the EWR flight. Amazing! You all probably think I am a bit wild to keep changing all these flights, haha.
The Verdict
Though it was a bit of work and kept my adrenaline up, I had fun using the Mosaic Free Same-Day Switch. I was quite happy that I arrived home 8 hours before my originally booked flight. It’s a nice perk to have! But, I probably would caution playing around with this during periods of peak travel such as the heavy travel days during the holiday season, as I almost gave up and accepted the fact that it wouldn’t work out the way I wanted it to. Also, I was flying solo, but it could be harder with travel companions as you’re left with whatever seats are left.
Have you used JetBlue’s Mosaic Free Same-Day Switch? How was your experience? Comment below!
Cheers,
Ty
Have any questions? I’ve also started working with a travel agency, Fora Travel, and can assist in booking hotel stays or planning trips. Comment below or email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com. You can also view all my other posts here! Thanks for stopping by!
