JetBlue's Current Twist on Miles

For all those frustrated with mileage programs that never seem to work, JetBlue has a new iteration: cold, hard cash back.

Those who book a flight before June 22 can register with the airline to receive money back for a second fall 2012 flight. And that amount can reach as much as $100 (when a $500 flight or vacation package is booked; see below for the other iterations).

The rules of the deal are fairly simple: book before end of day Friday and register your purchase here. Then, on August 30th, the airline will email you a promo code to be used on fall flights (for travel between Sept 1 and Nov 15). You'll enter that code and get the following amount of money back:

• $10 for those who spent up to $100 on the summer flight
• $25 for those who spent between $101 and $200
• $50 for those who spent between $201 and $300
• $75 for those who spent between $301 and $500
• $100 for the big spenders who went over $501

The only iffy part about this deal is whether consumers will lose out on early booking discounts by waiting until after August 30th to schedule their fall travel. That's an unknown, though I should think that consumers won't risk much if they're planning to travel in October or early November.