Fly to Alaska now, score a free ticket later on JetBlue

Loyalty programs for airlines, hotels and other travel services generally are free. But whether you want to be bothered signing up for one might depend on what you get in return. JetBlue Airways is offering a buy one/get one free airline ticket to selected cities for every TrueBlue member -- new or enrolled -- who flies from Long Beach to Alaska.

The deal: Existing and newly enrolled TrueBlue members will see the Alaska and You Shall Receive promotion on the website.

Buy a round-trip ticket from Long Beach to Anchorage by May 31 and you receive a travel certificate good for a round-trip flight from Long Beach to Oakland, San Francisco, Sacramento, Las Vegas, Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake City or Austin. Fliers must travel to Alaska between May 24 (when seasonal service starts) and Sept. 3.

The certificate must be redeemed between Sept. 12 and Nov. 28 for travel from Sept. 19 to Dec. 12, with blackout dates. You also score 500 TrueBlue bonus points.

When: The offer is good until 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on May 31.

Tested: Start by signing up for TrueBlue and signing in to the promotion page. I found a Long Beach-Anchorage flight on Aug. 10 returning Aug. 17 for $344, including tax and fees. (The fare is lower than any on Kayak.com when I checked for those dates.) By the time you factor in the second round-trip ticket, you really might have gotten two vacations for the price of one.