JetBlue moves mainstream when it joins the popular American Express Membership Rewards program as a partner. Members will now be able to earn JetBlue credits when using the American Express card and converting those points into credits in the TrueBlue program. And in a very classy way, JetBlue introduces this new partnership with a special performace by the Grammy Award-winning artist Seal.

Stand by as we bring you this event as it happens live!

1st stop: JFK Airport… coming up next

OK, here I am at nearly midnight at the Holiday Inn Express at JFK Airport. In a few hours I’ll be hearing the wake-up bell, and after a quick rinse-off, I’ll head for the terminal for the start of this grand adventure. Imagine, all these JetBlue customers (winners) on a private jet headed to the sunshine. Since it’s a rainy, dreary evening with light snow in the forecast, I’ll join those who are ready and brave enough for a morning toast to the reason we’re all in New York.I hope to chat with executives from both Membership Rewards and TrueBlue during the flight, and then deliver my version of “60 Minutes” – in 60 Seconds. Well, off to Snoozeland. I plan to get to the airport early to file a few more reports before takeoff.

OK, today’s the day. You may now convert your Membershipship Rewards points into points with the JetBlue TrueBlue program. Interested? Here’s the conversion rate:1,250 Membership Rewards points equals 5 TrueBlue points. Transfer must be made in multiples of 250 points. Minimum transfer is 1,250 points.You may only convert points into the TrueBlue account held by you or an additional Cardmember linked to your account.For each point transferred into the TrueBlue program, a fee of $0.0004 per point*, with a maximum fee of $50, will be charged to your American Express credit card account. True, none of us likes fees, but this is a re-capture of the federal excise tax on miles. Don’t like it? Do like I do and complain to your congressman.And finally: If you look at the list of partners in the Membership Rewards program on the American Express Web site, you’ll find that JetBlue TrueBlue is listed #1. Not bad placement. Speaking of placement, how about 3rd place in this sweepstakes — 10,000 Membership Rewards points. Heck, I’d be quite happy being one of those lucky 100.Well, it’s 5:30 a.m. on the day of departure, and I need to get off to the airport. Maybe a picture or two before we take off…I’ll see what I can come up with.

It’s 6:16 a.m. and nearly two hours before the flight. Tired and grumpy, I’m met with a smiling face and a nice welcome at the JetBlue terminal, which BTW, is really busy this time of the morning.

Whoa…film crews and all that. Well, this is quite an event. Here’s what it was like when checking in for the flight.

I don’t know Seal’s first name, so as I spy his black Escalade purring up to the curb right in front of my very eyes, he becomes Mr. Seal to me. With a few handlers to keep the likes of me away, I notice he doesn’t prefer Tumi luggage when traveling, relying instead on his camouflage messenger bag to do the trick. Works for me. First impression: good guy. Second impression: He’s pretty tall. Third impression – My fiancee tells me he’s a pretty good singer. Thanks, JetBlue and American Express, for my early morning VIP moment.P.S. He’s the tall guy.

Among those checking in: a newly married couple (the bride with an actual veil to prove it) who were planning on the wedding anyway, and were astounded when they got an email from American Express letting them know they had won a free trip to Nassau from this sweepstakes. Their lucky day, and ours. Nice couple.

Well, time to go. Will try and file a report in-flight, but that’s not up to me… technology, you know. Here’s the boarding gate, and I’ve yet to find out where Mr. Seal is hanging out. Apparently there’s a lounge program i know nothing about.

One more thing. As a very positive customer service thing to do, JetBlue handed out $8 breakfast vouchers to all passengers on this private flight. Like a dummy, I’m in my frequent flyer mode and automatically pay with a credit card; only a few minutes ago I realized that I could have saved a few bucks. Frankly, I’m happy to have saved JetBlue the money. So far, the airline is everything passengers say it is.

Standing in line I notice one thing: There are a lot of tennis players on this flight. No less than a dozen passengers with rackets are in line in front of me. It’s a good sign, as it certainly shows how much these winners are looking forward to a few days of sunshine. Next clue: Everyone is smiling – especially the executives from American Express and JetBlue.

Funny how we all want to board at once. Apparently no one wants to be left behind.