Welcome to Money As If, the chocolate-covered biscuits you bring home to the fam following your fabulous trip to England.

Today’s desserts:

— Jeanine

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OK, so, truly this week’s lead story is going to serve as more of a JetBlue review, which I had the pleasure (!) of flying last week for the first time in, oh, at least 31 years. But the overarching question felt applicable, given this particular industry (budget travel) has become increasingly less accessible of late.

See: Southwest Airlines erasing “every single positive differentiator it ever had” back in March when it introduced, among other things, first and second checked bag fees, and Spirit Airlines threatening to shut down post-bankruptcy.

I am happy to report that, yes, JetBlue at least, is still a thing. My round-trip from New York to Gatwick, England, cost $928, and that was after I upgraded to EvenMore, JetBlue’s version of premium economy, which offers extra legroom, early boarding, and other perks, for the two lengthier legs of my trip.

Prior to the upgrades, the fare was an eye-poppingly low $574. For reference, here’s an overview of my best choices at the time of booking:

JetBlue's low price point is even more notable when you consider a wider range of options. Fares out of my airport and carrier of choice were much, much higher, for instance.

I had to recreate these prices with slightly different dates, but if I wanted to book a United flight out of Newark to Gatwick today for a similar timeframe, the best I could do was $4,903 for a round-trip economy seat with extra-long layovers in Portugal and Zurich! (Honestly, why even have these flights?)

I like to fly United mostly because I’ve always done it (I’m a creature of habit.) I’ve always done it because United has a hub in nearby Newark Airport and offers decent fares on direct domestic and Caribbean flights.

But my recent foray out of my carrier comfort zone has my rethinking my overall penchant for brand loyalty, because (a) clearly, United is not cost-effective for international flights and, perhaps more notably, (b) the JetBlue flight was … better.

And that’s saying something because when I fly United, I tend to book Business class. (Yes, that makes me a bit of bougie when it comes to flying, but, honestly, I don’t do it all that often and we pay a lot of everyday expenses with our United Mileage Explorer card, so I book with points more often than I pay in cash, and please don’t judge me, OK, thanks.)

Here’s where JetBlue stood out, IMO:

Plus, all my flights — even the short ups and downs from New York to Boston — had an actual working television at my seat (see above). In recent years, United has moved toward asking you to stream movies, TVs, and music THROUGH YOUR LAPTOP OR PHONE on shorter flights, which, I’m sorry, but NO.

JetBlue does have its quirks. For instance, I didn’t realize I was supposed to request a meal through my television when I got to my seat and, by the time I did, all that was left as a choice was a bowl of kale and mushrooms, which, no offense to kale or mushrooms, is just not something I want to eat on a flight.

The carrier also does that thing that all budget services do where you can essentially face a fee for anything.

I had booked, without realizing, a Blue Basic fare, which meant there were extra charges for seat selection, a first checked bag, flight changes, and cancellations. It also meant I couldn’t upgrade to Mint, for some reason. I’d need to cancel and rebook to get access to JetBlue’s version of first class (which, separately, who knew that existed?)

I learned that last weird hang-up because I called JetBlue to explore the option. (A bougie flyer doesn’t so easily change their stripes, but, mostly I was curious about how much those seats cost and why they weren’t available to me in the app.)

None of these quirks were particularly hard to work around. I took a carry-on, stuck to my original flights, and skipped the “upgrade to Mint”, because, well, it would have been $3,000 anyway. (Still cheaper, I’ll note than that United economy seat!)

They were just unexpected, which brings us to our last section.

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I wish I could have had a proper English tea while in the U.K., but, alas, my time there was too short. A breakfast buffet was included in my hotel stay, but I did have a standalone meal at Gatwick Airport which I, of course, consider important research.

A latte, bottle of sparkling water, and avocado-and-smashed-pea (?) toast cost £23.57, the equivalent of $31.89, which, yes, feels quite pricey, but also perhaps unfair to the Brits, given I was in an airport. Plus, you know, the tip was included.

FWIW, the airport restaurant did sell a more traditional English breakfast of bangers, eggs, beans, and toast, but, again, that was just not something I could imagine eating before getting on a plane.

Nowadays, most financial takes are boilerplate. These aren't.

And, finally, today, in things I would buy if I could, you know, just buy things …

I mean, we’ve gotta talk about T-Swift right? The world’s most popular singer announced her forthcoming new album (The Life of a Showgirl) last week on boyfriend Travis Kelce’s podcast WHILE WEARING NEARLY $30K WORTH OF CARTIER JEWELRY.

You’ll have to try the secondary market to get her discontinued diamond watch (valued at just over 17K), but you can buy the 18K gold, diamond-and-lacquered Panther necklace (above) … assuming you’ve got an extra $11,400 to spend.

Guess that’s why a girl’s gotta sell so … much … vinyl.

Got questions, comments, receipts, tips, thirst traps, etc. you’d like to share? Send them to [email protected].

_{This article is for educational purposes only. We don’t recommend or advise individuals to buy, not buy, sell, or not sell particular investments or other assets, as everyone’s circumstances are different. Also, it’s your money and ultimately up to you to decide the best use for it.}