Got some Capital One miles and big travel goals for Japan, Europe, South America, or … well, pretty much anywhere? This is your last chance to get even more out of them with one of Capital One's newest transfer partners … and one of our absolute favorites.
Travelers with cards like the *venture x* and the *capital one venture card* can get a 30% bonus when transferring miles to Japan Airlines (JAL) Mileage Bank. That brings the ordinarily subpar transfer ratio to JAL of 1,000:750 to nearly a 1:1 transfer: For every 1,000 Capital One miles you transfer, you'll get 975 miles.
Yes, the math is messy – just multiple the miles you need by 1.0256 to determine what you need to transfer – but it's well worth the trouble for what's quickly emerging as an incredibly lucrative mileage program … with an incredible sweet spot we recently discovered.
But hurry: This bonus ends on Wednesday, Oct. 22, so you've got just a bit of time left left to take advantage!
Using transfer partners like JAL Mileage Bank is one of the best ways to use Capital One miles for even more value … and with JAL, there's lots of value to be had.
That said, there are a few quirks you'll want to be aware of:
- If you haven't already set up a JAL Mileage Bank account, there may be a delay: JAL typically requires accounts to be 60 days old in order to be able to redeem miles. Capital One made a deal allowing cardholders to redeem their miles within seven days.
- Using JAL miles, you can only book for direct family members (through blood or marriage), so booking for a friend or travel pal is off-limits.
- JAL miles have a hard, 36-month expiration policy with no way to extend them. For that reason, you'll want to have a plan in place for using your miles before transferring.
Even if you don't have a redemption to make right away, you'd be wise to enroll in JAL Mileage Bank now to speed up the process and avoid any future delays when it comes time to transfer miles to JAL.
Take a look to see how it's done and how you can make the best use of this bonus before it ends.
Best Use of JAL Mileage Bank Miles
Whether you want to fly Japan Airlines to Tokyo or book one of its world class partners for flights near and far, there's no shortage of ways to use a big stash of JAL miles. Here are a few of our favorites.
Fly JAL to Japan
Let's start with the obvious choice: flying JAL to Japan. These days, everyone wants to go to Japan … and for good reason. It's clean, safe, modern (yet steeped in culture), and don't even get me started on the food.
Flying Japan Airlines from one of the carrier's nine North American gateways to Tokyo Haneda (HND) or Narita (NRT) – or even Osaka (KIX) – is a great way cross the Pacific, no matter if you're flying in economy or business class. Thanks to JAL's reasonable award chart, a one-way ticket to Japan will set you back 27,000 miles in economy, 40,000 miles in premium economy, or as low as 55,000 miles in business class. That's even better than what American AAdvantage charges!
Take this flight from Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) to Tokyo-Haneda (HND) for example. You can book a Japan Airlines business class seat on the nearly 13-hour flight to Japan for just 55,000 miles – just 56,500 Capital One miles with the current transfer bonus – and $142 in taxes and fees.
Your best bet at finding these cheap award rates is at the end of the calendar for a trip in fall 2026. But one standout feature of JAL Mileage Bank is that they offer their members tons of additional award availability at slightly higher rates: It's not too hard to find one-way flights for 75,000 miles, transferring 77,000 Capital One miles to make it happen.
If you're feeling really fancy, you could even book Japan Airlines first class for 125,000 miles – 128,300 Capital One miles – and the same $142 in taxes and fees. JAL's first class awards are priced based on seasonality so you may even see prices as low as 110,000 miles on off-peak dates … or as high as 140,000 miles in peak season.
If you're flying to or from New York City (JFK), Los Angeles (LAX), or Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), you might even luck out and find availability on one of JAL's new Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, equipped with the airline's brand new business suites like this.
Of course, the ride is even more comfortable in first class – just look at how wide the seat is when it's converted a bed!
While first class seats in particular are no sure thing, Japan Airlines gives its Mileage Club members much more premium award availability than you'll see searching through American AAdvantage, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, and other Oneworld alliance mileage programs. That could make this the single-best way to score a lie-flat seat to Japan and back – especially if you're willing to plan 11-plus months in advance, when we tend to see the best availability.
If you're content flying further back, finding a seat in premium economy for 40,000 miles each way – or regular economy for 27,000 miles each way – is also quite doable.
Book Domestic Flights on AA and Alaska
You don't have to fly all the way to Japan to get good value out of JAL Mileage Bank miles, though. You can also use them to book domestic (and international) flights with partner airlines like American and Alaska.
While short one-way awards aren't the deal of the century, JAL's partner award chart offers economy class flights for as low as 12,000 miles, based on the distance traveled.
That means you could book a short one-way flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Chicago O'Hare (ORD) for just 12,000 JAL miles – just 12,400 Capital One miles and $5.60 in taxes and fees. Keep reading – this deal gets much, much better,
Or you could go international with this flight from Miami (MIA) to Nassau (NAS) for the same 12,000 miles – 12,400 Capital One miles – and $6.60 in taxes and fees.
Neither of those are “can't miss” deals, but they look a whole lot better when booking roundtrip – more on that below.
Longer flights like this cross-country trek from Seattle (SEA) to New York City (JFK) on Alaska Airlines will set you back 23,000 miles – just 23,600 Capital One miles – and just $5.60 in taxes and fees.
Given how easy it is to earn Capital One miles, getting decent value out of JAL Mileage Bank – and this transfer bonus – should be quite easy … even if you have no intention of flying to Japan.
Save Big With Roundtrip Partner Awards
Remember that one-way flight from Minneapolis to Chicago above? Paying 12,000 JAL miles isn't an awful deal, but what if I told you that you could get back home for the exact same price?
Like many airline mileage programs, JAL uses a distance-based award chart for these partner award redemptions: The longer your flight, the more miles it may cost. But unlike virtually every other airline, it doesn't tally each segment separately: It adds the distance together for the final price.
Because Minneapolis and Chicago are just few hundred miles apart, a roundtrip stays under the 1,000-mile threshold, keeping the same 12,000 mile price tag … albeit with a few bucks extra for taxes and fees.
Critically, this roundtrip discount only applies to partner carriers like American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, and others. And it works no matter if you're flying economy or all the way up in business class.
For example, Japan Airlines charges 60,000 miles each way for a one-way flying American Airlines from Miami (MIA) to Madrid (MAD). That's solid, especially with just $5.60 in taxes and fees.
But add a return flight and it's not 120,000 miles – the roundtrip total drops to just 85,000 miles. With the current 30% transfer bonus, you'd only need to transfer 87,200 Capital One miles to JAL to book roundtrip business class flights to Europe! That's a steal …
So because the Miami-to-Madrid flight clocks in at 4,424 miles (according to GCMap.com, an amazing resource for situations like this) JAL's award chart dictates that it costs 60,000 miles. But by doubling the distance with that return segment, it adds up to just under 8,900 miles total – falling into that 85,000-mile price bracket.
It even works with multi-city and open-jaw redemptions, so you could fly into Spain and jet home from Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) or any other European city for the same roundtrip rate!
The possibilities are practically endless – in part, because Japan Airlines has a wonky worldwide network of partner airlines. Of course, there are the fellow Oneworld carriers like American, Alaska, British Airways, and others. But you can also book Air France, Emirates, JetBlue, and others using JAL miles.
Emirates really stands out here. After a recent devaluation spiked surcharges to borderline obscene levels, booking business class on the airline's fifth-freedom routes from New York City (JFK) to Milan (MXP) or Newark (EWR) to Athens (ATH) is no longer the deal it once was for 108,000 Emirates miles and more than $900 in taxes and fees.
Booking roundtrip through JAL instead will save you miles and fees. While the one-way over to Europe costs 60,000 miles (61,600 Capital One miles with this bonus) and about $100 …
… but just 85,000 miles (87,200 Capital One miles with this bonus) and $246 in taxes and fees for the roundtrip.
It also works if you need to make a connection – you'll just need to be flying on the same partner all the way. Instead of adding each segment separately like most airlines, you just calculate the total distance.
Read more: JAL Mileage Bank is a Goldmine for Roundtrip Partner Awards
Bottom Line
Capital One is celebrating the launch of its newest transfer partners with a 30% bonus to JAL Mileage Bank. If you've got a good use for JAL miles – and trust us, there are plenty (see above!) – this is a great way to stretch your miles even further.
Just remember to make use of this bonus before it ends this Wednesday, Oct. 22.
