JAL Mileage Bank is a Goldmine: Cheaper Roundtrips, Biz Class Bargains & More!

Even if you never fly them, Japan Airlines Mileage Bank miles might just be the single-most valuable frequent flyer program on the planet. And it's one you can easily earn and use. 

Of course, you can use Japan Airlines (JAL) miles book the airline itself, including fancy business class suites for as few as 55,000 miles each way – plus more availability at higher rates of 75,000 to 100,000 miles. But these miles are arguably even better to book other partner carriers … for a fraction of what other airlines would charge.

You can book British Airways business class for far less in miles and fees than you can book anywhere else. Ditto for Air France business class – yes, you can book this SkyTeam airline using JAL miles … and it's a better deal than ever after what Air France recently did to its own award rates.

And then there's the cream of the crop: On any partner airline – be it American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, or even Air France and Emirates – you can book some roundtrip awards for significantly less, whether you're flying economy or all the way up in business class. So while it costs 60,000 Japan Airlines miles to book this one-way American Airlines business class flight from Miami (MIA) to Madrid (MAD) …

… it's not 120,000 miles if you add a return flight – the roundtrip total drops to just 85,000 miles!

These miles are easier to earn than you think: You can transfer them from Bilt, Capital One, Rove, and Citi as well. These are some of the best redemptions you can book right now … and odds are, they won't last long. So study up and book ASAP!

The Basics of JAL's Amazing Redemptions

There's plenty of value in using JAL miles to book Japan Airlines business class to Tokyo – though award space for 55,000 to 80,000 miles each way has gotten harder to find over the last several months. But JAL really shines for booking partner airlines for two reasons:

• You can use JAL Mileage Bank miles to book Oneworld airlines like American, Alaska, Cathay Pacific … plus a handful of other one-off partners, like Air France, Emirates, LATAM, Korean Air, and others! 
• A quirk with how JAL sets award prices for these partner airline redemptions means you can book a roundtrip (or multi-city) flight for less than the cost of two one-ways! 

Let's back up. 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 on the planet, it doesn't tally each segment separately: It adds the distance together of both segments for one, final price for the total trip. 

So because the Miami-to-Madrid flight in the example above 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. 

This principal holds up booking 20 or so JAL partner carriers in any cabin, whether you're trying to save some miles on a roundtrip economy ticket or splurge (a bit less) for business class. 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.

Roundtrip Savings in Action

The potential savings here are basically limitless. Let's start with a simple trip as an example. 

I could book a one-way American Airlines flight in economy from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) … for 12,000 miles. Pass.

But add a return flight, and it's … still just 12,000 miles total! That's because JAL charges 12,000 miles for any redemption under 1,000 miles – and a roundtrip to Chicago and back clocks in at 668 miles total.

Or here's a connecting roundtrip flight from Atlanta (ATL) to Turks and Caicos (PLS), flying American Airlines economy over New Year's. The one way would cost 15,000 miles apiece, but booking roundtrip sets you back 23,000 miles instead.

The savings for adding another leg go even further up in business class.

While there are tons of examples flying carriers like American, British Airways, and even Air France, this goes far beyond Europe. It works going down to South America and back, where flying LATAM's business class from Miami to Buenos Aires (EZE) would also set you back 60,000 miles each way. But with a return flight on that route, it still nets out to 85,000 miles total.

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, and others using JAL miles. 

The Best Way to Book BA Biz & First Class

Whether you book roundtrip or one-way, JAL miles are far and away the best way to book premium cabins on British Airways. 

Virtually every airline on the planet has gotten far stingier with releasing award availability to book business or first class using miles, so British Airways stands out: Award space is generally wide-open. But you can barely stomach it for the atrocious surcharges British Airways tacks onto these award tickets. 

For a business class award from Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) to London-Heathrow (LHR), British Airways itself would charge you 88,000 Avios and almost $400 in taxes and fees. That exact same redemption through Finnair Avios would set you back 88,000 miles … and nearly $1,500.

For years, booking these same flights using Cathay Pacific Asia Miles was the prime workaround. No more: You can book this exact same Chicago-to-London flight for 42,000 miles and $219 apiece via JAL. Do some quick math, and you'll see you can book two business class seats for roughly the price of one using almost any other program.

With a transfer bonus from a bank like Citi or Bilt, it can get even cheaper! 

Longer flights from Miami (MIA), Atlanta (ATL), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), and the West Coast will set you back 60,000 miles each way. And while there are savings on roundtrip bookings, they aren't quite as drastic – at least not for many of these relatively short flights to London. And the taxes departing from London put your final cash cost close to $1,000 per roundtrip ticket.

You can also book British Airways first class for as low as 65,000 miles each way with similar surcharges, though award space is much harder to find at the front of the plane than back in business class.

Air France Biz Class, Too?!

Yes, you can fly Air France business class using miles from a Oneworld airline. And again, it's the best way to book, period.

That's due in large part to the painful changes Air France/KLM Flying Blue rolled out earlier this month: Introducing new “light” award fares that strip out lounge access and cannot be changed nor canceled, period. Want those perks back? You'll have to fork over at least 75,000 miles – plus the usual cash surcharge of close to $400 for a one-way to Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) … and even more for a flight home from Europe. 

But this exact same redemption from Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD) to Paris will set you back just 42,000 miles … and $5.60! And that's for a standard business class award with lounge access, reasonable cancellation fees (of about $20 per ticket), and even free seat selection!

Finding award space for these redemptions can be tricky, but we've found gobs and alerted our Thrifty Traveler Premium members a handful of times since discovering this incredible workaround to fly Air France for less, including for a trip over next summer. Oddly, JAL only partners with Air France – not KLM, despite the fact that they're essentially the same airline.

The one quirk with this redemption is that most (though not quite all) of these awards can't actually be booked online: They'll show up when searching on Japan Airlines' site, but won't actually go through when you try to book. It's best to assume you'll need to call in to book these awards: You can call JAL's U.S. call center (at 800-525-3663) and get them to push the booking through by phone. It's not an easy process – and award availability can be quite slim – but it's well worth it for these savings.

Honestly, this one is too good to last. And for proof of that, you need only look at the next redemption. 

Quirks with Booking Via JAL

Like the headline says, JAL Mileage Bank is a goldmine.

That said, there are a few quirks you'll want to be aware of:

• While Bilt points transfer to JAL on a 1:1 basis, Capital One miles transfer on a poorer 2:1.5 ratio … unless there's a transfer bonus.
• 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. Both Bilt and Capital One have made deals 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.

How Thrifty Traveler Premium Works

So, how do we find these deals? And, most importantly, how do we let you know about them? 

• First, our team of flight deal analysts and experts search from more than 200 U.S. and Canadian airports for the best mileage deals around the clock.
• Second, when we find something good, we vet the deal – making sure that it's bookable, that there's no “catch” or “trap,” and that it's a fare that we would book ourselves.
• Third, we put together a flight deal alert and send it to your inbox – and for the rarest deals, you'll get a “Unicorn Alert” text message, too! You can also log in to your account to see the deal info and any other deals we've sent. 
• Fourth: You book the deal! This is what you've been hoarding credit card points for – a sizzling deal worth your hard-earned miles. 

And that's it! We're not travel agents and we don't work with the airlines. We just find the deals the airlines don't want you to know about and alert you to them so you can get maximum value out of your stash of miles. 

Plus, we offer a 100-day money-back guarantee for first-time subscribers. If you're not loving the deals you get, you can cancel for a full refund – no questions asked!

Bottom Line

JAL Mileage Bank might just be the best mileage program on the planet right now.

Booking roundtrip redemptions on partner airlines for less – sometimes, significantly less – than twice the one-way cost is unheard of. And considering how many excellent partners Japan Airlines has, the possibilities here are seemingly endless.

Start getting flight deal alerts like these and more, and remember: Our 100-day money-back guarantee means you can try our alerts risk-free!

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