Today Only: Get Up to a 100% (or 125%?!) Transfer Bonus from Bilt to Japan Airlines

Bilt has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately following the botched rollout of its new cards. But this time, we've got genuinely good news for travelers: Today (March 1) – and only today – Bilt is offering members a transfer bonus of up to 100% (or maybe a bit more) to Japan Airlines (JAL) Mileage Bank.

Here’s how the transfer bonus shakes out, based on your level of Bilt elite status:

• Blue: 25% bonus
• Silver: 50% bonus
• Gold: 75% bonus
• Platinum: 100% bonus

Japan Airlines isn't just one of Bilt's newest transfer partners – it's also one of the most valuable. With sweet spot after sweet spot – whether you're looking to fly to Japan, cross the Atlantic Ocean with one of its many partners, or even fly domestically with American or Alaska Airlines – we can't stop singing JAL's praises. This big bonus means you'll need even fewer points for a big redemption.

Members can also use $135 Bilt Cash – the loyalty program's new standalone currency – to temporarily “buy up” to the next status level, increasing their transfer bonus. For example, a Bilt Blue member could use Bilt Cash to upgrade to Silver and receive a larger 50% bonus. You can only move up one level using Bilt Cash. And even though Platinum is as high as it goes, these members can still “buy up” to a 125% bonus.

All that said, there are a few quirks you'll want to be aware of with JAL:

• If your JAL Mileage Bank account is less than 60 days old, there will be up to a seven-day hold before you can use JAL miles to book travel. 
• 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.

Here's everything you need to know about using this Rent Day transfer bonus – and what else Bilt cooked up.

Related reading: A Complete Guide to JAL Mileage Bank

What Can You Do With This Bonus?

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank miles are, without a doubt, some of the most valuable in the world. Not only can you use them to fly to Japan and back, but you can also use them to book flights with any of its Oneworld partners and a handful of other airlines like Emirates, Air France, and more .

Exactly how big a bonus you'll get depends on your level of Bilt status – and keep in mind: Even though the Bilt Palladium (see rates & fees) card's sign-up bonus includes Gold status, that isn't awarded until the bonus is earned. That means many (if not most) new cardholders will still be at their existing status level this time around. 

But even at the lower status tiers, this is still a fantastic offer. Here are some of our favorite ways to put it to use.

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 to 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 cost as few as 27,000 miles in economy, 40,000 miles in premium economy, or 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 – as few as 25,000 Bilt points with a 125% transfer bonus – and $142 in taxes and fees. 

Even if you only have Bilt Silver status – or used Bilt Cash to buy up to the Silver transfer bonus level – you'd only need 37,000 Bilt points for this redemption. That's still a heck of a deal! 

Your best bet at finding these cheap award rates is at the end of the calendar for a trip next fall or winter. But one standout feature of JAL Mileage Bank is that it offers its 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 just 60,000 Bilt points … or as few as 34,000 to make it happen.

If you're feeling really fancy, you could even book Japan Airlines first class for 125,000 miles – 56,000 to 100,000 Bilt points (depending on status) – 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 into 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 – hello, cherry blossom season!

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. And you'd need far fewer Bilt points than that with this bonus. 

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 6,000 to 10,000 Bilt points and $5.60 in taxes and fees. 

But keep reading – this deal gets much, much better!

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 11,000 to 19,000 Bilt points – and $5.60 in taxes and fees. 

None of those are “can't miss” deals, but they look a whole lot better when booking roundtrip – stick with me. 

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 distances together for the final price. 

Because Minneapolis and Chicago are just a 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 – just 48,000 Bilt points at the lowest status level – 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 costs just 85,000 miles. With the current Rent Day transfer bonus, you could book roundtrip business class flights to Europe for as few as 38,000 Bilt points. That's a steal!

While most people won't have the Bilt Cash or status for a 125% bonus, even getting a 50% boost would only require 57,000 Bilt points. Not bad for flights that typically go for $3,000 or more … a lot of times, much more.

This 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! 

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, as most airlines do, you just calculate the total distance.

Read more: How to Book Award Tickets With Japan Airlines Miles

Other Rent Day Promotions

As always, Bilt is rolling out more ways for members to earn and redeem points beyond the big transfer bonus.

• Rent Free: This month’s Rent Free challenge stars Chef Thomas Keller. Play in the Bilt app between Feb. 25 (12 p.m. ET) and March 1 (3 p.m. ET) for a chance to win free rent (up to $2,500) or bonus points.
  • Top 10: Free rent (up to $2,500) & Bilt x Thomas Keller: Chef's Selection
  • Next 100: 1,000 Bilt points & Bilt x Thomas Keller: Chef's Selection
  • Next 500: 100 Bilt points & Bilt x Thomas Keller: Chef's Selection
• Neighborhood comedy series: Bilt continues to grow its dining series, fitness experiences, and entertainment events for Rent Day, including comedy nights in 17 venues across 12 cities.
• Multi-course dining experiences at 36 restaurants across nine major cities, with optional wine or cocktail pairings.
• Free fitness classes at SoulCycle and Barry’s.
• Complimentary items at the Bilt Neighborhood Cafe (31 Bond Street, New York City).

Earn Double Points on Rent Day

Another thing to keep in mind on Rent Day: You'll earn double the points (up to 1,000 bonus points) for every non-housing dollar spent on Bilt's trio of credit cards on the first of the month.

Key details:

• Bilt Blue (see rates & fees) cardholders will earn 2x points on everyday spending (regularly 1x points), up to 1,000 bonus points 
• Bilt Obsidian (see rates & fees) cardholders will earn 6x points on their selected category of dining or groceries (regularly 3x), 4x points on travel (regularly 2x), and 2x on other everyday purchases (regularly 1x), up to 1,000 bonus points 
• Bilt Palladium (see rates & fees) cardholders will earn 4x on everyday spending (regularly 2x points), up to 1,000 bonus points
• Double points start at 12:00 a.m. ET on March 1 and ends at 11:59 p.m. PT on March 1.

Read more: From No Thanks to No-Brainer: Why I Pulled a U-Turn on the Bilt Palladium Card

How to Use Bilt Rewards Points

Just because the points can be fairly challenging to earn doesn't mean they aren't useful – just the opposite. There are many ways to use Bilt points. And once you've got them, they're some of the most valuable points in the world of travel.

The easiest way to use them is to book through the Bilt Rewards travel portal, where each point will be worth 1.25 cents apiece. That means 10,000 Bilt points are worth $125 toward travel.

But you'll get the best value for your Bilt points by transferring points to one of its travel partners, including World of Hyatt, Alaska Airlines, Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles, United Mileage Plus, and British Airways Avios, among many others.

Just keep in mind that unless you've earned anything beyond Bilt Blue status, you'll need to transfer a minimum of 2,000 points to get started.

Here's the full list:
 

If you prefer to use your points for something other than travel, Bilt recently introduced the ability to “cash out” Bilt Rewards points  (at a rate of .55 cents per point) by applying them as a statement credit to the outstanding balance on your Bilt Rewards Card. At approximately a half-cent per point, redeeming them this way represents poor value and should really only be done as a last resort.

Prior Rent Day Promotions

Over the years, Bilt has done a good job leveraging its partners to come up with some really creative (and often incredibly lucrative) promotions. While not every month's promo is a home run for travelers, the majority of Bilt's Rent Day promos do a good job of engaging members on a day that's otherwise un-celebrated.

Here's a look back at some of the other Rent Day promotions from the past year:

Most of Bilt's Rent Day promotions are travel-focused, and even the ones that aren't are still valuable for most Bilt Rewards members. Looking at prior Rent Day promos, you have to wonder how Bilt can continue to raise the bar month after month.

Bottom Line

Bilt is bouncing back from a rough stretch with one of its best Rent Day deals yet: On Sunday, March 1, members can get up to a 100% transfer bonus to JAL Mileage Bank – or even 125% for top-tier members who “buy up” with Bilt Cash.

With tons of sweet spots, you can use this transfer bonus to unlock outsized value for flights to Japan, Europe, or even trips closer to home. It’s a genuinely useful, potentially huge win for travelers – but you’ll need to act fast, as the bonus is available for one day only.