Citi Partners With Japan Airlines, and JAL Miles Are Suddenly Everywhere

Japan Airlines miles used to be a little harder to come by in the U.S.

Flying JAL was one way to earn them, and transferring hotel points was another. But for most people earning points through credit cards, Mileage Bank wasn’t an obvious program to use.

That’s changing quickly.

Citi ThankYou Rewards became the latest program to add Japan Airlines Mileage Bank as a transfer partner on September 20. Bilt, Capital One, and Rove also transfer directly to JAL. Hotel programs like Marriott Bonvoy and Accor Live Limitless add a few more options.

For most Citi cardholders who can transfer ThankYou points to airlines, the new JAL partnership is 1:1. That means 1,000 Citi points become 1,000 JAL miles. Cardholders with Citi’s no-annual-fee cards get a lower 1:0.7 ratio, turning 1,000 points into 700 miles.

But why care about JAL miles in the first place?

Japan has been one of the most searched international destinations among PointsYeah users. JAL flies there nonstop from several U.S. cities, and its miles can be used to book those flights. They can also be used for flights on partner airlines, including American Airlines and other Oneworld carriers.

So there’s a lot more that can be booked with JAL miles than the name might suggest.

There are also a few things worth knowing before transferring points over.

That 55,000-Mile Business-Class Award Has an Asterisk

JAL publishes an award chart showing how many miles its flights can cost.

Between North America and Japan, a one-way flight starts at 27,000 miles in economy, 40,000 in premium economy, and 55,000 in business class.

Those are the starting prices. What shows up when searching can look very different.

JAL uses a system called Award Ticket PLUS. If the cheapest award seats are all booked up, the airline can sometimes make another seat available for more miles. The price rises based on how many seats JAL expects to have left.

I searched from Los Angeles to Tokyo and saw just about every outcome. Several dates had no business-class awards available. Some flights checked in around 80,000 miles. Plenty approached 200,000. Others were somewhere in the middle.

And 200,000 isn’t the ceiling.

JAL’s award chart shows that a business-class award from Los Angeles can climb as high as 421,500 miles with PLUS. From Dallas, the maximum is 509,500 miles.

Those are extreme examples, but they illustrate why it’s worth searching before transferring points. A flight that starts at 55,000 miles on the chart may cost considerably more on the date you want to travel.

First class follows different rules. JAL doesn’t use PLUS there, but prices change depending on the season. Los Angeles to Japan currently ranges from 110,000 miles one way during low season to 140,000 during high season.

There’s cash to pay on top of the miles, too. JAL currently lists fuel surcharges starting at $320 one way between North America and Japan, plus taxes and fees.

JAL Miles Aren’t Just for JAL

There’s another reason all these new transfer options matter.

Mileage Bank miles can be used to book flights on partner airlines, including American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, and Cathay Pacific. Instead of PLUS, these awards are priced based on the total distance of the trip.

For example, a partner trip covering 2,001 to 4,000 miles costs 23,000 miles in economy or 42,000 in business class. A flight from New York to Los Angeles falls within that distance band.

Longer trips cost more. An itinerary covering 6,001 to 8,000 miles costs 45,000 miles in economy or 80,000 in business class.

That doesn’t mean JAL will always be the best program for booking those flights. There still needs to be an award seat available, and it’s worth comparing the price with other programs before transferring anything.

But JAL Mileage Bank is suddenly relevant to a much bigger group of people.

That’s really what makes Citi’s addition interesting. It isn’t another transfer partner to memorize. It’s another way into a program that can book flights to Japan and plenty of flights that never touch Japan at all.

The useful part is knowing it’s there when one of those awards turns up.