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Japan Airlines Increases Many Premium Class Prices on Mileage Bank Partner Award Chart

Richard Kerr
Richard Kerr
Contributor
Richard Kerr is a veteran naval officer and founder of the Award Travel 101 Facebook community. He’s one of the foremost experts in points and miles strategy, featured in Forbes, US News, Money Magazine, Kiplinger Personal Finance and presented at #SXSW 2017. Richard has visited over 45 countries, lived in England and Japan, and spends his spare time dissecting loyalty program award charts to maximize the value of points and miles. Richard holds a BBA in International Business and has his wife and two small children in tow for his travels as often as possible.
May 29, 2018
•
3 min read
JAL 777 feat
Japan Airlines Increases Many Premium Class Prices on Mileage Bank Partner Award Chart
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Memorial Day weekend is a time for barbecues, spending time with family and, apparently, devaluing award charts. On the heels of Qatar's no-notice increase of up to 77% in award prices, Japan Airlines has quietly posted a new set of columns on its Mileage Bank distance-based partner award chart (thanks to TPG reader Derrick for the heads up). Beginning November 20, any award bookings made after 9:00am Japan time (7:00pm Eastern time on November 19) will utilize a new award chart that determines the price of your partner operated award ticket:

Overall, while most distance bands are not increased substantially and there are a few zones with slight decreases, many premium class redemption zones do take a large hit, with price increases of as much as 31%. Here's a quick rundown of the winners and losers in the new chart:

  • Prices for Japan Airlines operated flights are not affected.
  • Economy, premium economy, business and first class redemptions on itineraries up to 2,000 miles will decrease in cost. This is great news if you can maximize domestic American itineraries with stopovers and book flights as close to 2,000 miles as possible.
  • Most round-trip business class itineraries from the US to Europe increase from 63,000 or 65,000 miles required for a round-trip to 80,000 or 85,000 miles round-trip.
  • Miles required for first class partner redemptions decrease or stay the same on itineraries up to 6,000 miles in length.
  • Business and first class itineraries between 6,000 miles and 20,000 miles in length average an increase of 21% in miles required across the five zones.
  • Economy itineraries between 2,000 and 20,000 miles in length only require an average of 8% more miles.

Transfers from Starwood Preferred Guest are currently the best way to earn JAL Mileage Bank miles — the 5,000 mile bonus given by SPG for every 20,000 points transferred results in a 25% bonus. With average premium cabin class redemptions increasing an average of 21% for the majority of itineraries, these changes can be equated to wiping out your SPG transfer bonus.

You can still book round-trip economy to Europe from the US on Oneworld airlines and Air France for 45,000 or 47,000 miles, depending on where in the US your departure city is. Round-trip business is possible for 80,000 miles, making it equivalent to the other best priced award tickets from the US to Europe (Korean Air SkyPass redemptions), but JAL doesn't pass on carrier surcharges on American or Air France-operated tickets, while Korean does pass on surcharges on all SkyTeam partners to Europe. This makes JAL still one of the best programs to consider for transatlantic flights, even post-devaluation.

Bottom Line

The JAL Mileage Bank partner award chart has been ripe for devaluation for several years now, given how generously priced it was. Award zones that gave an additional 2,000 miles in potential flying but only charged 2,000 more JAL miles for the ticket were illogical and couldn't exist forever. A 20% average increase in premium cabins is tough to swallow, but could have been much worse.

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Kudos to JAL for giving its customers a near six-month notice of the changes — that's exactly how a loyalty program should behave to engender goodwill with its customers. Make sure you book your ticket by November 19 at 7pm Eastern time to take advantage of current partner award pricing.

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Why We Chose It

There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits.

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  • 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
  • Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
  • Solid welcome bonus

Cons

  • Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
  • Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
  • You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
  • Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
  • Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
  • Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
  • Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
  • Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
  • $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
  • $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
  • $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
  • $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
  • Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees.
  • Annual Fee is $325.
  • Terms Apply.