There’s big news if you like to transfer credit card points to book award flights: Citi ThankYou Rewards just added Japan Airlines Mileage Bank as a transfer partner — and it’s launching the partnership with an impressive 30% transfer bonus.
Japan Airlines is now a transfer partner from the Citi ThankYou program and cards such as the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card and Citi Strata Premier® Card at a 1:1 transfer ratio. Eligible Citi ThankYou cards without an annual fee can also transfer points to Japan Airlines, though at a lower 1:0.7 ratio.
Until Oct. 24, there’s a 30% transfer bonus, which means that for every 1,000 transferred Citi points, you get 1,300 miles in the Japan Airlines Mileage Bank program. To test it out, the author transferred 1,000 Citi points from a Citi Strata Elite, which converted to 1,300 JAL miles that posted immediately to the account.
Pair that with the Japan Airlines award chart, and you can fly in lie-flat business class all the way from the U.S. to Japan from just 43,000 transferred Citi points (plus taxes and fees) if you find award availability at the 55,000-mile level.
TPG tip: Look toward the very end of JAL’s bookable schedule for some of the best chances of finding business-class award availability on its own flights.
Even if you aren’t ready to transfer Citi points yet, consider opening a Japan Airlines Mileage Bank account now. JAL generally doesn’t allow members to redeem miles for awards within 60 days of opening an account, so waiting until you find the perfect award could leave you unable to book it.
You Don’t Have to Fly to Japan to Get Great Value
Flights to or from Japan aren’t the only way to use Japan Airlines Mileage Bank miles. Japan Airlines Mileage Bank miles can also be used to book flights on Oneworld partners such as American Airlines and British Airways, as well as non-alliance partners including Air France.
And this is where things get especially interesting. Depending on the award, booking a round trip can cost far fewer miles than simply doubling the one-way price.
For example, a British Airways business-class award from Houston to London Heathrow is available for 60,000 Japan Airlines miles, plus taxes and fees. If you booked that same trip as a round trip, the price would not double — instead, it would increase to just 85,000 total miles (plus taxes and fees).
Those cash costs are admittedly steep, thanks largely to British Airways’ carrier-imposed surcharges and the taxes and fees associated with departing the U.K. But the mileage price is remarkably low.
With the current 30% transfer bonus running through Oct. 24, Citi ThankYou cardholders have a valuable, time-sensitive opportunity to stretch their points further — whether the goal is a business-class seat to Tokyo or a discounted round trip to London.
