In this episode, we’ll talk about how Citi is showering us with transfer bonuses, then we’ll talk about the incredible uses for Japan Airlines miles. Now that Capital One is making transfers available to Japan Airlines (in addition to Bilt, which has already been offering this), it’s worth talking about what you can do with those miles!
Sweet-spot awards courtesy of Japan Airlines
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Giant Mailbag
(01:42) – “I’m a YUGE fan of ya’ll. I’m an Army National Guard member that puts in just enough active duty time to get Servicemembers Civil Relief Act benefits (waived annual fees). So I have so many luxury cards I get FAR more value from the cards than I do from my Guard paycheck.Ya’ll have been a key factor in deciding to stay in the National Guard, so ‘Thank You For Your Service’.”
100K Vacay Challenge Update
(04:06) – By the time this airs, Greg will be heading to his destination for his Benchmark Trip. As a reminder, he’s setting the bar for the rest of the challengers with a trip showcasing how far 100K Chase Ultimate Rewards points can go. (Once he’s back, Tim, Nick, and Stephen will attempt to match or outdo his trip with alternative transferable points currencies.) Read more about that here!
Card News
(09:34) – Spirit Travel More credit card holders now get 2 free checked bags (Read more about this update here)
(11:11) – Amex will exclude gift cards from Hilton credits starting in 2026 (read our post here)
(12:28) – Southwest debit card (Read more about the Southwest debit card here)
Read the View from the Wing article here.
Awards, Points, and More
(14:42) – Air France / KLM Promo: Earn 10,000 bonus Flying Blue miles when flying from the US to any destination served by Air France or KLM. (details here)
(18:16) – Avianca LifeMiles Award Sale (read more about the sale here)
(20:19) – Transfer bonuses (see our full page of transfer bonuses)
(24:50) – Rove Miles transfer bonus (Use our referral link here.)
(27:25) – Capital One added transfer partners and also has some transfer bonuses (read more here)
Main Event: Sweet-spot awards courtesy of Japan Airlines
(30:18) – How to get JAL miles
Learn more about the Best Uses of Japan Airlines Mileage Bank Miles here
(32:01) – The Bad News
(33:05) – Japan Airlines Mileage Bank 36-month hard expiration policy
(34:30) – Family restrictions on award redemption
(35:58) – Carrier-imposed surcharges
(36:19) – JAL Mileage Bank awards can not be changed (but they can be cancelled for a reasonable fee)
(36:56) – Best uses of Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
(42:54) – Japan Airlines partner awards
Question of the Week
(1:10:20) – Buying points isn’t usually a good value unless you have a specific redemption in mind, but what about Atmos for 1.66 cents per point? (Especially with Rove miles?)
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Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder
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I was excited about this but cannot see cost in miles on the website. Can anyone assist? I did not have a JAL login and made one today and still can’t find a way to see cost in points.
Thanks for all the JAL research. Since you are excited about the multi-stopover awards, I just want to comment on the history. When oneworld formed, AA basically invented what they called oneworld awards and other partners did something similar. AA allowed many stopovers on a single ticket at a great price. I’m pretty sure you could get even more than 7 stopovers but there was a limit on segments. For example BOS-LHR-BCN-MAD-ATH-LHR-BOS for 90k in business class, stopping 4 times.
You can still get paid cash oneworld tickets something like this which are distance based, but I haven’t tried that. https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/oneworld/2008084-oneworld-explorer-user-guide-29.html
Hi Nick: I was thrilled to see this segment. I have a massive stash of Marriott points which I acquired very cheaply during a great promotion between SPG and Plastiq (and then a mistake in my favor). I have been sitting on them for 8 years with the idea of doing a RTW trip in first class using JAL miles.
Here’s the thing. I had bookmarked a post that went really deep on the Japan Airlines mileage program from TravelisFree by–your friend–Drew Macomber. I eagerly rushed to review it after hearing your segment only to discover–after all these years–the blog is finally down. All that is to say, you may way to see if Carolyn can get you access. It is still the best post I’ve ever seen on using JAL miles for around-the-world trips and I have been planning on using it when I retire. Anyway, really excited that you guys are now covering that program–I’ll bet you (and Drew) will uncover lots of great opportunities.
A bit more info: It was entitled “The Extreme Maximizing of JAL Miles” posted October 22, 2019!
Wayback machine and other archiving websites can be super useful for this type of situation. Please remove the link if it violates any rules (sorry if I broke the rule).
Below is the link: https://web.archive.org/web/20220821193005/https://travelisfree.com/the-extreme-maximizing-of-jal-miles/