Originally Posted by
Jinxed_K
Sounds like I should just pay for standard tickets and not even worry about miles/upgrades if availability would be an issue. It'll be on the back burner for now.
Definitely. Mileage banking and what not is a game that needs quite some investment in time and effort to study the various frequent flyer programs, earning and burning rates etc. And, there is always the uncertainty of award space availability.
Originally Posted by
Jinxed_K
1) I use JAL for the international leg because my final destination is usually Hokkaido and the Japan explorer pass discounts seem to be a savings in time and money after adding in the cost of 3-4 domestic legs compared to booking ANA or JAL domestic at the standard rate after taking a non Oneworld carrier into Japan.
Thats fair..How about looking at LCCs? There is a boom of LCCs in Japan these days at rock bottom prices, so you should be ok.
Tokyo NRT to Sapporo CTS for less than $50 one way, even in high season like Sakura season! see this
link.
Originally Posted by
Jinxed_K
I also like the 1pm departure from Boston compared to the 6-8am departures I have to catch for a connecting. I'm also not averse to paying more for things like JAL/ANA premium economy or Jetblue even more space, but business class prices are out of my reach.
I suggest you subscribe to the premium-fare-deals page (
link), and keep looking out for business class/premium economy deals departing from Boston.
You might get lucky!
Alternatively, research on how to earn American Airlines Miles, or Alaska Airlines Miles using credit card sign up bonuses, and you should easily get the miles required to book business class on JAL BOS-NRT route. Boardingarea website has many bloggers peddling these credit card sign up bonus deals.