Originally Posted by
dvs7310
I agree, if you're anything other than AA or AS OWS or OWE then the FL is a nice perk but I travel so infrequently on domestic only tickets that I don't take it into consideration. I know that doesn't apply to everyone.
I don't follow your SYD example however. How is JMB awarding so many more award miles on the SYD route vs. LAX compared to AAdvantage? AAdvantage doesn't have a differential on JL flights like it has on QF. On QF it has to be to / from North America to get the enhanced earnings. But on JL it does not, it's a global standard. I'd think that in a mileage based program, both should be equal plus cabin and status bonuses. AAdvantage credits at 370% of distance for EXPs on all JL flights.(Based on D fare), is there something I've missed that JMB is crediting at over 370% on the SYD route?
There is a difference between status points and miles for use on JAL. While JAL does not have a Diamond bonus on FOP for status, there is a 230% earning on distance flown on miles for use. Australia counts as the Asia region, so there is a factor 1.5 on distance for JAL group flights. This is a factor 2 on domestic flights. Then there are the boarding points, while quite fractional on Sydney or LA but on short Asian hops and domestic it weighs in decently. And finally one FOP is worth 2 LPs as you need 100,000 FOP to requalify for Diamond, but you need 200,000 LP to requalify for EXP.
And it is fairly new'ish that JAL earns this well on AA, initially there were zero enhanced earnings on JAL, meaning the LP were abysmal even on the JV routes. But AA did adjust that somewhere along the way. Just when it started my friend demonstrated the difference in LP earning on an AA coded JAL flight and a JL coded JAL flight on HND LAX, it was light years apart and in favour of AA. As a JV partner JL may have complained to AA about so blatantly favouring their own bookings over JL.Another benefit of Diamond that I just thought of is that you get 60,000 yen worth of e-points every year, that you can use to discount your ticket purchases.