Aug 4, 2015, 1:37 pm
Last edit by: Prospero
GUIDE to redeeming AA miles for Japan Air Lines awards:
For 2012-2015 posts, please see
ARCHIVE: AA Award on JL / JAL / Japan Airlines (master thd)
For further information, see:
HELP DESK: MileSAAver / SAAver award questions, assistance
oneworld and Other Airline (Partner) Awards info, rules 2014 on
- JL awards are now shown show and can be booked on aa.com
- AwardNexus (free to FlyerTalk members for basic searches) will also reveal, and (for a fee) alert, on JL award seats
- AA awards on JL must be MileSAAver (AAnytime awards are only available on AA marketed and AA operated flights)
- There are no onerous fuel or carrier-imposed surcharges using AAdvantage miles for awards using JL
- JL initially releases awards to AAvantage members 330 days out at 10:00 am JST time (18:00 PDT, 17:00 PST). Note, JL award inventory is released to members of other FFPs 360 day out and updates award and revenue seat award availability once daily ~09:30-12:00 Pacific time
- JL may release 0-2 F and 0-4 J award seats initially; until taken they remain available up to three months from release
- No further seats are likely to be released until shortly (~14 days) prior to scheduled departure - but the last F seat will be retained for sale, not released into award inventory
- No stopovers are allowed on AA awards. Connections may be as long as 23:59.
- Only JAL Mileage Bank members can waitlist awards
- All awards for domestic Japan will default to Economy (including international F or J award with domestic segments); these can often be upgraded at reasonable cost at the ticket counter in the Japan connecting airport
- If JL & QF are showing availability, but AA can't see it, try calling the Australia AA center as it may be a point-of-sale issue
For 2012-2015 posts, please see
ARCHIVE: AA Award on JL / JAL / Japan Airlines (master thd)
For further information, see:
HELP DESK: MileSAAver / SAAver award questions, assistance
oneworld and Other Airline (Partner) Awards info, rules 2014 on
AAdvantage Award on JL / JAL / Japan Airlines (2016-2023)
Jan 11, 2019, 12:33 am
#766
Join Date: Jan 2012
Programs: AY+ Plat, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 2,846
Are Haneda and Narita airports considered co-terminals by AA? That is, would I be allowed to change a flight departing from Haneda to a flight departing Narita (or vice versa)? Besides this, origin and destination would be the same just the departing airport from same origin. Would this be possible without incurring any charges or change fees? Thanks
AA does not recognize co-terminals as the same origin/destination for purposes of award tickets.
Jan 11, 2019, 7:55 am
#767
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 14
Yes. As various reports (and the wiki) confirm, JL (i) sometimes releases as many as 4 F redemption seats when booking opens and (iii) may release available F seats, except the last one, during a period of approximately 14 days before a flight.
To get a slightly better idea of how likely this is on a specific flight, look at: current availability (how many F seats is the airline prepared to sell?), unselected F seats and how full the other cabins appear to be. You can also monitor the same flight on other days between now and 10 February to see if you can identify any release patterns.
Looking at JL62 on February 10, you clearly have a chance.
To get a slightly better idea of how likely this is on a specific flight, look at: current availability (how many F seats is the airline prepared to sell?), unselected F seats and how full the other cabins appear to be. You can also monitor the same flight on other days between now and 10 February to see if you can identify any release patterns.
Looking at JL62 on February 10, you clearly have a chance.
Jan 11, 2019, 2:10 pm
#768
Join Date: Jan 2019
Programs: AA, BA
Posts: 3
Thanks skimthetrees and IMH,
Tried your suggestions and the agent assured they were using the 'new' method but still saw no awards on the GMP-HND for any the 3 JL filghts available on AS and BA in any class.
Will try again tomorrow and maybe a different agent will find them.
Tried your suggestions and the agent assured they were using the 'new' method but still saw no awards on the GMP-HND for any the 3 JL filghts available on AS and BA in any class.
Will try again tomorrow and maybe a different agent will find them.
Jan 11, 2019, 3:01 pm
#769
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: UA, AS
Posts: 2,393
Thanks skimthetrees and IMH,
Tried your suggestions and the agent assured they were using the 'new' method but still saw no awards on the GMP-HND for any the 3 JL filghts available on AS and BA in any class.
Will try again tomorrow and maybe a different agent will find them.
Tried your suggestions and the agent assured they were using the 'new' method but still saw no awards on the GMP-HND for any the 3 JL filghts available on AS and BA in any class.
Will try again tomorrow and maybe a different agent will find them.
Try IMH's suggestion that you checked and there should be T class available on flight JLxxx. Ask them if they see T class listed and how many seats are showing for T class. If they still cannot find it perhaps ask to speak to a supervisor because you are certain it is there? Maybe a supervisor will know how to find it or be able to troubleshoot problems in the availability for JL?
Also, I am assuming you are only interested in the GMP-HND flight and are not connecting this to another flight otherwise you may be running into married segment availability issues.
Jan 12, 2019, 8:21 pm
#770
Join Date: Jan 2019
Programs: AA, BA
Posts: 3
Thanks. Tried again today and booked.
This time the agent saw the award seats immediately. No issues at all. Not sure though if it was due to his superior ability/trialning compared to the others. Noticed that on the BA site today, there were far more award space than when I checked before. Could it be that seats are released to some oneworld members before others?
This time the agent saw the award seats immediately. No issues at all. Not sure though if it was due to his superior ability/trialning compared to the others. Noticed that on the BA site today, there were far more award space than when I checked before. Could it be that seats are released to some oneworld members before others?
Jan 12, 2019, 11:02 pm
#771
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: NYC
Programs: BAEC Silver, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 406
Flying JFK-NRT-FUK award in business. The NRT-FUK leg is in economy. Will I have lounge access in NRT for the domestic flight?
Jan 13, 2019, 8:41 am
#773
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: New York
Programs: Marriott Gold, AA, United, Delta, Alaska
Posts: 144
https://www.jal.co.jp/en/inter/servi...opics/transit/
Jan 16, 2019, 7:29 am
#774
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: New York
Programs: Marriott Gold, AA, United, Delta, Alaska
Posts: 144
In a couple of weeks I’ll be flying JFK-HND-CTS, first leg in F and second leg in Y (all on one ticket). I know I have to collect checked bags to clear customs and then re-check them at the transfer desk. Does anyone know if the First/Priority checked bag tag from my first leg will stay on for the domestic flight? I arrive at CTS pretty late (scheduled arrival of 10:05PM) and am worried I’ll miss the last train into Sapporo (at 10:53PM), so I’m hoping the priority tag will help ensure my bags come out faster.
Jan 16, 2019, 2:00 pm
#775
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 11
Hi all, I just had a question regarding lounge access. I booked 3 RT award flights from JFK-GMP with connection at HND on JAL using AA miles in April for my parents and I, with my dad and I in economy and my mom in business. She is a AA Platinum, but I was wondering if she was able to get my dad and I lounge access for our flights. Seems like OW Sapphire only allows for 1 guest which is why I'm worried/asking. Any input would be appreciated!
Last edited by soarin3; Jan 16, 2019 at 2:09 pm
Jan 16, 2019, 2:01 pm
#776
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 11
Thanks. Tried again today and booked.
This time the agent saw the award seats immediately. No issues at all. Not sure though if it was due to his superior ability/trialning compared to the others. Noticed that on the BA site today, there were far more award space than when I checked before. Could it be that seats are released to some oneworld members before others?
This time the agent saw the award seats immediately. No issues at all. Not sure though if it was due to his superior ability/trialning compared to the others. Noticed that on the BA site today, there were far more award space than when I checked before. Could it be that seats are released to some oneworld members before others?
Jan 16, 2019, 3:01 pm
#777
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,438
Hi all, I just had a question regarding lounge access. I booked 3 RT award flights from JFK-GMP with connection at HND on JAL using AA miles in April for my parents and I, with my dad and I in economy and my mom in business. She is a AA Platinum, but I was wondering if she was able to get my dad and I lounge access for our flights. Seems like OW Sapphire only allows for 1 guest which is why I'm worried/asking. Any input would be appreciated!
Jan 21, 2019, 7:17 am
#778
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Florida
Posts: 5
Good morning, after spending some time reading posts from the past year and a half, I have come to the conclusion that I will not be able to add the domestic portion of my international trip, as I've done in the past, to Japan until 2 months prior based on Japan Airlines program changes. I have the international portion from KUL through MNL reserved with AA in business class for the next 4 days. The domestic portion does show up on the British Airways site but of course, AA is not able to book it. I don't want to loose the business class seat (as finding first/business class seats are becoming more challenging these days) and I have enough points to cover the last leg separately when they do become available. I will keep trying to call a couple times a day until I the hold expiration to perhaps find that one agent that holds the key, but in the meantime I wanted to make sure that I did not miss something. Also, (get ready for a stupid question) is there a way to have the airlines somehow combine the two itineraries when I do purchase the second award ticket? Probably wouldn't make much of a difference since I still have to pick up luggage to go through customs in Tokyo.
Jan 21, 2019, 9:50 am
#779
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: ORD (formerly SAN)
Programs: Hilton Diamond; IHG Platinum; Bonvoy Gold; AA Platinum Pro and United Premier Silver (DH = AA EXP)
Posts: 1,927
Also, (get ready for a stupid question) is there a way to have the airlines somehow combine the two itineraries when I do purchase the second award ticket? Probably wouldn't make much of a difference since I still have to pick up luggage to go through customs in Tokyo.
Jan 21, 2019, 10:46 am
#780
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Florida
Posts: 5
I think you can add the last leg to your existing itinerary without having to purchase a second/separate award ticket, but it will cost a redeposit/change fee (not sure what it is called) as you are changing the final destination. Unless you are EXP, in which case, it would be free.
Last edited by ISpaulding; Jan 21, 2019 at 10:47 am Reason: Making more clear.
