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)
Mar 2, 2018, 6:41 pm
#496
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Land of 10,000 Upgrades
Posts: 9,465
What research did you do before posting here? A roundtrip will be a minimum of 70k miles in June:
https://www.aa.com/i18n/aadvantage-p...ward-chart.jsp
FWIW, there is plenty of availability from SFO.
https://www.aa.com/i18n/aadvantage-p...ward-chart.jsp
FWIW, there is plenty of availability from SFO.
Mar 2, 2018, 7:19 pm
#498
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 1,107
No, but you can buy 10k miles through aa.com.
Mar 3, 2018, 1:52 pm
#499
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,932
You can't transfer AA miles to any other airlines. (And even if you could, it wouldn't be 1:1, so you'd actually lose more in the process than the 10k you think you'd save. For example, a decade or so ago you could transfer AA miles to Hilton points and then onto another airline, but you lost a ton of value in the two conversions.)
Mar 21, 2018, 8:10 am
#500
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: PIT-SCE-AOO-PHL-NYC-WAS
Programs: free agent
Posts: 1,033
No surprise that options aren't really there right now for post-Memorial's Day weekend (looking for TYO-JFK but open to ORD or BOS (J only). If I see EF show F5 (HND-JFK), and F6 (NRT-JFK) for late May, how likely JL will release additional F seats for award redemption? It's still 14 day out, or I should check more often around 28 days out? Thanks
Mar 21, 2018, 8:13 am
#501
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Boston, MA
Programs: AA Lifetime Platinum (3MM), QF Lifetime Gold, Bonvoy Lifetime Platinum, Ex-Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 7,541
No surprise that options aren't really there right now for post-Memorial's Day weekend (looking for TYO-JFK but open to ORD or BOS (J only). If I see EF show F5 (HND-JFK), and F6 (NRT-JFK) for late May, how likely JL will release additional F seats for award redemption? It's still 14 day out, or I should check more often around 28 days out? Thanks
Mar 21, 2018, 9:29 am
#502
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: PIT-SCE-AOO-PHL-NYC-WAS
Programs: free agent
Posts: 1,033
Mar 22, 2018, 1:24 pm
#503
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 156
Japanese Domestic Award Flight - Question about taxes
Just got off the phone with an AAgent who was able to successfully book a domestic segment on JAL, one way from HND to OKA for 7,500 and taxes and fees of $40.
A few days earlier I booked a similar segment using Avios from OKA to HND, and BA only wanted Ł3 for taxes.
Having never booked a domestic leg on JAL before using AAdvantage miles, are these taxes correct? Seems a little high for a domestic flight, especially compared with what BA charges for the same route. Does anyone have any experience with these awards?
A few days earlier I booked a similar segment using Avios from OKA to HND, and BA only wanted Ł3 for taxes.
Having never booked a domestic leg on JAL before using AAdvantage miles, are these taxes correct? Seems a little high for a domestic flight, especially compared with what BA charges for the same route. Does anyone have any experience with these awards?
Mar 22, 2018, 3:11 pm
#504
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Japan/Thailand
Programs: AS, UA
Posts: 1,201
Just got off the phone with an AAgent who was able to successfully book a domestic segment on JAL, one way from HND to OKA for 7,500 and taxes and fees of $40.
A few days earlier I booked a similar segment using Avios from OKA to HND, and BA only wanted Ł3 for taxes.
Having never booked a domestic leg on JAL before using AAdvantage miles, are these taxes correct? Seems a little high for a domestic flight, especially compared with what BA charges for the same route. Does anyone have any experience with these awards?
A few days earlier I booked a similar segment using Avios from OKA to HND, and BA only wanted Ł3 for taxes.
Having never booked a domestic leg on JAL before using AAdvantage miles, are these taxes correct? Seems a little high for a domestic flight, especially compared with what BA charges for the same route. Does anyone have any experience with these awards?
Mar 22, 2018, 5:59 pm
#505
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Beantown! (BOS)
Programs: AA PtPro (2 MM); Hilton Diamond; Hertz President Cr; DL SkyMiles; UA MileagePlus
Posts: 3,435
Just got off the phone with an AAgent who was able to successfully book a domestic segment on JAL, one way from HND to OKA for 7,500 and taxes and fees of $40.
A few days earlier I booked a similar segment using Avios from OKA to HND, and BA only wanted Ł3 for taxes.
Having never booked a domestic leg on JAL before using AAdvantage miles, are these taxes correct? Seems a little high for a domestic flight, especially compared with what BA charges for the same route. Does anyone have any experience with these awards?
A few days earlier I booked a similar segment using Avios from OKA to HND, and BA only wanted Ł3 for taxes.
Having never booked a domestic leg on JAL before using AAdvantage miles, are these taxes correct? Seems a little high for a domestic flight, especially compared with what BA charges for the same route. Does anyone have any experience with these awards?
There is Japanese tax code that on international - domestic connection, where connection is less than 24 hrs., then consumption tax on domestic flight is waved and only pay Japan Domestic Passenger Facility Charge.
Mar 25, 2018, 3:52 pm
#506
Join Date: May 2012
Location: YYZ-YYC
Programs: AC50K, OZ*G
Posts: 280
I have a question... So according to the award chart domestic flight within Japan is only 7,500 points. I am trying to book HND-CTS-NGO, with a 6 hour layover, and Alaska and British show availability. I called AA, and they said that because JL flies HND-NGO direct (not available for my date), the routing will be 15,000 points. Is that right?
Mar 25, 2018, 4:02 pm
#507
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Beantown! (BOS)
Programs: AA PtPro (2 MM); Hilton Diamond; Hertz President Cr; DL SkyMiles; UA MileagePlus
Posts: 3,435
Mar 25, 2018, 7:43 pm
#508
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: Marriott Plat, Hilton Gold, UA Silver
Posts: 2,272
Seriously? My open seat disappeared while I was on hold?
I was booking an AA award flight for JAL and looked it up right before I called in and there was an open seat in F out of NRT for a night flight. I literally checked it immediately before calling. I call up and get put on hold for 15 minutes and then get told there is no F seat showing up for them. I then go back to BA website and sure enough in the 15 minutes I was on hold the damn slot disappeared. I ended up booking an award flight for the same day leaving in the morning from HND, because I figured I'd get something and maybe i can switch to the actual flight I want closer in if other space opens up. But really within 15 minutes it disappeared? Its been sitting there for like a week and the moment I call in it vanishes?
Mar 25, 2018, 7:47 pm
#509
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: SNA
Programs: AA EXP, UA 1K (until it expires then never again), *wood Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 9,239
Well if it was sitting there for a week....maybe you should have called in sooner? Bad luck for you, good luck for whomever grabbed the seat.
Mar 25, 2018, 7:47 pm
#510
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 3,698
I was booking an AA award flight for JAL and looked it up right before I called in and there was an open seat in F out of NRT for a night flight. I literally checked it immediately before calling. I call up and get put on hold for 15 minutes and then get told there is no F seat showing up for them. I then go back to BA website and sure enough in the 15 minutes I was on hold the damn slot disappeared. I ended up booking an award flight for the same day leaving in the morning from HND, because I figured I'd get something and maybe i can switch to the actual flight I want closer in if other space opens up. But really within 15 minutes it disappeared? Its been sitting there for like a week and the moment I call in it vanishes?