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)
Feb 23, 2016, 8:39 pm
#46
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: SNA/LAX
Programs: AA++
Posts: 224
I saw an opening from CGK to NRT to LAX with JL(J) and AA(F) in sequence. For end of march departure.
If I ticket this and later NRT-LAX with JL F opens up, can I change?
If I ticket this and later NRT-LAX with JL F opens up, can I change?
Feb 23, 2016, 9:18 pm
#47
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SEA/PDX/PSC
Programs: MR PLT, HLT DIA
Posts: 396
yes you can.
Feb 25, 2016, 3:30 am
#48
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: CAN, LAX, TPE
Programs: AA, AS, CI, DL, UA
Posts: 2,898
So if I were to book seats for next Feb., should I attempt to get tickets with a random return date to secure the outbound dates and then change the inbound dates (since there is the 330-days rule? How do people get around?
Feb 25, 2016, 9:41 am
#49
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: Marriott LT Plat; WoH Exp; AS Gold; AA Plat
Posts: 369
Is there any reason that you wouldn't book only your outbound one-way for now? And later, book your inbound as another one-way when your preferred date becomes available.
Feb 25, 2016, 11:26 am
#50
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: 1,928
Because redemption rates will go up mid-March. 331 days is ~ 11 months out. Booking in March will give him February 2017 seats.
Feb 25, 2016, 5:18 pm
#51
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: MKE
Posts: 614
Is anyone else having trouble pulling up JL award seats on BA? I have searched mutiple days in Jan 17 (330 days out) from several US cities to SIN/SGN. Just a few days ago I had no problem seeing J/F award seats.
Feb 25, 2016, 7:20 pm
#52
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: Marriott LT Plat; WoH Exp; AS Gold; AA Plat
Posts: 369
No JL availability showing on BA in the last 12+ hours. Hopefully, a temporary glitch.
Feb 25, 2016, 8:12 pm
#53
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Seattle, WA, USA
Programs: AS MVP Gold 75K, Marriott Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 1,598
I'm looking to use up the last of my accrued miles taking a trip to Japan next fall. I want to book before the devaluation. I'll have about 75k miles to use on the trip. This means I'll be able to fly J in only one direction. I'll be going SEA-TYO. It looks like I can easily connect through YVR (JL788), LAX (AA788), or ORD (AA788). I have three questions.
1) Who has the better J seat, AA or JL? Should I prioritize experience (i.e., service) or comfort (i.e., lie flat to sleep on the redeye)?
2) Who has the better Y seat, AA or JL? Which will offer more space (AA 9-across v JL 8-across)? I would prefer an exit row.
3) Which direction should I select for the J flights? Do I choose exTYO on a redeye and the ability to actually sleep or exNA and the opportunity to enjoy the service?
1) Who has the better J seat, AA or JL? Should I prioritize experience (i.e., service) or comfort (i.e., lie flat to sleep on the redeye)?
2) Who has the better Y seat, AA or JL? Which will offer more space (AA 9-across v JL 8-across)? I would prefer an exit row.
3) Which direction should I select for the J flights? Do I choose exTYO on a redeye and the ability to actually sleep or exNA and the opportunity to enjoy the service?
Last edited by WillTravel4Food; Feb 26, 2016 at 5:57 am
Feb 25, 2016, 8:57 pm
#54
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,031
I'm looking to use up the last of my accrued miles taking a trip to Japan next fall. I want to book before the devaluation. I'll have about 75k miles to use on the trip. This means I'll be able to fly J in only one direction. I'll be going SEA-TYO. It looks like I can easily connect through YVR (JL788), LAX (AA788), or ORD (AA788). I have two three questions.
1) Who has the better J seat, AA or JL? Should I prioritize experience (i.e., service) or comfort (i.e., lie flat to sleep on the redeye)?
2) Who has the better Y seat, AA or JL? Which will offer more space (AA 9-across v JL 8-across)? I would prefer an exit row.
3) Which direction should I select for the J flights? Do I choose exTYO on a redeye and the ability to actually sleep or exNA and the opportunity to enjoy the service?
1) Who has the better J seat, AA or JL? Should I prioritize experience (i.e., service) or comfort (i.e., lie flat to sleep on the redeye)?
2) Who has the better Y seat, AA or JL? Which will offer more space (AA 9-across v JL 8-across)? I would prefer an exit row.
3) Which direction should I select for the J flights? Do I choose exTYO on a redeye and the ability to actually sleep or exNA and the opportunity to enjoy the service?
Therefore, I suggest you focus on flying F (62.5k) in one direction, and figuring out something else (e.g. other miles or discounted ticket) in the reverse.
Personally, I would use the F segment on JL ex-TYO (surprisingly good airline food).
Feb 26, 2016, 5:56 am
#55
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Seattle, WA, USA
Programs: AS MVP Gold 75K, Marriott Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 1,598
75k isn't enough to do J one way (55k) and Y the other (35k).
Therefore, I suggest you focus on flying F (62.5k) in one direction, and figuring out something else (e.g. other miles or discounted ticket) in the reverse.
Personally, I would use the F segment on JL ex-TYO (surprisingly good airline food).
Therefore, I suggest you focus on flying F (62.5k) in one direction, and figuring out something else (e.g. other miles or discounted ticket) in the reverse.
Personally, I would use the F segment on JL ex-TYO (surprisingly good airline food).
Feb 26, 2016, 6:09 am
#56
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 4,281
Succeeded in getting a good award on the dates I wanted for 2 pax in Jan 2017 from SYD-TYO-LHR all the way in first.
Just hope that there will be no downgrade of aircraft type for the route (an upgrade of aircraft type is welcome
)
I was actually surprised that availability on JL is actually not bad after all the hoo-ha about CX availability.
Cheers!
Just hope that there will be no downgrade of aircraft type for the route (an upgrade of aircraft type is welcome
)I was actually surprised that availability on JL is actually not bad after all the hoo-ha about CX availability.
Cheers!
Feb 27, 2016, 6:04 pm
#57
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: MKE
Posts: 614
JAL seats did start showing up on BA again, was able to snag two (F)SFO-HND seats and HND-SIN in J for travel in mid Jan 2017.
Feb 28, 2016, 7:24 am
#58
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: CAN, LAX, TPE
Programs: AA, AS, CI, DL, UA
Posts: 2,898
I'll see what I can do and snatch one-ways first. Thank you for the advise.
Feb 28, 2016, 10:33 am
#59
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: NYC
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP, SPG Plat
Posts: 293
Feb 28, 2016, 1:29 pm
#60
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: New York
Posts: 34
Not sure if this the right thread but I booked a flight from JFK-NRT for April this year in business class. If a first class seat becomes available, is it possible to upgrade and if so how would I go about doing that? Sorry still a newbie here and this was my first award booking ever. Appreciate all the help!