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)
Aug 6, 2018, 10:32 pm
#571
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 47
I have an award that has been "on request" for more than 24 hours. Is it a delay with JAL confirming the seats or should I be concerned and call in about this?
Aug 7, 2018, 5:20 am
#572
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,443
Just give it time. Depending on how far out the flight is it can sometimes take 24-48 hrs or more for partner awards to get ticketed. If it hasn't ticketed in another day, then give AA a call to check.
Aug 7, 2018, 5:25 am
#573
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: GIG
Programs: AAdvantage ExP 1MM, Smiles/GOL Diamond, TudoAzul/AZUL Diamond, HHonors Gold, Accor Platinum
Posts: 190
I am planning a trip using AA awards on JAL for my family. While searching for availability on BA, we cannot get any flights to Osaka / KIX connecting through Tokyo - we want to take a connection there to explore for a day (less than 24 hours - so not a stopover). If I find availability on the US to Tokyo portion, how do I 1) find availability for Tokyo-Osaka and 2) what is the proper way to ask or instruct the AAgent to book it? Thanks!
Aug 7, 2018, 5:26 am
#574
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: GIG
Programs: AAdvantage ExP 1MM, Smiles/GOL Diamond, TudoAzul/AZUL Diamond, HHonors Gold, Accor Platinum
Posts: 190
Aug 7, 2018, 9:16 am
#575
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
JAL does have routes - but I'm asking how to search for JAL award availability (for AA award) on those segments as the BA site doesn't show any flights on any dates. I don't think BA is configured to search for those domestic JAL segments.
Aug 7, 2018, 9:25 am
#576
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: WAS
Programs: Free Agent
Posts: 1,757
The BA website, when working properly, displays domestic JAL segments. If you're not seeing any, it's because award space on the flights is not available (or the BA website is broken). I don't believe the website is currently broken.
Aug 7, 2018, 10:20 am
#577
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
Oh that's interesting. I've tried multiple close-in dates, mid dates, and 330 dates, but no availability via BA. Does JAL typically not release domestic award segments?
Aug 7, 2018, 10:34 am
#578
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: WAS
Programs: Free Agent
Posts: 1,757
I'm seeing plenty of space HND-ITM on nearly every flight during the first two weeks of September. When are you looking?
Aug 7, 2018, 10:41 am
#579
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
Edited to add - still does not show up for 330 days, which is what I need. Can I append a new segment after the award is ticketed? I am guessing the answer is no. Or at least not for free? We may or may not have EXP status next year.
Last edited by TravelLawyer; Aug 7, 2018 at 10:48 am
Aug 7, 2018, 10:52 am
#580
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
Need help using AADVANTAGE miles to book a ticket from Lax to OKJ (okayama) in business class for december 28th 2018. I have the LAX-HND part on hold. When I call the AAVANTAGE DESK, they are not able to see any flights from HND-OKJ. What can I do to get the connection part of my flight?
Aug 10, 2018, 3:23 pm
#581
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: UA, AS
Posts: 2,393
Things changed earlier this year with JAL domestic availability on partners. You can search for more information on this in the JL forum but piecing together what I have heard with what I see the situation before was that JALs own members were limited to booking domestic flights no more than 2 months out but partners were able to book through the end of schedule. Obviously this upset JAL members so JAL made a change. Now partners can only book detached domestic award segments up to 2 months in advance (same as JL members). There appears to be a limited window of a little more than a week at the end of schedule where you can book domestic segments as part of an international itinerary without a stop (less than 24 hour connection) if you book as married segments. You can see this when you search on Qantas for availability. Inside the dead zone partners are unable to book domestic segments but on the JL forum people have said that if you have a JL international award booked with JL miles you can add a waitlist for a JL domestic segment added to your international itin and it may clear within a few days, YMMV.
Aug 10, 2018, 3:36 pm
#582
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
@skimthetrees thank you for the detailed explanation. That makes complete sense. Although I suspect finding the married segments during the first week of availability is going to be an attempt in futility as I've already tried when the dates first became available. Looks like we'll have to transfer all our miles to the EXP account to make changes without penalties and fees to add on the last minute segments.
Aug 10, 2018, 5:14 pm
#583
Join Date: Aug 2018
Programs: All
Posts: 21
Hi. I am new to this. Sorry if I missed if there is an easy answer to this. I recently reserved (with AA 5-day hold) JFK-NRT, HND-JFK for March 2019. The JFK-NRT outbound is in first. The HND-JFK return is in economy. Assuming no F or J spots open up between now and when I have to go hard on the award with AA, what are my options for upgrading or changing the HND-JFK segment post-booking, either with miles or cash? Thank you!
Aug 10, 2018, 6:39 pm
#584
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: PHL
Programs: AA Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 480
Hi. I am new to this. Sorry if I missed if there is an easy answer to this. I recently reserved (with AA 5-day hold) JFK-NRT, HND-JFK for March 2019. The JFK-NRT outbound is in first. The HND-JFK return is in economy. Assuming no F or J spots open up between now and when I have to go hard on the award with AA, what are my options for upgrading or changing the HND-JFK segment post-booking, either with miles or cash? Thank you!
Aug 10, 2018, 6:49 pm
#585
Join Date: Aug 2018
Programs: All
Posts: 21
Last edited by Kethalmanden; Aug 10, 2018 at 6:50 pm Reason: To add quote