Mr Market

Hi guys, need some help here... I have been researching a bit and I think JAL's JGC program would be the best for me, but since I have only looked at some oneworld (Cathay, BA and Finnair) and have no knowledge whatsoever of the Staralliance programs, i thought the best way is to ask the experienced frequent flyers here..

I am based in HK and I normally will go on 3-4 family trips a year (normally 1 long haul and 3 short hauls) + 1-2 business trips (normally long haul to US), the long haul trips are destinated at North America or Australia/NZ, while the short haul flights are usually revolving around countries in southeast Asia (Taiwan, Singapore or ASEAN countries)+ Japan/Korea. At the moment, given i am based in HK with Cathay being the main carrier, I use them as my main FFP. However, i am considering to change given 1) its almost next to impossible to redeem award tickets (but i have had success locating award availability with other programs and 2) their member tiers are much harder to climb compare to others even if 1 or 2 of my long haul flights are business

I got interested in the semi-life time oneworld sapphire JGC program given i heard about the latest change in news with them changing to a lifetime spending based requirement. My family's annual credit card expenditure is at around 200k USD, and should I put that onto a JAL card, I hope it will help me advance the ranking towards a JGC membership soon. However, given my lack of knowledge with the StarAlliance carriers, does anyone have any other recommendations for me to have a look at? I am particularly interested in lifetime memberships that can be attained via 1 year of intensive travel or a spend based program. PS AA's membership doesnt work given I cant get a US based credit card without a US citizenship/social insurance number.

Thanks in advance!

himekat

There has actually been no news (as far as I can tell) for what the JGC membership requirements or benefits for non-Japanese people will look like. The new status program's page (https://www.jal.co.jp/jp/en/jmb/status-program/) simply says:

So we're all waiting to see how/if the program changes for those of us who can't hold Japanese JAL credit cards.
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CPH-Flyer

It is not known how the new earnings for JGC will work, nor how the life time status based on other elements than flying will work. So for now there is no clear answer to that, unless you can manage a quick sprint and get 50K fly on points by the end of December.

JAL status is on the hard side to achieve, earnings are not great and 50% of the fly on points have to come from JAL group flights.

Unless you reach emerald, points expire 36 months after they were earned with no option to extend them.

guv1976

It does not matter what the purpose of your trips is (family vs. business); what matters is the cost or class of service you'll be flying, and -- in some programs -- whether you'll be connecting, or only flying nonstops.

Will all of your trips be flown in Economy Class? In Business Class?

if you have two, long-haul Business Class roundtrips annually on oneworld carriers, and if you can connect somewhere in each direction, you might be able to obtain oneworld Sapphire status annually by crediting your flights to the Iberia Plus program. Details here:

https://insideflyer.co.uk/2019/03/qa...f-iberia-plus/

("WHY QATAR AIRWAYS BUSINESS CLASS REGULARS MIGHT BE BETTER OFF WITH IBERIA PLUS")

izzik

I think that it's a risky bet to assume your non-JALCARD spend will help qualify for status rank in the new program.
It's a gamble but if you qualify for JGC before the end of this year, you may have a chance at staying in JGC. I don't have any confirmed advance knowledge of JMB changes, but I think it's reasonable given all of the double FLYON promotions this year.

Also, it's still not clear to me what your eventual goal is.. award ticket availability?
Or is it status?

OWF_NYC_SIN

I had the situation as you, in which my primary residence is in North America, and I take 4-5 long-haul trips to Southeast Asia for family and/or leisure (with great use of the stopover program to Japan ). Most of the time, my itinerary would be in Y or W cabins. With the semi-frequent double "Fly On Points Promotions" (the points needed to achieve JAL's elite status), I was able to achieve OWE with those trips alone. Mind you, I will occasionally take a trip in J as sometimes, the flights to certain countries such as Vietnam or Malaysia are a lot cheaper than Singapore. In that you're a HK resident, you can sometimes pivot to a nearby ASEAN city. Also, flying within the ASEAN or Oceania regions gives you 1.5 FOP multiplier, which seems to benefit your flying patterns.

I also have a few domestic trips within the US, and the rare trip to South America and Europe. Taking advantage of the higher-end AA lounges that would only be limited to AA international travelers is a great perk in my opinion. Also, on the JAL website, there are HKG-Japan flights coded as JL but operated by CX, which would count as the 50% qualifying points to obtain JAL elite status. I also enjoy the mileage upgrades from revenue Y to W/J class and revenue J to F using JAL miles. From my best understanding, upgrading at the airport would only be limited to JAL elites with JAL points. One can upgrade their Y to W with moneys only.

Compared to the AA elite program, which has been gutted to revenue-based spending and every third person being OWE/Executive Platinum on AA flights, JL's program benefits me for my flying patterns without the associated AA weight that their program offers. If JL continues to offer those frequent double points promotion, you would definitely be able to maintain status flying from ASEAN to North Ameirca, Europe, and Oceania.

Also, feel free to direct message me if you have other questions or concerns! I used to be OWE on AA's program for a couple of years, before switching over.

JALPak

Unless OP travel in PY or above exclusively, good luck earning anything on CX coded flights. Also, the 1.5x multiplier only applies to JL Group flights. Are you suggesting OP should fly via TYO whenever OP travels to nearby ASEAN and Oceania destinations? Have you checked JL ex-HKG fares?

OP also mentions difficulty in redeeming awards. Maybe OP should check out the JMB pricing on J awards, if that's what OP is after. There are availability, but redemption rate ranges from 50K to over 250K for a one-way ex-Japan long-haul award even when you book a year out. E.g. JAL is currently asking for 261K for HND-LAX and 286.5K for NRT-LAX departing on Jul 19 2024. But HND-LAX rate drops to 50K the day after while NRT-LAX rate remains high

Mr Market

Hi guys, thanks for the response on my situation, much appreciated!

Most of my travel will be done economy (personal) but business class (for business trips), apologies forgot to mention that when i described my situation. I am very close to obtaining JGC this year as i flew a business class long haul flight with JAL under the 2X program. However, i will still need to squeeze out an extra short trip if i want to hit that. My main goal is to obtain lounge access and potential upgrades in the future, with award availability being a third prioirty. My hope is that they dont strip the semi-permanent OW sapphire status once i obtain JGC. My business trip frequency varies a lot and sometimes i might not even fly at all in a calendar year, and hence my desire to have a program thats "lifetime" for me to get access to lounges etc.

One area where I am trying to weigh in if this is worthwhile is that my current main credit card (Citi), does NOT have a points transfer program with JMB. The programs that Citi partners with here in HK are: British Airways Executive Club Cathay Emirates Skywards Etihad Guest EVA Air Infinity Mileagelands Flying Blue (Air France) Qantas Frequent Flyer Qatar Airways Privilege Club Singapore Airlines Krisflyer Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. I will have to swap to an AEON JAL card, which earns a lower rate ~$HK6-8 per mile vs my current Citi card which does HK$4/mile for all spending. This makes it harder if i want to exchange for JAL flights with JMB.

CPH-Flyer

Just fly the extra that is needed, get JGC now. Please note enrollment is not automatic, you do actually need to actively apply. How you maintain JGC past the new world and what it actually means, is still an open question, but it has been indicated that current members of JGC will not loose the membership, but will be transferred to the new JGC. It will probably be better to qualify now, and then only look to the new retention criteria, rather than waiting to look at both new qualification and retention criteria.

JALPak

Yes, better qualify now if OP if only one short trip away from it. But the JGC benefits will change in the new world. For example, it is possible that it will not automatically grant oneworld sapphire status with just JGC (this is for illustration purpose only, there’s no indication of what exactly the benefit changes will be at this point).

Chatter

Correct me if I am wrong, I think the recent double Fly-On point promotion is echoing what NH is doing, hopefully that's not the last goodies before doom

CPH-Flyer

I can't imagine ANA keeps doing it. It is really a disaster for both airlines, there are really too many elites already.

izzik

I agree with getting JGC now if you are indeed that close.. in general, if lounge access is your highest priority, these days you can get in with a paid membership or even cash at entry.
Status-based free upgrades with JAL are unlikely.

Not surprisingly, lifetime memberships only come after a significant amt of travel.. I think perhaps you should consider updating your expectations.
Stick with Citi and transfer your points to whatever program you need.

percysmith

Mr Market You have til 31 Dec 2023 to run the remainder distance to JGC - you can decide in Nov (you can decide in Dec, but then, your FOPs accumulating or positioning flight out of HKG wil have to be early December, away from the post ~16 Dec period when every local and expat wants out).

Mr Market

thanks for the help guys. i will likely try to complete my JGC this year and then observe how the changes go to see if i should have JMB as my main FFP