Introduction
One of the quirkiest mainstream airline programs is JAL Mileage Bank, and they’ve released a couple of new quirky co-brand credit cards that match their big quirk energy (BQE). They dive straight in by offering one Mastercard network card with two tiers, chosen at application time:
- Basic: $35 annual fee, waived the first year
- Premium: $85 annual fee, waived the first year
The sign-up bonus for both is 5,000 Mileage Bank miles after $5,000 spend in three billing cycles, and the Premium tier has an additional 5,000 miles after another $2,000 spend. For ongoing spend, you’ll earn 0.5x on the Basic or 1x on the Premium. Both cards earn 2x on JAL flights.
The Whale Angle
The Premium tier earns 5 Life Status Points (yes, that’s really what they’re called) for every $1,500 in spend. After 1,500 Life Status Points earned, you get JAL Global Club Three Star status for life, which also gets you JGC Premier status (second to highest JAL frequent flyer tier), which includes at least oneworld Sapphire status, and potentially also includes oneworld Emerald status; the terms are rather-unclear and no-one’s had time to try this yet to be sure. So, just spend $450,000 and get lifetime Sapphire or Emerald status, provided you pay 2,000 miles as a “membership fee” annually. Quirky enough yet?
Oneworld Sapphire is great because it grants you access to:
- AA lounges including Flagship even when flying domestically
- Alaska lounges, even when flying domestically
If you end up with oneworld Emerald, you’ll also get access to:
- Qantas First lounges, even when flying domestically
- Cathay Pacific First lounges, even when flying domestically
If $450,000 in spend is just another couple of days for you and you could easily burn 450,000 JAL Mileage Bank miles, then you can have some fun and some weird status if nothing else.
The Other Quirks
There are more quirks to contend with:
- Mileage Bank miles expire after three years even if you hold the card, unless you hold JGC Three Star status or higher in which case they don’t expire
- Paid tickets earn 10% “sector bonus” miles for every flight for cardholders
- You earn 5,000 bonus miles on your first flight paid for with the card
- You earn 5,000 bonus miles when booking your first flight with JAL International
- There’s a promotion code to use during application, but it’s prefilled and non-editable: AFSPG1024
There’s more too, but the main quirks are covered.
Bonus: JAL MileageBank Sweet Spots
JAL MileageBank is traditionally a great program with a few (surprise) quirks. Sweet spots include:
- 140,000 miles for JAL first round-trip awards
- 100,000 miles for Emirates business one-way awards
- 24,000-30,000 miles for an upgrade from paid economy to business on JAL metal
- Distance flown based partner redemptions with three stop-overs, including mixed partners
- Early-ish access to JAL first and business awards
Good luck!
Never fear, JAL’s own website is just as quirky.