There are very few sweet spots left for using Asia Miles (review), and I have discussed using them to save 60% taxes on British Airways (review) and booking Japan Airlines (JAL) premium cabins 360 days ahead of travel to Tokyo (review).
Summary of using Asia Miles to book JAL
- Asia Miles program (link) gives you access to JAL Business Class (for 2) or First Class (for 1) award space a month ahead of AA and Alaska’s mileage programs.
- Asia Miles charges 89K points for a one-way redemption on JAL Business class (160K for First Class) from the US to Tokyo.
- Taxes are around $230 per person with no difference between business and first class redemption.
- Cancellation costs $120USD or 12K Asia Miles per person.
- Date changes are $50 per segment, per person.
Asia Miles JAL first class booking example
Asia Miles JAL business class booking example
Asia Miles Sweet Spot from Seattle (SEA) & Vancouver (YVR) to Tokyo
I was planning a trip to Vancouver (YVR) in October 2025 for a friend who wanted to extend it to explore Japan. I was surprised to see plenty of premium cabin award space on JAL from YVR to NRT. The best thing is the reduction in points requirement from 89K to 63K for business class with identical taxes (see image below).
Qantas miles to book JAL flights from Seattle and Vancouver to Tokyo
Qantas award space is very inconsistent and requires more points (see image below).
Conclusion
Asia Miles is a fantastic way to book JAL premium cabin space from the US and Canada to Tokyo 360 days ahead of travel with reasonable taxes. I encourage readers to make use of it to enjoy JAL premium cabins to explore Japan.