Japan Airlines (JAL) premium cabins provide the best customer service along with a matching hard product. I am planning a trip to Okinawa in January 2025 to see the early bloom of cherry blossoms.
Award booking JAL premium cabins with moderately high taxes
Asia Miles offers the best way to book JAL premium cabins from the US to Tokyo 360 days ahead of time (https://awardcracker.com/the-few-remaining-asia-miles-sweetspots/). I searched for availability on February 4th 2024 to travel in mid-January 2025 for 2 passengers in business class. Asia Miles gives you an unbelievable amount of business class award space a full month ahead of AA and Alaska mileage programs. As you can see, weekend flights tend to get booked very quickly (see the image below).
A connecting flight to Okinawa (OKA) from HND shows up on the Asia Miles search engine (see image below) matching the same time frame of 360 days. However, I was not able to complete the booking (despite calling the agent) since the business class space has not been released by JAL on the connecting flights from HND to OKA. Asia Miles does not allow a mix of business class and economy class cabins to complete the award booking.
The main drawbacks with Asia Miles are:
- Taxes are around $335 per person.
- Cancellation costs $120USD or 12K Asia Miles per person.
- Date changes are $50 per segment, per person.
- A mix of business class and economy class cabins in the same award reservation is not possible.
Award booking JAL premium cabins with least taxes
Bookings made with AA and Alaska miles are the best way to avoid high taxes, but the earliest you can book is 330 days in advance. Alaska Mileage Club lags behind AA for JAL award availability by another month. As you can see in the image below, most of the premium cabin award space disappears by the time you are allowed to book by these programs.
Award Booking JAL flights with British Avios
The British Avios search engine lags behind Asia Miles by 1 week (see image below) and costs identical amounts of taxes, but few more Avios are required for business class.
British Avios award bookings are easy to cancel/redeposit online for $55USD per person.
Award Booking JAL flights with Iberia Avios
The Iberia Avios search engine lags behind Asia Miles by only 1 day and the Avios requirements/taxes are identical to British Airways.
The main drawbacks of using Iberia Avios are:
- Unclear cancellation policy for non-IAG group partner airline award bookings – you may not get Avios refunded if you cancel the award booking. However, I had success getting my Iberia Avios refunded after cancelling AA domestic roundtrip award flights after multiple phone calls.
Okinawa Hyatt Regency (LINK)
I was able to use my suite upgrade certificate to confirm the “Regency Suite” for a 1-week stay.
Sankara SLH Property Yakushima
After a week in Okinawa, I will be traveling to explore Yakushima. I am excited to stay at Sankara Hotel and Spa (LINK) there which is a great value for Hyatt points.
Summary
Asia Miles is the best way to book JAL premium cabins, if you are planning a trip to Japan a year ahead in time. They are especially useful if you are planning a trip during peak season and want to make the most out of your vacation by leaving on a Saturday to return on a Sunday.