I used Asia Miles to book my JAL business class flight from DFW to HND 360 days ahead of my trip dates (review). Since I booked the flights so long ago, there were no available connecting flights to Okinawa at that time and I ended up paying cash for a separate domestic JAL flight from HND to OKA (see image below).
JAL Touch & Go boarding (check-in not required)
For those not familiar with JAL Touch & Go boarding, there is no check-in required as long you fulfill the following criteria:
- Touch & Go boarding WILL NOT work with partner award flight bookings (e.g., using AA or Alaska miles to book JAL flights).
- You must be a JAL Mileage Bank (JMB) member (free to sign-up).
- You must download the Mobile JAL app (Android or Apple) with IC function.
- In the JAL app settings, you must choose Japan under the city & language (see image below).
How to manage JAL domestic flights booked with partner awards?
For my inbound flight from Okinawa to Tokyo, I used Alaska miles to book JAL domestic flight.
After going to the JAL website (link), click on “Manage Bookings” and a pop-up will ask you to choose either Domestic or International (see images below).
To select seats, you must select “Manage International Flights” even though it is a domestic flight and then click on “Flights/Award Tickets“.
Once your reservation pulls up, you can select seats and in-flight meals (see image below).
Conclusion
With the default JAL app settings (e.g., USA/English), I was unable to view my boarding pass after I checked in online 24-hours before departure. However, after choosing Japan as the default country/city (while keeping English as the language), I was immediately able to see both our boarding passes on the JAL app. However, if you have used your partner’s award to book JAL domestic flights, you must go to the ticket counter at the airport or use a kiosk to generate a boarding pass.