Best Ways to Book Japan Airlines Business Class with Points and Miles

The East Asian nation of Japan is known for its culture of hospitality and serenity. These characteristics can also be used to describe the country’s national airline, Japan Airlines (sometimes shortened to “JAL”). In particular, Japan Airlines is known to provide a luxurious experience in business class that starts when you arrive at the airport and visit either a Japan Airlines business-class lounge or another airport lounge through its Oneworld Alliance network. Business-class passengers receive a la carte meals designed by renowned chefs, a selection of complimentary beverages, amenity kits and more.

However, as you may have guessed, this level of luxury comes at a price. Cash rates for Japan Airlines business-class flights can be very high, especially on long-haul flights across the Pacific ocean. So, for many travelers, the most affordable way to experience Japan Airlines business class will be to book with points or miles.

So, in this article, we’ll look at some of the best ways to book Japan Airlines business-class flights with points or miles at low rates. We’ll also look at the differences among Japan Airlines’ business-class products on its different aircraft types so you know what you’re paying for.

What to Expect in Japan Airlines Business Class

The seat configuration and level of comfort you’ll receive in Japan Airlines’ business class depends on the type of aircraft that you’re flying on. The top-tier Japan Airlines business-class product can be found on the newest additions to the Japan Airlines fleet: the Airbus A350-1000 aircraft.

These business-class seats have sliding doors that allow you to turn your space into an enclosed room for maximum privacy. There are also speakers built right into the headrest so you can enjoy movies, TV or music from your 24-inch personal 4K monitor without having to bother with headphones. You’ll enjoy a personal wardrobe, a storage space for your luggage and, of course, a seat that reclines into a lie-flat bed.

On Boeing 787-8, 787-9, 777-300ER, 767-300ER and 787-9 aircraft types, you’ll typically find the Japan Airlines JAL Sky Suite business-class product. The Sky Suites differ slightly across these different aircraft types. But, for the most part, you can expect lie-flat seats, large tables, convenient storage spaces, a large personal entertainment monitor and plenty of outlets and USB ports for charging your devices.

On Boeing 787-8 aircraft, you may also find a business-class product called JAL Shell Flat Neo, which isn’t as luxurious as the Sky Suite business class. The seats don’t lie flat, but they do recline to several different positions for sleep, relaxation or sitting upright, all of which you can control from a remote. You’ll also have a 15.4-inch personal entertainment monitor, charging ports and plenty of space to safely store your possessions.

Finally, on Japan Airlines 737-800 aircraft, which are used for short-haul flights, you’ll find the JAL Skyluxe Seat business-class product, which is not a lie-flat seat but is a comfortable reclining seat. However, if you’re flying on a 737-800, your flight will likely be very short.

Regardless of which aircraft type you’re flying on, you’ll receive complimentary a la carte meals designed by renowned chefs that are inspired either by Japanese cuisine or the culinary tradition of your destination. To see exactly what your meals would be on a specific flight, you can go to the Japan Airlines business class webpage and search your in-flight meal menu based on your month of travel, origin and destination.

Business class passengers will also receive complimentary beverages from JAL’s menu of premium wine, sakes, beers and more. There are plenty of non-alcoholic beverage options available as well, such as tea, juice and soft drinks.

On international routes between Japan and Europe, North America (excluding Hawaii and Guam), Canada, Australia or Doha, business-class passengers will receive original amenity kits collaboratively designed with experimental welfare company HERALBONY that contain a toothbrush set, earplugs, eye mask, pocket tissue and smartphone cradle.

On select long-haul flights, you can also request a set of loungewear designed for maximum comfort in collaboration with UCHINO, a high-quality Japanese towel brand.

And, of course, if you’re flying out of an airport that has a Japan Airlines airport lounge, you’ll be able to relax in that lounge before your flight. If there’s no Japan Airlines lounge, you’ll still be able to access any Oneworld Alliance lounge at your departure airport.

Passengers will also have access to a special check-in counter and priority baggage service when booked in Japan Airlines business class.

Best Programs Through Which to Book Japan Airlines Business Class

Since Japan Airlines is a member of Oneworld Alliance, you can book Japan Airlines business-class award flights through several Oneworld frequent flyer programs. However, the various frequent flyer programs price JAL award flights differently.

Certain frequent flyer programs also allow points transfers from major U.S. credit card rewards programs, which makes it far easier to earn miles or points with those programs.

So, let’s look at some of the best frequent flyer programs through which to book Japan Airlines business-class flights.

American Airlines AAdvantage

One excellent Oneworld Alliance program through which to book Japan Airlines business-class award flights is American Airlines AAdvantage, particularly since most U.S.-based travelers already use this program and may already have a balance of AAdvantage miles.

The American Airlines website allows you to book Japan Airlines-operated award flights online. However, throughout our searches, it seemed nearly impossible to find Japan Airlines-operated business-class awards on routes between Japan and North America. This is most likely because JAL releases limited partner award space.

We were able to find a round-trip Japan Airlines-operated business-class award flight between Tokyo (NRT) and Frankfurt (FRA) that offered excellent value per mile. This mid-February 2026 flight cost a total of 150,000 AAdvantage miles and about $168 in taxes and fees.

If you were to book the exact same flights on the same dates through the Japan Airlines website with cash, it would cost you a total of 601,620 Japanese Yen (about $4,066).

Thus, calculating the taxes and fees you’d have to pay for this award flight, this redemption would give you a value of about 2.6 cents per mile, which is excellent.

Citi ThankYou Points is currently the only U.S. credit card rewards programs that allow points transfers to the American Airlines AAdvantage program. There are also American Airlines co-branded credit cards (issued by both Barclays and Citi) that allow you to earn AAdvantage miles on everyday purchases. Some of our top picks among these cards include:

• AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® ($99 annual fee)
• AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard® ($95 annual fee)
• American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Card ($0 annual fee)
• Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® ($595 annual fee)

As you can see, the credit cards listed above have a wide variety of annual fees. However, each card also offers different spending bonuses, welcome offers and benefits. So, if you fly with American Airlines often, it’s worth investigating what’s offered by each of these cards and deciding if one of them might be right for you. These cards could be a great way to quickly earn enough AAdvantage miles for a Japan Airlines business-class award flight.

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

Another good Oneworld Alliance program through which to book Japan Airlines business-class award flights is Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. This program seems to have a fair amount of Japan Airlines award availability and the Cathay Pacific website makes it easy to book partner award flights.

However, while conducting searches, we did notice that many of the Japan Airlines business-class award flights were already filled up. So, if you want to book one of these flights through Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, you may have to book very far in advance.

We were able to find the same round-trip flights between Tokyo (NRT) and Frankfurt (FRA) from the example above through the Cathay Pacific Asia Miles program for a total of 178,000 miles and 4,859 Hong Kong Dollars (about $626).

If you purchased these same flights through the Japan Airlines website, it would cost you 601,620 Japanese Yen (about $4,066).

Factoring in the taxes and fees paid for the award flight, this redemption would give you a value of nearly 2 cents per mile, which is pretty good for a business-class award.

If you were to book these award flights through the American Airlines AAdvantage program, you’d get a better value per mile. However, that program only allows transfers from Citi ThankYou Points, so if you don’t have those points, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles may be your best option since it has more credit card transfer partners.

The Cathay Pacific Asia Miles program allows points transfers from several major U.S. credit card rewards programs at a 1:1 ratio, including American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards.

If you’re really committed to earning miles with the Cathay Pacific Asia Miles program, you could consider signing up for the $95-annual-fee Cathay Pacific Visa® Card, which is available to U.S. consumers and allows you to earn Cathay Pacific miles on everyday purchases.

Japan Airlines JAL Mileage Bank

In many cases, the best rate for a Japan Airlines business-class award flight can be found through Japan Airlines’ own frequent flyer program, JAL Mileage Bank. Up until May of this year, JAL wasn’t a transfer partner of any major credit card rewards program. However, it’s now a transfer partner of Bilt Rewards.

Aside from transferring Bilt Rewards, the best way to earn JAL miles is usually going to be crediting Oneworld Alliance flights to the program. And, in the case of most U.S. citizens, there’s probably another Oneworld program that you’d rather credit those flights to (such as Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, American Airlines AAdvantage or British Airways Executive Club).

Nevertheless, if you do have a large balance of JAL miles, you could use this program to purchase the same flights from the previous two examples for 110,000 miles and 91,620 Japanese Yen (about $619) in taxes and fees.

Since the cash price for this same flight would be 601,620 Japanese Yen (about $4,066), this redemption would offer a value of about 3.1 cents per mile, which is better than the value you’d get through either American Airlines AAdvantage or Cathay Pacific Asia Miles.

If you happen to have lots of JAL miles or Bilt Rewards points that you want to transfer to JAL, you’ll often find the best rate for a Japan Airlines business-class award through the JAL Mileage Bank program, since this program has wide availability and uses a fixed award chart to price its own award flights.

The Bottom Line

Japan is at the top of a lot of U.S. travelers’ bucket lists. Unfortunately, flights across the Pacific ocean can be rather expensive, particularly in business class. However, by using points or miles, you can experience Japan Airlines’ top-notch business-class product on flights to Japan without breaking the bank.

For most U.S. citizens, the best options for booking Japan Airlines business-class award flights are going to be to transfer points from a credit card rewards program (such as Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards and Bilt Rewards) to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles and then booking through that program or booking with an existing balance of American Airlines AAdvantage miles. Finding business-class availability on flights between Japan and North America is tough through both of these programs, though, so you may want to book far in advance.

You should also try to book a business-class award flight on a route operated by the new Airbus A350-1000. This is the latest addition to the Japan Airlines fleet and it offers the best business-class product in the fleet, including features like sliding doors to create a private room, headrests with built-in speakers (eliminating the need for headphones) and a 24-inch 4K entertainment monitor. However, Japan Airlines offers an impressive business-class product no matter what aircraft you’re flying on.