Best Ways to Book Japan Airlines Premium Economy Class with Points and Miles

Japan Airlines is the flagship carrier of the East Asian nation of Japan and the country’s second-largest airline by most metrics (behind All Nippon Airways). Japan Airlines operates several routes from its hubs in Tokyo to major cities in North America, including Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver.

If you plan on flying on any of these long-haul Japan Airlines-operated routes, it may be worth booking in premium-economy class for a little added comfort. Japan Airlines won the Skytrax award for Best Premium Economy Class in Asia in 2024 and 2025, so you’ll be sure to have a good experience if you do so. However, premium-economy tickets typically cost considerably more than economy-class tickets, and many travelers find it hard to justify the additional cost.

If you want some added comfort on your next Japan Airlines long-haul flight but don’t want to pay a high out-of-pocket cost, consider booking Japan Airlines premium-economy tickets with points or miles.

In this article, we’ll explain the best ways to book Japan Airlines premium-economy seats with points and miles. We’ll also briefly explain what kind of amenities you can expect in Japan Airlines premium-economy class.

What to Expect in Japan Airlines Premium Economy Class

Japan Airlines doesn’t offer premium-economy service on all aircraft types. The following chart includes each of the aircraft types in the Japan Airlines fleet that offer premium economy and the number of premium economy seats on each aircraft:

On Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, the premium-economy product is referred to as “Premium Economy Class.” These seats include privacy screens that allow you to enjoy your flight in peace. You can also recline your seat to a pitch of 107 centimeters (about 42 inches) using motorized seat controls. This allows you to recline without leaning into the space of the passenger behind you, making for a guilt-free and comfortable experience.

The seats also include 16-inch 4K HD personal entertainment screens with access to Paramount+, Disney+ originals and plenty of other TV shows and movies. These premium-economy seats feature USB-A and USB-C charging ports and AC power outlets, ensuring you can keep all of your devices charged.

On Boeing 787-9 and 777-300ER aircraft, the premium-economy product is referred to as “JAL SKY PREMIUM.” These seats feature small center dividers (which are smaller than those on Airbus A350-1000 aircraft), which provide some privacy. The seats also have a pitch of 107 centimeters (about 42 inches) and can be adjusted using motorized controls.

JAL SKY PREMIUM seats have a smaller 12.1-inch personal entertainment monitor, but you can access almost all of the same entertainment that you can on Airbus A350-1000 (a few programs are exclusive to certain aircraft types). These seats also include USB-A charging ports, AC power outlets and mesh water bottle holders.

In terms of beverage and meal service, Japan Airlines premium-economy passengers receive the same offerings as economy-class passengers. These include chef-designed meals and complimentary alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages on flights from Japan to North America (excluding Hawaii and Guam), Europe, Australia, India and Southeast Asia (excluding late-night flights).

Premium-economy passengers board the plane before economy class but after business class.

Best Programs Through Which You Can Book Japan Airlines Premium Economy Class

Since Japan Airlines is a member of Oneworld Alliance, there are several partner frequent flyer programs through which you can book Japan Airlines award flights. However, each frequent flyer program prices awards flights differently, meaning the same award flight may require more miles through one program compared to another.

In the following sections, we’ll look at which frequent flyer programs offer the best rates on Japan Airlines premium-economy awards. We’ll also discuss which credit cards allow transfers to each of these frequent flyer programs.

American Airlines AAdvantage

Generally, one of the best frequent flyer programs through which to book Japan Airlines premium-economy awards is American Airlines AAdvantage. This program offers a fair amount of Japan Airlines premium-economy award availability on transcontinental routes and often for good value.

For example, we found a round-trip Japan Airlines premium-economy award itinerary between Chicago (ORD) and Tokyo (NRT) for 100,000 AAdvantage miles plus about $51 in taxes and fees.

If you were to book the same itinerary with cash through the Japan Airlines website, it would cost you about $5,260.

Accounting for the taxes and fees you’d have to pay for the award flight, this redemption would give you a value of about 5.2 cents per mile, which is outstanding.

The American Airlines AAdvantage program is also a popular frequent flyer program among United States-based travelers, many of whom may have a large balance of AAdvantage miles saved up. Plus, you can freely transfer Citi ThankYou points to the AAdvantage program at a 1:1 ratio if you have certain Citi credit cards, which makes it very easy to earn AAdvantage miles.

Qantas Frequent Flyer

Another Oneworld partner program through which you can book Japan Airlines premium-economy awards is Qantas Frequent Flyer. However, Japan Airlines premium-economy award availability on transcontinental is more scarce through this program than through American Airlines AAdvantage, particularly when flying from Japan to the U.S.

Nonetheless, with a bit of searching, you can find round-trip Japan Airlines premium-economy awards between the U.S. and Japan through this program. For instance, we found a premium-economy itinerary between Los Angeles (LAX) and Tokyo (NRT) for 170,000 points and about $429 in taxes and fees (36,100 Japanese yen is equal to about $232).

If you were to book the same flights with cash through the Japan Airlines website, it would cost you about $4,059.

Considering the taxes and fees you’d have to pay for the award flight, this redemption would give you a value of about 2.1 cents per point, which is pretty good.

Another major advantage of the Qantas Frequent Flyer program is that it’s a 1:1 transfer partner of several major U.S. credit card rewards programs, including American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards. You can also transfer points from Brex at a ratio of 1.5:1 (which is the same ratio offered by most of Brex’s airline transfer partners). So, earning points with this program is easy if you have a credit card from any of the aforementioned issuers.

If you have a Citi card, it’s probably best to book your Japan Airlines premium-economy award through AAdvantage. However, if you have an Amex or Capital One card, then you won’t be able to transfer points to AAdvantage, so the Qantas Frequent Flyer program is probably your best option for these kinds of awards.

Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards

You can also find Japan Airlines premium-economy award space through Atmos Rewards, the joint frequent flyer program of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. Unfortunately, finding Japan Airlines premium-economy award availability on routes between the U.S. and Japan is nearly impossible.

However, you can often find Japan Airlines premium-economy award availability on routes between Europe and Japan through the Atmos Rewards program. For example, we found a round-trip Japan Airlines premium-economy award itinerary between Helsinki (HEL) and Tokyo (HND) for 100,000 Atmos Rewards points and $61 in taxes and fees.

If you were to book this same itinerary with cash through the Japan Airlines website, it would cost you about 1,813 euros (approximately $2,100).

Factoring in the taxes and fees paid for the award flight, this redemption would give you a value of about 2 cents per point, which is pretty good.

Plus, the Atmos Rewards program is a 1:1 transfer partner of Bilt Rewards. So, if you use the Bilt Rewards program (which allows U.S. consumers to earn points on rent payments), then you can easily earn Atmos Rewards points. There are also several Atmos Rewards credit cards available that allow you to earn points on everyday spending.

The Bottom Line

Japan Airlines offers premium economy service on its Airbus A350-1000, Boeing 787-9 and Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, which are primarily used to operate long-haul routes between Japan and North America, Europe and Australia. The airline has also earned the Skytrax award for Best Premium Economy Class in Asia in 2024 and 2025, so you’ll be sure to have a pleasant experience in premium-economy class on any of these routes.

Of course, premium-economy seats on long-haul Japan Airlines flights can be rather expensive compared to economy-class seats. So, if you want to experience this world-renowned premium-economy product without paying a large out-of-pocket cost, the best way to do so is by booking with points or miles.

Oftentimes, the best frequent flyer program through which to book Japan Airlines premium-economy award flights is American Airlines AAdvantage. However, this program is only a transfer partner of Citi ThankYou Rewards. So, if you don’t have a Citi credit card, then it may be difficult for you to earn enough AAdvantage miles to book one of these awards.

Luckily, you can sometimes find Japan Airlines premium-economy award flights between the U.S. and Japan through the Qantas Frequent Flyer program, which has several major U.S. credit card transfer partners. You can also often find Japan Airlines premium-economy award flights between Europe and Japan through the Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards program.