Japan Airlines to devalue award chart – and partner with Bilt Rewards?

Japan Airlines (JAL) has announced that it will be increasing the prices of its award tickets starting on June 10th, 2025. Some itineraries will be increasing by less than 10%, some by more than 50%, depending on the distance and class of service. First Class awards are most severely affected.

In a possibly related move, after years of not being a partner with any of the major transferable currencies, it looks like JAL will become a 1:1 partner with Bilt Rewards. Bilt accidentally published a transfer page for JAL (pictured below) late last week and later took it down. However, it’s been showing up intermittently for folks since then, making it look like the cat’s out of the bag. (h/t: DOC)

The News

• Japan Airlines will be raising its award prices for tickets booked starting 6/10/25. You can find the new pricing here.
  • Here are the changes for one way flights between the US and Japan:
    • Economy – Current Price: 25K / New Price: 27K 8% increase
    • Premium Economy – Current Price: 32.5K / New Price: 40K 23% increase
    • Business – Current Price: 50K / New Price: 55K 10% increase
    • First Class Low Season – Current Price: 70K / New Price: 110K 57% increase
    • First Class Regular Season – Current Price: 85K / New Price: 125K 47% increase
    • First Class High Season – Current Price: 100K / New Price: 140K 40% increase
• In addition, based on a leaked landing page from Bilt, it appears that Japan Airlines is about to become a 1:1 transfer partner with Bilt Rewards.
  • The speculation is that this will become live either 5/1 or 6/1.

Quick Thoughts

A JAL devaluation has been anticipated for some time, as the award chart for its own flights is noticeably less expensive than booking those same flights through oneworld partners like Alaska or American. In fact, even after the prices go up, the one way prices for economy, premium economy and business between the US and Japan will still essentially be equal to or less than it is on any other partners.

Then there’s first class. Wowza.

First class, which is by far the most sought-after of JAL’s awards, will be going up between 40%-57%, depending on the time of year you book the award. Currently, AA charges 80K one way for JAL first and Alaska Mileage Plan charges 90-110K, depending on where your departure point is in the US. JAL Mileage Bank will be charging up to 140K.

It’s much easier to find first class awards when booking through Mileage Bank, and I assume that will continue to be the case until close-in to departure once the prices rise. Also, a devaluation of AA’s partner award chart has been widely-expected for years now, so that 80K award may be going the way of the dodo sooner than later. Still, the difference between what JAL will be charging its own members for first class and what partners are charging is striking, especially given that the inverse is true for all other classes.

Despite all that, Bilt adding Mileage Bank as a partner is quite a coup, since there’s no other transferable points program (outside of Marriott) where that’s possible. High-demand awards have historically been much easier to find within Mileage Bank than without, and 55K one way between the US and Japan in business class is still a great deal.

Regardless of whether or not JAL launches on May 1st or June 1st, there will probably be a short time time period where transfers are live (possibly with a bonus) and the old award chart will be still in affect. However, JAL restricts new accounts from booking mileage awards until 60 days after enrollment, so unless you’re already registered, be aware before transferring points.

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