21 Best Ways To Earn Lots of Japan Airlines (JAL) Mileage Bank Miles [2018]

- March 19, 2017August 1, 2018

Full Disclosure: We may be compensated when you click on links to credit card products from our advertising partners, such as American Express, Chase & Barclays. Opinions on this site are ours alone, and have not been reviewed or approved by the issuer. See our Advertiser Disclosure for more details. Thanks!

In 1951, Japan Airlines (JAL) became the first international airline in Japan. Now the largest commercial carrier in the country, it has hubs at Haneda and Narita airports.

As a member of the Oneworld alliance, JAL serves more than 305 airports in 51 countries.

Members of its airline loyalty program, JAL Mileage Bank (JMB), can earn miles for flights on JAL and partner airlines, as well as by making purchases with JAL’s travel and non-travel partners.

Let’s take a look at the myriad ways you can earn JMB Miles to redeem for award flights, e-money, and other awards. Plus, you can read our post on the best ways to fly to Japan using points.

JAL Mileage Bank (JMB)

1. Join JMB To Earn Miles

Sign up for JAL Mileage Bank (JMB) and start earning miles for JAL flights, partner flights, hotel stays, car rentals, and more!

2. Take Flights On JAL

Earn miles for flights on JAL Group Domestic and JAL International Airlines: Japan Airlines, Japan Transocean Air, Japan Air Commuter, and Ryukyu Air Commuter.

Flight mileage is determined by the sector mileage and the class/fare. Below is a table showing the JAL accumulation rates on international flights from Japan. Find accumulation rates for other international and domestic fares here.

jal jmb fares from japan mileage — Earn JMB miles based on your booking class and fare!

3. Book Flights on JAL Partner Airlines

jal jmb partner airlines — Fly around the world with JAL and its partner airlines!

JAL partners with the Oneworld alliance and several additional carriers

The following table shows the percentage of miles earned (depending on fare) for flights on each airline. Click an airline for more details.

Oneworld Airline Partners

Airline	Miles Earned	Airline	Miles Earned
American Airlines	30%-150%	British Airways	25%-150%
Finnair	25%-125%	Iberia	25%-125%
Qatar Airways	30%-150%	Royal Jordanian	50%-125%
S7 Airlines	25%-125%	SriLankan Airlines	30%-125%
Cathay Pacific	50%-150%	LATAM	30%-125%
Qantas	50%-150%	Malaysia Airlines	25%-150%

Other Partners

Airline	Miles Earned	Airline	Miles Earned
Emirates	50%-150%	Air France	50%-150%
Jetstar Japan*	25%	China Eastern Airlines	30%-150%
Bangkok Airways	50%-150%	Alaska Airlines	30%-150%

*on Plus Bundle and Max Bundle (not Starter Fare)

4. Elite Status Bonus Points

In addition to earning miles for flights on JAL and its partner airlines, JMB members earn FLY ON points, which are calculated based on mileage. Collect FLY ON points (or qualifying segments) to reach different membership levels and earn bonus miles:

Membership Level	Qualifying Points	Qualifying Segments	Mileage Bonus
Crystal	30,000 FLY ON points	30 segments	N/A
Sapphire	50,000 FLY ON points	50 segments	105%
JGC Premier	80,000 FLY ON points	80 segments	105%
Diamond	100,000 FLY ON points	120 segments	130%

>JMB Miles Calculation: Flight mileage x FLY ON point conversion rate

5. Bonus FLY ON Points

JAL is running a promotion for bonus points through December 2017. Add up to 400 points according to the purchased fare as follows:

jal jmb bonus promotion — Check out this JMB promotion for more FLY ON points. It expires December 2017.

It really is possible to earn a TON of points and qualify for the bonuses that come with elite status!

One of the great things about the JAL status program is you don’t have to wait a full calendar year if you qualify for the next tier earlier. About 1 week after qualifying for a higher FLY ON tier, you’ll receive a new membership card to activate some of the service benefits!

Hot Tip: If you qualify for JMB Sapphire or JMB Diamond, you will receive an invitation to join JAL Global Club (JGC). Membership costs 5,000 miles and includes lounge access, annual gifts, and even bonus miles!

Earn JMB Miles With Credit Cards

6. American Express Membership Rewards Credit Cards

While JAL is not a direct airline partner of Membership Rewards, it is a partner of the Asia Miles program. If you want to use your miles with JAL through Asia Miles (1:1 ratio), you can use any of the Membership Rewards credit cards:

Recommended Amex Cards (Personal)

AMEX CARD	BENEFITS & INFO
The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card	Earn 10,000 Membership Rewards® points after you use your new Card to make $1,000 in purchases in your first 3 months. 2x points at US supermarkets, on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1x). Earn 20% extra points when you make 20 or more purchases with your Card in a billing period. 0% introductory APR for the first 15 months on purchases, then a variable APR of 14.74%-25.74%. 0% introductory APR for the first 15 months on balance transfers requested within 60 days of account opening, then a variable APR of 14.74%-25.74%. Terms. Annual Fee: $0
Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express	Earn 25,000 points after you use your new Card to make $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. $100 Airline fee credit. 3x points for flights booked directly with airlines. 2X points at US restaurants, US gas stations, and at US supermarkets. Terms. Annual Fee: $0 for the first year, then $195
The Platinum Card® from American Express	Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases in your first 3 months. 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel. Access more than 1,200 airport lounges across 130 countries and counting, including the amazing Centurion® lounges. Up to $200 Uber Savings Annually. $200 Airline Fee Credit. Terms. Annual Fee: $550

Recommended Amex Cards (Business)

AMEX CARD	BENEFITS & INFO
The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN	Earn 50,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $5,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership Get 3x points - Choose 1 out of 5 categories. Earn 2x points on the remaining 4 categories $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $175. Terms.
The Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card from American Express	LIMITED TIME OFFER: Earn 10,000 extra Membership Rewards Points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 9/26/2018. Earn 2X points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners. 0.0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, then a variable rate, currently 12.99%, 16.99% or 20.99%. Terms. Annual Fee: $0
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN	Welcome Offer: Earn up to 75,000 Membership Rewards® Points. Earn 50,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $10,000 & an extra 25,000 points after you spend an additional $10,000 all on qualifying purchases within your first 3 months of Card Membership. Get 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com. Access more than 1,200 airport lounges across 130 countries and counting, including the amazing Centurion® lounges. $200 Airline Fee Credit. Terms. Annual Fee: $450

7. Citi ThankYou Rewards Credit Cards

Similar to Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards has Asia Miles as a transfer partner. Collect Citi ThankYou Points and transfer them to Asia Miles to use with JAL:

CREDIT CARD	CARD INFO
Citi ThankYou® Premier Card (Learn More)	Limited Time Offer: 60,000 Bonus Points after spending $4,000 within the first 3 months of account opening. Redeemable for $750 in Airfare at ThankYou.com 3 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on Travel, including Gas 2 points per $1 spent on dining/entertainment Annual Fee: $95 (Fee waived for the first 12 months)

8. JAL USA Card

With the JAL USA MasterCard, you earn miles and receive discounts on in-flight purchases. Pay a $20 annual fee to get 1 point per every $2 spent.

Add a $50 upgrade fee (for a total of $70 per year) and you can earn 1 point for every $1 spent.

Click here to find the current sign-up bonus as well as terms and conditions.

New Marriott-SPG Airline Transfers to 42+ Airlines (The SPG 5K Mile Bonus Continues!)
The new Marriott program in 2018 adopts Starwood's valuable airline transfers. Starting August 18, 2018 there are 42 airlines that transfer at a 3:1 ratio, plus 3 more airlines at individual ratios. Bonus Miles: The 5,000 airline mile bonus for transferring 20,000 Starwood points gets new life with Marriott. Since Starwood points convert to Marriott at a 1:3 ratio, it will now be 60,000 Marriott points transfer to get a 5,000 airline/partner mile bonus. Amex Starwood Cardholder Alert: Effective August 1, 2018, the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express and Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card earn 2 Marriott points per dollar on everyday spend, down from an effective 3 points per dollar. These cards may be keepers for the new free night anniversary certificate that each offers, valid at hotels costing up to 35,000 points/night. Terms Apply. The first certificates will arrive in account on the first card anniversary from August 1, 2018.

New Marriott-SPG Airline Transfers to 42+ Airlines
(The SPG 5K Mile Bonus Continues!)

The new Marriott program in 2018 adopts Starwood's valuable airline transfers. Starting August 18, 2018 there are 42 airlines that transfer at a 3:1 ratio, plus 3 more airlines at individual ratios.

Bonus Miles: The 5,000 airline mile bonus for transferring 20,000 Starwood points gets new life with Marriott.

Since Starwood points convert to Marriott at a 1:3 ratio, it will now be 60,000 Marriott points transfer to get a 5,000 airline/partner mile bonus.

Amex Starwood Cardholder Alert: Effective August 1, 2018, the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express and Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card earn 2 Marriott points per dollar on everyday spend, down from an effective 3 points per dollar.

These cards may be keepers for the new free night anniversary certificate that each offers, valid at hotels costing up to 35,000 points/night. Terms Apply. The first certificates will arrive in account on the first card anniversary from August 1, 2018.

SPG-MARRIOTT CARDS	CARD BENEFITS & INFO
Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express	Earn 75,000 bonus points after you make $3,000 in purchases in your first 3 months. Earn 6 points for each dollar of eligible purchases at participating SPG® and Marriott Rewards® hotels and 2 points on all other eligible purchases. Terms. $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95.
Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express	Earn 100,000 bonus points after you make $5,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 10/31/2018. Earn 6 points for each dollar of eligible purchases at over 6,500 participating SPG® and Marriott Rewards® hotels across 110 countries worldwide. Free Boingo Wi-Fi & Free Wi-Fi at SPG participating hotels. Terms. $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95.
Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Credit Card	Earn 75,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Free Night Award (valued up to 35,000 points) every year after account anniversary. Earn 6 points per $1 spent at participating Marriott Rewards & SPG hotels. Annual Fee: $95

Collect Miles With JMB Partners

9. Partner Hotel Miles

With more than 15,000 participating hotels around the world, it’s easy to earn miles in your JMB account. Browse hotels with the partner hotel search engine.

jal jmb partner hotel search — Find hotel deals and bonus mile offers when you use JMB Partners Hotel Search.

10. Transfer Hotel Loyalty Points

You can transfer points from the IHG Rewards Club loyalty program.

Time to increase your IHG Rewards, which you can do by using the IHG credit card!

Loyalty Program	Credit Card Review
IHG Rewards Club Loyalty Program	Chase IHG® Rewards Club Select Credit Card

11. Hotel Special Offers

jal jmb hotel special offers — Look for limited time promotional offers to earn JMB Miles!

JMB provides plenty of opportunities to earn extra miles. For instance, earn double miles at Langham Hotels and Resorts through February 28, 2017, or earn up to 1,500 miles with Outrigger Resorts. Look for new deals on the Hotel Special Offers page.

Earn Miles Through Other Partner Travel

12. Book a Rental Car

Check out the variety of per-mile, per-day, and per-rental offers from JMB car rental partners. Click on a car rental agency below for terms and conditions.

Car Rental Agency	Mileage Offer	Car Rental Agency	Mileage Offer
Avis	100 miles/day	Alamo	300 miles/rental
Hertz	50 miles/day	Budget	50 miles/day
Dollar	300 miles/rental	Smile (Japan)	100 yen/mile

13. More Transportation Partners

If you don’t want to book a rental car but still need a ride, JMB has 2 partners that can help: MK Taxi Group Los Angeles and Japan Executive Limousine, INC.

Provide your JMB membership number when making a reservation with MK Taxi Group (Los Angeles) and show it to the driver. You’ll earn 1 mile per $1 approximately 1-2 months after completing travel.

Also, earn 1 mile per $1 with Japan Executive Limousine, INC.

Shop for Miles

14. Japan Airlines Partner Mall

Use your JAL USA MasterCard at any partner stores and get extra miles! Here are some of the retailers that ship to the U.S.:

Retailer	Offer	Retailer	Offer
Bargain Japan	1 mile/$2 spent	Bloomingdale’s	1 mile/$2 spent
Fujisan.com	1 mile/$2 spent	Hanna Andersson	1 mile/$2 spent
Lane Bryant	1 mile/$1 spent	Macy’s	1 mile/$2 spent
Saks Fifth Avenue	1 mile/$1 spent

15. JAL Shopping Americas

Purchase items at JAL Shopping Americas and earn miles. JLB members earn 1 mile per every $2 spent, while holders of the JAL USA MasterCard get 1 mile per $1 or enjoy a 5% discount.

To receive miles, provide your JMB membership number and look for miles to be credited about 2 months after purchase.

16. THE SHILLA DUTY-FREE

Just because you’re traveling doesn’t mean you can’t catch up on some shopping! THE SHILLA DUTY-FREE has 3 locations to shop with your JMB membership card: Seoul, Incheon Airport, and Gimpo International Airport.

Earn 2 miles for every $3 spent here. JMB members can earn miles for shopping even without boarding a flight!

jal jmb the shilla duty free — Shop duty-free and earn JMB miles!

Special Offers & Services

17. JAL Family Club

Whether Japan is your former home or you just travel there frequently, the JAL Family Club can be useful. There’s no fee to join, and you get a variety of benefits such as the ability to pool miles for award redemptions and bonus miles.

First, choose a JLB member over the age of 12 to serve as the Primary Member of the JAL Family Club Account. Members must live in an eligible region outside of Japan (America, Europe/Middle East/Africa, Asia/Oceana).

Up to 9 people (including the Primary Member) may join the account, including the Primary Member’s spouse, children, parents, and spouse’s parents.

While there is no annual fee for the JAL Family Account, a registration fee of 1,000 miles is required.

Don’t have 1,000 miles in your account? You can agree to have them deducted as soon as you do! A renewal fee of 1,000 miles will be deducted every 5 years.

With a family account, you can earn bonus miles for your first JAL flight and other promotions. See the below example of how quickly miles can add up:

The application and bonus mile terms and conditions are available here.

18. Book Moving Services

Moving to Japan? Need to ship items overseas to friends and family? The following U.S. to Japan shipping services will earn you JMB Miles!

Company	Miles Earned
Nippon Express	1 mile/$1
Endo Freight Forwarders	1 mile/$1
Nissin International Transport U.S.A.	Up to 15,000 miles

19. Sign up for Media Deals

jal jmb tv japan — Keep up with TV Japan and accrue JMB miles.

Take advantage of 2 offers to stay in touch with Japanese media in the U.S.

Order TV Japan for 24-hour Japanese language programming and earn 1,000 miles. You can also subscribe to Nikkei Business magazine and earn up to 750 miles.

20. Local Area Services

Company	Service	Miles Offered	Location
AI Klean	Maid services by Japanese professionals	1 mile/$1	Los Angeles, CA
Starts Pacific Inc.	Real estate	Up to 5,000 miles	Los Angeles, CA
SkinCeuticals	Skincare	1 mile/$1	Honolulu, HA
JAL ABC Mobile Phone Rental	Mobile phone and Wi-Fi router rentals	Up to 200 miles	Narita/Nagoya/Chubu Airports
JAL ABC Coat Storage	Coat storage	50 miles/ piece	Narita/Haneda/ Kansai Airports
JAL Airport Baggage Delivery Service	Baggage delivery	Up to 100 miles	Narita/Haneda/Kansai/Chubu Airports

Conclusion

Earning JMB miles is as easy as flying JAL and booking travel with its partners. Plus, JMB provides plenty of opportunities to earn miles with non-travel partners.

Rack up miles even faster with the JAL USA MasterCard!

Photo Credits:

Japan Airlines Featured Photo: Fasttailwind/Shutterstock.com

Like these tips? Pin them on Pinterest!