How I Booked Business Class to Japan — With Just 1 Amex Card Bonus Offer

For as long as I can remember, my mom has had just 1 travel dream: visiting Japan. It’s been a place she’d bring up every now and then and say, “When I retire, I want to go.”

I made it my mission to make that “one day” happen sooner rather than later. When my mom told me she would retire in May 2025, I knew I wanted to do something meaningful to mark the occasion.

A trip to Tokyo felt like the perfect way to celebrate, so here’s how I turned my mom’s dream into reality.

Finding Award Tickets to Japan

We wanted to visit Japan together in June 2025, so around 6 months in advance, I secured 2 premium economy seats on Japan Airlines from New York (JFK) to Tokyo (HND) for just 50,000 Alaska miles per ticket. I found these award seats using Seats.aero and booked the award seats using the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program.

Of course, I hoped to book business class. With only 6 months of advance, there wasn’t any award availability — not even for 1 passenger. The best time to find multiple business class award seats to Japan is typically either 11+ months in advance or at the last minute, and the latter wasn’t an option since I needed to plan ahead.

Settling for premium economy felt like a good middle ground, and I knew it would make the 13+ hour journey a little more bearable. But as time passed, I kept thinking I could do better. What if this once-in-a-lifetime trip started with a once-in-a-lifetime flight?

That’s when I set my sights on business class — specifically with Japan Airlines.

Why We Wanted To Book Japan Airlines

Nearly a decade ago, I flew Japan Airlines (JAL) in first class on the Boeing 777-300ER, and to this day, I still consider it one of the best airlines in the world.

From the phenomenal service and ultra-comfortable lie-flat seats to some of the best inflight catering I’ve ever had — think udon noodles, shrimp tempura, and rich chicken curry — it remains firmly in my top 3 of premium airlines I’ve flown. I knew I wanted my mom to experience that kind of magic too.

About 3 months before our departure, I checked for award availability through other mileage programs in the Oneworld alliance: Alaska, American Airlines, and British Airways. Unsurprisingly, there were no available seats in business class in any of these partner programs.

How I Earned JAL Miles

But I had a backup plan. I knew that Japan Airlines opens more award space to loyalty members of its program, Mileage Bank, which wasn’t a transfer partner of any major U.S. banks at the time (now it has partnerships with Bilt Rewards and Capital One). But Japan Airlines Mileage Bank is a transfer partner of Marriott Bonvoy — and that’s where the idea clicked.

While I knew I could book JAL business class for as low as 60,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles from many U.S. cities, there wasn’t award availability for our June travel dates. I’d have to spend more using JAL’s own program — 75,000 miles to be exact — but the wide-open availability gave me peace of mind that I wouldn’t have to rely on partner award space to open up.

Marriott Bonvoy points transfer to JAL at a 3:1 ratio, with a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 Marriott points transferred. I calculated that I’d need about 185,000 Marriott points to reach 75,000 JAL miles.

Applying for the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card

While I had enough points to cover my ticket after converting Marriott Bonvoy points to JAL, doing so would nearly deplete my account. So, I had to get creative to quickly secure the same number of points and miles for my mom’s ticket.

I looked into a few co-branded Marriott credit cards, and discovered the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card had this welcome offer at the time of my application:

• Earn up to 150,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points: Earn 100,000 points after you spend $6,000 and an extra 50,000 points after you spend an additional $2,000 in purchases on the card within your first 6 months of card membership.

The timing was perfect. My mom had just mentioned that she had 2 major home improvement projects coming up and planned to put the expenses on a credit card. With her blessing, I helped her apply for the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card, and she was instantly approved. The current welcome offer is noted below:

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card

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Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card

A premium card for Marriott fans who want perks like an annual statement credit and Free Night Award, plus a fast track to Marriott elite status.

Welcome Offer

Earn 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy^® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.

100,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

Up to $700

Annual Fee

$650

APR

19.49%-28.49% Variable

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.

Good to Excellent

Why We Like This Card

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card is a premium card designed with road warriors and Marriott Bonvoy loyalists in mind.

So is the card a worthwhile addition to your wallet?

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 6x points per $1 at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy program
• 3x points per $1 on flights booked directly with airlines and restaurants worldwide
• 2x points per $1 on all other purchases

Cons

• Steep annual fee of $650 (rates & fees)
• 6x points per $1 is the same earn rate offered with lower annual fee alternatives like the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy^® American Express^® Card

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Card Highlights

• Earn 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy^® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy^® points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy.
• Earn 3X points at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines.
• Earn 2X points on all other eligible purchases.
• Earn up to 21X Marriott Bonvoy^® points for every $1 spent on eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy. Earn 6X points with the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card. Earn up to 10X points from Marriott Bonvoy for being a Marriott Bonvoy member. Earn up to 5X points from Marriott Bonvoy with the 50% Bonus Points on Stays, a benefit available with your complimentary Platinum Elite status.
• $300 Brilliant Dining Credit: Each calendar year, get up to $300 (up to $25 per month) in statement credits for eligible purchases made on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card at restaurants worldwide.
• A Marriott Bonvoy^® Platinum Elite member will earn 50% more points on eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy for each U.S. dollar or the currency equivalent that is incurred and paid for by the member.
• Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy^® points) at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy^®, such as Le Metropolitan, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel in Paris. Certain hotels have resort fees.
• Each calendar year after spending $60,000 on eligible purchases on your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card, you will be eligible to select a Brilliant Earned Choice Award benefit. You can only earn one Brilliant Earned Choice Award per calendar year. See https://www.choice-benefit.marriott.com/brilliant for Award options.
• $100 Marriott Bonvoy^® Property Credit: Enjoy your stay. Receive up to a $100 property credit for qualifying charges at The Ritz-Carlton^® or St. Regis^® when you book direct using a special rate for a two-night minimum stay using your Card.
• Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck^®: Receive either a statement credit every 4 years after you apply for Global Entry ($120) or a statement credit every 4.5 years after you apply for a five-year membership for TSA PreCheck^® (up to $85 through a TSA PreCheck official enrollment provider) and pay the application fee with your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
• Each calendar year with your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card you can receive 25 Elite Night Credits toward the next level of Marriott Bonvoy^® Elite status. Limitations apply per Marriott Bonvoy member account. Benefit is not exclusive to Cards offered by American Express.
• With your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^® American Express^® Card, you can enroll in Priority Pass™ Select, with an unlimited number of visits to over 1,200 airport lounges in over 130 countries, regardless of which carrier or class you are flying. This allows you to relax before or between flights. You can enjoy snacks, drinks and internet access in a quiet, comfortable location.
• Trip Cancelled or Interrupted? If you purchase a round-trip entirely with your Eligible Card and a covered reason cancels or interrupts your trip, we may be able to help. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Coverage is provided by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees on international purchases.
• $650 Annual Fee.
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• Terms Apply.

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.49%-28.49% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

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Fast-forward a few weeks: With those renovations, she hit the minimum spend requirement, and her Marriott account now showed 186,000 points — more than enough.

Even better, award space was still there, with up to 7 seats in business class from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to Tokyo Narita International (NRT) on our preferred date through JAL’s Mileage Bank.

Redeeming JAL Miles for Business Class

Here’s the key part: I made sure to open a JAL Mileage Bank account for my mom weeks earlier, as redemptions require the account to be at least 30 days old. We transferred 185,000 points from Marriott to JAL, and the miles were posted within 3 days.

We value Marriott Bonvoy points at around 0.7 cents each, so transferring all of my mom’s points to JAL for this business class ticket meant using ~$1,295 worth of points. Considering the cash price of the flight was over $7,000, I was thrilled to get nearly 6 cents per point in value, a fantastic redemption in my book.

We boarded our Japan Airlines flight together a few days later, flying business class in the airline’s Sky Suite on the Boeing 777-300ER out of Chicago (ORD). Sure, I had my eye on their brand-new A350-1000 business class product — which wasn’t available with points from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) or Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) — but honestly, we didn’t care.

We were soaring through the skies in luxury, as her long-held dream of visiting Japan officially took off.

Final Thoughts

The welcome offer on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card didn’t just save us over $7,000 — it set the tone for the entire trip. Witnessing my mom sipping champagne at 35,000 feet on the way to her dream destination was priceless and unlocked a core memory not just for her, but for me.

For her, it marked the start of a well-earned retirement in style. For me, it was the joy of giving back to someone who’s given me so much. Points and miles made it happen, but sharing that experience was the real reward.