With the recent devaluation of Alaska Airlines, mileage addicts have been looking for an alternative way to book Emirates First Class tickets without paying a fortune in miles. One of the best hidden secrets is Japan Airlines’ (JAL) partner award chart, which has quite a few incredible deals for medium haul flights in Emirates first class.
How many Miles will Emirates First Class Cost?
Japan Airlines uses at distance based award chart, which means the number of miles you pay depends on the total distance flown.
What stands out is the extremely low mileage rates for flights under 10,000 miles, which cost only 100,000 JAL miles for a round trip flight in first class on partner airlines, including Emirates.
This opens quite a few sweet spots, especially if you’re looking to fly from the east coast to Europe on Emirates, which operates two flights from the New York area:
New York (JFK) to Milan (MXP)
Newark (EWR) to Athens (ATH)
Both flights are under 10,000 miles, which means you can fly round trip on either route in Emirates First Class to Europe for only 100,000 JAL miles.
In comparison, the same exact trip using Alaska Mileage Plan miles is 180,000 miles, one way!
Furthermore, Japan Airlines allows open jaw awards, which means you can fly from New York to Milan, explore southern Europe, and fly back home from Athens!
It’s important to note that the flight from New York to Milan is operated by an A380, which has an on board shower and bar, both which tremendously enhance your first class experience.
Important Caveat:
With partner award bookings, you’re only allowed to add on Japan Airlines flights. Since Japan Airlines doesn’t operate any domestic flights within the US, you’ll need to buy a separate paid ticket to New York if you don’t live near the Big Apple.
How to Earn Japan Airlines Miles
Currently there are only two credit cards that earn points that can be transferred to Japan Airlines, the AMEX SPG Personal Card and the AMEX SPG Business Card.
Both cards earn Starpoints, which can be converted to Japan Airlines miles at a ratio of 1.25:1 when transferring in 20,000 batches.
Sign up offers vary, but 80,000 SPG points can typically be earned after making your minimum spend for both SPG Cards, which would equal 100,000 Japan Airlines miles after the transfer bonus, enough for a round trip first class trip on Emirates!
Before you transfer any points, make sure that award space does exist for your desired flight and create a JAL Mileage Bank account here.
Search for Award Space & Book your award
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to book nor search for award space on any Emirates award flights online with Japan Airlines. However, you can easily search for Emirates partner award availability on Alaska Airlines’ website.
How to Find Award Space on Alaska Airlines
Once you find available award space on Alaska Airlines, simply contact the JAL award team over the phone, and list out the flights you found award space on.
Since Japan Airlines currently does not pass on fuel surcharges, your total cash cost should be less than $100!
