Citi Adds Japan Airlines Transfers—30% Bonus Brings Europe Business Class Down To 66,000 Points Roundtrip

I receive compensation for content and many links on this blog. Be aware that websites may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. Citibank is an advertising partner of this site, as is American Express, Chase, Capital One, and others. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners. I do not write about all offers that are available -- instead focusing on miles, points, and cash back (and currencies that can be converted into the same). Terms apply to the offers and benefits listed on this page.Citibank joins Bilt, Rove, and Capital One in adding Japan Airlines Mileage Bank as a points transfer partner. This is one of their strongest options. Even though JAL is part of oneworld, this really isn’t duplicative of Citi’s transfers to American Airlines AAdvantage. Japan Airlines offers really unique value, as I’ll explain. And through October 24, Citibank is offering a 30% transfer bonus so that 1,000 Citi Thank You Points from annual fee cards with points transfers will transfer to 1,300 Mileage Bank miles. (Eligible no annual fee cards will transfer 1,000 : 910 with this promo instead of 1,000 : 700.) Here are some of the unique opportunities from Japan Airlines Mileage Bank: Air France business class. Transatlantic business class can run fewer miles than booking through Flying Blue but most importantly won’t incur the same taxes and fees – you can save a couple hundred bucks each way. Better availability for Japan Airlines flights. However not nearly as good as it used to be, especially before partnering with U.S. programs. They do offer additional award space for a reasonable amount of extra miles, though that’s also become somewhat more restrictive. Incredible roundtrip values. This to me can be the best deal in the program. JAL adds the distance of the complete itinerary and prices that total from one chart. Doubling the flights often does not double the miles. A one-way LATAM business class award from Miami to Lima is 42,000 JAL miles. The roundtrip covers roughly 5,300 miles of flown distance and puts you in JAL’s 4,001–6,000-mile distance band: 60,000 miles for the entire roundtrip. The same structure creates other remarkable prices, for instance: American Airlines Miami–Madrid is 60,000 JAL miles one-way but 85,000 roundtrip (effectively 42,500 each way when booking roundtrip). Emirates New York–Milan and Newark–Athens business class is 60,000 JAL miles one-way but 85,000 roundtrip. You’ll pay about $250 roundtrip in taxes and fees, which is a fraction of what Emirates charges their own members. LATAM Miami–Buenos Aires is 60,000 one-way and 85,000 roundtrip. These are single-partner awards: every flight must be on the same JAL partner and partner inventory does not always match what another oneworld program displays. JAL miles expire after 36 months and awards are limited to the member and eligible family. This is another great opportunity for the Citi Strata EliteSM Card (See rates and fees.) which has an initial offer to earn 75,000 bonus Points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months of account opening and which earns 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com and 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com; 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNightsSM purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET; 3 Points per $1 spent any other time; and 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases. And this is available for Citi Strata Premier® Card (See rates and fees) which has an initial offer to earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening and which earns 10 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on CitiTravel.com; 3 Points per $1 on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases, at Restaurants, Supermarkets, Gas and EV Charging Stations; and 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases. Topics on this page Editorial note: any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Comments made in response to this post are not provided or commissioned nor have they been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any bank. It is not the responsibility of advertisers Citibank, Chase, American Express, Barclays, Capital One or any other advertiser to ensure that questions are answered, either. Terms and limitations apply to all offers.