By Vamsi, RewardsGuru.club. Published September 20, 2026, updated October 21, 2026.
This offer ended on October 24, 2026. Citi's 30% launch bonus to JAL Mileage Bank ended October 24, 2026. The partnership and the two card ratios (1:1 on annual-fee cards, 1:0.7 on no-fee cards) still apply, and JAL's chart prices below are its base miles.
Checked September 20, 2026 against Citi's ThankYou transfer page and its transfer terms, and against JAL Mileage Bank's own award chart and rules pages. Citi added Japan Airlines today.
Update, October 21, 2026: JAL is running an award sale on its own flights, booked by October 31. It stacks with this bonus for one group of members. Details in the new section below.
TL;DR
- New, October 21: JAL's award time sale prices economy at 18,900 miles one way between eight North American cities and Japan, down from 27,000, for travel through February 28, 2027, booked by October 31. With the 30% bonus that's 15,000 Citi points on the annual-fee cards. Against JAL's $831 one-way cash fare from New York, the points come to about 3.2 cents each; against a $1,118 round trip, about 1.4. The timing decides it: the bonus needs the transfer completed by October 24, and a new Mileage Bank account can't redeem for up to 60 days.
- Citi ThankYou points now transfer to JAL Mileage Bank, with a 30% launch bonus. Citi's terms: "JAL Mileage Bank bonus miles offer is valid for points transfers completed between 09/20/2026 12:01 AM ET and 10/24/2026 11:59 PM ET."
- The bonus is the same on every card. The base ratio is not. Strata Elite, Strata Premier, Prestige and AT&T Access More transfer 1,000 points to 1,000 miles, so 1,300 with the bonus. Double Cash, Custom Cash, Strata, ThankYou Preferred, ThankYou Mastercard and the AT&T cards transfer 1,000 to 700, so 910 with the bonus. (Custom Cash and ThankYou Preferred are closed to new applicants; existing cardholders keep this ratio.) Most of the posts you have seen today quote the first number only.
- JAL's own chart prices a one-way business class seat from Dallas, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles or Seattle to Japan at 55,000 miles. That is 43,000 Citi points on the annual-fee cards and 61,000 on the no-fee cards, an 18,000-point gap for the same seat.
- Two JAL rules decide whether the bonus is usable at all: a new Mileage Bank account cannot redeem for up to 60 days, and JAL adds a fuel surcharge of about $316 each way from the US.
The two ratios, from Citi's page
Citi's transfer screen lists the cards under each rate:
| Your card | Base ratio | With the 30% bonus, per 1,000 points |
|---|---|---|
| Citi Strata Elite, Citi Strata Premier, Prestige, AT&T Access More | 1,000 to 1,000 | 1,300 JAL miles |
| Citi ThankYou Preferred, Citi Strata, Citi Double Cash, Citi Custom Cash, Citi ThankYou Mastercard, AT&T Universal Rewards World, AT&T Universal Savings and Rewards, AT&T Universal Rewards, AT&T Points Plus, AT&T Access (Custom Cash and ThankYou Preferred are closed to new applicants) | 1,000 to 700 | 910 JAL miles |
This is the same split Citi uses for American Airlines. A Double Cash on its own reaches JAL at 0.7, and no bonus changes that; 30% of 700 is still 910.
One more line from the terms that matters for the deadline: "Transfers to JAL Mileage Bank Miles are typically completed within 24 hours, however the process may occasionally take up to 5 business days." The bonus applies to transfers completed inside the window, so a transfer started on October 24 that takes five business days is a gamble. Move the points by the middle of that week.
What a seat costs, from JAL's chart
JAL Mileage Bank publishes a chart for members living in the US. These are the base miles for one-way awards between the US and Japan on JAL's own flights, updated September 8, 2026:
| One way, US to Japan | JAL miles | Citi points, annual-fee cards | Citi points, no-fee cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economy | 27,000 | 21,000 | 30,000 |
| Premium economy | 40,000 | 31,000 | 44,000 |
| Business | 55,000 | 43,000 | 61,000 |
The same base price applies from New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Seattle. The Citi columns divide the miles by 1.3 and 0.91 and round up to the next thousand points.
Two more lines from the same chart matter more than the miles. JAL lists a fuel surcharge "from USD 316.30" and taxes and fees "from USD 29.00" per person, one way, as of September 1, 2026. And JAL now prices awards with "Award Ticket PLUS": when the base-mile seats are gone, the price floats up. The chart's ceiling for a business class seat from Dallas is 509,500 miles. A seat is only 55,000 if a base seat is open on your date.
First class is seasonal on JAL's chart: 110,000 miles in low season, 125,000 regular, 140,000 high, one way from the US.
JAL's award sale: 18,900 miles to Japan, booked by October 31
JAL's sale page, in Japanese as "JAL海外特典航空券タイムセール" (JAL's overseas award ticket time sale), takes bookings from October 8 to October 31, 2026, for North American travel from October 9, 2026 to February 28, 2027.
What it covers from North America:
- Economy only. The page says premium economy and business class are excluded: "プレミアムエコノミークラス、ビジネスクラスは対象外です."
- JAL-operated flights only, with JL flight numbers.
- Eight cities: New York, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle and Vancouver. Boston is excluded: "ボストン線は対象外です."
| One way, economy | JAL miles | Citi points, annual-fee cards | Citi points, no-fee cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular, from the chart above | 27,000 | 21,000 | 30,000 |
| JAL's sale | 18,900 | 15,000 | 21,000 |
JAL's page doesn't name a percentage; 18,900 is 70% of the 27,000 base, so it works out to 30% off. The Citi columns use the same rounding as the chart above: divide by 1.3 or 0.91 and round up to the next 1,000 points.
The fees don't change with the sale. JAL's chart still lists a fuel surcharge from USD 316.30 and taxes from USD 29.00 per person, one way.
Against cash, the fees matter. On Google Flights on October 21, JAL's cheapest nonstop economy fare from New York (JFK) to Tokyo Haneda on Wednesday, January 13, 2027 was $831 one way, and Los Angeles to Tokyo Narita that day was $761. Take off about $345 in fees and the 15,000 Citi points stand in for $486 from New York, about 3.2 cents a point, and about 2.8 cents from Los Angeles, against the 1.8 cents we value Citi points at.
The round trip changes the answer. JAL's cheapest New York to Tokyo round trip for January 13 to 20 was $1,118. Two sale awards cost 30,000 points plus about $690 in fees, so the points work out to about 1.4 cents each, under our value. The sale pays on a one-way trip, not against a cheap round trip.
JAL's rules for the sale and its awards:
- You can book on JAL's website, app or by phone, and phone bookings add a ticket service fee.
- "Reservation changes are not permitted." To change, you cancel and rebook, and JAL charges "A cancellation charge of JPY 3,100… per ticket."
- Award Ticket PLUS bookings don't qualify, and the miles must be in your account when you book.
The timing is what decides it. Citi's bonus needs the transfer completed by October 24 at 11:59 p.m. ET, and Citi says a transfer can take up to 5 business days. JAL's sale books through October 31. And, from the next section, a new Mileage Bank account can't redeem for up to 60 days. So the stack works for members who already have a JAL account and move points this week.
The rule that can strand the bonus
JAL's redemption page: "Mileage may not be redeemed for JMB awards for a maximum of 60 days following enrollment in JMB." If you open a JAL Mileage Bank account this week to catch the bonus, the miles can arrive but the account may not be able to book until late November. The award seat you found in October may not be there in November.
So the order is: search JAL's own calendar for a base-mile seat first. If you already hold a Mileage Bank account older than 60 days, transfer the exact amount and book. If you do not, weigh the 30% against the wait; the miles do not expire quickly, but the seat might.
Two more JAL rules from the same page. Awards can be booked for the member, a spouse, and relatives within the second degree, not for friends. And JAL "may not be combined with miles earned through other airlines' mileage programs," so a short balance in JAL cannot be topped up with Avios.
How the ways into JAL compare this month
| Route into JAL Mileage Bank | Per 1,000 points | Until |
|---|---|---|
| Citi ThankYou, annual-fee cards, with the 30% bonus | 1,300 | October 24, 2026 |
| Bilt Rewards | 1,000 | standing |
| Capital One, with its 30% bonus | 975 | September 30, 2026 |
| Citi ThankYou, no-fee cards, with the 30% bonus | 910 | October 24, 2026 |
| Capital One, no bonus | 750 | standing |
The Citi annual-fee cards are the best door into JAL right now by a wide margin. The Citi no-fee cards are the worst door with a bonus attached, and still beat Capital One without one.
If your points are in a no-fee Citi card, the ratio follows the card, not the account. Holding a Strata Premier alongside a Double Cash is the way Citi cardholders reach the 1:1 rate; our Citi Strata Premier guide covers what that card costs and earns. JAL is also a oneworld airline, so Avios can book its flights too, at British Airways' or Iberia's prices rather than JAL's.
Before you transfer
- Find the seat on JAL's site first, at the base miles. A transfer cannot be undone.
- Check your Mileage Bank account age. Under 60 days, you cannot redeem yet.
- Transfer from the card that carries the 1:1 rate if you have one.
- Budget the cash: about $345 per person each way in surcharge, taxes and fees at JAL's September 1 figures.
This bonus joins our transfer bonus history when it ends, and the September roundup lists the others live this month. The Citi to JAL bonus ends at 11:59 PM Eastern on October 24, 2026, and Citi counts the day the transfer completes, not the day you start it.
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