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Japan Airlines (JAL) has announced a devaluation to its JAL Mileage Bank award chart. The coming change will take effect on November 20, 2018; however, don’t wait until the last minute to make an award booking, since the exact deadline is 08:59 Japanese time on November 20, 2018—which is late afternoon/evening on November 19, 2018, in the US.
Key Changes
JAL published the changes to its award pricing in the chart below:
Some awards have gone up, some have stayed the same, and surprisingly some have gone down. The key changes are:
- Trips from 1 to 2,000 miles have been reduced across all fare classes
- Trips from 2,000 to 4,000 miles have increased in Economy but decreased for Premium Economy. Business and First awards have stayed the same
- Trips from 4,000 to 6,000 miles: award prices stay the same across all classes except Premium Economy which sees a reduction
- Trips from 6,000 to 10,000 miles: increases across all classes of travel
- Trips from 10,000 to 14,000 miles: increases across all classes of travel except Economy awards which remain unchanged
- Trips from 14,000 to 25,000 miles: increases across all classes of travel
- Trips from 25,000 to 50,000 miles: no change to award pricing
Effects Of The Changes
The band with the biggest percentage increase is the 6,000 to 8,000-mile range, which is the band for round-trip transatlantic trips with JAL's Oneworld and other partners. This increase will take some of the shine off great redemption options on Air France and American Airlines for trips to Europe.
Although there is a substantial decrease in the award cost for trips in the 1,000 to 2,000-mile range, they still do not represent great value or utility since the initial pre-devaluation cost was high and the distance is too short.
Our Take
It is always disappointing to see a devaluation, especially one that seems squarely aimed at taking away a sweet spot from an award chart. No matter how you look at this change it is disappointing and more negative than positive. Fortunately, JAL has given plenty of warning, so make sure to book before November 20, 2018.
Source: Frequent Miler
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