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American Airlines may have raised prices on certain partner award flights to Asia, which appear to involve bookings with a mixed itinerary that includes Japan Airlines plus American Airlines or Alaska Airlines segments. Partner award bookings to Asia are a major sweet spot of the AAdvantage program, and these higher prices may be something to consider for those eyeing an award redemption to Japan.
Which Asia Flights Are Involved?
Despite many loyalty program devaluations over time throughout the airline industry, American still utilizes an award chart for its partner airlines, which remains a massive sweet spot for AAdvantage members.
Its award chart is divided up into regions. The official, published chart for Asia Region 1 is the following, which includes flights from North America to Japan and South Korea:
| Economy | Premium Economy | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35,000 | 50,000 | 60,000 | 80,000 |
These can be of tremendous value, as travelers have the ability to redeem a one-way business class ticket for the amount of a welcome offer on many of American's Citi credit cards.
However, we are observing that American Airlines is steering away from this award chart on select flights to Asia. Take a look at the following flights, which do not follow American's published award chart:
These flights with their new prices are 45,000 for Economy, 50,000 for Premium Economy, 80,000 for Business, and 100,000 for First, which are higher than the published award chart we went over above.
We are observing these higher prices on bookings with a mix of Japan Airlines + American Airlines or Alaska Airlines segments. For example, an itinerary with a flight from Miami to Dallas on American and a flight from Dallas to Tokyo on Japan Airlines does have these higher prices (similar to the ones above from Boston). These itineraries previously followed American's award chart, but this appears to no longer be the case.
Here's another example, this time involving an Alaska Airlines segment and a Japan Airlines segment:
However, flights that do not involve connections, or itineraries that are operated by only the partner airline, do not have the higher prices. For example, a direct flight from San Francisco to Tokyo on Japan Airlines is still priced accordingly, for 60,000 AAdvantage miles in Business Class. You could also add another Japan Airlines segment, say Tokyo to Osaka, to that itinerary, and that will also be priced according to the award chart.
Note that this only involves flights with Japan Airlines segments. Other American partners are unaffected. Below is the same idea on a one-stop booking from Los Angeles to London, with an American segment followed by a British Airways segment. The listed prices follow American's award chart for Europe flights:
Why This Increase Hurts
While American is still following its award chart for flights that only include a single airline, this is still a blow to most itineraries to Asia because direct flights for partner airlines are extremely difficult to find.
This is also a major blow to those who do not live near an airport served by Japan Airlines, as you would have to have a connecting American flight to make your way over to Asia.
It is unclear why this price increase seems to be taking place with flights only involving Japan Airlines. However, what's true is that Japan is currently an extremely popular destination, and there is a lot of demand for flights over the Pacific. Japan Airlines Mileage Bank recently began partnering with Bilt and Capital One, which has increased the number of users looking to snag awards involving the airline. The Japanese carrier also charges high fuel surcharges, which have prompted some local Japanese passengers to book Japan Airlines awards via AAdvantage to avoid such charges.
The good news is that these new prices are still attainable with the right strategy in mind. American and Citibank offer generous sign-up offers that can help you supercharge your AAdvantage account in order to meet the amount needed for an award redemption.
$595Rates & Fees
- 12X – Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com.
- 6X – Earn 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com.
- 6X – Earn 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent any other time.
- 1.5X – Earn 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases.
$99, waived for first 12 months
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent at restaurants
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent at gas stations
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases
- Earn 1X mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases
$595
- Earn 10X miles for every $1 spent on eligible hotels booked at aa.com/hotels and eligible rental cars booked through aa.com/cars
- Earn 4X miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases (increased to 5X miles through the end of the calendar year after you pass $150,000 in purchases annually)
- Earn 1X mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases
Additionally, with Alaska Airlines' latest international expansion, AAdvantage members can now book Alaska Airlines to Asia following the same partner award chart. While Japan Airlines awards may be difficult to book at times, you can book Alaska Airlines for the same price and ensure yourself a lie-flat bed over to Asia:
Related: The Ultimate Guide to American Airlines AAdvantage
Bottom Line
American Airlines appears to have increased prices on partner awards on flights involving a mix of Japan Airlines + American Airlines or Alaska Airlines segments. While the carrier is sticking to its published award chart for flights only involving a single airline, this is a blow to many of those who do not live in an airport with direct flights to Japan if this is a permanent change.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (Rates & Fees)
