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Japan is at the top of my bucket list, and apparently, many Citi cardholders agree. According to Citi, Tokyo ranked as Citi Travel's top international destination and the third most-booked destination overall. This data clearly prompted Citi to explore new transfer partners, and cardholders should be thrilled to have a new way to use their
Cardholders can now transfer points to Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, unlocking fantastic redemption opportunities to Japan and with Oneworld partner airlines. Here's everything you need to know.
Citi Launches Japan Airlines Mileage Bank as 22nd Transfer Partner
Today, September 20, 2026, Citi has officially launched Japan Airlines Mileage Bank as its 16th airline partner and 22nd overall transfer partner. If you hold a card that charges an annual fee, including the Citi Strata Premier® Card or the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card, you can transfer at a 1:1 ratio.
Meanwhile, if you hold a no-annual-fee card like the Citi Strata℠ Card or the Citi Double Cash® Card, you'll transfer at a 1:0.7 ratio.
To celebrate the launch, cardholders can take advantage of a 30% transfer bonus through October 24, 2026:
- If you hold a card with an annual fee, you can transfer 1,000 ThankYou Points for 1,300 JAL miles.
- If you hold a no-annual-fee card, you can transfer 1,000 ThankYou Points for 910 JAL miles.
Citi joins
Should You Transfer Citi ThankYou Points to Japan Airlines Mileage Bank?
Once the initial excitement of a new transfer partner wears off, the question always remains: should you actually utilize this new partner to book travel?
In our experience, the answer is a resounding yes.
Japan Airlines offers an extensive network across Asia, Europe, Oceania, and North America from its hubs in Tokyo. It operates routes out of both major airports in Tokyo — Haneda (HND) and Narita (NRT).
You can fly nonstop between Japan and the following U.S. cities:
- Boston (BOS)
- New York (JFK)
- Chicago (ORD)
- Dallas (DFW)
- Seattle (SEA)
- San Francisco (SFO)
- Los Angeles (LAX)
- San Diego (SAN)
- Honolulu (HNL)
You can find a ton of great Japan Airlines sweet spots. One of our favorites is booking Japan Airlines business class from North America to Japan for 55,000 miles each way (or 43,000 Citi ThankYou Points with a 30% bonus). These awards can be hard to find, but they do exist.
You can also book Oneworld partner awards with up to seven stopovers using a distance-based award chart. This can be a great way to see more of the world for less. While many airlines offer stopovers, few allow up to seven stopovers on a single reservation.
Bottom Line
The addition of Japan Airlines Mileage Bank as a Citi ThankYou transfer partner is fantastic news. If you're interested in visiting Japan or booking travel with Oneworld airlines, make sure you transfer ThankYou Points by October 24, 2026, to take advantage of the 30% transfer bonus.
If you don't already have a credit card that earns ThankYou Points, check out these offers:
$95Rates & Fees
- 10X on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked through CitiTravel.com
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Restaurants
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Supermarkets
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Gas and EV Charging Stations
- 1X – Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
$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.
- Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time.
Plus, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked with Citi Travel.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Citi Strata Premier® Card (Rates & Fees), Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (Rates & Fees), and Citi Double Cash® Card (Rates & Fees)
