In last week’s post I talked about How to Travel to Japan like a Pro and today, I wanted to share a bunch of tips about using your points and miles for flights and hotels for Japan. I’ll also add a few other ways to save on a trip, even if you’re not using points. Many of these tips should be useful for trips to other countries, so it should be good even if you’re not planning a Japan trip (though you probably should consider it). If you prefer to listen, check out (🎧Ep102) Traveling to Japan with Points & Miles.
🛫 Flight to Japan with Points:
Let’s first look at the best carriers for getting to Japan with points:
ANA
Flying with ANA through Virgin Atlantic is likely the best option if you can find the space. You can fly round trip from the west coast for
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60,000 miles in coach
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90,000 miles in business
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110,000 miles in first class
Only round-trip bookings are available, but the taxes are reasonable, starting at ~$300. Here’s the process you can follow:
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Search on Point.me or any site within Star Alliance to find availability.
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Call Virgin Atlantic to book (or try to ask them to hold the spot).
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Transfer points to Virgin Atlantic.
FYI - Virgin Atlantic has announced that they’re joining the Skyteam Alliance, so it’s unclear how long this will last after they officially join, because ANA is in Star Alliance.
ANA also offers direct booking and while it’s a bit more complicated, you’ll need fewer miles for a round-trip flight:
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40,000 - 50,000 miles in economy
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75,000 - 90,000 miles in business
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150,000 miles in first class
Only round-trip bookings are available, and taxes start at ~$300. However, you can only transfer to ANA from Amex, which takes a few days. And calling an ANA agent to put it on hold is very rare. That means:
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If you’re flexible on dates and have Amex points, you could transfer them, and if those flights disappear during the transfer, you can always keep looking.
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If you’re set on specific dates and you only found one option, it could be risky.
Japan Airlines
Since JAL isn’t a transfer partner of any credit card programs, you must book through another airline (unless you have JAL miles). Here are some options:
Alaska Air
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35,000 miles each way in coach
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60,000 miles each way in business
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70,000 - 80,000 each way in first class
Taxes can be as low as $100 round trip.
American Airlines
You can book JAL with American Airlines miles for about the same number of points and taxes as Alaska. If you don’t already have AA miles, they can be harder to come by than other airlines, because they aren't a transfer partner of any major program.
British Airways
You can transfer points from almost every credit card to BA Avios, but the taxes and fuel surcharges can be super high. So, make sure to factor that in.
Singapore Air
It is possible to fly from LAX to Tokyo on Singapore’s fifth freedom flight (where a carrier flies between two countries where it is not primarily based). You can book the flight directly with Singapore after transferring miles.
First-class tickets can be about 120,000 points, but the Singapore product is undoubtedly one of the best. Sometimes it’s easier to find availability last minute.
United Airlines
United has over a dozen flights to Japan, and it’s easiest to book those flights directly with United or with Air Canada. When lower-priced awards are available, you can book for as little as
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35,000 miles each way in coach
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75,000 miles each way in business
Almost every point program can transfer to Air Canada and/or United, and taxes can be as low as $50 round trip. You’ll need to search the calendar for availability (easiest on United’s site), but last-minute availability usually has a lot of great options.
Finally, if you have Capital One points, you might get a better deal on some of the United flights if you book through Avianca.
Delta
While it’s very hard to come by a good deal flying Delta to Japan, it does happen from time to time, so it’s worth looking if none of the other options work for you. If you don’t have Delta miles or Amex points, you can search/book from FlyingBlue (Air France/KLM’s frequent flier program), which is a transfer partner for all card points.
ZipAir
This is actually a cash deal. ZipAir is a low-cost subsidiary of JAL with some fantastic fares and beautiful plane interiors. I’ve had a few listeners email me to say they had a good experience with the airline, but there are a few important caveats:
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ZipAir only flies to Tokyo from San Jose, Los Angeles, and Honolulu in the US
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The price of a round-trip ticket can be as low as $600 for coach or $2,000 for business, which is unmatched by any other carrier (especially the biz class price)
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There are no changes/refunds, so you’ll lose your money if you can’t take the flight. So, if you’re booking on ZipAir, I would consider cancel for any reason (CFAR) travel insurance. (I’ve used Trawick International for this in the past)
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The only thing included is your seat, so there are a handful of add-ons:
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$50-70 to check your bag (even for business class)
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$50 for carry-ons above the weight limit (they are strict about the limits)
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$11-12 per meal on-board (even water isn’t included)
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DEAL: If you have an Amex, there’s currently a Zip Air offer for $150 off $750+
💳 Flight Options Based On Points
Since you can’t transfer to all airlines from all points programs, I thought I’d break down your best options by the type of points you have. Because booking ANA through Virgin is a top option and they’re a transfer partner from all programs, I won’t mention the details every time below, but they’d be my top option if there’s availability. Also, you can transfer to British Airways from every program except Citi and book on JAL or American, so I won’t include detail on that below either, but it’s on the list of options to check for all other programs (though given the fees, it’s probably at the end of the list).
Reminder that you can find my full list of airline transfer partners by credit card here.
Ultimate Rewards
After Virgin, I’d be looking to transfer to United or Air Canada and booking on United or ANA. Finally, I’d look into British Airways.
American Express Membership Rewards
If you’re ok with the ~2 day transfer time, I’d start by looking at transferring to ANA. If not, then I’d start with Virgin and then be trying Air Canada to book on ANA/United. If you’re flexible to fly out of LAX, I’d also look at transferring to Singapore.
Capital One Miles
With CapitalOne, I’d start with looking at ANA through Virgin, but then I’d try looking at transferring to Air Canada, Singapore, or British Airways (in that order).
Bilt Rewards
After Virgin, I’d try looking at transferring to American, United/Air Canada, or British Airways (in that order). Unfortunately, Bilt only has one card with no signup bonuses, so unless you already have Bilt Points, this probably won’t be an option for you.
Citi ThankYou Points
Virgin Atlantic is your best option, but I’d also check Singapore, Avianca (for booking ANA/United), or British Airways (in the order).
🏨 Hotels
Let’s cover the four major hotel programs you might want to use for a Japan trip.
Hyatt
Hyatt has 33 hotels in Japan. The rates range from 6,500 points/night for category 2 up to 35,000 points/night for category 8. Some highlights are:
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Park Hyatt in Tokyo is famous from the movie Lost In Translation
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Park Hyatt in Kyoto is where we stayed on our last trip, and it’s incredible
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The Grand Hyatt and the Andaz in Tokyo
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The Sowaka Hotel in Kyoto
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There is a Park Hyatt and Kasara in Niseko
Hyatt is a transfer partner of Chase and Bilt.
Marriott
In Japan, Marriott has 85 hotels. Those range from 15,000 to 120,000 points a night. However, Marriott offers a fifth-night free program, so if you can do a 5-night stay, you can take 20% off.
While the only one of the 85 hotels I’ve stayed at was the St. Regis in Osaka, these stood out as some amazing high-end options:
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The Mitsui in Kyoto
Hilton
In Japan, Hilton has 26 hotels. Hilton also offers the fifth night free, so you can save 20% if you stay 5 nights. Their hotels range in price from 25,000 to 95,000 points per night, with one exception: the Roku Kyoto, which looks incredible but is 110,000 points a night. However, you should know that when space isn’t available at these standard rates with points, Hilton sometimes shows insane points rates for those rooms (I’ve seen >1 million points/night).
I’ve stayed at the Hilton Tokyo twice, and it’s very solid. The hotel has a mini onsen (hot spring bath) by the gym, and the concierge is incredible. Some other great options include Conrad Tokyo, Conrad Osaka, and Odawara Resort.
IHG
In Japan, IHG has 45 hotels. A few options I liked were the Intercontinentals in Tokyo, Osaka, and Beepu (which is a hot springs resort).
Other Hotel Options
If you don’t have any hotel points, there are lots of local hotels and Ryokans to check out, or you can search Airbnb or stay at a hostel or capsule hotel. Overnight buses are also a budget-friendly travel method because you save money by not staying one night in a hotel.
A reminder for you with high-end hotels: we have a partnership that gives you the perks of four-star and five-star hotels with upgrades, complimentary breakfast, resort credits, early check-in, and late checkout. Email upgrade@chrishutchins.com if you are trying to book a high-end property. Yes, you get similar offerings if you book with some card company portals, like American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts, however…
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We can do this with about 4,000 hotels, while most card programs only have access to a few hundred or maybe a thousand
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We work with hotels directly, so you receive a reservation from the hotel, not the credit card company (and usually have higher upgrade priority)
The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of our partner offers may have expired.
Editor’s Note: Today, I’m grateful for the support of our partners Point.me, Pacaso, BankBonus, and MileValue. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
