Bilt Rewards adds Japan Airlines as newest transfer partner

Editor’s note: TPG founder Brian Kelly is a Bilt adviser and investor.

There’s exciting news for Bilt Rewards members: The program has added a new transfer partner … and it’s a valuable one. Starting at 9 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 13, members will be able to transfer Bilt Points to Japan Airlines Mileage Bank at a 1:1 ratio and use them to book Japan Airlines flights to Japan, Emirates’ luxurious business-class seats and more.

Read on to learn all about transferring Bilt points to Japan Airlines Mileage Bank and why you might want to.

Related: New first class, business class and the rest: Flying the Japan Airlines A350-1000 in all 4 cabins

Transferring Bilt points to Japan Airlines

Bilt currently partners with 20 other airline and hotel programs, most of which transfer at a 1:1 ratio (except Accor Live Limitless, which transfers at a 3:2 ratio). Bilt expects most transfers to Japan Airlines Mileage Bank to be completed within 10 minutes, which is on par with our tests of transfers to Bilt’s other partners.

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank typically requires accounts to be at least 60 days old in order to redeem miles. However, Bilt members will be able to redeem miles within seven days after a transfer if their Japan Airlines Mileage Bank account is not 60 days old.

“We encourage all Bilt members to immediately enroll in JAL Mileage Bank whether they have impending plans to transfer to JMB or not in order to start their 60 day account aging and not have to wait up to 7 days after transferring for redemption eligibility,” Richard Kerr, Bilt’s vice president of travel, said in a press release.

We’re particularly excited about Bilt’s newest transfer partner because Japan Airlines Mileage Bank has historically not partnered with any transferable credit card points programs, making it one of the hardest airline currencies to earn. The only way to transfer to Japan Airlines Mileage Bank before this announcement was via Marriott Bonvoy, which offered a poor 3:1 transfer ratio.

Japan Airlines still uses an award chart that Bilt members will now be able to leverage for some great redemption rates. For example, you can fly from North America to Japan for only 25,000 miles each way in economy or 50,000 miles each way in business class.

However, the program has announced some changes to its award chart that will go into effect June 10. After that date, flights to Japan will cost 27,000 miles each way in economy and 55,000 miles in business class — still a great deal.

As you can imagine, Japan Airlines Mileage Bank miles are a great way to visit Japan on points and miles, and having Bilt as a transfer partner will make it much easier to boost your balance. You can also use these miles to book Japan Airlines’ partner carriers, such as Emirates, American Airlines and Korean Air. Japan Airlines uses a separate award chart for partner flights.

For instance, you can fly Emirates business class from New York to Dubai for 80,000 Japan Airlines Mileage Bank miles each way. Or, you could book a first-class seat on Alaska Airlines from Seattle to London for 60,000 Japan Airlines Mileage Bank miles each way.

As an added bonus, the program sometimes offers transfer bonuses as part of its Rent Day promotion, which has been known to provide additional bonus opportunities when it introduces a new transfer partner. So, you may get a chance to earn some extra Japan Airlines Mileage Bank miles when you transfer Bilt points for the first time.

Related: Should you pay your rent with Bilt? We crunch the numbers

Bottom line

The latest addition to Bilt’s list of transfer partners is a particularly exciting one because you can’t transfer any other credit card points to Japan Airlines Mileage Bank. This opens up new redemption opportunities for Bilt members.

This development comes hot on the heels of Bilt adding Southwest Rapid Rewards as a transfer partner. Bilt has alluded to other big developments in the works, too, including platform changes that would let members earn points on mortgage payments.

If you’re not a member yet, now is a great time to sign up for the Bilt program. Also consider adding the Bilt Mastercard® to your wallet. This card offers a $0 annual fee (see rates and fees) and the ability to earn 3 points per dollar spent on dining, 2 points per dollar spent on travel and 1 point per dollar spent on rent (up to 100,000 points in a calendar year) and all other purchases. Note that you must use your Bilt card five times each statement period to earn points on rent and qualifying net purchases (see rewards and benefits).

For rates and fees of the Bilt Mastercard, click here.

For rewards and benefits of the Bilt Mastercard, click here.