Trip.com offering oneworld Sapphire status with just one flight

Trip.com has launched an interesting fast-track offer with Japan Airlines Mileage Bank (JMB), that allows you to earn JMB Sapphire status (equivalent to oneworld Sapphire) after completing a single round-trip JAL Business Class flight. 

While there have been other quick ways of earning oneworld Sapphire in the past, these all required you to have status with some other programme as a starting point. This Trip.com offer has no such prerequisite, making it accessible to everyone.

Well, everyone who’s willing to pay for a Business Class flight, I suppose.

Trip.com x JMB Sapphire fast-track offer

The fast-track offer is open to Trip.com Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond tier members, which is basically everyone, since you get Silver status immediately upon registering for a Trip.com account. 

Registration is required, and can be done through the Trip.com mobile app (tap on the Message icon at the bottom > Promotions > Elevate Your Status). You’ll need to provide Trip.com with your full name, passport number, contact number and JMB membership number.

Once registered, you must purchase a Japan Airlines round-trip Business Class flight on Trip.com with a Sapphire Fast Track tag, and provide your registered JMB membership number at the time of booking. 

• Booking period: 18 March to 14 April 2024
• Travel period: 15 May to 31 July 2024

The following flight numbers are eligible for this offer. 

Assuming you meet the requirements, the JMB Sapphire status will be issued in April 2024 and be valid from September 2024 till December 2025.

It’s weird there’s a time lag between issuance and validity, and this means you won’t be able to enjoy any Sapphire perks on your flight- though if you’re already flying in Business Class the incremental benefits will be marginal. 

What benefits does JMB Sapphire have?

JMB Sapphire members enjoy perks such as:

• Access to JAL and oneworld Business Class lounges
• Priority check-in at Business Class counters
• Access to preferred seating
• Priority waitlisting
• Priority boarding
• Priority baggage handling
• Extra baggage allowance

These benefits are valid whenever you fly on JAL, or one of its oneworld partners like Cathay Pacific and Malaysia Airlines.

Status granted under this fast-track offer will expire on December 2025. If you want to retain it beyond this date, you’ll need to abide by JMB’s regular requalification requirement:

• 50,000 FLY ON Points (of which ≥25,000 must be from JAL Group flights), or
• 50 flights (of which ≥25 must be JAL Group flights) and 15,000 FLY ON Points

You can calculate how many FLY ON Points you earn per segment here. 

Is it worth participating?

oneworld Sapphire may not be the rarefied air of Emerald, but it’s certainly worth having for anyone who travels with oneworld frequently, especially in Economy. 

Needless to say, it’ll be much cheaper to buy tickets starting from Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, or Manila, even after you factor in the cost of repositioning. A cursory search found that Business Class flights to Tokyo from Singapore start at around S$3,500, but can be as low as S$1,700 or so from elsewhere in Southeast Asia!

Do note that you must choose the flights first before the Sapphire Fast Track tag appears under the fare options (thanks to @Siithhh for the screenshot).

Conclusion

Trip.com customers can now register for a fast-track offer which grants JMB Sapphire status upon completing one round-trip Business Class flight to Japan.

This is a significant reduction from the usual requirements, and if you’re planning to participate, a heads up that fares are much cheaper out of Bangkok or Manila than Singapore. 

Did you manage to find any participating flights?

(HT: Shawn Leow)