HeyMax has added Japan Airlines (JAL) Mileage Bank as a new transfer partner, with users now able to convert Max Miles at a 1:1 ratio.
While this programme may not be that well known in Singapore, it has the potential to offer good value redemptions for domestic and international travel. Moreover, its routing rules are some of the most generous in the industry, with three stopovers on a single-partner award and up to seven on oneworld partner awards — allowing you to turn a single ticket into a pseudo round-the-world itinerary.
As excited as I am about this, it should also be mentioned that these aren’t the best of times for JAL Mileage Bank members. Not only has Japan Airlines made a sizeable hike to fuel surcharges on 1 July, there are also reports that award space has dried up significantly over the past few weeks.
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HeyMax adds transfers to JAL Mileage Bank
HeyMax users can now transfer Max Miles to JAL Mileage Bank at a 1:1 ratio.
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| Max Miles | JAL Mileage Bank |
| 1 mile | 1 mile |
A minimum conversion of 1,000 miles is required, with subsequent transfers in blocks of just 1 mile. Transfers are quoted at one business day, but in practice should be more or less instant.
JAL Mileage Bank is a favourite among the miles community, in large part because it has stuck to traditional award charts and resisted switching to dynamic pricing. That said, it’s not an easy programme to use, with a confusing array of award charts.
- International JAL awards
- Domestic JAL awards
- Partner awards
- International JAL upgrade awards
Japan Airlines awards
International travel
JAL uses destination-based award charts, where each destination has its own mileage requirement.
- For Economy, Premium Economy and Business Class, the mileage requirement is the same throughout the year
- For First Class, there are three possible mileage requirements, based on seasonal pricing
| Low Season | April 1 – April 23, 2026, January 13 – February 28, April 1 – April 22, 2027, January 11 – February 29, 2028 |
| Regular Season | May 12 – July 8, August 26 – December 12, 2026, March 1 – March 31, May 10 – July 15, August 30 – December 16, 2027, March 1 – March 31, 2028 |
| High Season |
April 24 – May 11, July 9 – August 25, December 13, 2026 – January 12, 2027, April 23 – May 9, July 16 – August 29, December 17, 2027 – January 10, 2028 |
I’m just going to focus on the routings that would be most relevant from Singapore.
| From Japan | Y | PY | J | F |
| Singapore | 13 | 25 | 40 | 67.5 to 82.5 |
| USA | 27 | 40 | 55 | 110 to 140 |
| London | 27 | 40 | 57 | 110 to 140 |
| Paris | 27 | 40 | 57 | 110 to 140 |
| Frankfurt | 23 | 38 | 55 | – |
| Helsinki | 23 | 38 | 55 | 110 to 140 |
| Honolulu | 20 | 30 | 43 | 90 to 110 |
| One-way prices, in ‘000s of miles |
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Do note that pricing is additive. That is, to fly from Singapore to Tokyo to USA, you’ll need to add up the cost of a Singapore to Tokyo award and a Tokyo to USA award.
Still, 55,000 miles for Business Class between Tokyo and the USA is an excellent price — if you can actually find it. Based on what I’m reading online, award availability has been throttled significantly. Don’t make speculative transfers!
JAL Mileage Bank also has another category of more expensive awards known as PLUS, which offer more availability (think of them as Advantage awards, in the context of KrisFlyer). These are not available for First Class travel.
The pricing may look scary at first glance, but remember — this refers to the maximum cost of these awards. In practice, it can be much more reasonable. For example, the PLUS award chart shows a cost of 446,000 miles for Business Class between Japan and San Francisco, but you can also find awards at the 70,000 miles level.
Domestic travel
Domestic travel within Japan is divided into seven zones, based on the distance between the departure and arrival locations.
Zone A
Departure
Arrival
Sapporo
Hakodate, Okushiri
Hakodate
Okushiri
Osaka
Tajima, Kochi
Izumo
Oki
Fukuoka
Matsuyama, Tsushima, Goto Fukue, Amakusa, Miyazaki, Kagoshima
Nagasaki
Tsushima, Iki, Goto Fukue
Kumamoto
Amakusa
Kagoshima
Tanegashima, Yakushima
Amamioshima
Kikaijima, Tokunoshima, Yoron
Tokunoshima
Okinoerabu
Okinawa (Naha)
Okinoerabu, Yoron, Kumejima
Ishigaki
Miyako, Yonaguni
Miyako
Tarama
Minamidaito
Kitadaito
Zone B
Departure
Arrival
Sapporo
Rishiri, Memanbetsu, Nemuro-Nakashibetsu, Kushiro, Aomori, Misawa
Tokyo
Sendai, Yamagata, Niigata, Nagoya
Osaka
Matsumoto, Oki, Izumo, Matsuyama
Matsuyama
Kagoshima
Fukuoka
Izumo, Kochi
Okinawa (Naha)
Amamioshima, Miyako
Zone C
Departure
Arrival
Sapporo
Akita, Hanamaki
Tokyo
Akita, Hanamaki, Komatsu, Osaka
Nagoya
Niigata, Izumo, Kochi
Osaka
Fukuoka, Oita, Kumamoto, Miyazaki
Fukuoka
Tokushima, Yakushima
Kagoshima
Kikaijima, Amamioshima, Tokunoshima
Okinawa (Naha)
Ishigaki, Kitadaito, Minamidaito
Zone D
Departure
Arrival
Sapporo
Sendai, Yamagata, Niigata
Sendai
Izumo
Tokyo
Hakodate, Aomori, Misawa, Nanki-Shirahama, Okayama, Izumo, Hiroshima, Tokushima, Takamatsu, Kochi, Matsuyama, Oita
Nagoya
Aomori, Hanamaki, Yamagata, Fukuoka, Kumamoto
Shizuoka
Izumo, Kumamoto, Kagoshima
Osaka
Akita, Hanamaki, Sendai, Yamagata, Niigata, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Tanegashima, Yakushima
Fukuoka
Matsumoto, Shizuoka, Amamioshima
Kagoshima
Okinoerabu, Yoron
Okinawa (Naha)
Yonaguni
Zone E
Departure
Arrival
Sapporo
Matsumoto, Shizuoka, Izumo, Tokushima
Tokyo
Sapporo, Memanbetsu, Asahikawa, Kushiro, Obihiro, Yamaguchiube, Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Miyazaki, Kagoshima
Nagoya
Obihiro, Kushiro, Sapporo
Osaka
Sapporo, Asahikawa, Hakodate, Aomori, Misawa, Amamioshima, Tokunoshima, Okinawa (Naha)
Fukuoka
Hanamaki, Sendai, Niigata, Okinawa (Naha)
Okinawa (Naha)
Okayama
Zone F
Departure
Arrival
Sapporo
Hiroshima
Tokyo
Amamioshima, Okinawa (Naha)
Nagoya
Okinawa (Naha)
Osaka
Memanbetsu, Miyako, Ishigaki
Fukuoka
Sapporo
Okinawa (Naha)
Komatsu
Zone G
Departure
Arrival
Tokyo
Kumejima, Miyako, Ishigaki
Nagoya
Miyako, Ishigaki
| Zone | Economy | Class J | First |
| A | 4.5 | 5.5 | – |
| B | 5.5 | 6.5 | – |
| C | 6.5 | 7.5 | 14.5 |
| D | 7.5 | 9 | 18 |
| E | 8.5 | 10 | 20 |
| F | 9.5 | 11.5 | 22 |
| G | 10.5 | 13.5 | 24 |
| One-way prices, in ‘000s of miles |
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Domestic awards range from 4,500 to 10,500 miles, potentially offering good value if cash fares are expensive.
However, there’s a further complication: the above pricing only applies for non-stop flights. Connecting awards are priced according to a different chart. Connecting flights can have two or three segments on the same day, within six hours of each other.
Partner awards
Single partner
If your travel only consists of a single partner, whether oneworld or non-oneworld, then the redemption will price according to the following distance-based award chart.
| Distance (miles) |
Y | PY | J | F |
| 1 – 1,000 | 12 | 17 | 24 | 36 |
| 1,001 – 2,000 | 15 | 21 | 30 | 45 |
| 2,001 – 4,000 | 23 | 30 | 42 | 65 |
| 4,001 – 6,000 | 37 | 46 | 60 | 90 |
| 6,001 – 8,000 | 45 | 59 | 80 | 120 |
| 8,001 – 10,000 | 47 | 62 | 85 | 135 |
| 10,001 – 12,000 | 50 | 70 | 100 | 145 |
| 12,001 – 14,000 | 55 | 77 | 110 | 165 |
| 14,001 – 20,000 | 70 | 94 | 130 | 190 |
| 20,001 – 25,000 | 90 | 112 | 145 | 220 |
| 25,001 – 29,000 | 110 | 135 | 160 | 250 |
| 29,001 – 34,000 | 130 | 160 | 190 | 290 |
| 34,001 – 50,000 | 150 | 180 | 210 | 330 |
| One-way prices, in ‘000s of miles |
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The following partner awards can be booked online.
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To book awards on other oneworld partners, Bangkok Airways or Korean Air, you’ll need to call in.
Partner awards have the potential to be excellent value because of JAL Mileage Bank’s generous routing rules. You can have a maximum of six flight segments (with some exceptions) and three stopovers on a single partner award itinerary. Mind you, these are stopovers, not layovers — you can stay in each city as long as you want, within the ticket’s validity.
Some other rules to take note of:
- Maximum of six flight segments, except for:
- Fiji Airways, Oman Air, Royal Air Maroc, China Eastern, Garuda: 4
- Korean Air: 2
- Maximum of one stopover per city
- One surface sector in the whole itinerary (which counts as a stopover, but not towards total mileage)
- The same city can be transited a maximum of three times
- No backtracking or returning to country of origin
- Non-oneworld partner airlines cannot be mixed into a oneworld partner ticket
- No stopovers are allowed in China, Hong Kong or Macau if you are originating in China
Oneworld award chart
If your travel consists of a two or more partners, including JAL, then it will price according to this chart.
| Distance (miles) |
Y | J | F |
| 1 – 4,000 | 25 | 48 | 72 |
| 4,001 – 8,000 | 40 | 80 | 100 |
| 8,001 – 10,000 | 50 | 85 | 110 |
| 10,001 – 12,000 | 60 | 110 | 160 |
| 12,001 – 14,000 | 70 | 115 | 165 |
| 14,001 – 20,000 | 90 | 120 | 170 |
| 20,001 – 25,000 | 120 | 150 | 230 |
| 25,001 – 29,000 | 140 | 190 | 280 |
| 29,001 – 34,000 | 150 | 200 | 300 |
| 34,001 – 50,000 | 160 | 220 | 330 |
| One-way prices, in ‘000s of miles | |||
Just like single partner awards, the routing rules here are extremely generous. You can have a maximum of eight flight segments, and seven stopovers on an itinerary.
Some other rules to take note of:
- Maximum of two Japan domestic flight sectors
- Maximum of one stopover per city
- No stopovers are allowed in Japan if you are originating in Japan
- One surface sector in the whole itinerary (which counts as a stopover, but not towards total mileage)
- The same city can be transited a maximum of three times
- No backtracking or returning to country of origin
- Non-oneworld partner airlines cannot be mixed into a oneworld partner ticket
What should you know about JAL Mileage Bank?
Here are a few important things to know about JAL Mileage Bank:
- Miles have a hard expiry of 36 months after accrual, regardless of activity
- Awards cannot be changed; once issued you can only cancel them for JPY 3,100
- Award bookings open 360 days out
- Awards must be booked at least 96 hours (online) or 48 hours (phone) in advance of departure
- Accounts must be at least 60 days old before you can book partner awards
- JAL allows you to upgrade award tickets with miles, though only to the next highest cabin (e.g. you can’t upgrade from Economy to Business on flights with a Premium Economy cabin)
- You can only book awards for yourself and blood or marriage relations. JAL has provided this helpful chart showing who exactly qualifies — though whether they actually enforce it is another matter altogether.
- Fuel surcharges apply on JAL and partner awards
I want to draw particular attention to the fuel surcharges, because they’re significant. JAL hiked them further on 1 July 2026, and at the time of writing, you can expect to pay:
- US$221 for Singapore to Japan
- US$441 for Europe/North America to Japan
That’s painful, to say the least, and hopefully will be revised downwards soon.
Conclusion
HeyMax is now offering 1:1 transfers to JAL Mileage Bank, with instant conversions and blocks of just 1 mile after the first 1,000-mile transfer.
There’s a lot to love about this programme, from its domestic awards that start from just 4,500 miles, to the very generous routing rules on partner awards. However, this is tempered by the fact that fuel surcharges have increased significantly, and the cheaper award levels appear to have dried up.
Right programme, wrong time?
