JAL USA Card: Japan Airlines' Unrewarding Yet Intriguing Credit Card

JGC Three Star means lifetime OneWorld Sapphire status, and that’s what I have. The cards have lot more benefits for users in Japan, including a 25% bonus on miles earned flying JAL and certain select partners, as well as 5,000 miles on your first flight after signing up and 2,000 (rising to 5,000 with JGC) miles and 5,000 FOP status points for your first flight each year.

I have lifetime Sapphire status without having to take any flights to maintain it, but I think that cardholders outside Japan need status maintenance flights.

ETA: Credit card spending is just one way of earning lifetime status points. You also get 5 points for each domestic flight and 5 points for every 1,000 miles of international travel (cash tickets only). Members in Japan can also get status points through a home loan from JAL Bank or using JAL as your ISP and even by using JAL's official health app.

The main benefit of this card is that Expats can open an account without any or a limited credit history, even without a SSN. For this, you have to submit documents (pay slips etc) to the bank for review. This is a unique feature and clearly attractive for Japanese customers who work in the U.S. on a temporary basis and want a local credit card. The bank must see JP customers as a very low risk for default.

Hi! Just to clarify:

Are these requirements constrained to one calendar year?
Or as long as you hold the card + the program rules are in place, you can qualify whenever you hit the requirements?

Ben is the new Virgin Red credit card worth it? I dont think you have reviewed it so sorry if its already been discussed.

https://flywith.virginatlantic.com/us/en/flying-club/credit-card/card-member-offers.html

Ben, according to the qualification and renewal terms that you yourself linked, overseas residents who do not hold JALCARDs are exempt from the requirement to hold any card. They just need to pay the 2000 miles to renew every year.

Only overseas residents with JALCARDs are required to keep them, and they would be treated as domestic residents for the purposes of JGC.

This isn’t nearly as good as what’s offered in Japan, where you can earn JGC gold status which translates to one world sapphire by booking on jal with their jal credit card. This is a thing in Japan where people take like dozen HND OKA domestic round trips to earn status and it’s good as long as you hold the card so you can get lifetime status after several thousand dollars, not $450k

Guys, Virgin Atlantic flight VIR129R from London to Tampa turned around and declared an emergency. It just landed in London? anyone know what happened

Bumping this - also does anyone know why SQ24 returned to SIN 2 days back? Posters on reddit suspecting fugitive onboard?

The 1500 shopping miles = 5 Lifetime Points deal isn't necessarily limited to 5 points per 1500 spent; rather you can spend $750 on JAL flight purchases and obtain the same 1500 shopping miles, and thus the 5 Lifetime Points. So, $225,000 spent on JAL flights would meet the threshold just the same.

So basically earning 1 instead of 2 points for spend on $450,000... So $4,500 for oneworld sapphire lifetime status. I wouldn't say a good deal, but also... not horrible for lifetime status.

I was at LHR as it landed earlier. Met with fire engines and then tug to taxi it. Then sat with tug for ages. Based on flight data looks like pressure loss due to very quick prediction in altitude over 2-3 minutes but then no further rapid and immediate descent and instead a more leisurely and fuel burning return to LHR

They are not constrained to a calendar year, so you can spend ten years getting to 1500 points.

It is Life Status Point so it is accumulated over the years - if you earn 100 LSP a year, you would get Lifetime OW Sapphire status in 15 years.

It is no longer possible to earn JGC with a dozen trips to Okinawa. This new system replaces the old system. Members who earned JGC through the old system got keep their lifetime status with the new system.

While JAL Life Status Point is accumulated over the years, it is not possible to re-qualify to be a member of JGC if you canceled the card. You need to earn additional 100 LSP to be recognized as JGC after re-issue the card. I think it is pretty low bar as 2 return flight from US west coast to Japan would be enough to earn 100 LSP.

I did one round trip from JFK to CGK in business class last year to qualify for JGC with double FOP promotion. It cost less than 2K and I was/am very happy with it.

Sadly, last year was the last year when people could do that. You can no longer earn JGC with FOP, only through lifetime points. I also earned JGC with FOP, so I was grandfathered in with 1500 lifetime points this year, but that only applies to people who were already JGC before 2024.

First time commenting on this website.

JAL Milage Bank is really only useful if you live in Japan as residents there can earn elite miles and status lot quicker. Read through lot of Japanese travel sites and most have achieved status by flying between Tokyo and Okinawa very frequently.

For many of us living outside Japan, simply put investing in JAL Milage Bank or ANA mileage club simply makes zero sense at all. Best to invest in either other Star Alliance or Oneworld frequent flyer mile and redeem them on JAL or ANA flights.

Correct, I have earnt 155 LSP's in just the last four weeks flying MEL(Au)/CDG return and MEL/YVR one-way in J. Also, hit Sapphire from a no status start point.
My read is that FLYON points remain an alternative path, particularly for members who are not resident in Japan (and now USA?).
Will see how true this is come January when I should be able to apply for JGC Premier (Emerald) as I'll have more than 80,000 Flyon points by 31 December.

@2A Please.

You need to achieve JGC before you can get JGC Premier. So if you are not already JGC, you need 1500 LSP before you can get JGC Premier.

@2A Please
Under the old system, you would already be eligible for JGC upon reaching Sapphire, so if you are not seeing an option to sign up for JGC already, then it means that FOP no longer work for JGC regardless of region.

Keep in mind that JGC is lifetime, but JGC Premier (Emerald) does expire at the end of the next fiscal year (March two years from now).

Where did you read the rule that you need 100 LSP to re-enter global club??

Maybe this rules applies only to those in Japan as I found following condition on their webpage but I could not find corresponding one in the JGC rule applicable to those living outside Japan.

Members who wish to reenroll as JGC primary members after withdrawing from JGC membership will be required to earn at least 100 Life Status Points after membership withdrawal to reenroll. This requirement will be waived until further notice as 2024 is the transition period for the new program.