How I used Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles to fly business class on Japan Airlines and Starlux Airlines

While it’s getting more difficult to maximize your points and miles and fly in the front end of the plane without breaking the bank, it is still very possible. In fact, I was just able to do it on a recent trip to Asia.

I found some incredible long-haul award redemptions on Japan Airlines and Starlux Airlines, and I was able to make my redemptions using a widely available mileage currency: Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles.

I flew Japan Airlines in business class to Tokyo from San Francisco for just 60,000 Mileage Plan miles. While this particular award availability can be scarce, if you are flexible, you can often duplicate this redemption to fly business class or even first class on Japan Airlines using either Alaska miles or, as I recently did again, American Airlines AAdvantage miles.

For my ride home, I used just 75,000 Mileage Plan miles to book a business-class seat on one of Alaska’s newer Asian airline partners, Starlux. It was my third time flying the Taiwanese airline, and I highly recommend you add it to your AvGeek bucket list.

Here’s how I found these business-class airline awards and booked the flights … and how you can, too.

Booking Japan Airlines business-class awards

All in all, I had two incredible flights on two of the world’s best airlines that were (almost) all paid for with miles. It just goes to show there remains real value in collecting points and miles, even if ongoing changes to loyalty programs are making it harder to find exceptional awards.

It also speaks to just how valuable the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program can be. I’m excited to apply for the new premium Alaska credit card when it becomes available. Hopefully, I can use the sign-up bonus to fund my next flight on Japan Airlines or Starlux.

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