In 2025, Capital One added Japan Airlines Mileage Bank as a new transfer partner. Although the 4:3 transfer ratio is relatively less than ideal, Capital One and Japan Airlines are offering another transfer bonus this month, which is a chance to offset that ratio.
For a limited time between Feb. 1, 2026, and Feb. 28, 2026, you can transfer Capital One miles to Japan Airlines Mileage Bank and receive a 30% bonus.
This means that you can transfer 1,000 Capital One miles for 975 Japan Airlines miles, which is pretty much 1:1.
Sweet Spots?
Capital One is one of the few transferable programs that has Japan Airlines as a transfer partner.
Although the airline has many partner carriers that allow booking through other loyalty programs, there are a couple of advantages of booking an award ticket directly with JAL:
- Better availability. I consistently notice that Japan Airlines releases more availability to its own members than to partner programs. If you’re specifically looking to book a flight in a premium cabin to, through, or from Japan, I’d take a look at booking through Japan Airlines if you have some Capital One miles to burn.
- Award space 360 days out. With Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, you can access award space immediately, right when it gets released. Other programs, like AAdvantage, only get award space 331 days out.
Japan Airlines has an award chart for its cabins. Flights can be booked for as low as the following:
Note that peak seasons and lower availability can drive up the cost; these are dynamic. I do recommend confirming availability and cost before transferring Capital One miles to your Mileage Bank account.
JAL also has an award chart for Oneworld partner airlines, which allows stopovers. The cost is determined by the itinerary’s total distance.
Keep note:
One of the biggest negatives of Japan Airlines Mileage Bank is that miles strictly expire after 36 months. For this reason, only transfer the amount of Capital One miles you know you will use. You don’t want any JAL miles leftover and end up with no trip to use them for as they approach expiration.
Bottom Line
The typical transfer ratio of 4:3 is less than ideal. Although having Japan Airlines Mileage Bank is a nice option for Capital One cardholders, there are better options with a 1:1 ratio that could get you more value out of your miles, like Air Canada Aeroplan or Air France-KLM Flying Blue.
However, the current 30% bonus brings the transfer ratio close to 1:1, so I don’t think it’s a bad option if you have a specific use in mind. Make sure to confirm availability first, since award tickets on JAL are dynamic and miles expire after 36 months.
This transfer bonus will last until Feb. 28, 2026.
Featured image by the author.
