Which JAL Card should you get? All 8 compared
A decision page for readers who have already settled on JAL Card and only need to pick the right card in the lineup. All 8 are compared here — 8 of them open to new applications, with annual fees of ¥0–¥34,100. The axis that actually decides it: mileage earning, how often you fly, and whether a status tier is reachable.
Issued by JALCARD, INC. · 8 cards recorded, 8 open to new applications · verified 2026-08-13
Which one to get
If you want one answer, start with the JAL Card navi — no annual fee and a 1% published base rate. If you already know what you want the card for, take the matching row instead.
| Use case | Card | Annual fee | Fee condition | Base rate | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best no-fee starting point | JAL Card naviStudent | Free | — | 1% | Strong student JAL proposition |
| Best paid card with a fee-waiver path | JAL Card OrdinaryGeneral | ¥2,200 | First year free | 0.5% | Entry JAL card |
| Best premium / travel tier | JAL Card PlatinumPlatinum | ¥34,100 | Confirm on the issuer page | 1% | Premium JAL JCB |
| Best specialist / co-brand | JAL Club EST OrdinaryGeneral | ¥7,700 | — | 1% | Enhanced 20s benefits |
Each row is selected from the recorded data by rule — cheapest fee, a stated waiver, the highest published rate within a grade — not by editorial preference. Nothing here reflects how likely you are to be approved.
How to decide inside this lineup
3 rules apply to this lineup. Work down them in order — the first one usually settles it.
- Start with the strongest no-fee card, and move up only when a paid tier has a waiver you will actually reach, a milestone bonus you would hit anyway, or a recurring benefit worth more than its fee.
- Every card here earns JAL miles, so the rate is comparable across the lineup — but only once you fix a realistic value for one point in the redemption you would actually use.
- This lineup has more than one grade, so an upgrade is an arithmetic question: divide the extra annual fee by the extra published rate to get the spend that repays it, then add only the benefits and milestones you expect to use.
Each rule is triggered by the recorded fees, grades, programmes and payment types rather than written per provider, so it changes when the lineup does.
Annual fees and what they really cost
1 of the 8 personal cards you can choose between here have no annual fee. The fee is the only cost you pay whether or not you use the card, so it is the first column to read.
| Card | Grade | Annual fee | Fee condition | Networks | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JAL Card navi | Student | Free | — | Visa · Mastercard · JCB | Open to new applications |
| JAL Card Ordinary | General | ¥2,200 | First year free | Visa · Mastercard · JCB · American Express | Open to new applications |
| JAL Club EST Ordinary | General | ¥7,700 | — | Visa · Mastercard · JCB · American Express | Open to new applications |
| JAL CLUB-A Card | Club-A | ¥11,000 | — | Visa · Mastercard · JCB | Open to new applications |
| JAL CLUB-A Gold Card | Gold | ¥17,600 | Confirm on the issuer page | Visa · Mastercard · JCB · American Express | Open to new applications |
| JAL Diners Card | Gold-equivalent | ¥30,800 | Confirm on the issuer page | Diners Club | Open to new applications |
| JAL Club EST Gold/Platinum | Gold/Platinum | Varies | — | Visa · Mastercard · JCB · American Express · Diners Club | Open to new applications |
| JAL Card Platinum | Platinum | ¥34,100 | Confirm on the issuer page | JCB · American Express | Open to new applications |
A waiver or a free first year still means you pay the fee until the condition is met. Family cards, ETC cards and optional programmes can carry their own charges, which are not in this column — check the issuer page. All amounts include tax.
Earning rates and what they earn into
Every card here earns JAL miles, so the published rates in this table are directly comparable.
| Card | Base rate | Earns | Comparison-site range | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JAL Card navi | 1% | JAL miles | — | Free |
| JAL Card Ordinary | 0.5% | JAL miles | 0.5%–1% | ¥2,200 |
| JAL Club EST Ordinary | 1% | JAL miles | — | ¥7,700 |
| JAL CLUB-A Card | 0.5% | JAL miles | — | ¥11,000 |
| JAL CLUB-A Gold Card | 1% | JAL miles | 1%–2% | ¥17,600 |
| JAL Diners Card | 1% | JAL miles | — | ¥30,800 |
| JAL Club EST Gold/Platinum | 1% | JAL miles | — | Varies |
| JAL Card Platinum | 1% | JAL miles | 1%–2% | ¥34,100 |
The base rate is the figure the issuer publishes; where none is published the cell is blank rather than estimated. The comparison-site range is calculated by Kakaku.com under its own assumptions about redemption value and bonus conditions — it is a secondary signal, not an issuer claim.
Every card compared
All 8 cards, ordered by grade and then by fee, with what each is for and what to watch on it.
| Card | Annual fee | Base rate | Best for | Main edge | Caution / status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JAL Card naviStudent | Free | 1% | Strong student JAL proposition | Student mileage benefits | Must meet student/age conditions |
| JAL Card OrdinaryGeneral | ¥2,200 | 0.5% | Entry JAL card | Flight bonuses; optional Shopping Mile Premium | Shopping Mile Premium fee needed for higher shopping earn |
| JAL Club EST OrdinaryGeneral | ¥7,700 | 1% | Enhanced 20s benefits | 20s-only travel/mileage add-ons | Add-on fee and age limit |
| JAL CLUB-A CardClub-A | ¥11,000 | 0.5% | Frequent flyer tier | Higher boarding bonuses | Shopping Mile Premium extra |
| JAL CLUB-A Gold CardGold | ¥17,600 | 1% | All-in JAL gold | Shopping Mile Premium included; higher flight bonuses | Fee and lounge guest rules |
| JAL Diners CardGold-equivalent | ¥30,800 | 1% | Premium JAL/Diners | Shopping mile earning and Diners benefits | 2026 fee/service revision |
| JAL Club EST Gold/PlatinumGold/Platinum | Varies | 1% | Adds value for frequent young flyers | 20s-only add-ons | Complex combination pricing |
| JAL Card PlatinumPlatinum | ¥34,100 | 1% | Premium JAL JCB | JAL premium/concierge benefits | High fee |
The last three columns are the English research record for each card. Signup campaigns are deliberately excluded — they are not standing value.
How the points actually work
Most of this lineup earns under one rule — JAL miles. What you actually receive is decided less by the headline rate than by the excluded transactions and the expiry below.
- How it is earned
- JAL Card shopping: usually ¥200=1 mile; Shopping Mile Premium generally ¥100=1 mile; special stores double the applicable rate
- Bonus earning
- Flight first-use/annual/tier bonuses; JAL Card special stores; Shopping Mile Premium; card-specific JRE/TOKYU routes
- Eligible spend
- Eligible card shopping and JAL/partner flights
- Excluded or reduced spend
- Fees, cash advances and designated transactions; issuer-side points may apply on some co-brands
- Caps
- Award seats, blackout/availability and transfer caps vary
- Expiry
- Generally 36 months after accrual month; JAL Card navi miles are unlimited while enrolled as eligible student
- Best redemption route
- A flight award with value above the cash-equivalent alternatives and confirmed availability
- What a point is worth
- Variable; often highest for scarce premium-cabin awards, but taxes/surcharges apply
This block is shown only when most of the lineup really does earn under the same rule, so one card’s terms are never presented as the provider’s.
Benefits, and what switches them on
8 of these cards have a recorded insurance, lounge, family-card or eligibility term. What decides a benefit’s value is not whether it exists but what switches it on.
| Card | Insurance | Lounge | Family / ETC | Eligibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JAL Card navi | Travel insurance | — | See official page | 18–29 student |
| JAL Card Ordinary | Travel insurance | — | Family/ETC available | 18+ |
| JAL Club EST Ordinary | Travel insurance | Lounge coupons/benefits subject to terms | Family/ETC available | 20–29 |
| JAL CLUB-A Card | Enhanced travel insurance | — | Family/ETC available | 18+ |
| JAL CLUB-A Gold Card | Travel insurance | Domestic lounges | Family/ETC available | 20+ with stable income |
| JAL Diners Card | Travel insurance | Airport lounges | Family card available | 27+ guideline / issuer screening |
| JAL Club EST Gold/Platinum | Travel insurance | Lounge benefits | See official page | 20–29 |
| JAL Card Platinum | Travel insurance | Priority Pass / lounges | Family/ETC available | 20+ with stable income |
A blank cell means nothing was recorded, not that the benefit is absent. Travel insurance in Japan is often conditional on paying for part of the trip with the card, and lounge access usually caps visits and charges for guests — the activation rule is on the issuer page.
Upgrade maths: what a higher tier has to return
The cheapest rung here pays for itself at ¥1,100,000 of eligible spend a year. 4 of the rungs do not raise the rate at all, so those can never be repaid by earning.
| From | Up to | Extra fee | Extra rate | Break-even spend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JAL Card navi | JAL Card Ordinary | ¥2,200 | -0.5% | Rewards alone never repay it |
| JAL Card Ordinary | JAL Club EST Ordinary | ¥5,500 | +0.5% | ¥1,100,000 |
| JAL Club EST Ordinary | JAL CLUB-A Card | ¥3,300 | -0.5% | Rewards alone never repay it |
| JAL CLUB-A Card | JAL CLUB-A Gold Card | ¥6,600 | +0.5% | ¥1,320,000 |
| JAL CLUB-A Gold Card | JAL Diners Card | ¥13,200 | 0% | Rewards alone never repay it |
| JAL Diners Card | JAL Card Platinum | ¥3,300 | 0% | Rewards alone never repay it |
- Reward-only break-even spend
incremental annual fee ÷ incremental effective reward rateThe eligible spend at which the higher tier’s extra earning covers its extra fee, and nothing more.- Upgrade net value
incremental rewards + used credits + used benefits + family-card savings − incremental annual feeCount a credit or benefit only at the value you would actually redeem, not at its advertised value.- Milestone expected value
milestone benefit value × probability you reach the threshold without changing how you spendIf reaching the threshold requires new spending, the milestone is a cost, not a benefit.
These figures use the published base rate only — no merchant multipliers, milestones, insurance, lounge access or family-card savings. Adding spending you would not otherwise do always breaks the arithmetic.
Check these on the issuer page before applying
The tables above narrow the choice; only the issuer can settle it. Check these four things on the official page before you apply.
| What to check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Credit limit | Almost every issuer sets an individual limit after underwriting. Do not infer a usable limit from the card’s tier unless an official public range is stated. |
| Rewards limits | Check monthly and annual bonus caps, annual-spend thresholds, whether enrolment is required, and whether taxes, utilities, e-money charging, securities accumulation, fees or cash advances earn a reduced rate or nothing at all. |
| Benefit limits | Confirm what activates the insurance, who is covered, lounge visit and guest rules, reservation channels, blackout dates, and whether a benefit renews by calendar year, membership year or card anniversary. |
| Payment and overseas use | Verify the foreign transaction fee, cash-advance terms, installment and revolving settings, the accepted network, and mobile-wallet compatibility. |
Important cautions
This page is a comparison, not advice. These hold whichever card you pick.
- This is a comparison guide, not approval advice. Issuers decide eligibility and credit limits, and nothing here predicts either.
- Never increase spending to reach a points threshold or a fee waiver. Interest and unnecessary purchases overwhelm rewards quickly.
- Use a conservative point value. The same point is worth different amounts as a statement credit, as merchant spend, as miles or as a limited campaign reward.
- Invitation, campaign, insurance and lounge terms change. Re-check the official terms immediately before applying.
- If you are a foreign resident, confirm accepted identification, name and address matching, Japanese-language requirements and any bank-account condition directly with the issuer.
Common questions
Which JAL Card should I get?
For most people the starting point is the JAL Card navi — no annual fee and a 1% published base rate. Move up to the JAL Card Platinum (¥34,100 a year and a 1% published base rate) only when the extra fee is repaid by earning and by benefits you will genuinely use. JAL Card decides eligibility and credit limits, so check the current terms on the issuer page before you apply.
Is a paid JAL Card worth the annual fee?
On rewards alone, the ¥5,500 step from the JAL Card Ordinary to the JAL Club EST Ordinary is repaid at about ¥1,100,000 of eligible spend a year, because the published rate only rises by 0.5%. Below that, the upgrade has to be justified by benefits you actually use.
Do all JAL Cards earn the same points?
Yes — every card in this lineup earns JAL miles. The earning unit, the excluded transactions and the expiry still differ by card, so compare the redemption you would use rather than the headline rate alone.
Sources and freshness
Everything on this page comes from the issuer’s own product and lineup pages, and from the points programme’s official pages, as checked on 2026-08-13.
- www.jal.co.jp/jp/ja/jalcard/index03.html
- www.jal.co.jp/jp/ja/jalcard/card/regular.html
- www.jal.co.jp/jp/ja/jalcard/card/club_a.html
- www.jal.co.jp/jp/ja/jmb/jalcard/lineup/clubagold.html
- www.diners.co.jp/ja/cardlineup/jaldiners_new.html
- www.jal.co.jp/jp/ja/jalcard/card/platinum.html
- www.jal.co.jp/jp/ja/jalcard/card/navi.html
- www.jal.co.jp/jp/ja/jalcard/card/est.html
- www.jal.co.jp/jp/ja/jalcard/function/earn.html
Card facts are from the research database as of 2026-08-16; the points and benefit records are from the 2026-08-17 pass. Fees, benefits, campaigns and application rules change without notice. If something here is wrong, tell us on the corrections page.