Best credit cards for flights and airline miles in Japan

Top five for flights

#	Card	Annual fee	Base rate	Airline route	Why it ranks
1	MileagePlus Saison Gold CardCredit Saison · United MileagePlus	¥22,000	1.5%	Core use is carrier/alliance flight awards	Issuer categorises it as an airline card 1.5% published base rate A direct airline route is recorded
2	MileagePlus Saison Platinum CardCredit Saison · United MileagePlus	¥55,000	1.5%	Core use is carrier/alliance flight awards	Issuer categorises it as an airline card 1.5% published base rate A direct airline route is recorded
3	ANA Visa Platinum PremiumANA Card · ANA miles	¥88,000	1.5%	Core use: ANA/partner flight awards and upgrades	Issuer categorises it as an airline card 1.5% published base rate A direct airline route is recorded
4	JAL Card naviJAL Card · JAL miles	Free	1%	Core use: JAL/partner flight awards and upgrades	Issuer categorises it as an airline card 1% published base rate A direct airline route is recorded
5	Rakuten ANA Mileage Club CardRakuten Card · Rakuten Points or ANA miles	¥550	1%	Core use: ANA/partner flight awards and upgrades	Issuer categorises it as an airline card 1% published base rate A direct airline route is recorded

How to maximise miles

1. Decide the award before you decide the card

   Miles are only worth what the seat you actually book costs in cash. Pick a route and a cabin first, look up what it costs in miles and in yen, and let that ratio pick the programme. Choosing a card first and a destination later is how people end up with a balance in the wrong currency.

2. Prefer a direct earner over a transfer chain

   A card that earns miles directly gives you one set of rules to track. A card that earns issuer points which then transfer adds a ratio, often a fee, sometimes an annual cap and always a second expiry date. The flexibility is real, but only if you will use it.

3. Check the transfer cap before you plan around it

   Several issuer programmes cap annual transfers into a single airline. A cap below the miles you would need for the award you are targeting turns a one-year plan into a two-year one — and that is a fact to learn before you start, not after.

4. Count the surcharges as part of the price

   An award seat still charges taxes and, on many carriers, fuel surcharges. On some routes those approach the cash fare on a discount ticket. The comparison that matters is miles plus surcharges against the cash price, not miles against the cash price.

5. Never finance an award

   At 14.9–18% revolving interest, one year of financing costs more than several years of mileage earning at any rate on this page. Miles are worth chasing only on a balance you pay in full every month.

What to put on the card

Where each programme’s points can go

Every points programme in the research that records an airline route, with the route as recorded and the cards that earn in it. A route existing does not make it a good one — ratios, fees and caps are on each programme’s page.

The other points guides

Keep comparing

• Points comparison table for every card

• Cards grouped by points programme

• Filter the whole lineup

Card records verified 2026-08-16; points records verified 2026-08-17. Programmes change their redemption charts, caps and transfer ratios — check the programme’s own page before you plan around a route.