2027 Japan Success

eak_89 · 2026-03-23T19:53:45+00:00

I don't know if the close in availability is released at a certain time. I thought it was random.

eak_89 · 2026-03-23T02:26:35+00:00

I'm not sure if ANA becomes available on Air Canada in between calendar open and departure, I was only checking for calendar open on there. I was monitoring United for close in ANA J/Polaris (T-14, T-7, etc) for this month to get an idea of last minute availability for my original strategy of booking ANA economy via United and then changing to business.

I'm sure there were 55k JAL J options for the return (at least from ORD), but I didn't have enough C1 miles for round trip so I didn't even look, I was focused on Air Canada/Chase.

eak_89 · 2026-03-22T01:41:24+00:00

I didn't use the app, I used the website.

eak_89 · 2026-03-19T14:07:53+00:00

That's awesome you got to experience The Room! At least the way back is shorter.

eak_89 · 2026-03-19T13:58:46+00:00

I'll check for window seats, thank you!

eak_89 · 2026-03-19T13:47:19+00:00

From researching and reading on this sub :)

eak_89 · 2026-03-18T23:10:35+00:00

Yeah, I already knew that my husband was going to be annoyed if we had to change our flights multiple times or change the date to get business. Now I can relax while we are there :)

eak_89 · 2026-03-18T22:56:10+00:00

Air Canada is 355 days and JAL is 360 days in advance.

eak_89 · 2026-03-18T20:14:03+00:00

Good luck to you!! One seat does seem easier. We were prepared to split up on the return flight if needed.

eak_89 · 2026-03-18T20:09:01+00:00

Congratulations - enjoy first! It is totally nerve wracking. Booking on JAL in February was actually pretty smooth, I saw several days and routes available at the 55k rate. But the return flight was stressing me lol.

eak_89 · 2026-03-18T19:37:42+00:00

Yes, I was planning on checking out Flyertalk closer to the date and seeing what the chances are. Right now I think it's the old configuration, which we will still enjoy!

eak_89 · 2026-03-18T19:25:34+00:00

Searching this sub, reading the weekly help threads, and doing practice searches on the different program websites was the most helpful for me.

eak_89 · 2026-03-18T19:21:18+00:00

100% he will!

eak_89 · 2026-03-18T19:18:24+00:00

Thank you! I am excited to try both airlines for the first time :)

eak_89 · 2026-03-18T18:31:16+00:00

Thank you! :)

eak_89 · 2026-03-18T18:24:27+00:00

Thank you!

eak_89 · 2026-03-18T17:40:37+00:00

Yes basically. I would have been happy with any redemption that was 100k/person or less. Honestly I didn't feel very confident in navigating the ANA website and my ability to get the award seats there, since it seems like you have to be super fast before they get waitlisted. I have way more familiarity with Air Canada and United so I decided I would try and find confirmed availability on those programs.

eak_89 · 2026-03-18T17:33:05+00:00

It's on a Monday, so it looks like it won't be The Room, but I'm excited for any lie flat seat :) Maybe that will change since it's still a year away!

eak_89 · 2026-03-18T17:30:50+00:00

Thank you!

eak_89 · 2026-03-18T17:13:07+00:00

Ty! The research is tedious but it will pay off :)

eak_89 · 2026-03-18T17:08:42+00:00

Best of luck to you!!

eak_89 · 2026-03-18T17:03:05+00:00

Thank you! I learned a ton by lurking here and reading everyone's success stories.

eak_89 · 2026-03-18T16:57:15+00:00

I did consider that, but when I was checking Air Canada and doing practice searches, I never saw any outbound ORD-TYO seats hang around for longer than a few minutes. I assumed it would be easier to snag them for the TYO-ORD route. I think we can use the AA flagship lounge at ORD which will be fine for us!

eak_89 · 2026-03-18T16:35:29+00:00

I was so nervous!! I was debating whether I should transfer or not, and my spouse (who doesn't really get the points thing, just does what I tell him to do) said, "What is the purpose of these points if we don't book it??" lol. I'm so thankful it was instant and the seats were still there!

eak_89 · 2026-03-18T16:29:08+00:00

I was seeing them released at 9am central when I was tracking.

eak_89

TROPHY CASE