Japan Airlines has made major changes to their frequent flyer program starting in 2024 by introducing a new Life Status program, and tweaking the membership requirements for JAL Global Club. There likely was an overabundance of elites who qualified for lifetime elite benefits by earning JAL Sapphire once, and JAL wanted to rectify the situation (see blog post by TRAICY).
I fortunately was able to qualify for JAL Sapphire through the Fly On program in 2023, and as a Japanese resident applied for JAL Global Club membership by switching my credit card to a JAL Global Club card. While JAL promised that members who were JAL Global Club members in 2023 would keep their status, it remained to be seen how exactly JAL would implement this. We weren’t sure if membership would continue past 2024 just for holding a JAL Global Club credit card or living outside Japan and renewing with miles.
Going into the new program, it was announced your historical JAL activity would be converted to Life Status points. Now it seems like the transition is complete. It appears anyone who was a JAL Global Club member by qualifying in 2023 was topped up to 1500 Life Status points. For example, see my Life Status points. I *believe* this should also apply to non-Japanese residents as well, unless JAL has made an exception for that case. Thus, everyone in this category should be able to keep JAL Global Club and oneworld sapphire indefinitely without any renewal requirement.
It’s not actually too late to join JAL Global Club if you qualified based on 2023 flight activity, as according to the FAQ you have until March 31, 2025 to register.
Q. I qualified for JMB Sapphire based on 2023 flight activity. What is the deadline for enrolling in JAL Global Club under the current JAL Global Club membership qualification requirements?
A. The deadline for applying for JAL Global Club enrollment under the FLY ON Program’s membership qualification requirements is March 31, 2025.
If you wish to become a JAL Global Club member, please submit your application for JGC enrollment during your JMB Sapphire or JMB Diamond membership period.
Please note that members will not be able to join JAL Global Club by qualifying for an eligible FLY ON status based on flight activity in 2024 or onwards.
I’m glad I was able to make it into the program last year to keep easy JAL status, and am looking forward to seeing if I can slowly advance to higher levels!