JP miles 102 - redeeming JP miles
This is a sequel to JP miles 101 - earning JP miles., and part of the beginner's guide series. In this edition, we will deal with using the JP miles you've earned, and the areas you need to be careful about. And as I mentioned in that post, while I'll be referencing JP miles in particular through these posts, the main principles are common across virtually all airline mileage programs.
We'll deal with each of these, below. You could also read this earlier post on using JP miles, as a primer.
As a consequence, particularly with the removal of fuel surcharges on Jet Airways operated flights, there have been upward revisions to the number of miles required for several award tickets, compared to before. Having said that, JP miles generally offer quite good value on domestic award tickets, but not necessarily exceptional value.
Jet Airways business class herringbone seats
You will need to have a minimum of 5,000 miles in your JP account (being the minimum redemption cost), and you should have completed at least 2 accrual activities on your JP account (with Jet Airways or its partners). You can calculate the miles required for redemption, here. Domestic redemptions start at 5,000 JP miles, while international redemptions start at 6,500 miles.
The number of JP miles you require for a sector is fixed, ie, it does not vary depending on when you book the ticket. There are no "saver" or other awards, with reduced mileage requirements for award tickets. However, occasionally, there are promotions for discounts on miles required for award tickets. Also, the cash component could vary, particularly on international redemptions (as there is a foreign currency component involved).
JP award tickets can be rescheduled at no additional cost (except the cash component, which may change slightly). Also, cancellations are relatively less expensive, at 500 JP miles per passenger per sector (waived for Gold and Platinum members). These benefits make JP redemptions better than, say, redemptions using Citibank Premier Miles (which translate into revenue tickets but come with applicable restrictions).
You can book award tickets on Jet Airways operated flights, directly on jetprivilege.com, as long as you have the required miles. You could also redeem over phone through their call center, or in person at a Jet Airways office. I prefer doing my award redemptions online, where possible. And because Jet Airways flights are always point-to-point, using the call center doesn't really complicate things, and can be quite easy to use as well.
For instance, I could redeem 37,500 JP miles on MAA-BOM-HKG on Jet Airways operated flights. Or I could redeem 25,000 JP miles for a MAA-HKG direct flight on Cathay Pacific, a partner airline. Going by my value of Rs 0.60 per JP mile, the 12,500 miles saved in taking a direct flight on a partner airline represents a value of about Rs 7,500, which is significant, since the cash component on CX is not that high. However, there are variables that could make a difference based on your requirements - which airline do you want to fly (or are you airline-agnostic), flight timings, other preferences / conveniences, etc.
You cannot book a partner award ticket online, though you can search online for the miles required. Once you know what you need, you will need to email JP at jpredemptions@jetprivilege.com, in order to know your options, finalise your itinerary, and get the booking ticketed. Payments for these happen through Jet Airways' IVR system. In my experience, this can be a rather long process, often taking upwards of a week. Also, you will have to book partner airline award tickets at least 14 days before the intended travel date, so it is essential to plan in advance.
Etihad first class lunch on the A380
Naturally, partner airline bookings can be done only for international flights. However, it cannot be a route that Jet Airways already operates. Again as an example, if I wanted to fly MAA-LHR, I could do that on Jet Airways (MAA-BOM-LHR) or on partner airline Etihad (MAA-AUH-LHR). But I cannot expect a partner airline award ticket on BOM-LHR, since Jet Airways already operates that route.
It is also sometimes more convenient to use partner airline awards, since they are priced uniformly ex-India to a given destination. That is to say, it costs the same number of JP miles for partner airline awards for MAA-LHR or CCU-LHR. However if you want to redeem for Jet Airways flights, you'll have to book the routing as MAA-BOM-LHR or CCU-BOM-LHR, which require have differing mileage requirements for award tickets.
What can JP miles be used for?
As I mentioned in the earlier post, JP miles are a limited-use currency. They can be used mainly to:
- book award flights on Jet Airways
- book award flights on partner airlines
- transfer miles to another user who is in need of miles
- upgrading to a higher class of service (economy to business, or business to first), on a revenue ticket.
We'll deal with each of these, below. You could also read this earlier post on using JP miles, as a primer.
Booking award flights on Jet Airways
This is probably the most frequent use of JP miles. You can use JP miles to exchange for award tickets on Jet Airways' flights, both domestic and international. JP made a few changes to the JP program in the last 18 months, which have resulted in
As a consequence, particularly with the removal of fuel surcharges on Jet Airways operated flights, there have been upward revisions to the number of miles required for several award tickets, compared to before. Having said that, JP miles generally offer quite good value on domestic award tickets, but not necessarily exceptional value.
You will need to have a minimum of 5,000 miles in your JP account (being the minimum redemption cost), and you should have completed at least 2 accrual activities on your JP account (with Jet Airways or its partners). You can calculate the miles required for redemption, here. Domestic redemptions start at 5,000 JP miles, while international redemptions start at 6,500 miles.
The number of JP miles you require for a sector is fixed, ie, it does not vary depending on when you book the ticket. There are no "saver" or other awards, with reduced mileage requirements for award tickets. However, occasionally, there are promotions for discounts on miles required for award tickets. Also, the cash component could vary, particularly on international redemptions (as there is a foreign currency component involved).
JP award tickets can be rescheduled at no additional cost (except the cash component, which may change slightly). Also, cancellations are relatively less expensive, at 500 JP miles per passenger per sector (waived for Gold and Platinum members). These benefits make JP redemptions better than, say, redemptions using Citibank Premier Miles (which translate into revenue tickets but come with applicable restrictions).
You can book award tickets on Jet Airways operated flights, directly on jetprivilege.com, as long as you have the required miles. You could also redeem over phone through their call center, or in person at a Jet Airways office. I prefer doing my award redemptions online, where possible. And because Jet Airways flights are always point-to-point, using the call center doesn't really complicate things, and can be quite easy to use as well.
Booking award flights on partner airlines
This is a less-used feature of JP miles, whereby you can use JP miles to redeem for award tickets on partner airlines, on sectors that Jet Airways doesn't fly. The cash component could be higher because of fuel surcharges imposed by the carrier partner airline. In my view, depending on the sector, partner airline awards can provide some truly exceptional value for your JP miles.For instance, I could redeem 37,500 JP miles on MAA-BOM-HKG on Jet Airways operated flights. Or I could redeem 25,000 JP miles for a MAA-HKG direct flight on Cathay Pacific, a partner airline. Going by my value of Rs 0.60 per JP mile, the 12,500 miles saved in taking a direct flight on a partner airline represents a value of about Rs 7,500, which is significant, since the cash component on CX is not that high. However, there are variables that could make a difference based on your requirements - which airline do you want to fly (or are you airline-agnostic), flight timings, other preferences / conveniences, etc.
You cannot book a partner award ticket online, though you can search online for the miles required. Once you know what you need, you will need to email JP at jpredemptions@jetprivilege.com, in order to know your options, finalise your itinerary, and get the booking ticketed. Payments for these happen through Jet Airways' IVR system. In my experience, this can be a rather long process, often taking upwards of a week. Also, you will have to book partner airline award tickets at least 14 days before the intended travel date, so it is essential to plan in advance.
Naturally, partner airline bookings can be done only for international flights. However, it cannot be a route that Jet Airways already operates. Again as an example, if I wanted to fly MAA-LHR, I could do that on Jet Airways (MAA-BOM-LHR) or on partner airline Etihad (MAA-AUH-LHR). But I cannot expect a partner airline award ticket on BOM-LHR, since Jet Airways already operates that route.
It is also sometimes more convenient to use partner airline awards, since they are priced uniformly ex-India to a given destination. That is to say, it costs the same number of JP miles for partner airline awards for MAA-LHR or CCU-LHR. However if you want to redeem for Jet Airways flights, you'll have to book the routing as MAA-BOM-LHR or CCU-BOM-LHR, which require have differing mileage requirements for award tickets.
Gift and transfer miles to others
You can gift or transfer JP miles to others, ie, to absolutely any other JP member (not necessarily family). Gifts need to be a minimum of 500 miles, in 100-mile increments, costing Rs 1.25 per mile. Transfers are a minimum of 500 miles, in 500-mile increments, costing Rs 200 per 500 miles.
Given how expensive these are, gifts of JP miles should be avoided at all costs. Transfer of JP miles is relatively cheaper, but should be done only in the rarest of cases. Remember, JP miles are already worth only around Rs 0.60 per mile. Transferring them at a cost of Rs 0.40 per mile means you're spending those miles, and paying to spend them, at the same time!
Upgrade awards can be useful when you don't have enough upgrade vouchers, or if you're sitting on a ton of points that you might not use, or have miles that would otherwise expire.
Do write in and let me know if you have an unanswered question, or something that I've missed out on.
Given how expensive these are, gifts of JP miles should be avoided at all costs. Transfer of JP miles is relatively cheaper, but should be done only in the rarest of cases. Remember, JP miles are already worth only around Rs 0.60 per mile. Transferring them at a cost of Rs 0.40 per mile means you're spending those miles, and paying to spend them, at the same time!
Upgrade awards
You can use JP miles for a one-cabin upgrade, ie from Economy to Business, or Business to First, using JP miles. The JP miles required for an upgrade from Economy to Business class, is usually 1.1 or 1.2 times the miles required for an economy award ticket, depending on the fare class of the revenue ticket booked (1.1 at all times for Platinum members). You could refer to the mileage chart here to know more about upgrade requirements.Upgrade awards can be useful when you don't have enough upgrade vouchers, or if you're sitting on a ton of points that you might not use, or have miles that would otherwise expire.
Conclusion
I hope I've been able to provide some clarity on the earning and usage of JP miles. As mentioned earlier, the overall principles I've mentioned for JP miles apply to other airline FFPs also. However, and naturally, each program will have its own nuances and specifics, that you should be careful about.Do write in and let me know if you have an unanswered question, or something that I've missed out on.
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