Bilt Rent Day: JAL Transfer Bonus

Tl;dr: Bilt’s March 2026 Rent Day is one of its best, featuring hefty bonuses on transfers to Japan Airlines. These are great for business class redemptions, but be careful: JAL redemptions can be tricky and the value on economy flights is limited due to fuel surcharges.

Rent Day returns on March 1st. As usual, you can earn double points on card spending (up to 1,000 bonus points) and access special events and offers.

But the highlight is a transfer bonus to Japan Airlines (JAL). The bonus depends on your Bilt status level:

• Blue (base): 25% bonus

• Silver: 50% bonus

• Gold: 75% bonus

• Platinum: 100% bonus

You can also spend $135 in “Bilt Cash” to move up one tier for this promotion. Platinum members can upgrade to a 125% bonus.

JAL Basics

I wrote about the benefits of JAL when Bilt added them as a transfer partner.

JAL offers strong award chart pricing — especially in premium cabins — solid partner awards, modest cancellation fees, and family pooling.

However, fuel surcharges (currently about $200 each way) can eat into value, especially in economy. Points expire after 36 months with no extensions. And there’s a waiting period before you can redeem after opening an account.

Why I will probably transfer points to JAL

I have never flown business class, as even the best deals tend to require more points and cash than I’m willing to pay for the upgrade. But I am strongly considering making an exception here.

I mostly use Bilt points by transferring them to Alaska Atmos and redeeming them on flights to Japan. A one-way economy flight for my wife and me costs 75,000 Atmos points total, plus about $150 in fees.

With a few minutes of scanning JAL’s award calendar I found business class seats for 70,000 points per person plus $200 in cash each. With the Gold (75%) transfer bonus, I could get enough points for two tickets with just 80,000 Bilt points. That means I could pay 5,000 points and $125 per person to move from economy to business class. I think I’m willing to try that for science.

I don’t actually have Bilt Gold, but I’m willing to spend the $135 in Bilt Cash for the bonus. With only the Silver (50%) bonus, it would take 94,000 Bilt points to net 140,000+ JAL points, so that Bilt Cash is worth about 14,000 saved Bilt points, or about $175 worth of points at 1.25¢ each (the value they can be redeemed for in the Bilt travel portal). That’s a very efficient use of Bilt Cash, and I have a healthy amount due to the Palladium’s $300 Bilt Cash sign-up bonus.

Lazy Take 🦥

If you’ve been sitting on a pile of Bilt points and ever wanted to try business class to Japan (or elsewhere — I was too lazy to figure it out but I hear it’s good), this could be an excellent opportunity. But I wouldn’t recommend transferring without a plan—JAL’s hard expiration policy, fuel surcharges, and the possibility of changes to award pricing and availability can make this a risky move if you’re transferring without a specific redemption in mind.