Citi ThankYou members have a new toy. Japan Airlines Mileage Bank has joined Citi's list of airline transfer partners, and to mark the launch Citi is running a 30% transfer bonus until Oct. 24. Every 1,000 Citi points moved across becomes 1,300 JAL miles.

Transfers happen at 1:1 from cards like the Citi Strata Elite and Citi Strata Premier. Cardholders with no-annual-fee ThankYou cards can also transfer, though at a weaker 1:0.7 rate. In a test transfer, 1,000 points converted to 1,300 JAL miles and posted instantly.

The headline use case is obvious: lie-flat business class from the U.S. to Japan. When JAL releases seats at its 55,000-mile award level, the bonus means you can book it with just 43,000 transferred Citi points plus taxes and fees — among the cheapest ways to cross the Pacific up front. Availability is the catch; seats at that price tend to appear close to the end of JAL's bookable schedule, so flexibility helps.

Here's the practical bit: open a Japan Airlines Mileage Bank account now even if you're not ready to move points. JAL blocks members from redeeming miles for the first 60 days after signing up, so waiting until you spot the perfect award could cost you the booking.

The fun doesn't stop at Tokyo. JAL miles work on Oneworld partners like American Airlines and British Airways, plus non-alliance carriers such as Air France, and the program's distance-based partner pricing produces some genuinely odd bargains. A round-trip British Airways business-class award from Houston to London priced through JAL came out at 85,000 miles — not double the 60,000-mile round-trip figure you'd expect. With the bonus, that's roughly 66,000 Citi points, versus the 220,000 Avios and $1,176 British Airways itself would charge for the same trip. Cash surcharges on BA metal are still painful, but the mileage cost is hard to beat.

Domestic sweet spots exist too. Houston–Dallas return on American Airlines costs 12,000 JAL miles and $11.20 — and JAL charges the same 12,000 miles whether you fly it one-way or round-trip. With the 30% bonus, that's about 10,000 transferred Citi points for a return domestic flight.

One caution before you move a pile of points: transferred miles expire after 36 months in your JAL account, and with Bilt, Capital One, Rove and now Citi all feeding the program, popular awards are getting more competitive. Transfer when you have a specific redemption in mind, not on spec. But if you've been sitting on Citi points dreaming of a flat bed to Tokyo, this is one of the better windows in a while. — The Points Guy