Deal alert: Business class flights to Japan from 48,000 miles

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American Airlines recently implemented dynamic award pricing and while many agree that it’s mostly a negative change for award travelers, you can still find some gems. Today, we’ve found that American Airlines is discounting business class flights from the U.S. to Japan, with prices from just 48,000 miles one-way. These flights normally cost 60,000 miles, so it’s like you’re getting a 20% discount.

You’ll also get to fly on American’s Boeing 787-9, which features one of the carrier’s more premium business class seat.

You’ll be flying aboard an American Airlines 787-9, which is used by the airline for flights to Japan. (Image by JT Genter)

These deals are mostly available at the end of the month, so hopefully you’ll be flexible in your booking plans. Deals appear to be available from many cities, so plug in your preferred departure city into AA.com when searching.

There are seven dates with discounted awards from New York to Japan this month for 48,000 miles:

San Francisco to Tokyo from 48,000 miles:

Los Angeles to Tokyo from 48,000 miles:

Even better, American Airlines just announced it’s eliminating close-in award booking fees — meaning you’ll no longer have to pay the $75 fee for flights that depart within 21 days — just the normal taxes and fees.

If you don’t have enough miles, you can read our guide on how to earn AA miles, although the quickest way is by earning a credit card welcome bonus. You’ll earn 50,000 American Airlines miles when you’re approved for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® and spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months of opening your account. The card also comes with access to American Airlines Admirals Club lounges.

If you need further inspiration on how to use your miles, check out our post on the best uses of AA miles.

If you don’t have any American miles, Delta currently has discounted awards to Japan: you can fly to the country for the just 30,000 miles round-trip in economy.

Let us know if you book a ticket! And subscribe to our newsletter to stay on top of breaking deals like these.

Brendan Dorsey is an editor at Million Mile Secrets. He loves all things travel, points, miles and credit cards. He's worked for TIME and The Points Guy and has appeared on MSN, Yahoo Finance, Readers Digest, USA Today, CreditCards.com and more.

Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)

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