4 Quantitative Analysis Part II: The Essence of Card Strategy Determined by Daily Shopping Usage
While JAL ticket purchases are a specific type of expenditure, what ultimately determines the superiority of a card strategy is the "daily shopping usage at general merchants" which includes daily food expenses, utility bills, and even high-ticket purchases. By examining performance in this area from multiple perspectives, the true value of each card configuration and their respective break-even points become clear.
Analysis Method
Here, we set the annual shopping usage in a wide range from 1 million to 10 million yen and calculate the total annual return for each configuration. This calculation includes all of the following elements.
Shopping Miles: Calculated from annual usage based on the base earn rate of each card.
LSP: Calculated based on the formula of 2,000 miles = 5 LSP, applying only to earned shopping miles.
Bonus Miles: Includes the "Annual First Flight Bonus (2,000 miles)" common to all JAL cards (assuming at least one flight per year).
Platinum Pro Exclusive Bonus: In addition to the renewal bonus (8,000 miles), 10,000 miles are added at 3 million yen in annual usage, and a total of 20,000 miles are added for 5 million yen or more.
Annual Fee Value Conversion: The effective annual fee for each configuration is converted at "1 mile = 1.5 yen" and subtracted from the total miles earned to calculate the net return (net miles).
Note that in the author's experience, the actual value of miles varies depending on the usage scenario. As a guideline, it is considered to be worth about 1-2 yen per mile for domestic flights, 1.5-3 yen for international economy class, and 2-5 yen for international business class. In this analysis, we consolidate domestic and international flights and use a convenient conversion of "1 mile = 1.5 yen" for all calculations.
Through this comprehensive approach, the true cost-performance of each card, which is not visible from superficial earn rates alone, becomes clear.
Table 3: Comparison of Annual Miles and LSP Earned via Daily Shopping Usage
This table is the core of this analysis and visualizes how the performance of each strategy fluctuates as usage increases. This allows users to refer to the scenario closest to their own annual usage and determine the optimal card configuration.
Insights from the Data
The Dilemma of Hybrid Configurations
As the data shows, the hybrid configuration (using the Saison Platinum Amex in combination) generates the most "shopping miles" and "total annual miles" across many usage brackets due to its high earn rate. While it appears to be an efficient strategy on the surface, it actually has several serious drawbacks. The biggest problem is the
high annual fee. Although the hybrid configuration exceeds the JAL CLUB-A Gold Card in mile earn rate by 0.125%, the difference in effective annual fees reaches 31,900 yen. If you try to cover this difference purely through the earn rate, assuming 1 mile = 1.5 yen, the calculation is as follows.
31,900 yen ÷ (1.5 yen / mile × 0.125%) ≈ 17 million yen
In other words, it would require about 17 million yen in annual shopping usage. This is not realistic, and for most users, the design is one where the returns do not justify the costs.
Even more decisive is the fact that LSP acquisition is zero. No matter how many miles you accumulate, it contributes nothing toward JGC membership eligibility or reaching higher statuses like Star 4, 5, or 6. In other words, this configuration is completely ineffective for "lifetime asset building," which is the core of JAL's loyalty program.
Overall, while the hybrid configuration may have some value for "mileage runners who only chase miles," it is an option with structural flaws for strategic users aiming for JGC or higher status.
The Limits of Platinum Pro
Because the annual fee for Platinum Pro is extremely high, net miles are negative when annual spending is low, making it the worst-performing card among all options.
However, the situation changes completely once annual spending exceeds 3 million yen. Here, the first annual usage bonus (10,000 miles) is added, and when combined with the enrollment/renewal bonus (8,000 miles annually) and the first-flight bonus (2,000 miles), a total of 20,000 miles per year is granted. At this point, Platinum Pro surpasses all other cards in terms of "total annual miles," transforming into the card that earns the most miles.
However, what should be emphasized here is that the reversal in "total annual miles" does not necessarily mean a higher actual return (net miles). Because the high annual fee is always a heavy burden, it continues to trend lower than JAL CLUB-A or CLUB-A Gold when comparing effective returns (net miles).
Also, the net miles of Platinum Pro are always inferior to the same Platinum card, and it only finally approaches them at the 5 million yen annual spending mark.
Even more importantly, the enrollment/renewal bonus miles and annual usage bonus miles earned with Platinum Pro are not eligible for Life Status Point accumulation. Therefore, the LSP accumulation efficiency for daily shopping at general merchants is no different from that of CLUB-A or Gold cards.
The Value of CLUB-A and Gold Cards
The simulation results revealed that for daily shopping at general merchants, JAL CLUB-A is consistently the most cost-effective option regardless of annual spending. The level of effective return (net miles) exceeds other configurations, showing stable performance. The runner-up is the JAL CLUB-A Gold Card, which also reliably secures a high level of net miles.
Furthermore, a major strength of both cards is that they can steadily accumulate the same amount of LSP as the Platinum card group, which requires a high annual fee.
Overall, for daily shopping at general merchants, the CLUB-A and CLUB-A Gold cards are configurations that can be called the optimal solution for users who want to steadily aim for status while keeping costs down.
Strategic Implications
The realistic solution for daily payments is clear. If you want to balance
cost efficiency (net after annual fee deduction) and LSP accumulation, please choose CLUB-A/Gold. Only the "
high-spending segment of 3 million yen or more per year" who want to extremely increase total annual miles should consider Platinum Pro. And the hybrid lacks strategic rationality due to zero LSP and the barrier of the annual fee.
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