JAL Group, Aeon to Form Alliance
Oct. 10, 2007
The JAL Group and Aeon, one of the largest general retailers in Japan, have reached an agreement to cooperate on a wide range of business activities, the first of which is the creation of two new cards by combining the JAL Group's frequent flyer mileage card JMB Card, and Aeon's WAON Card which has both e-money and credit functions.
The new cards will enable cardholders to accumulate JMB mileage when purchasing goods and services in Aeon stores. Cardholders will be able to exchange JMB mileage for WAON e-money which can be used to purchase products and services at Aeon stores. The new cards will be introduced in the Japanese domestic market from March 2008. Up until March 2009, there will be no card issuance fee. No annual card will be charged.
Cardholders can convert 200 yen into 1 JMB mile when using the WAON e-money function. Conversely, cardholders can convert from a minimum of 10,000 JMB miles into an equivalent of 10,000 WAON point. When using the credit card function available on the Aeon JMB Card for every 1,000 yen spent, 5 JMB miles can be accumulated.
JAL and Aeon will also cooperate in other ways to further improve the quality of their products and services in order to increase customer choice, convenience and satisfaction. The companies will work together to expand sales of their branded products and services through each others sales channels. The companies are also looking at ways of jointly promoting and developing products, for example, the JAL Group's air travel products.