Primary pick
Chase Sapphire Preferred
Chase Ultimate
- Welcome bonus
- 75,000 pts
- Annual fee
- $95
after $5,000 spend in 3 months
Japan · Family trip points
Best credit card for a family trip to Tokyo
JAL via Alaska or BA is the sweet spot at 50K round-trip off-peak. Marriott Tokyo and Hyatt Regency Tokyo book reasonably at Cat 5.
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The honest math (family of 4, 5 nights)
300,000
points total · cash equivalent $6,550 · 2.18¢ per point realized
Flights
200,000 pts
JAL Mileage Bank · 50,000/traveler RT
Hotel
100,000 pts
World of Hyatt · Hyatt Regency Tokyo (Cat 5)
The two cards to earn for this trip
Sapphire Preferred earns Ultimate Rewards transferable to British Airways Avios (which book JAL at the sweet spot). Venture X's Capital One miles transfer 1:1 to ANA (and JAL via Alaska), opening two of the three best paths to Tokyo.
Apply for Chase Sapphire Preferred
Pair with it
Capital One Venture X
Capital One
- Annual fee
- $395
FAQ
How many points does a family of 4 actually need for Tokyo?
300,000 points total covers a family of 4 with 5 hotel nights at saver / off-peak pricing — 200,000 for flights (JAL Mileage Bank at 50,000/traveler round-trip) and 100,000 for the hotel (World of Hyatt at 20,000/night). Cash equivalent ≈ $6,550, which works out to about 2.18¢ per point.
Why these two cards specifically?
Sapphire Preferred earns Ultimate Rewards transferable to British Airways Avios (which book JAL at the sweet spot). Venture X's Capital One miles transfer 1:1 to ANA (and JAL via Alaska), opening two of the three best paths to Tokyo.
What if I already have one of these cards?
If you already have one, look at whether you've actually earned that card's welcome bonus and the second-card pick still makes sense on its own. If both are already in your wallet, run the Tokyo math in the Family Trip Calculator with your actual scenario — you may already be close to the point total without a new application.
Should I apply for both at once?
Generally no — space applications 60–90 days apart so each welcome bonus has a clean spend window and neither pulls double-counts against Chase's 5/24. The Family Trip Calculator's earning math assumes one welcome bonus at a time.