Frequent Miler's latest team challenge, Million Mile Madness, is almost done! The last two weeks Greg, Nick, and Stephen competed to earn 1 Million SAS miles by flying 15 airlines. But who completed the challenge with the most Speed, Affordability, and Style?
ANA Mileage Club sweet spots make ANA the most valuable American Express Membership Rewards transfer partner if you value international travel on Star Alliance airlines, particularly in premium cabins. ANA offers the best pricing to many destinations as seen in our guides to the best ways to get to various regions using miles and they offer an incredible round-the-world chart for those looking to make an extended trip to multiple destinations. While the sweet spots for travel on Star Alliance abound, pricing is even better in situations where you can exclusively fly ANA. Overall, if you can avoid partners with high fuel surcharges and accept the round trip booking requirement and if you only need to book awards for close family members, ANA offers some of the strongest sweet spots in award travel.
A note about first class redemptions
ANA’s pricing sweet spots are decidedly skewed towards business class. First class pricing is most often less compelling. In fact, if you are interested in flying first class on ANA, the best deal using miles comes not from ANA Mileage Club but rather from Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. That’s because Virgin Atlantic charges just 55K each way in first class from the west coast of the US to Japan on ANA or 60K each way for first class from the east coast to Japan on ANA. Booking directly through ANA would cost more miles and ANA would require a round trip booking, whereas Virgin Atlantic now allows one-way ANA first class awards.
ANA’s major quirks: family booking + hard expiration policy
While it is mildly annoying that ANA Mileage Club requires round trip bookings for award flights, the biggest quirk / limitation of the program is the inability to book awards for those outside of your family. ANA only allows a member to book award tickets for the primary member or the primary member’s “spouse or same-sex partner and relatives within two degrees of family relationship”. They define those eligible as your spouse or same-sex partner, children, siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. This means that booking an award ticket for a friend or more distant family member or an employee / nanny / etc would not be allowed per the rules. You need to register eligible award ticket users and their family relationships in advance. My understanding based on anecdotal reports is that unlike Korean Airlines, ANA does not require documentation of your family ties, but YMMV.
The other major downside of ANA Mileage Club is that miles expire at the end of the 36th month after they are earned. New activity does not reset the clock. In other words, once you transfer to ANA, you need to use your miles within 3 years or lose them.
Links to ANA award charts
See award charts for travel on ANA here and for travel on partner airlines here. Note that seasonality (low / regular / high) only applies to flights on ANA and the date ranges for each time period can be found near the top of the page with ANA award charts under “Seasonality charts”.
Collecting miles
Transfer points
The most common way to collect miles in ANA Mileage Club is via transfers from Amex Membership Rewards. ANA is also a Marriott Bonvoy transfer partner which could be attractive for those flush with Marriott points. Keep in mind that transfers to ANA are not instant. This can be frustrating since award availability could change between the time you initiate the transfer and the time when the miles post to your account (typically 2-3 days from Membership Rewards and a week or more from Marriott Bonvoy).
| Rewards Program | Amex Transfer Ratio | Chase Transfer Ratio | Citi Transfer Ratio | Marriott Transfer Ratio | Capital One Transfer Ratio | Brex Transfer Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accor Live Limitless | 1000 to 500 | 1000 to 500 | ||||
| Aegean Miles + Bonus | 60K to 25K | |||||
| Aer Lingus Avios | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 via Qatar | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 via BA | |
| Aeroflot Bonus | 60K to 25K | |||||
| AeroMexico ClubPremier | 1 to 1.6 | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 | 1,670 to 1K | |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 | ||
| Air China Phoenix Miles | 60K to 25K | |||||
| Air France KLM Flying Blue | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 | 1,670 to 1K |
| Air New Zealand Air Points | 60K to 307 | |||||
| Alaska MileagePlan | 1 to 1 via Hawaiian | 60K to 25K | ||||
| Alitalia MilleMiglia | ||||||
| Allegiant | ||||||
| Altitude Points | ||||||
| American AAdvantage | 3K to 1K | |||||
| Amex Membership Rewards | ||||||
| Amtrak Guest Rewards | ||||||
| ANA Mileage Club | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | ||||
| Arrival | ||||||
| Asiana | 60K to 25K | |||||
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 3K to 1K | 1 to 1 | 1,670 to 1K | |
| Best Western | ||||||
| Bilt | ||||||
| Brex | ||||||
| British Airways Avios | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 via Qatar | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 | |
| Capital One Miles | ||||||
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 | 1,670 to 1K | |
| Chase Ultimate Rewards | ||||||
| China Eastern Airlines | 60K to 25K | |||||
| China Southern Airlines’ Sky Pearl Club | 60K to 25K | |||||
| Choice | 1 to 1 | 1 to 2 | 1 to 1 | |||
| Citi ThankYou Rewards | ||||||
| CNB Rewards | ||||||
| Copa Airlines ConnectMiles | 60K to 25K | |||||
| Delta SkyMiles | 1 to 1 plus excise tax | 3K to 1K | ||||
| EL AL Israel Airlines | ||||||
| Emirates Skywards | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 | 1,670 to 1K |
| Etihad Guest | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 | ||
| EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | 1 to 1 | 1000 to 750 | ||||
| Expedia+ | ||||||
| Finnair Plus+ | 1 to 1 via BA | 1 to 1 via BA | 1 to 1 via Qatar | 1 to 1 | ||
| FlexPoints | ||||||
| Frontier Miles | 60K to 25K | |||||
| Garuda Indonesia Frequent Flyer | ||||||
| Go Far Rewards | ||||||
| Hainan Airlines | 60K to 25K | |||||
| Hawaiian Miles | 1 to 1 plus excise tax | 60K to 25K | ||||
| Hilton | 1 to 2 | |||||
| Hotels.comRewards | ||||||
| HSBC Rewards | ||||||
| Hyatt | 1 to 1 | |||||
| Iberia Avios | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 via Qatar | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 via BA | |
| IHG | 1 to 1 | |||||
| ITA Airways Volare | ||||||
| JAL (Japan Airlines) Mileage Bank | 60K to 25K | |||||
| Jet Airways Inter Miles | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | ||||
| JetBlue | 250 to 200 plus excise tax | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 60K to 12.5K | ||
| Korean Airlines | ||||||
| LATAM Pass | 60K to 25K | |||||
| Leading Hotels of the World | 1K to 200 | |||||
| Malaysia Enrich | 1 to 1 | |||||
| Marriott Bonvoy | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | ||||
| Merrill | ||||||
| Miles & More | ||||||
| Multiplus | 60K to 25K | |||||
| OneKeyCash | ||||||
| Other / Unknown | ||||||
| PenFed Rewards | ||||||
| Penny Points | ||||||
| Preferred Hotels & Resorts I Prefer | 1 to 4 | |||||
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 | 1,670 to 1K | |
| Qatar Privilege Club Avios | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 via BA | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 via BA | |
| Radisson Rewards | ||||||
| Royal Brunei Royal Skies | ||||||
| Saudia Airlines | 60K to 25K | |||||
| Shop Your Way Rewards | 1 to 10 | |||||
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 | 1,670 to 1K |
| Sonesta Travel Pass | ||||||
| South African Airways Voyager | 60K to 25K | |||||
| Southwest Rapid Rewards | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | ||||
| Spirit | ||||||
| TAP Air Portugal | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 | ||||
| Thai Airways International Royal Orchid Plus | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | ||||
| Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 | |||
| Uber Cash | ||||||
| UBS My Choice Rewards | ||||||
| United MileagePlus | 1 to 1 | 60K to 30K | ||||
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 | 60K to 25K | 1 to 1 | |
| Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer | 60K to 25K | |||||
| Vueling Club | 60K to 25K | |||||
| Wells Fargo Rewards | ||||||
| Wyndham | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 |
Shopping portal
ANA also has a shopping portal called ANA Global Mall, which features a collection of stores that includes many foreign options as well as popular US favorites. Unfortunately, payout rates tend to be low and awkward compared to conventional portals (i.e. 12 miles per $10 spent rather than a simpler 1.2 miles per dollar spent).
Credit Card
ANA offers an awful credit card that comes with 5,000 bonus miles after first purchase (and occasionally an additional bonus of 3,000 miles after approval). Given the plethora of cards that earn Membership Rewards points and offer better welcome bonuses and return for ongoing spend, the ANA Mileage Club credit card just isn’t worth it
ANA Mileage Club sweet spots (economy class)
Africa
- The short story: ANA has the hands-down cheapest award pricing between North America and Africa/Middle East on Star Alliance airlines (note that they include almost all of Africa in their definition).
- Miles required: 70K round trip in economy class. Fuel surcharges are passed on, but can be avoided with the right partners. Find partners that do not add fuel surcharges in this post.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at United.com (Note: Do not log in — logging in may show you expanded availability based on your credit card or elite status that is not available for partner bookings) or ANA's website (though ANA requires searches to be round trip, so it is easier to find availability by searching one way at United first).
- How to book awards: Book online at ANA’s website.
- Key warnings: You must book round trip. High fuel surcharges are assessed by some carriers, others have none or low fuel surcharges (avoid Lufthansa-group airlines to avoid high fuel surcharges). The ANA website interface is not particularly user-friendly or modern-looking, so it may take some time to get used to the search features.
- No fuel surcharges on: Air Canada, Scandinavian Airlines, Air China, Air New Zealand, Avianca, Copa Airlines, United
- Low fuel surcharges on: ANA, Asiana, LOT Polish, Turkish (higher than the others but low by comparison to some)
- Transfer from: Amex, Marriott
Asia
- The short story: ANA charges incredibly low prices for round trip travel on its own flights, particularly during "low" season, and competitive rates on partner airlines.
- Miles required: From 40K miles round trip in economy class during low season on ANA between the US and Japan (50K regular season / 55K high season). The rest of Asia on partners ranges from 60K-80K round trip. Fuel surcharges are passed on, but can be quite reasonable to/from Japan and some other destinations. See award charts for travel on ANA here and for travel on partner airlines here.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at United.com (Note: Do not log in — logging in may show you expanded availability based on your credit card or elite status that is not available for partner bookings) or ANA's website (though ANA requires searches to be round trip, so it is easier to find availability by searching one way at United first).
- How to book awards: Book online at ANA's website.
- Key warnings: You must book round trip. High fuel surcharges are assessed by some carriers, others have none or low fuel surcharges. The ANA website interface is not particularly user-friendly or modern-looking, so it may take some time to get used to the search features. Low and regular season pricing only applies to itineraries entirely on ANA. Star Alliance awards or those mixing ANA and Star Alliance carriers price at high season rates.
- No fuel surcharges on: Air Canada, Scandinavian Airlines, Air China, Air New Zealand, Avianca, Copa Airlines, Etihad, United
- Low fuel surcharges on: ANA, Asiana, LOT Polish, Turkish (higher than the others but low by comparison to some)
- Transfer from: Amex, Marriott
Europe
- The short story: ANA charges an excellent rate for round trip Star Alliance flights to Europe which is particularly good for those looking to take advantage of a free stopover on a round trip.
- Miles required: 55K round trip in economy class. Fuel surcharges are passed on, but are avoidable with the right carriers.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at United.com (Note: Do not log in — logging in may show you expanded availability based on your credit card or elite status that is not available for partner bookings) or ANA's website (though ANA requires searches to be round trip, so it is easier to find availability by searching one way at United first).
- How to book awards: Book online at ANA’s website.
- Key warnings: You must book round trip (though you can book open jaw and have a stopover). High fuel surcharges are assessed by some carriers, others have none or low fuel surcharges. The ANA website interface is not particularly user-friendly or modern-looking, so it may take some time to get used to the search features. Note that transfers to ANA are not instant. Transfers typically take 2-3 days from Amex Membership Rewards or a week or more from Marriott, so there is risk of award space disappearing while you wait for a transfer.
- No fuel surcharges on: Air Canada, Scandinavian Airlines, Air China, Air New Zealand, Avianca, Copa Airlines, Etihad, United
- Low fuel surcharges on: Asiana, LOT Polish, Turkish (higher than the others but low by comparison to some)
- Transfer from: Amex Membership Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy
South America
- The short story: ANA offers one of the best deals for economy class travel to South America, particularly for those looking toward the southern half of the continent. The catch is that you must book round trip.
- Miles required: 50K miles round trip on Star Alliance carriers between North and South America (United / Copa / Avianca).
- How to find awards: Search for available space at United.com (Note: Do not log in — logging in may show you expanded availability based on your credit card or elite status that is not available for partner bookings) or ANA's website (though ANA requires searches to be round trip, so it is easier to find availability by searching one way at United first).
- How to book awards: Book online at ANA.
- Key warnings: Note that transfers to ANA are not instant. Transfers typically take 2-3 days from Amex Membership Rewards or a week or more from Marriott, so there is risk of award space disappearing while you wait for a transfer. While ANA does pass along fuel surcharges, there shouldn't be any on the Star Alliance carriers serving South America (United, Avianca, Copa).
- Transfer from: Amex, Marriott
ANA Mileage Club sweet spots (premium cabins)
Africa
- The short story: ANA's round trip business class pricing to Africa is very competitive when compared to what most programs charge for the same flights.
- Miles required: 130K round trip in business class. Fuel surcharges are passed on, but can be avoided with the right partners. Find partners that do not add fuel surcharges in this post.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at United.com (Note: Do not log in — logging in may show you expanded availability based on your credit card or elite status that is not available for partner bookings) or ANA's website (though ANA requires searches to be round trip, so it is easier to find availability by searching one way at United first).
- How to book awards: Book online at ANA’s website.
- Key warnings: You must book round trip. High fuel surcharges are assessed by some carriers, others have none or low fuel surcharges. The ANA website interface is not particularly user-friendly or modern-looking, so it may take some time to get used to the search features. Note that transfers to ANA are not instant. Transfers typically take 2-3 days from Amex Membership Rewards or a week or more from Marriott, so there is risk of award space disappearing while you wait for a transfer.
- No fuel surcharges on: Air Canada, Scandinavian Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, Air China, Air New Zealand, Avianca, Copa Airlines, United
- Low fuel surcharges on: Asiana, LOT Polish. Note that surcharges on Turkish are in the $300's each way.
- Transfer from: Amex, Marriott
Asia
- The short story: ANA charges 105K round trip between North America and Japan for business class flights on ANA metal during low season, 110K RT during regular season, or 115K RT during high season. Star Alliance awards are charged at high season rates. A stopover is allowed.
- Miles required: From 105K round trip in business class. Fuel surcharges are passed on, but can be quite reasonable to/from Japan and some other destinations.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at United.com (Note: Do not log in — logging in may show you expanded availability based on your credit card or elite status that is not available for partner bookings) or ANA's website (though ANA requires searches to be round trip, so it is easier to find availability by searching one way at United first).
- How to book awards: Book online at ANA's website.
- Key warnings: You must book round trip. High fuel surcharges are assessed by some carriers, others have none or low fuel surcharges. The ANA website interface is not particularly user-friendly or modern-looking, so it may take some time to get used to the search features. Low and regular season pricing only applies to itineraries entirely on ANA. Star Alliance awards or those mixing ANA and Star Alliance carriers price at high season rates.
- No fuel surcharges on: Air Canada, Scandinavian Airlines, Air China, Air New Zealand, Avianca, Copa Airlines, Etihad, United
- Low fuel surcharges on: ANA, Asiana, LOT Polish, Turkish (higher than the others but low by comparison to some)
- Transfer from: Amex, Marriott
Europe
- The short story: ANA offers one of the best deals around for round trip business class to Europe on Star Alliance airlines.
- Miles required: 100K round trip in business class. Fuel surcharges are passed on, but are avoidable with the right carriers.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at United.com (Note: Do not log in — logging in may show you expanded availability based on your credit card or elite status that is not available for partner bookings) or ANA's website (though ANA requires searches to be round trip, so it is easier to find availability by searching one way at United first).
- How to book awards: Book online at ANA’s website.
- Key warnings: You must book round trip. High fuel surcharges are assessed by some carriers, others have none or low fuel surcharges. The ANA website interface is not particularly user-friendly or modern-looking, so it may take some time to get used to the search features. Note that transfers to ANA are not instant. Transfers typically take 2-3 days from Amex Membership Rewards or a week or more from Marriott, so there is risk of award space disappearing while you wait for a transfer.
- No fuel surcharges on: Air Canada, Scandinavian Airlines, Air China, Air New Zealand, Avianca, Copa Airlines, Etihad, United
- Low fuel surcharges on: Asiana, LOT Polish, Turkish (higher than the others but low by comparison to some)
- Transfer from: Amex Membership Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy
Oceania
- The short story: ANA offers very good pricing for business class between North America and Oceania and also offers a wide range of partner options. You can route via Canada, most of East / Southeast Asia or fly Air New Zealand.
- Miles required: From 130K round trip in business class on ANA metal during low season and from 145K round trip in business class on Star Alliance partners. ANA has eliminated fuel surcharges on many/most of its flights, making routing on ANA an even better deal.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at ANA’s website. (you’ll need to create a free ANA Mileage Club account and log in to search for space)
- How to book awards: Search for available space at United.com (Note: Do not log in — logging in may show you expanded availability based on your credit card or elite status that is not available for partner bookings) or ANA's website (though ANA requires searches to be round trip, so it is easier to find availability by searching one way at United first).
- Key warnings: You must book round trip. High fuel surcharges are assessed by some carriers, others have little to none. The ANA website interface is not particularly user-friendly or modern-looking, so it may take some time to get used to the search features. Note that transfers to ANA are not instant. Transfers typically take 2-3 days from Amex Membership Rewards, so there is risk of award space disappearing while you wait for a transfer.
- Transfer from: Amex
South America
- The short story: ANA offers one of the best deals for round trip business class awards to South America. Unlike other programs, they do not split South America into two regions. The catch is that you must book round trip.
- Miles required: 96K miles round trip on Star Alliance carriers between North and South America (United / Copa / Avianca).
- How to find awards: Search for available space at United.com (Note: Do not log in — logging in may show you expanded availability based on your credit card or elite status that is not available for partner bookings) or ANA's website (though ANA requires searches to be round trip, so it is easier to find availability by searching one way at United first).
- How to book awards: Book online at ANA.
- Key warnings: Note that transfers to ANA are not instant. Transfers typically take 2-3 days from Amex Membership Rewards or a week or more from Marriott, so there is risk of award space disappearing while you wait for a transfer.
- Transfer from: Amex, Marriott
Around the World
- The short story: ANA (a Star Alliance airline) offers an incredible around-the-world award chart that offers some amazing value to those who have the time for a big multi-stop trip.
- Miles required: Varies based on cabin and distance. Business class is probably the sweet spot, with some amazing redemptions possible for 125K, 145K, or 170K miles (see the chart below for all distance bands and prices).
- Award availability: Star Alliance award space is often plentiful for flights outside of the US, making it relatively easy to put together an itinerary once you’ve locked down your flights to and from the US.
- How to find awards: Search united.com segment by segment to find availability.
- How to book awards: Book over the phone with ANA Mileage Club.
- Transfer from: Amex
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I’m seeing availability on both united and aeroplan for business class but not on ANA. Should i call them?
I just booked a round trip award with my ANA miles flying on TAP and Turkish. Do you have any tips on assigning seats for these flights? I’ve gone to the TAP and Turkish sites to enter the PNR I received from ANA but it says I’m unable to access. Is this because I’m trying mere minutes after booking and I should try again in a day or two, or do I have to follow some other process to assign seats?
Thanks for everything!
I’ve booked ANA flights for a few people. It doesn’t.
So, one can book for a granparent but not a grandchild?
Any strong opinion on whether premium economy class is a good deal versus economy? I’m seeing 62k for low season, 72k for regular season on ANA. Obviously biz class is significantly better a deal, but it’s very difficult to find enough award space to travel as a family (3+ seats).
Really helpful post, Nick! I’m curious what your opinion is about travel to Vietnam and Cambodia during December of this year. Both countries are currently not open for tourism, but it is tempting to book now………
Basically biz class anywhere RT or RTW is their sweet spot. But be prepared to pay more in fees than with other carriers… that’s the tradeoff. The other trade-off is in pre-Covid times availability was extremely tight, and they weren’t good at opening up availability 2-3 weeks out like Cathay and JAL would.
Fees are actually pretty reasonable in most cases. Greg recently wrote about pricing out a round-the-world trip via ANA and it had $60 more in fees than United would have charged. Mind you that was an itinerary with *6* segments on a combination of airlines (in his case United, Ethiopian, Thai, and ANA). The airlines where you’re going to pay a lot in fees are Lufthansa Group (Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, Brussels). Most other Star Alliance carriers have low or moderate fuel surcharges (or none in several cases) and ANA’s are very low (like $10 low out of Japan).
I just priced out a USA-Asia RT, fees were around $250. That’s half what they used to be on ANA, used to be $500+, but still more than booking through CX, AS, AA, or EVA. It’s still a great deal no doubt, but who knows when/if they go back to their old fee structure. Given better availability than pre-covid times and low(er) fees, it’s a great time to book on ANA now.
Most of that $250 is taxes that you’ll pay with whomever you book.
As an example, I booked Singapore to Newark on Cathay via Alaska Airlines in fall 2019. I paid $94.XX in taxes and fees one way.
I just now looked up the fuel surcharges to fly from Singapore to Tokyo to Newark on ANA. It was $6 (six dollars!). Otherwise, taxes will be more or less the same (Japan has an $11.90 passenger facility charge and I’m not sure off the top of my head if Hong Kong has a similar fee, so maybe it’s a $17.90 difference total). The rest of the taxes are the same Singapore and US taxes you’re going to pay with any carrier with whom you book. And booking with ANA will save you 12K miles round trip over booking Cathay via Alaska about about ~80,000 miles round trip over booking via Cathay Pacific Asia Miles and either way I’d take an extra $17.90 in fees and keep the miles.
For the sake of fairness, it’s worth noting that on some routes ANA does have more substantial surcharges. For example, Shanghai to Tokyo to the US comes with $164 in fuel surcharges one-way. Ho Chi Minh City to the US is $101 one-way and Bali to the US is $91, so there are some routes where you will indeed pay a bit more. There are also routes where you will pay less (yes, less than six bucks — Tokyo to the US comes with $2.80 in fuel surcharges one-way I kid you not).
You are correct that ANA used to have higher fuel surcharges and that some routes have moderate fuel surcharges still, but my point is that you said to be prepared to pay more in fees and while that is somewhat true in some cases, the mileage savings in many cases makes up for the difference and in other cases it may be a negligible difference. On many Star Alliance carriers, there will be no difference or a pretty slight difference.
How much of a risk is it to have a 2-3 day wait for points to transfer? Is there a way to put the flight you want on hold during that time? A lot can happen in 2-3 days in the crazy world of P&M!
No holds, that’s the difficulty. As to how much of a risk, it depends on what you’re trying to book and how much flexibility you have. If you find nonstop availability on the United flights to Cape Town or Johannesburg, I would say it is a huge risk to wait 2-3 days to book that. You’d need to have the miles already when that pops up. If you’re looking at booking 2 seats to Japan on ANA and you see availability every day for the week when you’re going and don’t much care whether you fly out on Monday or Thursday or Saturday, the risk is much lower (ANA doesn’t randomly flip a switch and turn availability on and off like Delta does, ANA shows what it’s got and then when it’s booked up it’s booked up). So the risk is entirely relative.
For me, it’s not a huge deal. In a more normal world, I’ll probably take a trip to either Europe or Asia every year or every other year and I’m not yet tied to a school schedule and don’t tend to travel during peak summer dates anyway and I have a job where I don’t need to set vacation dates far in advance. There is typically a fair amount of Star Alliance space out there on international routes outside of the middle of summer and given the number of Star Alliance carriers flying to Europe, I know I can make something work at some point, so the expiration isn’t all that scary to me. If my kids were in school and I had a job where I had to bid for my vacation week six or eight months in advance and thus had set dates, etc, it would be a totally different story and this expiration policy would be a big deal to me. I suspect that many readers have a lot of flexibility (either due to being retired or working remotely), but the vast majority of readers are probably closer to my less flexible scenario, which is why I highlight the slow transfer times.
It’s a risk. Trust me!
Thanks- very useful and informative! “New activity does not reset the clock” sounds like a very hard expiration policy. Is there zero way to extend miles? Holding their credit card, using their shipping portal, transferring in more miles, flying ANA, crediting partner flights to ANA?
Correct. Zero way unless you have top-tier ANA elite status. They have extended miles during the pandemic, but in ordinary times there is no way to extend.
But what’s the trick of using ANA to book Star Alliance business class to Europe? I tried a variety dates (near and far) but no availability! Whereas for Asia, there’s always availability when schedule is first released.
Are you searching round trip? Are you seeing seats available at United.com or AirCanada.com? If you are searching round trip on dates when partners have availability and ANA isn’t seeing it, I would call ANA and ask and agent to check the dates when you know there is availability.
Yes, round trip, and United doesn’t have availability either, so it’s not an ANA issue. So the question is really how to score a Star Alliance business seat to Europe? Early birds are not rewarded, it seems.
I guess this might depend on when and where you’re looking. For example, I just looked up Newark to Paris in October and I literally see business class availability on Star Alliance partners every single day in October and every single day in November bar none. Granted, a bunch of that is going to be Lufthansa/Swiss that has high fuel surcharges, but as a single example on October 12th I see availability on Air Canada, Turkish, and LOT Polish (Air Canada has no fuel surcharges, LOT and Turkish are reasonable). Then it’s just a matter of searching the opposite direction.
Contrary to that example, your best bet is to start with the long-haul overseas flights. For example, search Newark to Warsaw to find the nonstop availability on LOT Polish or Newark to Istanbul (or Chicago or Boston or Atlanta or wherever you are likely to connect) to find the nonstop availability on Turkish. Then work on connectors next.
Generally, I find Star Alliance to release a lot of award space to/from Europe. In the current environment, I wouldn’t have been shocked if many just didn’t have inventory loaded yet because of COVID, but like I said I saw tons of availability — in a lot of cases for 4 seats or more – with my first search.
It must be your dates/destination. I’m seeing plenty of availability in late fall early winter.
You are both right Nick and Ed. The dates were the issue. However, I priced out an identical itinerary on both United and ANA. The taxes and fees are $200 on United and $350 on ANA. This is using a hub airport as ANA doesn’t show my home airport either like in Ed’s case. Points are 126k and 88k respectively, so still a better deal with ANA, though less compelling due to the higher fees and less convenient airport.
Which airline(s)?
My bet with the $150 difference is Turkish or LOT Polish maybe. That sounds about right in terms of the fuel surcharge difference. $150 to save 38,000 miles is a heck of a deal. If somebody sold 38,000 miles for $150, I’d be a buyer all day long. That’s less than four tenths of a cent per mile! 🙂
United and Lufthansa outbound and just United on the return, but you are definitely right about the miles! 🙂 Also my URs go towards Hyatt, so this would be a good use of the MRs.
Does booking biz class to Europe depend on award seat availability on the carrier you will be flying on? I’ve been doing research/planning for a trip to LHR in December and find plenty of availability on ANA flying on UA, but UA doesn’t show the same availability. Just want to be sure it’s not the same situation as the TK sweet spots where the availability has to be showing on UA in order to book.
That doesn’t make sense. ANA shouldn’t be seeing seats that United doesn’t show available and ANA has previously been pretty reliable in terms of the space it shows. Have you cross-referenced to see if the same is available to other Star Alliance partners like Aeroplan or maybe LifeMiles? If you see the same seats available via those other programs, I would expect them to also be available to ANA (and I would suspect that you must somehow be missing something on United.com?).
I searched again and I must have missed the flight I was looking for on UA. Now, the problem is I can see availability from my home airport to LHR on UA but it is all mixed class and those don’t show up on ANA. Any work around other than a positioning flight?
I recall mixed class being available on ANA. If you don’t see it online, I’d try calling. ANA agents typically know what they are doing and can get stuff done efficiently.
Great post!