FCF Deep Dive: Amex Points Partner ANA Award Program Changes and What They Mean For You (Opportunities Remain)

March 2024
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We uncover the ins and outs of All Nippon’s award chart changes

It’s never great news when an airline raises its award prices, and All Nippon has done just that. The program devaluation takes place on April 18. On a positive note, ANA hasn’t raised award prices for quite a while, but it still hurts. The good news is that ANA is giving some notice for these changes, so you have a chance to burn your miles now.

We thought we’d take a closer look at what the changes mean for you, and if we can dig a few gold nuggets out of ANA’s gray rock.

All Nippon Flight Award Chart Changes

What hasn’t changed? (AKA: the silver lining)

Low-season prices for First Class and Premium Economy to Tokyo will not increase. ANA’s Premium Economy price is typically less than what American and Delta charge for coach.

What has changed?

First Class regular season prices are increasing by 20,000 miles, round-trip. Meanwhile, high-season prices are increasing by 35,000 miles, round-trip.

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Business Class

Low-season prices are increasing by 25,000 miles, round-trip.

Regular and high season prices are increasing by 20,000 miles, round-trip.

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Premium Economy

No change

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Paying with Miles

All Nippon Airways is an Amex points-to-miles partner. If you don’t have ANA or Amex points, you can buy them from Amex for 2.5 cents each and transfer them to its partner, All Nippon Airways.

Given the baseline fare in First Class on the low end is typically around $22,243, you can buy 150,000 Amex Rewards Points for about $3,750. Taxes with the All Nippon Airways loyalty program generally cost $65, so you can use cash to buy points and save up to $18,493, or 83% on your next trip from Chicago to Tokyo.

Savings in First Class

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Savings in Business Class

With a 25% cost increase in Business Class, compare the current savings of 80% to 83% vs future cost savings of 73% to 78%.

Current Cost in Business Class

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Future Cost in Business Class

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Savings in Premium Economy

Given that the baseline fare in Premium Economy typically runs from $3,125 to $5,075, you can buy 62,000 Amex Rewards Points for about $1,550. Taxes with the All Nippon Airways loyalty program generally cost $65, so you can use cash to buy points and save up to $3,525, or 69% on your next trip from Houston to Tokyo.

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ANA Free Award Seat Availability

All Nippon flights using All Nippon miles: All Nippon does not offer award space for departures within 96 hours (four days). However, between five and 15 days from departure, we’ve recently seen low-cost free award seats to Tokyo with availability in First Class from Chicago, and in Business Class from Chicago, San Francisco, Vancouver, and Washington, DC.

We’ve also seen free award seats in Premium Economy for travel all year from Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, and Washington, DC.

All Nippon flights using partner miles: We have not found availability with any partners in Premium Economy. We also have not seen any free award seats using partners Air Canada or LifeMiles miles in any class. Partners United and Lufthansa often have close-in availability.

Our team studied availability over the last 30 days for routes with one to four seats. On the bright side, bags-packed and close-in travelers can often find free award seats. Let’s check how those trends shake out whether you’re using All Nippon miles or partners Lufthansa or United miles. These trends often change, so be sure to check in advance to see how things look.

All Nippon First Class Award Availability Using All Nippon Miles

You are most likely to find free award seats using All Nippon miles for close-in travel fewer than a handful of days, outbound only, on their Chicago-Tokyo route.

All Nippon Business Class Award Availability Using All Nippon Miles to Tokyo from:

Chicago has a handful of days with free award seats for up to four travelers, for close-in travel, round-trip.

San Francisco has a handful of days with free award seats for up to two travelers, for close-in travel, round-trip, and up to four travelers on the return.

Vancouver has a handful of days with free award seats for up to two travelers, for close-in travel, round-trip.

Washington, DC, has a handful of days with free award seats for up to one traveler, for close-in travel, round-trip, and up to two travelers on the outbound flight.

You are most likely to find free award seats for close-in travel, outbound only, on their Los Angeles, Houston, New York, and Seattle routes.

All Nippon Premium Economy Award Availability Using All Nippon Miles to Tokyo

There are free award seats available on each of All Nippon’s eight routes to Tokyo from the U.S.

Using All Nippon miles, routes from Chicago, New York, Seattle, and Washington, DC, to Tokyo have more than a handful of free award seat availability for up to two travelers.

Tokyo routes from Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Vancouver have more than a handful of free award seat availability for one traveler.

You are most likely to find free award seats for up to two people for farther-out travel, rather than close-in travel.

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All Nippon Award Chart Changes for Partner Flights

What hasn't changed? (More silver linings)
Costs for partner travel to Europe and Domestic U.S. travel are not increasing.
What has changed?

Costs for Business and First Class to Tokyo are increasing but not by much. Considering that American’s dynamic pricing for one-way awards costs up to 400,000+, ANA’s increase from 15,000 to 35,000 miles round-trip could be worse.

All Nippon Partner Flights in First Class Old vs New Award Chart

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All Nippon Partner Flights in Business Class Old vs New Award Chart

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Using Partner Lufthansa and United Miles for All Nippon Flights

First Class Using Partner Lufthansa Miles

You’re most likely to find seats using partner United for close-in travel on fewer than a handful of days on All Nippon’s Washington, DC-Tokyo routes.

First Class Using Partner United Miles

You’re most likely to find seats using partner United for close-in travel on fewer than a handful of days on All Nippon’s Washington, DC-Tokyo routes.

Business Class Using Partner Lufthansa Miles to Tokyo from:

Chicago has a handful of days with free award seats for up to two travelers for close-in travel, round-trip, and up to four travelers outbound.

San Francisco has a handful of days with free award seats for up to four travelers for close-in travel, round-trip.

Seattle has a handful of days with free award seats for up to four travelers for close-in travel outbound, and fewer than a handful of days for up to two travelers on the return.

Washington, DC, has a handful of days with free award seats outbound only for up to four travelers, and for up to two travelers on the return.

You’re most likely to find fewer than a handful of days with free award seats for close-in travel, outbound only, on Los Angeles, Houston, and Vancouver-Tokyo routes.

Business Class Using Partner United Miles to Tokyo from:

Chicago has a handful of days with free award seats for two travelers for close-in travel, round-trip.

San Francisco has a handful of days with free award seats for up to four travelers for close-in travel, round-trip.

Washington, DC, has a handful of days with free award seats for one traveler for close-in travel, round-trip, and up to four travelers outbound.

You’re most likely to find fewer than a handful of days with free award seats for close-in travel, outbound only, on Houston and Vancouver-Tokyo routes.

Final Call on ANA’s Program Changes

Some of All Nippon’s price increases are significant, and that’s never great news to hear. The 10 years or so since the last price increase softens that blow, I guess. It’s also worth noting that ANA doesn’t allow awards on one-way flights, only on round trips. Some ANA partners are more generous with this.

Among some silver linings are low-season First Class and Premium Economy prices staying the same. Further, Europe and domestic U.S. partner flight award costs are staying the same, while Business and First Class to Tokyo only show minor increases.

See you up front.

[["First Class to Tokyo From","Current R/T Cost through April 17, 2024","Cost from April 18, 2024","Difference"],["Chicago, Los Angeles, \nNew York, San Francisco","Low/Regular: 150,000\nHigh: 165,000","Low: 150,000\nRegular: 170,000\nHigh: 200,000","Low: No Change\nRegular: 20,000\nHigh: 35,000"]]
[["Business Class to Tokyo From","Current R/T Cost through April 17, 2024","Cost from April 18, 2024","Difference"],["Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, DC, Vancouver","Low: 75,000\nRegular: 85,000\nHigh: 90,000","Low: 100,000\nRegular: 105,000\nHigh: 110,000","Low: 25,000\nRegular/High: 20,000"]]
[["Premium Economy to Tokyo From","Current R/T Cost through April 17, 2024","Cost from April 18, 2024","Difference"],["Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, \nSan Francisco, Seattle, Washington, DC, Vancouver","Low: 62,000\nRegular: 72,000\nHigh: 77,000","No Change","No Change"]]
[["Route","Cost R/T","Cost to Buy Miles","Published Fare","Savings","#colspan#"],["Chicago","150,000","$3,750","$22,243","$18,493","83%"]]
*Based on <a href="https://www.ana.co.jp/en/jp/guide/amc/award/domestic/terms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">low season</a>.
[["Tokyo To/From","Cost R/T","Cost to Buy Miles","Published Fare","Savings","#colspan#"],["Chicago","\n\n\n\n\n75,000","\n\n\n\n\n$1,875","$9,313","$7,438","\n\n\n80%"],["San Francisco","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","$9,314","$7,439","#rowspan#"],["Seattle","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","$9,313","$7,438","#rowspan#"],["Washington, DC","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","$11,342","$9,467","83%"]]
*Based on <a href="https://www.ana.co.jp/en/jp/guide/amc/award/domestic/terms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">low season</a>.
[["Tokyo To/From","Cost R/T","Cost to Buy Miles","Published Fare","Savings","#colspan#"],["Chicago","\n\n\n\n\n100,000","\n\n\n\n\n$2,500","$9,313","$6,813","\n\n\n73%"],["San Francisco","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","$9,314","$6,814","#rowspan#"],["Seattle","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","$9,313","$6,813","#rowspan#"],["Washington, DC","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","$11,342","$8,842","78%"]]
*Based on <a href="https://www.ana.co.jp/en/jp/guide/amc/award/domestic/terms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">low season</a>.
[["To Tokyo From","Amex Partner Cost","Cost to Buy Miles","Published Fare","Savings","#colspan#"],["Chicago","\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n62,000","\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n$1,550","$4,090","$2,540","62%"],["Houston","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","$5,075","$3,525","69%"],["Los Angeles","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","$3,125","$1,575","50%"],["New York","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","$4,125","$2,575","62%"],["San Francisco","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","$3,400","$1,850","54%"],["Seattle","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","$3,483","$1,933","55%"],["Vancouver","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","$3,642","$2,092","57%"],["Washington, DC","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","$4,225","$2,675","63%"]]
*Based on <a href="https://www.ana.co.jp/en/jp/guide/amc/award/domestic/terms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">low season</a>.
[["To Tokyo From","Outbound","#colspan#","#colspan#","Return","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","4 to 8 Days Per Month","9 to 12 Days Per Month","13+ Days Per Month","4 to 8 Days Per Month","9 to 12 Days Per Month","13+ Days Per Month"],["Chicago","June, <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Aug.</span>","","July to Sept., <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Oct., Nov.,</span> Dec., <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Jan., Feb.</span>","March, July","June","Aug., <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Sept. to Feb.</span>"],["Houston","July","","Aug. to Feb.","March to July","Aug.","Sept. to Feb."],["Los Angeles","July, Sept., <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Jan., Feb.</span>","","Aug., Oct. to Feb.","May to Aug.","","Sept. to Feb."],["New York","Aug., Nov., Dec.","Sept., <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Jan., Feb.</span>","Jan., Feb.","May, June, Nov., <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Jan., Feb.</span>","","Oct., Dec. to Feb."],["San Francisco","May,","","July to Feb.","July","","May, Aug. to Feb."],["Seattle","Aug., <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Sept.</span>","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Oct., Nov.</span>","Sept. to Dec., <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Jan., Feb.</span>","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Nov.</span>","<span style=\"color: #009966;\">June, Aug.,</span> <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Oct., Feb.</span>","Sept. to Dec., <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Jan.,</span> Feb."],["Vancouver","July, Aug.","Sept.","Oct. to Feb.","May to July","Sept.","Oct. to Feb."],["Washington, DC","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Oct., Nov.</span>","July, Nov., Dec.,<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\"> Jan., Feb.</span>","Aug., Oct., Jan., Feb.","June, Aug., Sept.","Nov.","Oct., Dec. to Feb."]]
<small>Months in black have at least one seat available; <span style="color: #6699cc;">in blue</span>, at least two seats; <span style="color: #009966;">in green</span>, at least four seats. Remember to use the data as a guide since availability can be volatile…</small>
[["First Class","Current R/T Cost through April 17, 2024","Cost from April 18, 2024","Difference"],["Japan (Zone 1-A)","150,000","170,000","20,000"],["Japan (Zone 1-B)","165,000","187,000","22,000"],["South Korea, Russia 1 (Zone 2)","\n\n180,000","\n\n204,000","\n\n24,000"],["Asia (Zone 3)","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#"],["Hawaii","120,000","135,000","15,000"]]
[["Business Class","Current R/T Cost through April 17, 2024","Cost from April 18, 2024","Difference"],["Japan (Zone 1-A)","85,000","110,000","25,000"],["Japan (Zone 1-B)","90,000","117,000","27,000"],["South Korea, Russia 1 (Zone 2)","\n\n95,000","\n\n130,000","\n\n35,000"],["Asia (Zone 3)","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#"],["Hawaii","68,000","85,000","17,000"]]