All Nippon Airways
How to book All Nippon Airways with points. Best program, saver pricing reality, and the hub-and-route map for the carrier.
All Nippon Airways consistently ranks among the most coveted Star Alliance redemptions, and for good reason. The carrier operates two premium cabin products that punch well above the typical long-haul standard: The Room, its business class suite with direct aisle access and a door, and The Suite, a first class product that competes directly with Singapore Suites and Cathay First for the top position in international premium travel. Accessing either cabin on points requires routing through ANA's dual Tokyo hub structure, with Tokyo Haneda (HND) handling the bulk of transpacific departures and Tokyo Narita (NRT) serving additional US gateways. The combination of a world-class cabin product and Star Alliance connectivity to onward destinations across Asia makes ANA one of the highest-value long-haul redemptions on rewardztravel.com's radar.
The standout program for booking ANA saver awards is Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Virgin Atlantic is an ANA transfer partner and publishes a competitive award chart that prices transpacific business class at rates that compare favorably against most Star Alliance currencies. Saver business class in The Room starts from 47,500 points one way, while saver first class in The Suite starts from 110,000 points one way. Those rates represent strong value against rewardztravel.com's conservative valuations, particularly when you factor in the hard product you are redeeming into. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club also accepts transfers from several major flexible currencies, making it reachable for cardholders who have built up transferable points balances.
On the US departure side, ANA operates transpacific metal on a handful of established gateways. JFK-HND, LAX-NRT, and ORD-NRT are the primary routes where ANA-operated equipment (and therefore ANA premium cabin products) appear. Not every departure on a codeshare itinerary will put you in The Room or The Suite; confirming that the operating carrier is NH and that the long-haul segment is ANA metal is essential before placing any transfer. Routing through HND or NRT also opens onward Star Alliance connections deeper into Asia, which can significantly amplify the value of a single award itinerary.
Availability reality deserves a direct statement: saver business and first class seats on ANA transpacific routes are capacity-controlled, and ANA is not generous with premium saver inventory. The Suite in particular releases very few seats at the saver level, and those seats do not sit open for long when they do appear. Business class in The Room is more commonly available, but "more commonly" is a relative term on a route that attracts heavy award demand from both North American and Japanese frequent fliers. Award calendars can show weeks of closed inventory between brief openings, especially in peak travel windows around Golden Week, summer, and the December-January holiday period. Flexibility in travel dates materially improves your odds, but nothing about this redemption is straightforward from an availability standpoint.
When planning an ANA redemption, the only sound sequencing is to search Virgin Atlantic Flying Club for confirmed saver space first, then transfer points only after the seat is showing available and you are ready to book immediately.
Popular routes from US gateways
Saver award space is capacity-controlled. Most flights release 0-4 saver seats; the routes above represent typical patterns, not guaranteed availability on any given date.
Award strategy
- Search through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club first. Its award chart and search engine usually surface All Nippon Airways saver inventory at the best price.
- Use ±3 day flex on departure dates. Saver awards on All Nippon Airways appear and disappear within hours, especially on peak seasonal routes.
- Confirm the seat is held at the headline price before transferring points. Transfers are one-way; if the seat vanishes mid-transfer the points are stuck.
- Book within the same session as the search when possible. Saver inventory you saw 30 minutes ago may be gone.