How to Book ANA First Class with Points — The Holy Grail Redemption

There are a lot of premium cabin products you can book with points. Most of them are very good. And then there's ANA first class, which exists on an entirely different plane — pun fully intended. The cash price for a one-way ticket from New York to Tokyo regularly exceeds $12,000. The points price, through the right partner? 55,000 miles.

The trick is booking through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, which prices ANA first class at just 55,000 points one-way. No fuel surcharges, just taxes around $200-300. At the cash ticket price, you're looking at north of 20 CPP. That's not a typo.

Getting Virgin Atlantic miles is easy. Amex MR, Chase UR, Citi TY, and Bilt all transfer 1:1. Right now, both Amex and Citi are running 30% transfer bonuses to Virgin Atlantic. That means 55,000 Virgin miles only costs about 42,308 Amex points.

Finding availability is the hard part. ANA releases first class award seats to partners roughly 330 days before departure. The seats are limited and get snapped up fast. Search on United's website to check availability, then call Virgin Atlantic to book. Yes, call — you can't book ANA awards on Virgin's website.

The routes: JFK to Tokyo Haneda and Chicago O'Hare to Tokyo Narita are the main ones with first class cabins. The 777-300ER is the plane you want. Check SeatGuru to confirm which routes operate the right aircraft.

The experience: ANA first class lounge, pajamas and slippers on board, multi-course kaiseki meals, premium sake, a fully flat bed with mattress pad, and Japanese hospitality that borders on telepathic. This is the redemption that turns skeptics into true believers.

Pro tips: be flexible on dates, set up ExpertFlyer alerts, check about two weeks before departure when ANA sometimes releases unsold seats, and if first class is unavailable, ANA business class through Virgin Atlantic is 47,500 miles and still outstanding.