Starting from June 24, 2025 (JST), Star Alliance will no longer issue new Round the World award tickets. Any Round the World award tickets issued up to June 23, 2025 will remain valid until their ticket expiration date, including any applicable changes.

At the same time, ANA is implementing significant changes to its award program. The airline will increase the cost of many award tickets on its own flights for travel booked June 24, 2025 onward.

On a more positive note, ANA will finally introduce one-way awards priced at half the cost of roundtrip tickets, applying to both ANA flights and partner awards. This will give travelers more flexibility with their bookings.

ANA Award Chart

This update follows a previous devaluation of ANA’s Star Alliance awards that occurred a year ago.

Our Take

While ANA Mileage Club has always offered attractive redemption rates, the program has presented practical challenges for many travelers. Among major transferrable bank currencies, ANA only partners with American Express Membership Rewards. The program doesn’t allow award holds, and point transfers typically take 24-72 hours depending on when they’re initiated.

This creates a common dilemma: travelers must find award space, transfer points, and then hope the space remains available by the time the booking can be completed. To avoid this issue, travelers need to maintain a balance in their ANA account, but with miles expiring after 36 months and limited extension options, this presents another challenge for occasional travelers.

That said, it’s sad to see ANA’s Round the World bookings go away because these bookings provided tremendous value from Amex points. You could visit several countries for far less points than you would spend if you booked the flights individually. On the other hand, this isn’t that unexpected given that other airlines have also stopped the ability to book round-the-world tickets in recent years. And although this is sad news, the ability to book one way tickets is a welcome change that offers more flexibility, something that travelers have wanted for years.