Mastering ANA Sweet Spot Awards: Your Guide to Smarter Travel

When it comes time to redeem your hard-earned points and miles for award flights, there are not many rewards programs that can offer you as much value as All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mileage Club can.

ANA is Japan’s largest airline and is part of the Star Alliance, opening up opportunities with a range of carriers including United Airlines, Air Canada, Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and more. ANA also has a wide selection of additional non-alliance partners, from Virgin Atlantic to Etihad Airways.

Unlike most airlines today, ANA still uses a zone-based award chart for its own flights as well as for partner-operated award flights. While you can book only round-trip award fares with ANA, they offer some of the lowest award rates for economy, premium, business- and first-class international flights you can find. You can also easily use ANA transfer partners to amass miles in its rewards program for award flight bookings.

Let’s look at how to navigate ANA’s award chart to score some of its sweet spot awards, as well as check out ANA award availability trends.

Why ANA Mileage Club Beats Other Airline Programs

ANA offers some of the most luxurious and sought-after premium-class products on the market: its famous business class suite, “The Room,” and its first-class suite, “The Suite.”

These luxurious cabins offer a memorable experience when flying internationally that makes ANA award fares valuable to seek out for their own sake. You’ll enjoy significant privacy and space to stretch out, combined with stellar in-flight service that makes flying ANA worthwhile.

ANA Mileage Club is also particularly valuable due to its zone-based award structure.

Unlike most airlines that have switched to dynamically-priced award fares, ANA has retained a zone-based award chart for both its partner-operated award flights and its own award flights. While its own award fare prices are influenced by seasonality, you can still score competitively-priced award fares, particularly during low seasons of travel demand.

ANA is a member of the Star Alliance, which opens up the opportunity for award flights through a massive partner network. The best part is that you can book these fares using ANA’s zone-based partner award chart—which isn’t influenced by seasonality (unlike its own flights)—enabling you to avoid exorbitant award rates during peak travel seasons. You can book low-priced award fares to most corners of the globe through ANA’s extensive partner network, regardless of the season.

This gives ANA Mileage Club an edge compared to other airline rewards programs and means that it has the potential for many sweet spot redemptions.

Zone-Based Award Structure

ANA Mileage Club uses a zone-based structure for its award charts.

For its International Flight Rewards chart—the chart used to price ANA-operated award flights—the world is split up into the following zones:

For ANA’s Partner Flight Awards chart—the chart used to price award flights operated by ANA’s partner airlines—the following zones are used:

For both ANA rewards charts, the price of the fare is determined by which zones you’re traveling between, instead of the exact distance. This can save you a number of miles, depending on where exactly you’re traveling from and to. For instance, East Coast-based flyers heading to Japan will pay the exact same rates as those based on the West Coast, instead of having to pay more under a typical distance-based award chart.

For ANA’s International Flight Rewards chart, pricing is determined by seasonality. This refers to whether you’re flying during low, regular or high seasons of demand, and will increase or decrease the price of your award fare accordingly. You can find the ANA seasonality charts on its website. Seasonality differs depending on the zones you’re travelling between, due to differences in national holidays, weather and other factors that influence demand for air travel.

For example, for flights between Japan and North America (Zone 6) or Europe and Russia (Zone 7), the following seasonality dates apply, where L = Low season, R = Regular season and H = High season.

So wherever you’re flying to and from, the seasonality of each segment of your itinerary will affect your award pricing.

You could fly economy from the U.S. to Japan and back for 40,000 miles in low season, 50,000 miles in regular season and 55,000 miles in high season. Likewise, you could fly business from the U.S. to Japan and back for 100,000 miles in low season, 105,000 miles in regular season and 110,000 miles in high season.

Whatever way you cut it, these are excellent award rates for a transpacific flight, even with high-season prices.

ANA’s Partner Flight Awards chart is somewhat simpler, as seasonality isn’t involved—its award fares are priced purely based on zones and class of service.

For instance, the same flight from the U.S. to Japan and back booked through ANA’s partner airlines would cost you 50,000 miles in economy, 110,000 miles in business and 170,000 miles in first class, regardless of when you fly.

That makes it most lucrative to book ANA’s partner-operated flights during periods of peak travel (high season) and to book ANA-operated award flights during low and regular travel seasons.

Hidden Sweet Spots in ANA’s Award Charts

Sweet spot awards abound with ANA, making it ideal for flying around the world in business and first class for relatively low award rates.

Let’s take a look at a few ways you can find ANA sweet spots, whether it’s on flights to Japan, within Asia or on partner-operated flights to Europe, Oceania, South America and beyond.

U.S to Japan in Business Class

If you’ve been wanting to visit the Land of the Rising Sun, you’ll be pleased to know that ANA award rates to Japan from the U.S. are extremely lucrative.

The following award rates apply to ANA-operated award flights between Japan and North America:

During the low season, you can find business-class award fares for 100,000 miles for a round-trip flight to Japan. Even if you booked during the high season, you’d pay just 10,000 miles more in total for a round-trip business-class award fare.

What’s more, you’ll pay the same regardless of where you’re flying from in the U.S. Whether you’re based in Los Angeles, New York or Chicago, you’ll pay the exact same rates to get to Japan, as North America is treated as a single zone.

For example, from Los Angeles (LAX) to Tokyo Haneda (HND) and back, you’ll pay 100,000 miles in low season.

For a round-trip flight from Chicago-O’Hare (ORD) to Tokyo Haneda, you’ll also pay 100,000 miles in low season.

And a round-trip fare from New York (JFK) to Tokyo Haneda in low season is still just 100,000 miles.

U.S. to Australia in First Class

Another lucrative use of ANA-operated award flights is flying round-trip from the U.S. to Australia.

For ANA-operated award flights from North America (Zone 6) to Oceania (Zone 10), the following award rates apply:

You could fly economy round-trip to Australia from the U.S. for as low as 60,000 miles in the low season, with a connection in Tokyo. Alternatively, you could pay between 210,000 and 260,000 miles—depending on the season—to fly in ANA’s world-famous first class to Australia and back.

Here’s an example itinerary from New York to Sydney (SYD) and back in The Room business class during the regular season, with a connection in Tokyo Haneda, costing 137,000 miles in total.

U.S. to Asia in Business Class

ANA offers lucrative award rates for traveling further within Asia.

If you want to book a flight to Singapore, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Yangon, Jakarta, Mumbai, Delhi, Hanoi, Kuala Lumpur, Phnom Penh or Chennai (Asia 2 zone), you can do so through ANA with a connection in Tokyo.

You’ll pay the following award rates for ANA-operated flights from the U.S. to destinations within the Asia 2 zone:

That means you could reach far-flung destinations in Asia, from India to Vietnam and beyond, for just 55,000 miles round-trip in low season. Alternatively, if you want to fly to Asia and back in style, round-trip business-class award fares would set you back between 125,000 and 135,000 miles, while first-class award fares would set you back 195,000 and 245,000 miles—depending on the season you fly in.

You could fly from Chicago to Kuala Lumpur in business class round-trip, with a connection in Tokyo Narita, for just 132,000 miles.

Alternatively, you could fly in style in first class in ANA’s The Suite to Tokyo Narita, then fly onward in its standard first-class cabin to New Delhi (DEL), and then back to New York via Tokyo, for 215,000 miles in regular season. That’s not too shabby a price for over 56 hours combined in ANA’s first-class cabin.

Once you’re in Asia, you can take advantage of competitive award rates to fly within Asia (Asia 1 and Asia 2).

Partner-Operated Awards to the Middle East, Africa, Europe and South America

As a member of the Star Alliance, ANA offers a wealth of partner airlines and additional destinations that you can book using ANA miles. These awards are particularly lucrative to book during peak travel seasons, when dynamically-priced award rates typically soar in price.

For example, you can fly from North America to Europe and back for the following round-trip award rates:

• Economy: 55,000 miles
• Business: 100,000 miles
• First: 165,000 miles

If you can score award fares with Star Alliance partners such as United Airlines, TAP Air Portugal and LOT Polish Airlines, you’ll avoid the often high surcharges of other partners such as Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Swiss Air Lines, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) and Brussels Airlines.

You could fly business from the U.S.—West or East Coast—-to Europe and back for just 55,000 miles in economy, 100,000 miles in business or 165,000 miles in first class. These are highly competitive rates, particularly during peak travel dates.

Alternatively, if you want to fly to Africa and the Middle East, taking advantage of partner airlines like Ethiopian, South African Airways and Etihad Airways could score you low award rates. You’ll pay the following rates for round-trip award fares from North America to the Middle East and Africa on partner-operated flights:

• Economy: 70,000 miles
• Business: 130,000 miles
• First: 210,000 miles

Scoring round-trip tickets in Etihad’s world-famous first-class cabin for 210,000 miles is a bargain. Likewise, flying to Africa or the Middle East for just 70,000 miles in economy or 130,000 miles in business, there and back, is a sweet deal.

If a South American adventure is calling you, ANA offers the opportunity to take advantage of its South American partners Avianca and Copa Airlines, as well as United, to find low award rates.

The following rates apply to partner-operated award flights from North American to Central and South America:

• Economy: 60,000 miles
• Business: 96,000 miles
• First: 180,000 miles

Whether you want to explore Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Peru or beyond, getting there and back for 60,000 miles in economy, 96,000 miles in business or 180,000 miles in first class is a solid deal.

One of the best aspects of booking partner-operated award flights through ANA Mileage Club is the ability to add stopovers and book open jaw itineraries. You can add one stopover on either the outbound or return leg of your journey. Similarly, as ANA allows you to book open jaw itineraries, you can depart from and return to different cities, as long as they’re in the same country.

Expert Guide to Finding ANA Award Space

Given ANA’s lucrative award rates combined with its world-famous first-class product, its award fares are highly sought-after. For this reason, it can be challenging to find award availability with ANA.

ANA releases award seat availability 355 days before takeoff, and data points show that early booking is critical to securing award fares. According to Mighty Travels Premium, data indicates that in 2024, 73% of successful ANA business-class award bookings were made at least nine months in advance, with the 11-month mark being the crucial booking window period.

Savvy travelers and points and miles enthusiasts are aware of how limited ANA’s availability can be, meaning that award fares can disappear within minutes of them being released.

Therefore, it’s critical that you search for ANA award fares well in advance.

Award Search Tools and Methods

When searching for award availability with ANA, you can use ANA’s website as well as other Star Alliance partners’ sites. Namely, you can search for ANA award fares through United Airlines MileagePlus and Air Canada Aeroplan.

Searching for award fares across multiple Star Alliance websites enables you to cross-check availability to avoid the annoyance of phantom availability.

The first option is to search for award fares directly through ANA’s website. One of the plus points of ANA’s website is that it shows more accurate results than other Star Alliance partner websites. On top of this, it enables you to do week-long searches as well as search for multiple segments when booking more complex itineraries.

You can also take advantage of ANA’s International Award Calendar to search for award availability by month. Simply enter your departure and arrival points as well as your desired class of service to find which dates have award seat availability.

The main drawback to ANA’s website and award booking structure is that you can only book—and thus search for—round-trip fares. This makes it more difficult to find award travel, meaning you’ll need to be as flexible as possible with your travel dates.

The second option is to perform an award search through United Airlines’ MileagePlus website. United boasts accuracy and ease of use, enabling you to search for award fares by month. This month-long overview can make it easier to search for award availability than with ANA’s week-long search function.

United doesn’t require you to have an account to perform an award search. That makes it easier to begin searching for potential travel dates compared to ANA’s website, which requires that you have an account.

Air Canada Aeroplan is another solid Star Alliance search engine for searching for ANA award fares. You can perform week-long award searches with relative accuracy. It also allows you to block mixed-cabin awards if you want to fly in the same class from start to finish.

Using a combination of all three websites can help you to filter out phantom award availability, as well as get the best overview of potential travel dates. Some users have reported that ANA’s algorithm hides premium-cabin award seat availability if you perform many searches repeatedly. That can make searching for award space through a Star Alliance partner a safer option.

Premium Cabin Award Tracking

Premium cabin award tracking begins with planning your itinerary well in advance. Given that ANA awards seats—for flights departing in 355 days—can be snapped up in a matter of minutes, you need to keep your eye on the ball and be ready to pull the trigger come booking time.

If the flight you want to take has no award availability, you can opt to be added to ANA’s waitlist for that flight. If a seat then becomes available, ANA will notify you. You’ll be required to pay for your fare within three days of confirming it. You can apply to be added to waitlists for flights up to two days before their departure.

Generally speaking, there’s no conclusive evidence as to the best times to search for business-class awards. Some users have suggested that there’s more award seat availability during the shoulder seasons, while others have suggested that ANA releases more award seats during periods of peak demand.

Your best bet for securing ANA premium award fares is to find them as early as possible. Failing that, you can also use services like ExpertFlyer, Point.me, Pointhound, Roame, Seats.aero and Awayz to help you find premium award fares with ANA as well as receive real-time notifications when space becomes available. Keep in mind that these are paid services.

Maximizing ANA Rewards for Premium Cabins

While ANA has one of the most lucrative award charts out there, it comes with quite a few rules and stipulations.

When booking ANA-operated award flights that originate in Japan, you aren’t able to book any stopovers. However, ANA-operated award flights that originate outside of Japan, as well as partner-operated award flights originating in any country, can have one stopover as well as open jaw itineraries.

For ANA around the world ticket award itineraries, you can book a maximum of eight stopovers, with a maximum of three in Europe and four in Japan.

There are also rules pertaining to where you can and can’t have connections, depending on your departure and destination points. ANA further categorizes certain countries and continents into three areas, with the following chart displaying the areas in which you can’t have connections based on your destination and departure areas.

For instance, you couldn’t fly from Europe (Area 2) to Africa (Area 2) with a connecting flight in North America (Area 1) or Japan (Area 3). However, you could have a connecting flight anywhere in Area 2, including Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Russia (west of the Ural Mountains).

These rules are related to the fact that the mileage requirement can’t be higher for the flight from the departure point to the connection point, nor from the connecting point to the destination point, than from the departure to the destination point. A simple example makes this clear: If you wanted to fly from Tokyo to Honolulu, you couldn’t have a connecting flight in New York, as the mileage requirement from Tokyo to New York is higher than that of Tokyo to Honolulu.

When it comes to planning open jaw itineraries, keep in mind that the departure and destination points must be in the same country and area. Thankfully, unless the entire itinerary takes place within Europe, Europe is considered as a single country. The same applies to Denmark, Sweden and Norway, with all three being treated as Scandinavia. Likewise, the U.S. and Canada are treated as a single country in this respect.

These definitions create awesome opportunities for open jaw itineraries. You have lots of room to play around with itineraries and stopovers using ANA’s definitions, giving you greater opportunities to find flights with premium award space.

Your Journey to ANA Sweet Spot Mastery Starts Here

ANA Mileage Club might not be the first rewards program that springs to mind when it comes to booking flights. However, it offers one of the most lucrative award charts for both its own award flights and partner-operated award flights, as well as the potential to add stopovers and create open jaw itineraries.

If you can find ANA reward availability, the fares can be worth their weight in gold.

So, if you have a stash of Amex Membership Rewards points, consider transferring them to ANA Mileage Club for your next award trip, be it to Japan, Europe, Africa, the Middle East or even as far as Australia or New Zealand.