ANA Mileage Club Sweet Spots: Star Alliance Value, With Real Fine Print

What ANA Mileage Club is

ANA Mileage Club is All Nippon Airways' loyalty program and a Star Alliance member. You can redeem on ANA's own flights and on Star Alliance partners (United, Lufthansa, and more). ANA uses two different award charts — one for ANA-operated flights and a separate partner chart — and the rules differ between them in ways that matter. Because ANA has revised its charts before, the numbers below are typical — confirm live.

Why ANA is valuable — and the fine print

• Low round-trip pricing on the partner chart — US–Japan business has historically been a standout, and ANA's own long-haul business ("The Room") releases well to members.
• Generous stopover and open-jaw rules on partner round-trip awards. ANA's distance-based Round-the-World Star award, long the program's most-written-about product, was discontinued on 23 June 2025 and can no longer be issued — ignore any guidance that still recommends it. Ambitious multi-stop trips.
• Partner awards were round-trip only until June 2025. That rule has been repealed and one-ways now price at exactly half the round trip. Older guidance still says otherwise. You generally can't book a one-way on partners; plan a round-trip.
• Fuel surcharges apply on ANA-operated flights (and some partners like Lufthansa), so the cash portion can be significant — no-surcharge Star programs sometimes win on ANA-alternative metal.

The best ANA sweet spots (typical — confirm live)

These have historically been ANA's strongest redemptions. ANA has adjusted its charts, so do not treat these as fixed — verify current pricing before you plan. Figures are typical round-trip on the partner chart unless noted.

ANA sweet spots (typical round-trip — confirm live; charts have changed).

Redemption	Cabin	~Miles (round-trip)	Notes
US ↔ Japan (ANA metal)	Business	~85,000–90,000+ (regular)	The classic; low season cheaper. Fuel surcharges apply on ANA
US ↔ Japan (ANA metal)	First ("The Suite")	~120,000–150,000+	Aspirational; limited space, surcharges apply
US ↔ Europe (Star partners)	Business	~88,000+ (regular)	Round-trip only; route on no-surcharge partners where possible
Round-the-World (Star)	Business	Discontinued	No longer issued as of 23 June 2025 — listed only so older guidance can be recognised as out of date
US ↔ Asia beyond Japan	Business	~zone/distance pricing	Connect via a Star hub; compare against partners' own programs

For a Japan trip specifically, pair this with the destination and route guides: Japan on points and LAX to Tokyo on points. And because ANA charges surcharges on its own metal, always compare a no-surcharge Star program like Aeroplan for partner segments.

How to earn ANA miles — and the timing trap

• Amex Membership Rewards is the main US route (typically 1:1), but transfers are slow — historically a few days, sometimes longer. Never transfer at the last minute or after you've only "held" space that may vanish.
• Marriott Bonvoy also transfers to ANA (at the usual hotel-to-airline ratio, with a bonus per 60,000).
• Miles carry a hard expiry — commonly cited as 3 years from earning, with no reset for activity; confirm the current policy on ANA's own site. Don't stockpile far ahead of a trip.
• Confirm award space before transferring — and given the slow transfer, be sure the space is genuinely bookable. Transfers are one-way and permanent (see Amex transfer partners and transfer bonuses).

Transfers into ANA Mileage Club

• American Express Membership Rewards — 1:1

Common mistakes

• Relying on outdated round-trip-only guidance. One-way partner redemptions have been permitted since June 2025 at half the round-trip price; plan the whole trip.
• Transferring Amex points at the last minute. ANA transfers can take days — space can disappear before the miles land.
• Ignoring fuel surcharges on ANA metal. They can add meaningful cash; a no-surcharge Star program may be cheaper all-in for partner segments.
• Treating old sweet-spot numbers as current. ANA has changed its charts; verify pricing before you plan.
• Letting miles expire. The 3-year hard expiry is unforgiving — earn close to when you'll redeem.

Cash vs. points

• Business to Japan: often points, given high cash fares — but subtract ANA's fuel surcharges and compare against a no-surcharge Star alternative.
• Complex multi-stop trips used to be ANA's speciality via the Round-the-World award, but it was discontinued in June 2025. Build them from separate partner awards instead, if you can navigate the rules.
• Economy: usually cash — award economy plus surcharges rarely beats a cash fare.

Weigh it with the points vs. cash framework, and see best business class under 60,000 points for how ANA's business fits the broader value picture.

How Beyond Points helps

ANA is a program where the fine print decides everything: steep fuel surcharges, one-ways now permitted at half the round trip, slow transfers you must time correctly, surcharges that can flip the value, changing charts, and hard-expiring miles. Getting real value means confirming current pricing and space, then choosing ANA only where it genuinely beats a simpler no-surcharge Star program.

Beyond Points weighs ANA against the other Star programs that book the same metal, and against live cash fares, then tells you when ANA's round-trip pricing is worth its rules, and when Aeroplan, United, or cash is the smarter call.

Conclusion

ANA Mileage Club remains one of Star Alliance's most rewarding programs — especially for round-trip business to Japan — but only if you respect the fine print: partner awards are round-trip only, ANA metal carries surcharges, Amex transfers are slow, miles expire at three years, and the charts have changed. Verify current pricing and space, time your transfer, compare against no-surcharge alternatives, and ANA can still deliver some of the best value in the sky.