On April 8th, changes to the ANA Mileage Club’s international award ticket system were announced. Let’s analyze what points to focus on.
The ANA Mileage Club offers three types of award tickets that can be exchanged with miles: “ANA Domestic Award Tickets,” “ANA International Award Tickets,” and “Partner Airline Award Tickets.” For international flights, the options are the ANA International Award Tickets and Partner Airline Award Tickets.
ANA International Award Tickets essentially can only be used on ANA Group flights. Partner Airline Award Tickets allow access to flights operated by Star Alliance member airlines and other airlines partnered with All Nippon Airways (ANA).
This time, several changes have been announced regarding the ANA International Award Tickets and Partner Airline Award Tickets, which we will analyze (changes will apply to reservations and tickets issued from June 24 onwards).
Increase in Required Mileage
Primarily, when used during high season and for Business Class or First Class, the required mileage will increase. This is slightly different for Partner Airline Award Tickets, which do not have mileage fluctuation based on seasons.
For Japan to Hawaii (high season), the required mileage for ANA International Award Tickets (round trip) will be 65,000 miles for Economy Class (previously 43,000 miles) and 135,000 miles for Business Class (previously 90,000 miles).
The high season between Japan and Hawaii in 2025 is from January 1-3, April 25-May 11, July 18-August 24, and December 15-31 (based on the first leg of the journey for both the outbound and return). These periods include the New Year, Golden Week, and summer vacation.
In April 2024, the required mileage for award tickets focusing primarily on Business and First Class was also increased, marking a consecutive year of mileage revisions.
One-Way Itineraries Supported
Both ANA International Award Tickets and Partner Airline Award Tickets, currently set for round-trip itineraries only, will now support one-way itineraries. The required mileage will be roughly half of the round-trip itineraries.
For example, a one-way Economy Class ticket between Japan and Korea/Russia (low season) will require 6,000 miles, and a First Class ticket between Japan and Hawaii (low season) will require 60,000 miles.
For ANA International Award Tickets, prior to change, transfers within Japan were possible up to two times each for the outbound and return, but now it’s changed to once each way. Therefore, ANA International Award Tickets cannot be used for some local airports in Japan that do not have direct flights from Tokyo or Osaka, where ANA Group operates internationally (example: Rishiri, Tsushima, Fukue Goto).
For Partner Airline Award Tickets, transfers in Japan were possible up to two times, and outside Japan up to two times, within 24 hours. Following the same changes as ANA International Award Tickets, transfers within Japan will be limited to once each for the outbound and return. Outside Japan, two transfers per journey will still be allowed.
In Partner Airline Award Tickets, only ANA-operated flights on domestic sectors in Japan can be used, and codeshare flights with AIRDO, Ibex Airlines, Oriental Air Bridge, Solaseed Air, Starflyer, Japan Air Commuter, Amakusa Airlines will not be eligible. As a result, the Partner Airline Award Tickets cannot be used from some domestic airports in Japan not served by the ANA Group (example: Memanbetsu or Kitakyushu).
End of Star Alliance Round-the-World Award Tickets
These tickets allowed travelers to cross both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans once each by plane and circumnavigate the globe either eastward or westward, with up to 12 flights. This included up to 8 stopovers (a maximum of 3 in Europe and 4 within Japan), and ground travel for up to 5 segments. It was a popular option for many mileage members due to the number of airlines available and its lenient policy.
Key Points to Note!
The key change that stands out is undoubtedly the increase in mileage. It’s striking to see the pinpoint revisions for Business and First Class and usage during high seasons continuing from 2024. On the other hand, for Economy Class and off-peak usage, the mileage increase was minimal. The mileage increase for Partner Airline Award Tickets in Economy Class is also not significant.
However, even with the mileage unchanged, due to seat availability and fluctuations in the fuel surcharge amounts (exceeding 72,000 yen for round trips to/from Europe or the US), one cannot definitively say that the award tickets are in a readily usable situation, so caution is necessary.
Previously, as round-trip use was the assumption, one couldn’t use the ticket if a seat was found on the outbound but not on the return. The difficulty in booking award tickets on routes to/from Europe and the US continued post-COVID, and with support for one-way use, issuing tickets will become easier, and combinations with different airlines will also become easier, increasing convenience.
Other changes may significantly impact those who frequently use award tickets or seek to maximize their use, but for light users who travel a few times a year, the impact seems minimal.
Nonetheless, just as prices in towns are rising, this reflects a trend of mileage inflation. It is undoubtedly wise to plan the use of accumulated miles for a smart journey.
Notice
This article was generated using automatic translation by GPT-4 API. The translation may not be accurate.
