ANA Mileage Club is the most-underweighted Star Alliance loyalty currency in the US points-and-miles ecosystem. The program's structural quirks — round-trip-only partner award bookings, opaque Japanese-language admin portal, and a transfer-ratio twist that confuses first-time users — combine to push most US travelers toward MileagePlus or Aeroplan instead. But for the specific use case of round-trip Star Alliance business class to Asia, ANA Mileage Club ships at 90,000 miles round-trip for US-to-Tokyo, which beats MileagePlus's post-tightening floor by ~50,000 miles per direction. Here is the practical guide for actually using it in summer 2026.
The round-trip-only quirk
ANA's partner award chart prices in round-trip form, not one-way. A US-to-Tokyo round-trip in business class is 90,000 ANA miles. A one-way is not bookable through ANA's partner-award engine at all — you cannot book outbound on United through ANA and return on something else through a different program. Either you book round-trip ANA, or you do not use ANA points for that trip.
This sounds restrictive but it is actually the source of the program's value. Because ANA prices the entire round-trip at 90,000 miles, the per-direction cost is 45,000 miles equivalent — meaningfully cheaper than the 80K-93K MileagePlus floor for the same Star Alliance metal on the same routes. The trick is having a round-trip travel plan that matches what ANA actually books.
The 90K round-trip matrix
| Origin | Destination | ANA cost (round-trip) | Star Alliance carrier options |
|---|---|---|---|
| US-West (LAX, SFO, SEA) | NRT or HND (Tokyo) | 90,000 ANA miles | ANA, United, Air Canada (limited) |
| US-East (JFK, ORD, IAD, BOS) | NRT or HND | 95,000 ANA miles | ANA, United, Air Canada |
| US-West | ICN (Seoul) | 95,000 ANA miles | Asiana, ANA (limited) |
| US-West | TPE (Taipei) | 95,000 ANA miles | EVA Air, ANA via Tokyo connection |
| US-East | HKG (Hong Kong) | 105,000 ANA miles | ANA via Tokyo connection only |
| US-East | BKK (Bangkok) | 120,000 ANA miles | ANA via Tokyo, Thai Airways |
Why ANA Mileage Club gets ignored
Three things steer US travelers away from ANA Mileage Club despite its strong redemption math:
- The admin portal is partially in Japanese. ANA's "Star Alliance Award" booking interface uses Japanese for some menus and error messages, requires Japan-Time zone calendar selection, and has a search-engine that returns "no availability" when the issue is actually a search-parameter format error. First-time users hit "no availability" results and conclude the program does not work, when in fact the inventory exists.
- Transferable-points transfer rates are misleading on paper. ANA is an Amex Membership Rewards transfer partner at the 1:1 ratio, but the transfer typically takes 1-3 business days (rare for Amex transfers). Capital One Venture also transfers 1:1 with similar timing. Marriott Bonvoy transfers at 3:1 + 5K bonus (60K Bonvoy = 25K ANA). The 1-3 day window during transfer means saver availability that exists at transfer-initiation can disappear before the points land.
- The customer-service experience is worse than Aeroplan or MileagePlus. ANA's US-based customer service team operates limited hours (only weekdays, only US business hours), and phone-booking fees apply even when the route is not bookable online. For US travelers used to Aeroplan's 24/7 English-language support and zero-fee phone bookings, ANA feels like a step backward.
Why ANA Mileage Club is still worth it for the right traveler
For the specific use case of "I am taking a round-trip business class trip to Tokyo this summer, and I have 90,000-120,000 ANA miles or transferable points that can move to ANA," the program is unbeatable. Concrete reasons:
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- Star Alliance partner space is wide. ANA releases generous business-class partner inventory to its own loyalty program. United, Air Canada, Asiana, and EVA Air partner space is structurally easier to find via ANA Mileage Club's search than via United MileagePlus's search for the same flights.
- Stopover policy is generous. ANA's award policy allows a free stopover at one Asian hub (Tokyo, Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong) on round-trip awards. A round-trip US-to-Bangkok at 120,000 miles can include a 7-day Tokyo stopover at no additional cost — effectively two trips for the price of one.
- No fuel surcharges on ANA-operated flights. Unlike Avios on transatlantic awards, ANA Mileage Club passes through minimal fuel surcharges on ANA-operated metal. A round-trip JFK-NRT in business carries ~$100 in cash fees, not the $500+ that BA Avios passes through on equivalent transatlantic awards.
How to actually book the 90K Tokyo round-trip
The booking sequence to avoid the common ANA Mileage Club pitfalls:
- Search on the United MileagePlus or Aeroplan engine first to confirm Star Alliance saver space exists on your target dates. Both programs use the same Star Alliance saver inventory feed as ANA, so if availability shows on either, it will show on ANA as well.
- Search ANA's "Star Alliance Award" page (not the broader award search) directly. The "Star Alliance Award" interface is the only one that surfaces partner-airline business-class space. The generic ANA search will not show partner space.
- Use the "Round Trip" radio button, not "Multi-City." ANA's multi-city engine is broken for Star Alliance partner awards and will return no-availability even when round-trip availability exists.
- Initiate point transfers 5-7 days BEFORE searching, not after. Given the 1-3 day Amex-to-ANA transfer window, never search-then-transfer; always transfer-then-search to lock the points in your ANA balance before competing for the saver window.
- Book through the ANA US English-language portal, not the Japanese portal. The English site URL is ana.co.jp/en/us/ — bookmark it. The Japanese site has different routing-rule defaults and you can accidentally book a more expensive routing.
Earn paths beyond direct transfer
For US travelers building an ANA Mileage Club balance over time:
- Direct ANA flights credit the most efficiently. Domestic and international ANA flights post to your account within 7-14 days at the published mile-credit rate.
- Star Alliance partner crediting. When you fly United, Air Canada, Asiana, EVA Air, or other Star Alliance carriers, you can opt to credit the miles to ANA instead of the operating carrier's program. ANA's per-mile-flown crediting rate is competitive with MileagePlus for most fare classes.
- The Amex / Capital One / Marriott Bonvoy transfer rails. All three accept 1:1 transfers to ANA. Bonvoy is the wildcard — the 3:1 ratio + 5K bonus on 60K transfers turns 60,000 Bonvoy points into 25,000 ANA miles.
For US travelers planning summer 2026 Asia business class travel, having a working ANA Mileage Club balance — even a small one — opens the cheapest Star Alliance Asia redemption in the ecosystem. Build the balance now, watch the Star Alliance saver window throughout summer, and book when both the saver space and your ANA balance line up. Set a Pointify fare alert on your target Tokyo round-trip dates and we will surface saver windows as they open.
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