Update, 04/09: ANA has updated the award chart that will go into affect this Sunday, April 12th. They seem to have taken a page out of Delta’s playbook with the devaluation of an award chart before the award chart even came into play.
I’ve crossed out the rates from the original chart and posted the new rates that will go into effect on Sunday.
Additionally, ANA has announced that they will be keeping their current distance based award chart, but it will only be useable as a round-the-world award. That means you can only fly around in the world in one direction, going either eastward or westward. The minimum trip length is 10 days. You are allowed to take a whopping 8 stopovers on that award.
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Originally posted on 11/05/14:
Star Alliance carrier ANA will transition from a distance based program to a region based program on 04/12/15.
Last January ANA stopped charging fuel surcharges for travel on United for all regions except the far east.
That made for some incredible redemptions.
Here is the current ANA award chart (You can check distances on GCMap.com):
Effective for bookings made on or after 04/12/15 ANA will use this new region based award chart for partner awards.
Per FT, here are the region definitions:
Zone 1A – Japan, The international sector on a journey of only two sectors
Zone 1B – Japan
Zone 2 – South Korea
Zone 3 – China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Manila, Guam
Zone 4 – Other Asia
Zone 5 – Hawaii
Zone 6 – North America, Alaska, Canada, Mexico
Zone 7 – Europe, Russia
Zone 8 – Africa, Middle East
Zone 9 – Central and South America
Zone 10 – Oceania, Micronesia
I called ANA and they confirmed that all rates on the award chart are round-trip are one-ways will not be allowed. That’s unfortunate as currently there are workaround to allow for one-ways.
Additionally on the current chart you can have 4 total stopovers while on the new chart you can only have 1 stopover.
Finally on the new chart you can only have 2 connections in each direction.
So what does this mean? For some people it will be good, for others, not so much.
Flights between the Caribbean/Central America/South America zone and Tel Aviv are a steal on the new chart. You can fly on United for just 45K miles in coach or 72K miles in business round-trip!
But what about for flights from the US?
I’ve included a comparison of current ANA rates, future ANA rates, United rates, Singapore rates, and Air Canada rates. In all of these cases no fuel surcharges will apply.
You can transfer AMEX points to ANA, Air Canada, and Singapore at a 1:1 ratio and Starwood points at a 20K:25K ratio.
You can transfer Chase points to United at a 1:1 ratio.
Note that United miles don’t come out looking so rosy in this comparison. That’s because the comparison below is only for the miles required to travel on United flights. When flying on dozens of other Star Alliance airlines you will generally pay a hefty fuel surcharge when using other miles but when using United miles you’ll never pay a fuel surcharge. It’s also worth noting that Chase United cardholders have expanded saver award availability when logged in and United.com. You can only book that space with United miles, partners have no access to that space. Additionally Plan B awards can only be booked with United miles.
I’ve bolded the best options.
Newark-Toronto on United:
United miles: 20K coach, 50K business.
ANA current miles: 20K coach, 38K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 25K coach, 48K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 30K coach, 55K business.
Singapore miles: 25K coach, 40K business.
Air Canada miles: 25K coach, 50K business.
Chicago-Toronto on United:
United miles: 20K coach, 50K business.
ANA current miles: 20K coach, 38K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 25K coach, 48K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 30K coach, 55K business.
Singapore miles: 25K coach, 40K business.
Air Canada miles: 25K coach, 50K business.
Los Angeles-Toronto on United (via Chicago):
United miles: 25K coach, 50K business.
ANA current miles: 38K coach, 63K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 25K coach, 48K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 30K coach, 55K business.
Singapore miles: 25K coach, 40K business.
Air Canada miles: 25K coach, 50K business.
Newark-Miami on United:
United miles: 25K coach, 50K business.
ANA current miles: 22K coach, 43K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 25K coach, 48K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 30K coach, 55K business.
Singapore miles: 25K coach, 40K business.
Air Canada miles: 25K coach, 50K business.
Chicago-Miami on United:
United miles: 25K coach, 50K business.
ANA current miles: 22K coach, 43K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 25K coach, 48K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 30K coach, 55K business.
Singapore miles: 25K coach, 40K business.
Air Canada miles: 25K coach, 50K business.
Los Angeles-Miami on United:
United miles: 25K coach, 50K business.
ANA current miles: 38K coach, 63K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 25K coach, 48K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 30K coach, 55K business.
Singapore miles: 25K coach, 40K business.
Air Canada miles: 25K coach, 50K business.
Newark-Cancun on United:
United miles: 35K coach, 60K business.
ANA current miles: 22K coach, 43K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 25K coach, 48K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 30K coach, 55K business.
Singapore miles: 35K coach, 60K business.
Air Canada miles: 40K coach, 60K business.
Chicago-Cancun on United:
United miles: 35K coach, 60K business.
ANA current miles: 22K coach, 43K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 25K coach, 48K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 30K coach, 55K business.
Singapore miles: 35K coach, 60K business.
Air Canada miles: 40K coach, 60K business.
Los Angeles-Cancun on United:
United miles: 35K coach, 60K business.
ANA current miles: 38K coach, 63K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 25K coach, 48K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 30K coach, 55K business.
Singapore miles: 35K coach, 60K business.
Air Canada miles: 40K coach, 60K business.
Newark-Aruba on United:
United miles: 35K coach, 60K business.
ANA current miles: 22K coach, 43K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 40K coach, 68K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 50K coach, 80K business.
Singapore miles: 35K coach, 60K business.
Air Canada miles: 40K coach, 60K business.
Chicago-Aruba on United:
United miles: 35K coach, 60K business.
ANA current miles: 38K coach, 63K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 40K coach, 68K business.
ANA 04/12/15Â updated miles: 50K coach, 80K business.
Singapore miles: 35K coach, 60K business.
Air Canada miles: 40K coach, 60K business.
Los Angeles-Aruba on United (via Chicago):
United miles: 35K coach, 60K business.
ANA current miles: 43K coach, 68K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 40K coach, 68K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 50K coach, 80K business.
Singapore miles: 35K coach, 60K business.
Air Canada miles: 40K coach, 60K business.
Newark-Honolulu on United:
United miles: 45K coach, 80K business.
ANA current miles: 55K coach, 85K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 40K coach, 68K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 40K coach, 68K business.
Singapore miles: 35K coach, 60K business.
Air Canada miles: 45K coach, 80K business.
Chicago-Honolulu on United:
United miles: 45K coach, 80K business.
ANA current miles: 43K coach, 68K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 40K coach, 68K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 40K coach, 68K business.
Singapore miles: 35K coach, 60K business.
Air Canada miles: 45K coach, 80K business.
Los Angeles-Honolulu on United:
United miles: 45K coach, 80K business.
ANA current miles: 38K coach, 63K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 40K coach, 68K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 40K coach, 68K business.
Singapore miles: 35K coach, 60K business.
Air Canada miles: 45K coach, 80K business.
Newark-Sao Paulo on United:
United miles: 60K coach, 110K business.
ANA current miles: 55K coach, 85K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 40K coach, 68K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 50K coach, 80K business.
Singapore miles: 60K coach, 100K business.
Air Canada miles: 60K coach, 95K business.
Chicago-Sao Paulo on United:
United miles: 60K coach, 110K business.
ANA current miles: 55K coach, 85K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 40K coach, 68K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 50K coach, 80K business.
Singapore miles: 60K coach, 100K business.
Air Canada miles: 60K coach, 95K business.
Los Angeles-Sao Paulo on United (via Houston):
United miles: 60K coach, 110K business.
ANA current miles: 60K coach, 90K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 40K coach, 68K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 50K coach, 80K business.
Singapore miles: 60K coach, 100K business.
Air Canada miles: 60K coach, 95K business.
Newark-London on United:
United miles: 60K coach, 115K business.
ANA current miles: 38K coach, 63K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 45K coach, 72K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 55K coach, 88K business.
Singapore miles: 55K coach, 130K business.
Air Canada miles: 60K coach, 90K business.
Chicago-London on United:
United miles: 60K coach, 115K business.
ANA current miles: 43K coach, 68K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 45K coach, 72K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 55K coach, 88K business.
Singapore miles: 55K coach, 130K business.
Air Canada miles: 60K coach, 90K business.
Los Angeles-London on United:
United miles: 60K coach, 115K business.
ANA current miles: 55K coach, 85K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 45K coach, 72K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 55K coach, 88K business.
Singapore miles: 55K coach, 130K business.
Air Canada miles: 60K coach, 90K business.
Newark-Paris on United:
United miles: 60K coach, 115K business.
ANA current miles: 43K coach, 68K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 45K coach, 72K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 55K coach, 88K business.
Singapore miles: 55K coach, 130K business.
Air Canada miles: 60K coach, 90K business.
Chicago-Paris on United:
United miles: 60K coach, 115K business.
ANA current miles: 43K coach, 68K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 45K coach, 72K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 55K coach, 88K business.
Singapore miles: 55K coach, 130K business.
Air Canada miles: 60K coach, 90K business.
Los Angeles-Paris on United (via Newark):
United miles: 60K coach, 115K business.
ANA current miles: 60K coach, 90K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 45K coach, 72K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 55K coach, 88K business.
Singapore miles: 55K coach, 130K business.
Air Canada miles: 60K coach, 90K business.
Newark-Tel Aviv on United:
United miles: 85K coach, 140K business.
ANA current miles: 60K coach, 90K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 60K coach, 90K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 65K coach, 104K business.
Singapore miles: 75K coach, 115K business.
Air Canada miles: 80K coach, 165K business.
Chicago-Tel Aviv on United (via Newark):
United miles: 85K coach, 140K business.
ANA current miles: 60K coach, 90K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 60K coach, 90K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 65K coach, 104K business.
Singapore miles: 75K coach, 115K business.
Air Canada miles: 80K coach, 165K business.
Los Angeles-Tel Aviv on United (via Newark):
United miles: 85K coach, 140K business.
ANA current miles: 65K coach, 105K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 60K coach, 90K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 65K coach, 104K business.
Singapore miles: 75K coach, 115K business.
Air Canada miles: 80K coach, 165K business.
Newark-Melbourne on United (via Los Angeles):
United miles: 80K coach, 140K business.
ANA current miles: 85K coach, 125K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 65K coach, 105K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 75K coach, 120K business.
Singapore miles: 110K coach, 195K business.
Air Canada miles: 80K coach, 160K business.
Chicago-Melbourne on United (via Los Angeles):
United miles: 80K coach, 140K business.
ANA current miles: 75K coach, 115K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 65K coach, 105K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 75K coach, 120K business.
Singapore miles: 110K coach, 195K business.
Air Canada miles: 80K coach, 160K business.
Los Angeles-Melbourne on United:
United miles: 80K coach, 140K business.
ANA current miles: 65K coach, 105K business.
ANA 04/12/15 miles: 65K coach, 105K business.
ANA 04/12/15 updated miles: 75K coach, 120K business.
Singapore miles: 110K coach, 195K business.
Air Canada miles: 80K coach, 160K business.
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68 Comments On "Major ANA Award Chart Changes Effective 04/12/15; A Comparison of Star Alliance Miles Required On 30 Routes"
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im a little confused – doesnt look like ANA flies to TLV
@ef:
Like I wrote, these are all comparisons of the miles needed for flights on United.
I know you only mention AC, SQ, UA & NH but maybe it would be good to point out to the readers that the best first class within the US would be via LH 17k.
It seems like its a small devaluation except to Australia where it gets much better? Seems to have been devalued with some rachmunis
@Chapshnell:
Correct. Lufthansa is also good for flights to Hawaii.
I didn’t include Lufthansa because:
1. They aren’t AMEX transfer partners.
2. They charge fuel surcharges on United flights that leave the western hemisphere while the programs I compared don’t in all 30 examples.
That would make it hard to have a fair comparison.
3. They charge different rates for flights from JFK-TLV as opposed to TLV-JFK when you have an address in Israel on your account, making it too complicated.
But thanks for pointing that out!
As for the devaluation, it’s not too bad. Flights between Israel and Central/South America are a downright steal.
The big loss is the elimination of 4 free stopovers.
Another big devaluation is flights from the east coast to the Caribbean which are very cheap with the current chart. See the Newark-Aruba example.
Anybody have good experience with ANA is it a good airline?
@flying:
Again, these rates are for using ANA miles on United flights.
ANA only has flights to Japan and their own flights do have fuel surcharges when you use ANA miles for them (no surcharges for ANA flights booked with United miles). They are an excellent airline.
how do I find availability award flights on ANA ?
@ny:
You can search on their site if you have at least 100 miles in your ANA account.
Otherwise you can search on United.com for award flights and ANA can book the same saver award space you see there.
Or you can search on the ANA site when logged in even without miles for an ANA flight to Tokyo and then you can switch the search to a Star Alliance search even if you don’t have 100 miles in your ANA account.
Hi Dan, if I use Ana points for united travel, is their availability access to bonus seats the same as for regular united members or extended availability as for elite/credit card holders availability?
@Avi:
It would be the same as regular members, so be sure to log out of United.com before doing an award search if you want to use ANA miles.
when u say: ANA can book the same saver award space you see there on united it would mean at these miles you posted which is cheaper then what united posts on their site for awards correct?
@ny:
Of course.
As you can see, every program has their own rates for the same route on the same airline.
Does ANA have a charge to book over the phone? Would you know what their cancellation policy or ticket change policy is? Thanks.
does amex points transfer on the spot to ana or it takses a few days
if it has to be r/t that’s though already, you wrote can have 2 connections in each direction? how would I do that if I wanna stop in Italy? Can that be done?
i dont have ANA miles but i do have United. whats the cheapest way to get to Israel from NY?
@ny:
No phone booking charge.
Free date changes.
3,000 miles are charged for a cancellation.
All from the Ultimate Israel post: http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/51626
@joe:
It can take 1-3 days.
@dave:
Current chart is 4 stopovers.
New chart is 1 stopover and max of 2 connections each way. A stopover is more than 24 hours, a connection is less than 24 hours.
@ef:
It’s 85K United miles to Israel round-trip.
for United, why is it only 20K for coach for Newark-Toronto? I thought it was always 25K within North America? Sorry for the confusion
@allen:
United only charges 10K each way for flights under 700 miles in distance between the origin and destination cities (connections aren’t counted in the 700 mile limit.)
Dan, ive never yet found a flight for 85k round trip – most are showing as 85 each way!
any tricks for getting more miles with out a cc?
What would the mileage be from yyz-tlv?
Are there surcharges on air Canada?
@Anonymous:
-Search twice daily, saver award spaces comes and goes quickly.
-Be willing to connect or stopover. More on that here: http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/51626
-Getting a United card will definitely help.
@mottele:
There are surcharges on AC.
You can fly via Newark, it should be the same rate as Chicago-Tel Aviv in the post.
Wow 90k miles to go round trip business class from Chicago to Tel Aviv. That’s pretty awesome. Is it hard to find availability for a trip using ANA miles when booking 6-9 months ahead of time?
Amon the secret is advanced planning. I got awards when I needed
Planned flights 6 months in advance
these ANA are miles needed for flights on United? so ANA miles can only be booked on united operated flights? the flights united offers for example on it’s partners like Austrian Air cannot be booked with ANA?
Could you route from Caribbean/Central America/South America to TLV through USA? A staging flight might be worth the miles for some people.
Hi Dan, I am getting mixed messages online. Is there any way I can transfer my UR points to ANA, then book to Israel on United through ANA? Thanks!
@Dan G:
Same availability as on United.com for saver seats.
@ny:
You can use ANA for other partners, but you’ll pay fuel surcharges.
@EJB:
Seems like you should be able to (how else would you get from the Caribbean to the middle east?).
So some great deals there.
@Eli O:
No, UR points do not transfer to ANA.
I see then it will be mighty hard cuz united has almost never anything on award direct from ny to tlv
@ny:
TLV-EWR nonstop United saver award space when logged out of United.com:
http://i.dansdeals.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/unitedtlv.png
Available more dates than not.
I did that same search logged out and my calendar looks totally different strange, (wonder what are you doing different).
Maybe u can find I see the winter has availability I searched in spring
You can fly between gru and Tlv on united?
Also,would it be 40/68 lax-eze with a stopover in gru?
@ny:
For TLV-EWR?
@ny:
United opens the most awards within 1-2 months of the flight.
@buruch:
You should be able to fly GRU-EWR-TLV.
Yes.
@Dan:
What to the colors (Green, Yellow, White.) mean in the chart
@Steve:
Yellow=Nonstop coach saver
Green=Nonstop business saver and coach saver.
White=No saver awards.
@Dan:
Thanks and forgot to ask about blue
@Steve:
Business saver
Is there a quicker way to know from the colors (or some place else) if there is direct x partner saver economy award availability?
@Steve:
Just click nonstop flights only when doing the award search on United.com and then the colors will correspond to nonstop flights only.
does it make sense to use UR > United and use it for a flight that is award 42,500 ? is it a good value?
@dave:
Sure.
Especially because you can fly on any airline without fuel surcharges.
sorry – went by Anon before by mistake. Ive never had a credit card/ credit line before and was therefore denied for a united card. ive seen you say to call the bank to reassess. is there any point trying to call united in this case?
@ef:
Has nothing to do with United, you need to call Chase.
Or else learn to build your credit:
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/53213
when redeeming ANA miles, what are fuel surcharges for flying on air canada?
I actually found a great way to get miles for .00205 cents a peice but i asked daas torah and was told i cant do it.
I guess my question is more broad. How can you get the stopover with no fuel charges if the segment between the stopoverand destination is between two international cities – which I assume United doesn’t fly?
@bob:
Depends on the flight.
You can search YQ (fuel surcharges) by looking for a paid flight on ITA and clicking on details.
YQ to TLV is always high.
@buruch:
Turkish flies EZE-GRU with no fuel surcharges, so no YQ when using ANA miles.
if you do the one way workaround can you still get it at 30K from nyc to tlv?
how about bkk hkg or icn united charges 160k rt in business do you know what the ana old and new chart would charge? Thanks
What happens to RTW tickets? Those were based on mileage. With the new region-based, are those discontinued?
United business class is a joke. Eight across seating?
Try again. I’d never fly that sh*t.
What about EVA?
(Random rumbling)
@Anonymous:
38K one-way.
@Baruch:
Those cities probably have fuel surcharges when using ANA miles for United.
@Kate:
Indeed.
@traderprofit:
On a United 777 (like EWR-TLV) it’s 6 across.
There will be fuel surcharges to fly EVA.
@Dan –I sit corrected. Westbound,I’ve never seen 6 across. I took one look in the business cabin as I was leaving first in TYO and was stunned.
I don’t mind fuel surcharges. I save up for them with Dan’s Deals.
I guess I am spoiled by Cathay first from the West Coast to Asia. I’ve even tired of most of their business class, which is the same as US Envoy Sleeper and several other carriers–but tolerable.
Lucked out with Qantas first to Sydney for the holidays via Alaska miles.
Just wondering how many people refuse to fly Emirates, or Etihad on principle. One thing I can guarantee is that in an emergency, Israel will suddenly appear on their in-flight map.
@Dan: ANA used to have a $25 over the phone booking fee, is it discontinued?
All united flights from mainland to Honolulu are 22.5k and not 35k.
@Chaim:
It’s 45K round-trip, just like I wrote in the post.
is the Workaround or trick for one way still alive ?
I just got off the phone with ANA and they say that the last day to book with the old rates is Friday as the system will not be booking on Saturday. For us Yom Tov observers that means today is our last day with the old chart/rate.
Dan, what are the easiest miles to use to fly to israel?
In other words easiest way to get a decent round trip ticket to israel from jfk/ny?
Dan i read the update twice, but without being familiar with delta, i don’t understand what was announced now that wasn’t announed in November. why did the post devaluation mileage rates you listed in November now change? please clarify and sorry to waste your time
a gut yom tov
@confused they devalued the devaluation! Still confused? 🙂
Basically they decided to charge more more miles before the original more miles were scheduled to take effect… In other words RT EWR-LHR was 38k, supposed to be 43k & now they decided on 55k
Sickening
With AMEX transfers though you need to roll the dice a little bit. If you see availability doesn’t it take a few days for the AMEX points to transfer?
By the time they are in the account the availability may be gone.
Any workardounds for this?
@a no workarounds. Takes 2 days to show up. Thats the peril of having miles in ana. Im stuck now with a RT ticket mileage wise I thought I was gonna book
You can install this extension on the Chrome browser and it will let you search ANA without any points.
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ana-star-link/dmamhdfignlojeljcjlggcjjhabjhojf?hl=en
How are you getting US to Europe for 55K? That’s zone 6 to 7 which makes it 45K
i have united points how do i book newark london with ANA they route me back to United?
I don’t see anymore the option on ANA site for looking up for a whole week period. do they still have that buried somewhere. tough to look one day at a time.