If you are booking a Star Alliance award flight, ANA Mileage Club is one of the programs you should check before transferring points anywhere else. It is not the most talked-about option, but it can be one of the best ways to book partner airline award tickets.
The reason ANA is such a valuable sweet spot is simple: the same partner flight can price very differently depending on where you book it. A flight that costs more miles through United MileagePlus or Air Canada Aeroplan may cost significantly fewer miles (and fees) through ANA.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to book partner airline award tickets through ANA, which airlines you can book, what credit card points transfer to ANA, and what to know before using this Star Alliance sweet spot.
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What airlines can you book with ANA Miles?
ANA miles can be used to book ANA flights, Star Alliance flights, and select non-Star Alliance partner airlines. Some of the most useful Star Alliance airlines you can book with ANA miles include:
United Airlines
TAP Air Portugal
Air Canada
Lufthansa
Swiss
Austrian Airlines
Turkish Airlines
EVA Air
Singapore Airlines
Thai Airways
Air New Zealand
Asiana Airlines
Avianca
Copa Airlines
LOT Polish Airlines
Brussels Airlines
Ethiopian Airlines
ANA also partners with some non-Star Alliance airlines, including Vietnam Airlines.
This is important because not every good ANA redemption has to be on a Star Alliance airline. For example, we booked Vietnam Airlines round trip to Ho Chi Minh City using ANA miles. Vietnam Airlines is not part of Star Alliance, but it is still bookable through ANA as a partner airline.
That flexibility makes ANA useful for both Europe and Asia trips.
What Credit Card points transfer to ANA?
The easiest way for U.S. travelers to get ANA miles is by transferring American Express Membership Rewards points to ANA Mileage Club.
Eligible U.S. American Express cardholders can transfer points at a 1:1 ratio, meaning 1 Amex point becomes 1 ANA mile. Transfers must be made in increments of 1,000 points.
The most important thing to know is that Amex points do not transfer to ANA instantly. Transfers usually take 2–4 business days, and your miles must be in your ANA account before you can book an award ticket.
You can read more about How to earn Amex Points: 7 easy ways to maximize Membership Rewards here.
Also, once Amex points are transferred to ANA, the transfer cannot be reversed. Your name should also match on both your Amex account and ANA Mileage Club account.
Because of the transfer delay, always search for award space first, then transfer points only when you are ready to book.
How to search and book ANA Partner Award Flights
The best way to search is directly through ANA, but you can also use other Star Alliance tools to help find availability.
Here is the process I recommend:
- Create or log in to your ANA Mileage Club account.
- Go to ANA’s award booking section.
- Choose Award Reservation.
- Search your route and dates.
- Search one-way first, especially if you are looking for specific availability.
- Search segment by segment if the full itinerary does not show.
- Compare results with other programs.
- Confirm the taxes, fees, cabin, and mileage price.
- Transfer Amex points only after you find award space.
- Book as soon as the points arrive.
When searching, it helps to be flexible. ANA’s site may not always show every possible routing easily, so try searching segment by segment.
How to cancel an ANA Partner Award Ticket
ANA partner awards can be canceled, but there are rules.
For partner airline award refunds, ANA says all segments must be unused in order for miles to be refunded. Refunds must be completed before departure of the first reserved flight segment.
For tickets issued on or after June 24, 2025, ANA says you can choose to pay the cancellation fee either by credit card or by using miles. The fee is 3,000 yen per person if paid by credit card, or 3,000 miles per person if paid with miles. Some regions may require payment with miles instead of credit card.
ANA also says expired miles cannot be refunded, and refunds cannot be processed at the airport.
So before booking, make sure your dates are solid. ANA can be a great deal, but it is not always the most flexible program.
How to book TAP Air Portugal Lisbon through ANA
One of our favorite ANA partner award bookings was a spontaneous TAP Air Portugal business class flight from San Francisco to Lisbon.
We found a flight deal from SFO to Lisbon, and luckily, the hotel we wanted also had award availability for the same dates. To book the flights, we transferred Amex Membership Rewards points to ANA Mileage Club and used ANA miles to book TAP Air Portugal business class.
You can read the full TAP Air Portugal Business Class review, round-trip San Francisco to Lisbon, here.
We redeemed 88,000 ANA miles per person, or 352,000 miles + about $264 in taxes and fees total, for four round-trip business class tickets from SFO to Lisbon. The cash price for those flights was about $16,660, making this an incredible Star Alliance sweet spot.
TAP Air Portugal is a Star Alliance partner airline, which means you can book select TAP award flights with ANA miles when partner award space is available.
A few important things to know when booking TAP Air Portugal through ANA:
Amex transfers to ANA are not instant. We transferred points on a Friday night, and they arrived Sunday around 7 a.m., so the wait was stressful.
After ANA’s award chart devaluation 2 years ago, this same redemption now costs 100,000 ANA miles round-trip per person instead of 88,000 miles.
Even at the higher price, using ANA miles to book TAP Air Portugal business class to Lisbon can still be an amazing value, especially compared with the cash cost.
How to book Vietnam Airlines to Ho Chi Minh City using ANA Miles
One of the best ANA partner award bookings we made for this year is a round-trip Vietnam Airlines business class flight from San Francisco to Ho Chi Minh City.
We booked this Vietnam Airlines award ticket through ANA Mileage Club for 68,000 ANA miles + about $20 in taxes and fees per person for a 16-hour business class flight. For anyone looking to use ANA miles to book flights to Vietnam, this is an excellent sweet spot.
Vietnam Airlines is not a Star Alliance airline, but it is an ANA partner airline, which means you can book select Vietnam Airlines award flights with ANA miles when partner award space is available.
The main thing to know is that ANA can only book award seats that Vietnam Airlines releases to partners. A flight may be available for cash, but that does not always mean it is available as an ANA partner award ticket.
How to book United Airlines to Rome using ANA Miles
Another great ANA partner award booking we made was a one-way United Airlines economy flight from San Francisco to Rome, Italy.
We booked this United Airlines award ticket through ANA Mileage Club for 27,000 ANA miles + $5.60 in taxes and fees per person. For a flight to Europe, this is a great example of how using ANA miles for Star Alliance award flights can save a lot of miles.
United Airlines is a Star Alliance partner airline, which means you can book select United award flights with ANA miles when partner award space is available.
This is where ANA can be especially valuable. The same United flight may cost more miles when booked through United MileagePlus or Air Canada Aeroplan, but price lower through ANA Mileage Club.
| Program | Example mileage price |
|---|---|
| United MileagePlus | 40,000 miles |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 55,000 miles |
| ANA Mileage Club | 27,500 miles |
Bottom line
Booking partner airline award tickets through ANA can be one of the best ways to save miles, especially for Star Alliance flights.
Our examples, Vietnam Airlines to Ho Chi Minh City and United Airlines to Rome, show why ANA is worth checking before booking through United, Aeroplan, or another program. When the same United flight costs 40,000 miles through United, 55,000 miles through Aeroplan, and around 27,500 miles through ANA, the savings are obvious.
The biggest thing to remember is transfer timing. If you are moving points from American Express to ANA, be ready to wait up to a few days for the miles to settle. Search first, transfer carefully, and book quickly once your miles arrive.
ANA is not the simplest program, but for the right award ticket, it can be one of the best.
