How to use points to book ANA business and first class

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Flying business class to/from Japan is currently one of the most sought-after redemptions in award travel. A great option to travel to/from Japan is with ANA, Japan’s largest airline. However, finding business or first class award availability remains challenging due to ANA’s predictability in releasing awards 355 days in advance, generally only releasing 1 business and first class seat per flight, and competing with hundreds of people who want that same seat.

However, it appears that trying to book a seat is starting to get a little easier after ANA’s recent devaluation and changes this year. ANA made a few major changes to its own program, including raising the points needed (some flights significantly more expensive), allowing one-way awards (ANA used to require round-trip flights for international awards), and getting rid of its round-the-world award redemption.

The good news is that it should be a little easier to snag a seat during the high season. The bad news is that it likely will cost you more points. But it seems like a fair trade-off in my opinion, as the old method of trying to snag a good deal on ANA, especially at calendar open, was quite tedious.

In this post, I’ll go over different ways to redeem points to fly ANA business and first class with points, how to try to find award availabilty, and the ANA waitlist trap. So, let’s get into it!

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Best ways to book ANA business class with points?

Currently, there are five main ways to book ANA business class using points: directly with ANA’s own program, Air Canada Aeroplan, Avianca LifeMiles, United Mileageplus, or Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Each program has unique quirks including how far out you can book, the points needed to book, and which credit card points even transfer to the program. Additionally, each program has different change and cancellation policies. Other options you could potentially use to book include using Air India points (110k points one way), Singapore Airlines (129.5k points one way), or other Star Alliance partners.

Best ways to book ANA first class with points?

The same five programs can be used to book ANA first class. However, Virgin Atlantic is the best option to use if the availability is within 331 days of travel. You will also need to call Virgin Atlantic to book. Outside of 331 days, it may be better to book directly with ANA (if you have Amex points to transfer), as you can book when the award flights are released 355 days in advance. Air Canada is sometimes an option but currently no ANA first class tickets between North America/Japan can be booked through Air Canada but has and can change at any moment. Finally, it’s not worth booking with United anymore.

What counts as low season, regular season, and high season?

ANA’s site breaks out the details. High season in 2025 is through Dec. 15-31; in 2026 it is Jan. 1-3, April 29-May 9, July 16-Aug. 23, and Dec. 19-31; and in 2027 it is Jan. 1-3. View more details directly on ANA’s site here.

How to find availability?

There are a few ways to find award availability on ANA businesses and first class. 1) Book right at calendar open 355 days out, 2) hope someone cancels a previously booked award and have it become bookable again, 3) wait until close-in travel dates, usually 7-14 days, or 4) schedule changes.

Booking 355 days out:

ANA is somewhat formulaic when they release initial award availability and will generally release 1 seat in business class and 1 seat in first class (if the route has first class) 355 days out. Historically, the release happens at 9am Japan Standard Time. Some routes may also get 2 business and/or first class award seats released as well, but it is not consistent. I have generally only seen this on the Chicago and Washington, DC routes but I swear one time I saw 2 first class seats released between JFK/HND!

If booking the 355 days in advance, you’ll want to either book directly with ANA (you’ll need to transfer points likely 3+ days ahead of time because transfers are not instant between Amex -> ANA) or book with Air Canada (lets you book 355 days out unlike United or Virgin Atlantic). Just search directly on ANA’s site or Air Canada’s site.

Cancelled award going back into inventory:

If someone cancels their ANA award flight, it generally becomes bookable again with points. The best ways to try to find these awards is setting up alerts with a search aggregator like Seats.Aero (affiliate link) or Roame (affiliate link, use code FFME for 10% off).

Close-in travel:

ANA historically releases extra business class award seats if they believe they will not fill up the cabin with cash-paying customers. Usually, these seats are released within 7-14 days of travel. Be aware you cannot book a business class seat with Virgin Atlantic if travel is within 14 days, although this could change at any time.

Schedule/aircraft change:

Airlines are consistently updating their flight schedules to optimize their aircraft fleet. This could lead to ANA adding a new route or flight or upgauging the aircraft due to high demand. When this happens, sometimes more award availability can pop up. This is especially true when a schedule change could lead to a different aircraft type that includes first class.

How to search for award availability?

The best way to search for real-time availability is directly on ANA’s own site and searching manually one day at a time. Although ANA offers an international award calendar search as well, it is not shown in real time and only shows availability based on the prior day. Another option is searching directly on Air Canada’s site, again one day at a time. However, Air Canada will only allow you to book business class as first class award availability does not appear to be bookable through Air Canada. Finally, using United Airlines’ calendar search is also useful, although it may also show United Airlines award availability in addition to ANA. You will likely have to log in to your United account to search for awards now, and you’ll want to find days with 100-110k points award availability (100k if you are an elite member/have United credit card or 110k if no United status or credit card).

Once you find availability, search on your preferred award program to confirm (or call if it’s Virgin Atlantic), then book your flight!

ANA’s waitlist will keep you waiting at home

If you’re searching for awards on ANA’s website, you’ve likely seen the site showing the flight as “Waitlisted”. That’s because all the available, and limited, award seats were already booked. You are unlikely to get off the waitlist. Do no transfer points to ANA to book a waitlisted ticket. Those with ANA status will get priority if an award seat even opens up.

ANA’s different types of business and first class

Depending on the route and plane type, your business and first class seat experience can greatly differ. ANA is well-known for their business class called “The Room” and first class called “The Suite”. These layouts are available on 777-300ER planes that are virtually always used on the JFK/HND route and are often found on the ORD/Tokyo route and SFO/Tokyo route as well. ANA occasionally updates their schedule and could always change what plane type services a route and the safest option to nearly guarantee “The Room” or “The Suite” is to book the JFK/HND route. The older layouts are still lie-flat seats and you will still receive world-class service from ANA’s crew, so don’t let the plane type dissuade you from flying ANA!

How can you tell if your plane type should have an old or newer seat?

Check the flight out on Google Flights and look at the seat description. For newer business or first class seating, Google Flights will indicate you will be in an individual suite. However, if it is an older seat type, it will just say it is a lie flat seat.

More of ANA’s aircraft should get updated seating, potentially as early as 2026. The new seats, called The Room FX, was unveiled at the Paris Air Show in 2025 and is expected to be installed on ANA’s 787-9s starting in 2026. The new seat looks similar to ANA’s The Room seating, although the seat is a “no-recline” seat. Check out the pics here, it is definitely an interesting concept and looks very roomy.

Don’t just visit Japan, use connecting flights and stopovers to get more value from your points!

Don’t just limit yourself to visiting Japan, you can also fly ANA through Japan onward to other popular destinations across Asia and Oceania. Additionally, ANA and Air Canada offer stopover programs, although ANA requires a round-trip booking to utilize, while Air Canada only requires a one-way booking.

ANA’s stopover program requires a round-trip booking, but you need to be departing from outside Japan. Stopovers are not possible for itineraries starting from Japan. When booking, use ANA’s multi-city award search to book. Program rules can be found on ANA’s site here.

Air Canada Aeroplan’s stopover only requires a one-way but requires an extra 5k points to book the stopover. This is the easiest program to use to book a stopover with ANA in my opinion. Use the multi-city/stopover option on Air Canada’s site to check for availability.