Business class suite seat on a long-haul flight to Asia
Up to 175,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $12,000 in the first 6 months
ANA (All Nippon Airways) has one structural advantage almost no other program can match: it prices round-trip Japan awards as a single unit rather than doubling a one-way fare, which makes ANA Mileage Club consistently one of the cheapest ways to fly a real lie-flat business-class seat to Tokyo.
This is the catch that keeps ANA from being an obvious pick for everyone: Amex Membership Rewards is the only major U.S. bank that transfers to ANA Mileage Club, at 1:1. Chase, Citi, and Capital One points cannot get there at all. Transfers typically take about 48 hours to post — plan ahead of the booking window, not the day of.
A single Amex Platinum or Amex Gold welcome bonus (commonly 80,000–150,000+ points depending on the current offer) can fully cover one round-trip business-class ticket to Japan on its own.
If you already carry an Amex card with a healthy Membership Rewards balance, ANA is close to the best value transfer in the entire hobby for reaching Asia in business class. If you don’t hold Amex, it’s worth asking whether picking one up specifically for this redemption is worth it — for a once-a-year premium-cabin trip to Japan, it usually is.
American Express Platinum
Up to 175,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $12,000 in the first 6 months
$895 annual fee
Credit Miles Guru may earn a commission from card applications. This does not affect our editorial opinions or ratings.
Gurnish Sahni, founder of Credit Miles Guru, is a software engineer by profession and a passionate points strategist by heart. When he's not coding, he's crafting luxury travel itineraries using reward points to fly his family—especially his 5-year-old daughter—in business and first-class cabins around the globe. With a knack for smart spending and a love for unforgettable journeys, Gurnish shares tips on unlocking premium travel experiences without breaking the bank.
