Who Is the ANA CARD U.S.A. Visa® Good For?
All Nippon Airways is a world class airline and the ANA Mileage Club is one of the best frequent flyer programs in the world because of its generous award chart. If you fly to Japan and Asia with any sort of frequency, you will want to make this airline a part of your travel routine.
ANA offers one co-branded credit card to U.S. residents, the aptly named ANA Card U.S.A. It’s not the most benefit-packed or rewarding airline credit card, but if you fly on ANA, you should consider getting one.
Sign-Up Bonus:
The current sign-up bonus is 5,000 miles after the first purchase. During special promotional periods, ANA will offer an additional 5,000-mile bonus after reaching a minimum spend and waive the $70 annual fee for the first year.
Miles Earned:
The earning potential of the ANA Card U.S.A. isn’t great. You’ll earn one mile per dollar spent, even when booking travel on the airline. ANA is a transfer partner with both Amex Membership Rewards and Amex SPG, so you might earn more by collecting points on those cards and then moving them to ANA.
What Do Your Miles Get You?
Since ANA has a lot of airline partners both in and outside of the Star Alliance, Mileage Club miles can take you anywhere in the world. Some redemption rates are very good, and in many cases your ANA miles can go much further than miles from other U.S.-based frequent flyer programs.
Usage Perks
- Excellent redemptions on many domestic and international flights, especially in the low season
- Miles don’t expire for three years
- Free stopovers in Japan
- Open jaws are allowed
- Good award availability, including premium class seats
- Many airline partners
- Two U.S.-based transfer partners
Usage Quirks
- Low sign-up bonus
- Poor earning scheme on purchases
- Fuel surcharges on award flights
- No one-way redemptions
- Many award flights can’t be booked online
How Far Do Your Miles Go?
ANA offers some excellent redemption rates. Off-peak round-trip flights between the U.S. and Japan are only 40,000 miles in economy, and 75,000 miles in business. Compare that to United MileagePlus, where 75,000 miles only buys a one-way ticket in business.
Low-season flights to Asia via Japan are also cheap: 45,000 to 55,000 miles in economy, and 80,000 to 100,000 miles in business. You can also fly to South America on ANA partner TAM for 80,000 miles in business, or to Europe on a Star Alliance partner for 88,000 miles.
Watch out for fees and surcharges on partner airlines. You can often avoid or minimize the cost by picking the right carrier, such as United, LOT Polish Airlines or Turkish Airlines.
Recent changes in the Mileage Club program have made domestic redemptions in Japan a true bargain. Flights between Tokyo and Osaka, for example, will only set you back 5,000 miles in the low season.
Additional Cardholder Benefits:
- Free FICO score check
- Access to ANA group discounts and benefits
- 10 percent off ANA in-flight purchases and duty-free shopping at select airports
- 5 percent off ANA and IHG co-branded hotels
- Extended warranty
- Purchase assurance
- Automatic enrollment in car rental insurance
- Travel accident insurance