Collect American Express Points? Here’s Why Transferring Them to This Lesser-Known Airline Can Be an Incredible Deal
Signing up for credit cards through partner links earns us a commission. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Here’s our full advertising policy: How we make money.
INSIDER SECRET: Transferring your Amex Points to ANA is a great way to travel to Europe cheaply.
If you have an American Express card that earns Membership Rewards points, you are probably aware of the option to transfer your points to different travel partners. But you may not be aware of the excellent points redemption opportunities available through All Nippon Airways (ANA).
In this post, I’ll show you how you can transfer your Amex points to ANA for some incredible flight deals.
Using American Express Points Through ANA
ANA is a Japanese-based airline, but thanks to an impressive list of partners, ANA miles can be used to travel just about anywhere in the world. As a member of the Star Alliance, ANA allows you to redeem miles for flights on any other Star Alliance airline.
And if the Star Alliance isn’t enough, ANA has an additional 12 partner airlines where you can also use your ANA miles.
By transferring your American Express points to ANA, you can book flights on any of the airlines pictured above. There are a few restrictions for partner redemption, though:
- Miles can only be redeemed for round-trip fares, not one-way flights
- Stopovers are not allowed unless you begin your journey in Japan
ANA also has an option to book a round-the-world trip if you are looking to do some extended travel.
ANA Partner Sweet Spots
With ANA’s huge list of partners, you can travel nearly anywhere. But the following trips from the US stand out as a great use of your points:
1. Travel to Europe
Round-trips to Europe cost just 55,000 miles per ticket in economy and 88,000 miles in business class. This is a great deal, especially in business class, where you won’t often find a better redemption, at least on a regular basis. For a similar itinerary in business class, you would pay 140,000 miles per ticket on United and 115,000 miles on American Airlines.
2. Travel to Africa
Round-trips to Africa cost just 65,000 miles per ticket in economy and 104,000 miles in coach. This appears to be the best fixed-award cost of any airline, though you may occasionally be able to find a cheaper price on Alitalia, where award prices vary depending on the time of year.
3. Travel to Japan
ANA also has the cheapest fixed-award flights to Japan. ANA breaks Japan into two regions. Economy flights are either 50,000 or 55,000 miles round-trip and business class flights are either 85,000 or 90,000 miles round-trip.
Avoiding Fuel Surcharges
An important factor in any award flight redemption is fuel surcharges. These extra fees, which some airlines charge on award flights, can add substantial costs to your travels. In some cases, fuel surcharges may be so high that it’s not worth it to use your miles for a flight. If you are using ANA miles, try to pick flights on these airlines, which do not add fuel surcharges:
- Air Canada
- Air China
- Air New Zealand
- Avianca
- Copa
- Etihad
- United (except to Asia)
Bottom Line
You can transfer your Amex Membership Rewards points to ANA and take advantage of some incredible deals on award tickets. And since ANA has a ton of partner airlines, you can redeem miles for travel almost anywhere in the world. There are many ways to redeem your ANA miles, but you can find excellent value on award trips between the US and Europe, Africa and Japan compared to other airlines.
Some airlines add fuel surcharges to ANA redemption but others don’t. Be sure to check for any extra charges before completing your booking.
Also, remember to subscribe to our newsletter for more tips on how to be smart with your miles and points!
The Platinum Card® from American Express
Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.
$200 Hotel Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings with American Express Travel when you pay with your Platinum Card®.
$240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 in statement credits each month when you pay for eligible purchases with the Platinum Card® at your choice of one or more of the following providers: Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, SiriusXM, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
$155 Walmart+ Credit: Walmart+ members enjoy shopping perks – both online and in-store – at Walmart. Use your Platinum Card® to pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal) and receive a statement credit that covers the full cost each month. $12.95 plus applicable taxes. Plus Up Benefits not eligible.
$200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Card.
$200 Uber Cash: Enjoy Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber savings on rides or eats orders in the US annually. Uber Cash and Uber VIP status is available to Basic Card Member only. Benefit renews annually.
$300 Equinox Credit: Get up to $300 back per calendar year on an Equinox+ subscription, or any Equinox club memberships when you pay with your Platinum Card®. Enrollment required. Learn more.
$189 CLEAR® Plus Credit: Breeze through security with CLEAR® Plus at 45+ airports nationwide and get up to $189 back per year on your membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Platinum Card®.
$100 Global Entry Credit: Receive either a $100 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck® (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your Platinum Card®. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
Shop Saks with Platinum: Get up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually for purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue on your Platinum Card®. Enrollment required.
$300 SoulCycle At-Home Bike Credit: Get a $300 statement credit for the purchase of a SoulCycle at-home bike with your Platinum Card®. Must charge full price of bike in one transaction, and an Equinox+ subscription is required.
Add your Platinum Card® to your Resy profile on the Resy app or website and unlock Global Dining Access by Resy to exclusive tables and events.
$695 annual fee.
Terms Apply.
Intro APR on purchases
N/A
Regular APR
See Pay Over Time APR
Annual Fee
$695
Balance Transfer Fee
N/A
Rates & Fees
Other
MORE INFO
Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)
Join the Discussion!