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- I used 47,000 Amex points to fly from New York to Tokyo in ANA’s stellar first-class suite.
- By taking advantage of a transfer bonus, I used fewer points than usual to book this award flight.
- The lie-flat seat, meals, and service were exceptional. Using cash, this flight would cost over $14,000.
- Read Insider’s guide to the best travel rewards credit cards.
The last time that I was in Asia, there was simply no such thing as COVID-19. That’s because I was in Japan prior to the pandemic, in 2019. Amex is an Insider advertising partner.
Since then, I’ve been eagerly anticipating an opportunity to travel to Asia again. With many countries reopening to tourists, this felt like the ideal time to pay a visit to my favorite region of the world.
Couple that with a stellar limited-time points promotion to fly one of the best first-class cabins in the sky? Now, it’s a no-brainer.
I redeemed just 47,000 Amex points to fly New York (JFK) to Tokyo (HND) onboard ANA’s new first-class product, dubbed “The Suite.” While I wasn’t entering Japan this time, I was thrilled to experience first class with ANA and transit through Tokyo on my way to Vietnam and Thailand.
Here’s how I booked it using credit card points — and a rundown of the flight itself.
We’re focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won’t be worth it if you’re paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it’s important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.
How to use credit card points to fly ANA first class
The Platinum Card® from American Express
Intro offer
100,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 in your first 6 months of card membership
Rewards
Earn 5x Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel on up to $500,000 per calendar year. Earn 5x Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel. 1 point per dollar on other purchases.
The Platinum Card® from American Express
Intro offer
100,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 in your first 6 months of card membership
Rewards
Earn 5x Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel on up to $500,000 per calendar year. Earn 5x Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel. 1 point per dollar on other purchases.
On American Express’s website
Card Details
Rewards
Earn 5x Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel on up to $500,000 per calendar year. Earn 5x Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel. 1 point per dollar on other purchases.
Annual Fee
$695
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Intro offer
100,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 in your first 6 months of card membership
Recommended Credit
Good to Excellent
Regular APR
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To die-hard points enthusiasts, this is a redemption that frequently gets talked about as one of the most lucrative.
And while ANA first class was good before, now it’s even better thanks to the airline’s new “The Suite” product that flies on select long-haul routes, including between Tokyo and New York.
(And not only is the food and service regarded as top-notch, but the 43-inch in-seat monitor is also bigger than my TV at home.)
But let’s take a quick step back and chat about strategy. Besides transferring points that are earned through credit cards, the key to booking this award is leveraging airline partnerships.
I took advantage of the fact that UK-based Virgin Atlantic has close ties with ANA, a flag carrier of Japan.
All that means is that I was able to use Virgin Flying Club points (Virgin’s frequent flyer program) to book a flight operated by ANA.
Here’s how many Virgin points you’d need for a round-trip flight on ANA, in each class of service.
Since I wanted to fly in first class, I needed 60,000 Virgin points for a one-way ticket from New York to Tokyo. That redemption already is an incredible bargain, especially when you look at some of the other ways to book ANA flights with miles.
For instance, here’s how many miles it would require to fly this same first-class product (and route) with other frequent flyer programs:
How I only needed 47,000 points (limited-time deal)
But it gets better, all thanks to the power of transferable credit card points — and the occasional bonus promotion.
The kicker is that American Express ran a promotion that offered a 30% bonus when you transferred Amex Membership Rewards points to Virgin Atlantic. And right now, through September 30, 2022, Amex is running the same transfer bonus promotion.
There are currently three main options for transferring to Virgin through credit card points:
The 30% Amex bonus meant I needed to transfer just 47,000 points to Virgin Atlantic. Conveniently, Amex points transfer instantly.
For a points enthusiast like me, this is an absolute steal. Remember, it would require more than double the number of United miles to book the exact same seat.
How to earn Amex Membership Rewards points
If you want to earn Amex points for a similar redemption, there are numerous personal and small-business card options, including:
Finding ANA award availability
Just because there’s a limited-time promotion doesn’t mean you should transfer your points immediately. I made sure there was award availability before making the Amex-to-Virgin transfer, because you can’t reverse a transaction once it’s made.
While you can’t search for or even book ANA awards through Virgin’s website, the program has access to the same award availability as all of ANA’s other partner airlines — including United, Air Canada, etc.
I used United’s website to search for a first-class award seat on ANA and found a single seat available on one of my preferred dates in mid-March.
How I booked the award
Unfortunately, ANA awards cannot be booked on Virgin Atlantic’s website. But I don’t mind calling in if that means saving tens of thousands of points versus booking with another program.
I called Virgin Atlantic at 800-365-9500 and waited on hold for about an hour before someone picked up. From there, I fed the agent the date that I saw availability on United’s website and within a couple of minutes, they confirmed the seat.
Currently, there are approximately $200 in fuel surcharges on top of the 47,000 points required. That’s still well worth it, in my book.
How much would ANA first class cost in cash?
In terms of overall bang-for-my-buck, let’s look at the cash cost for this one-way flight.
From a cents-per-point perspective, I’m getting an outrageous 30 cents in value per point.
However, I would never pay $14,000 for a flight so clearly, this value is just a bit overstated. Still, the math doesn’t lie.
An important note about Japan right now
While Japan still remains closed to international tourists, both major Tokyo airports, Tokyo-Haneda (HND) and Tokyo-Narita (NRT), are open for transiting passengers going onward to another country.
If you’re interested in visiting Japan specifically, you could book a flight there for later in 2022 or 2023. Japan plans to reopen its borders to unrestricted tourism in October 2022.
Or you could do what I did, and transit through Tokyo onward to another Asian country. Aside from this 47,000-point redemption, I booked a separate ticket departing from Tokyo (HND) to Ho Chi Minh (SGN) on the same day.
To make sure my transit would go as smoothly as possible in Tokyo (and to lower the risk of being denied boarding in New York), I called ANA to notify them of my other onward ticket.
Initial impressions of ANA first class — ‘The Suite’
The first-class cabin consists of eight spacious individual suites, in a sleek, dark grey color scheme. I cannot emphasize just how massive these suites are — you could easily fit two average-sized people in one seat.
And that’s not to mention the buddy seat that’s in front of the monitor, should you want to have a companion join you for a meal.
A sliding door provides even more privacy, although it’s not very high and anyone passing by can easily see into your suite.
All three windows are controlled by a button with a fully open, semi-transparent, and fully closed setting.
There is also a generous amount of storage space — and you can even put a full-sized carry-on under the ottoman in front of you (instead of needing to use the overhead bin).
Also waiting at my seat were a pair of soft pajamas, an amenity kit, slippers, a lounging pillow, a light blanket, and a pair of Sony noise-canceling headphones.
The seat controls were not only very intuitive but also super responsive, with a wide range of adjustments so I could easily get comfortable for the 14-hour flight.
But the true star of the seat was the absolutely bonkers, 43-inch monitor that lay in front of me. The screen resolution was crystal clear, and it was such a joy to watch the moving map (my favorite form of entertainment) and the occasional sitcom or two.
While ANA doesn’t have the most extensive entertainment lineup out there, there were still several dozen first-run movies, shows, and live news programming.
Since there was only one other passenger in first class, the crew offered to make my bed in the seat across from me.
One seat for dining and lounging and one seat for sleeping? Now that’s the ultimate luxury.
In between the meals, drinks, lounging, and getting some work done (ANA offers free Wi-Fi to passengers in first class), I got a few hours of sleep in, too.
The crew placed a mattress pad on the seat, but I do have to say the seat (and subsequently, the bed) was a bit on the firm side. It was certainly more firm than my mattress at home.
ANA first-class food, drinks, and service
Let’s start off with this: You won’t go hungry on this flight. ANA offers extensive Japanese and Western menu options.
I ordered off the Japanese menu for dinner after takeoff and then switched over to the Western menu for the pre-arrival meal.
Here’s a sampling of the dishes on offer.
There was also a huge selection of alcohol on a separate drink menu, including the option to order a glass (or more) of Krug. A bottle retails for over $200.
Everything that I tasted was excellent, including the beef and shrimp on the Western menu. But naturally, as a Japanese airline, the standout by far was the dishes from its motherland.
That included a rather decadent amuse bouche to start things off.
Then, I got a selection of Japanese bite-sized morsels, from simmered duck to deep-fried scallop to abalone and cucumber.
Next, the crew brought over a selection of sashimi, including seared tuna and poached squid. By this point, I was in culinary heaven.
Last, but certainly not least, I received my main course which was a set that included a grilled, delicate Atlantic salmon, simmered beef with a red miso sauce, and accompaniments of steamed rice, miso soup, and Japanese pickles.
Again, these dishes were outstanding. It wasn’t just the balanced flavors, textures, and taste but also, the intricate attention to detail in terms of presentation.
I finished things off with a warm apple tatin dessert and a mixed fruit plate (which also wowed me with how it was served).
The service, from the moment I stepped onboard to the unfortunate reality of having to deplane in Tokyo, was some of the best moments of hospitality I have ever received.
It certainly helped that the two first-class flight attendants only needed to serve two passengers, but even with a full cabin, I imagine the crew to be just as accommodating, caring, and friendly.
Bottom line
One of the best things about transferable credit card points, such as Amex Membership Rewards, is the incredible flexibility that they offer.
I was able to transfer my points to not just fly to Asia, but have an experience on the way to Asia — and start off a trip with a memory I won’t soon forget.
Just remember, that if you want to book this flight between the US and Japan for 47,000 Amex points (or fewer than that from the West Coast), you’ll need to utilize the 30% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic by September 30, 2022.