Book ANA Awards with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Miles
The Virgin Atlantic Flying Club program is not one of the most talked about, but is surely one that can get you awesome redemption values in some cases.
Virgin Atlantic is not part of an alliance. But they have partnership with several airlines such as Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways (ANA), South African Airways, Virgin Australia and Delta. The best way to use Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles is for travel on premium class cabins with All Nippon Airways. Business and first-class travel with ANA offers one of the best experiences for international travel.
New Option
Now, there is a positive development for redeeming Flying Club miles for ANA award fares. Booking ANA fares always required a round-trip booking, stating that “one-way reward trips are not available.” However, One Mile at a Time reports that you can book a one-way trip. The Virgin Atlantic website has been updated, noting that “one-way trips are permitted at half of the round-trip mileage shown below”:
| Route | Economy Class | Business Class | First Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic Japan | 15,000 | – | – |
| Japan – South Korea | 18,000 | 35,000 | 50,000 |
| Japan – China / Guam / Hong Kong / Philippines / Taiwan | 23,000 | 45,000 | 60,000 |
| Japan – Malaysia / Myanmar / Singapore / Thailand / Vietnam | 40,000 | 65,000 | 80,000 |
| Japan – Hawaii / India / Indonesia | 45,000 | 70,000 | 90,000 |
| Japan – Australia / Canada / Western USA | 60,000 | 90,000 | 110,000 |
| Japan – Europe / Central & Eastern USA / Mexico | 65,000 | 95,000 | 120,000 |
As you can see from the chart, you would need just 90,000 or 95,000 miles for a round trip in Business Class and 110,000 or 120,000 miles for a round trip in First Class. Now that one way booking are allowed, you can use 45,000 or 47,500 miles in Business and 55,000 or 60,000 miles in First Class.
Why Does this Matter?
If pricing for two one-way bookings is the same as booking round-trip, why does this even matter? There are a few reasons.
- Award availability is one of the main reasons. Finding available awards for just one leg is always easier than finding it for both legs of your flight.
- Being able to book one-way, gives you more flexibility. You might have other destinations in mind, other points or miles you want to use, or maybe you just want to fly one way.
- You can transfer points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club from American Express, Chase and Citi. But even then, you might only have enough miles for one leg. You can still book and experience ANA premium cabins.
Conclusion
Booking premium cabin ANA awards with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles has long been one of the best redemptions possible. Now it gets even better as you no longer need to book round-trip. This gives you more flexibility, it’s easier to find awards, and you don’t have to wait until you have 90,000 or 110,000 miles to experience ANA’s Business or First Class product.
But traveling is still not an option for everyone. That’s especially true if Japan is your destination, since it is not open to international travel yet.
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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
