More bad news is set to come: ANA is doing a partial devaluation for some of its international and partner award flights, with some routes increasing about 20% roughly on average for bookings made after April 18, 2024.
Although this increase is not as severe as what we've seen from Turkish Airlines, it will affect some of the best award deals available in the points space. Furthermore, given the difficulties in booking ANA awards, this change raises questions about the value of the effort.
Summary Of The Devaluation
ANA has always had some fantastic award redemption rates, despite the difficulty in actually booking them. With this upcoming devaluation, rates will still be good, but not as amazing as before.
Here are some of the notable ones that caught my attention (ANA prices vary by high/low seasons):
BRAND
Route
Fare Class
Operating Carrier
Current Price
New Price
U.S. <> Japan
Business
ANA
75–85k miles
100–105k miles
U.S. <> Japan
First
ANA
150k miles
150–170k miles
U.S. <> South Korea
Business
ANA
80-90k miles
105-112k miles
U.S. <> Japan
Business
Partner
85k miles
110k miles
U.S. <> Europe
Business
Partner
88k miles
100k miles
U.S. <> Africa
Business
Partner
104k miles
130k miles
U.S. <> Oceania
Business
Partner
120k miles
145k miles
While some flights are increasing quite a bit, on average, this is about a 20% increase, which isn't too bad all things considered. ANA will still have some very strong redemption rates.
NOTE: For waitlisted flights, if you are not confirmed onto a flight by April 18, 2024, you will be subject to the new pricing. This adds another reason to be cautious about waitlisting awards.
Our Thoughts
While any devaluation is sad, at the end of the day, I'm glad this isn't as bad as it could have been (looking at you Turkish Airlines). ANA's restrictions on booking award flights continues to make it a rather hard program to use:
- You can only book roundtrip award flights with ANA
- ANA passes on carrier imposed surcharges to you when booking award tickets (excluding Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, Avianca, Copa, and United)
- Point transfers to ANA are not instant; you must oftentimes make speculative transfers in hopes that your award is available
- Some complicated award bookings must be made over the phone, which can be frusturating
- ANA miles expire 36 months from when they've been earned, no exceptions
So, at the end of the day, the prices are ok and still competitive, but ANA award bookings still have their own slew of problems.
What About Other Ways To Get To Asia?
The last remaining pillar for cheap award flights to Asia is on American Airlines, which has the only 60,000 mile one-way option left. Additionally, these flights are fully flexible, allowing cancellations without penalty and imposing minimal to no award surcharges. That's incredible. Given the wave of devaluations coming across the board, now's the time to lock in those high value flights while you still can...
Conclusion
All devaluations are disappointing, but ANA's program remains one of the most competitive options available to truly maximize the value of your points. However, ANA comes with a barrage of inconveniences that still make it difficult to book its awards. So, all things considered, if you have a booking in mind on ANA, go for it, but just be wary of the upcoming devaluation and the difficulties to actually make this booking.
