Good question, if you have the Amex points you can definitely transfer directly to ANA and book that way, they might charge you between 75k-90k round-trip and you have to book round trip. Booking through VA you can book one ways and put the award ticket on hold while you transfer the points!
@@MaxMilesPoints are the points shown here from the United website for one way? the Ord flight shows 88k and the return flight shows 80k in your video. So would it be 88k round trip? or 168k round trip? Thanks!
Booking through ANA would be better since ANA offers more reward space to their own program, and it's usually a few thousand miles less directly with ANA, rather than through VA. This transfer capability is the *only reason* why I'm considering fetching an AMEX card, but the cost is so ridiculous that it may not be worth it for me since I only go to Asia once every year or two, and Japan would be a stopover going to other countries in the region. JAL would be I think a better fit for me, but the closest you'll get for JAL is Alaska Airlines, but their offers aren't nearly as sweet as the ANA transfer.
My wife and I just booked some flights from Tokyo on business class using this video, thank you!! Was quite the headache finding award space as you mentioned it can be
@@karengandrea Found them by searching the Air Canada website for several days. It's slim pickings but there are some single Business class flights i found from Tokyo to most USA destinations (And vise versa) at least a few times a month. If you're using Virgin Atlantic Miles the trick is, VA only books out 330 days in advance. So don't look further on the Air Canada website and expect to be able to book the availability you find.
Keep those kind of videos coming. This is what all the beginners are missing on how to book because they are already got so many ideas on how to have a lot of points but they don't know how to put them in good use. Love it. Please do one like this on how to book business or first class with Emirates and Etihad to go to UAE using points and mikes. Thank you so much again for such a great video.
This is the most helpful video I've watch so far, thank you! I was on the fence between getting C1 venture or Chase sapphire preferred. My main goal is to get enough points to travel business or first class to Japan from the US with ANA. I am planning on eventually get both cards so I can transfer the sign in bonus from both credit cards into Virgin Atlantic.
That’s a smart strategy! That’s the best part about virgin Atlantic you can transfer points into Virgin from a lot of different credit card points. If you need a referral link for either cards let me know!
I tried multiple times of using the method taught in this video to book a round-trip ANA business class but had 0 luck. Not only the surcharge fee is $900+ per person roundtrip from west coast to Tokyo, but also ALL business classes are marked as "waitlisted" all the way until Nov 2023. Not sure what ANA did but it's nearly impossible to book their business class using awards. Can you please make an updated video to talk about this? I couldn't find any help online in the recent months. #desparate
@@XTCtroll When I checked last time, Virgin didn't show any availabilities. ANA showed everything as waitlisted maybe besides 1-2 flights in December as available
I think all the “I” category are operated by UA now. Plus VA updated their website to show 120K-130K for business now. Not sure if you’re still able to find flights with this..
That’s interesting. I wouldn’t normally think of using a flyer program for an airline I don’t normally fly (just the once in 2010). I have a UA Explorer card and I’m not about to get another card at the moment. But this is a nice tip to keep in my back pocket, especially since I’ve enjoyed traveling with ANA in the past. I guess the catch is you need to live without reasonable distance of somewhere ANA flies nonstop or try your luck on booking your own connection.
How come all the flights on united website from ord to Tokyo are like 200 points... Besides November or December. Ideally want to travel when it's warmer.
No availability on business class flights from California to Tokyo in 2023. I get "waitlisted" on ANA. What does that mean? UAL, Aeroplan, etc charges 175,000 miles for same flights. Please advice.
I did a practice run and found a suitable flight on United, then went to the VA site and couldn't find that flight. I went back and re watched the segment and saw you never went to the VA site (except to check when points arrived) So.. is that how it is done, find the saver award space and call VA?
You cant see them on VS site. Find on UA, cross check same date you find on Air Canada. If you can see on both, most likely is isnt a phantom space. Then call VS and they have to book over the phone
Man. Trying to plan my honeymoon to Japan in 2024. Looking June/July but open to waiting to do it August- October. Unfortunately, I cannot find ANY award space on ANA from United, Air canada, Etc. Lots of times not even displaying ANA flights, and the ones I can find only have Economy open. Any suggestions? I have AMEX and Chase points to transfer.
my flights showing 100k points for econ.... from IAD how are yours showing for so cheap??? Are the points/cost shown by united irrelevant? I want to find a econ flight to japan from IAD, so I found one on united site but it costs like 100k points one way, if I call up virgin will it only cost 65k points for a round trip?
Great video, and very helpful, but ANA has a waitlist on reward tickets. How can we be sure to get the seat and not get bumped off? Is there any Airline, that has no waitlist when booking with points?
Very helpful video! Thank you for making it. But how did you find 2 seats? I have been looking for days now and have only found 1 seat. Today I did find 1 business and 1 first.
Are you seeing >1 ANA award seat available on United's website in 2022? Seems that ANA may be restricting partner access to >1 seat in 2022 compared to 2021.
on the surface this video seemed concise and to the point but pretty hard to follow all the steps since so many little steps were left out. and literally tried all kinds of partner airlines with ZERO award space found as far as 6-8 months out.
I am planning my November nonstop flight from JFK to HND but I don't see any reward premium economy seat or business seat available at all at ANA or JAP. Are airlines not releasing the premium seats due to high demand? Not sure if anyone can give me a insight. I am planning to buy a one way premium economy seat from JFK to HND. Is it better to book directly at JAP or the same via code share at American Airlines site. If there is cancelation due to weather is it easy to rebook/change with codeshare airlines? I personally prefer to credit the mileage into my AA account and it is slightly cheaper at AA too. Also previously it was hard getting customer service with this Asian airlines when I call, hours on queue (Cathay, Ana, Asiana). It seems easier calling US airlines customer services since there are 24/7 while the Asian have working hours and some even lunch hours. Correct me if I am wrong as I don't fly international that much. Previous calling the Asian airlines was oh behalf of relatives flying.
Amex points are the only points that transfer to ANA so booking through Virgin you'll have more options to earn the points and transfer. Booking through Virgin Atlantic you book one ways too. Sometimes Virgin has transfer bonuses that make the deal even better!
Loving this especially since I'm planning a trip to Japan too! Question - If you're not near an airport with direct flights for ANA, would you need to book a separate ticket to that specific air port with direct flights?
@@MaxMilesPoints Hi, quick question about positioning flight. When you do this, do you have to get out of the airport from Arrival and then check back in through Departure and go through airport security again?
So if I go on united and search like book by miles but it seem super hard to find flight that operated by ANA and even when I find one there no business class option. Is there any better way to search for the flights?
I'm not sure if you're still checking these comments, but, is this all still applicable? I've been trying to search for business class for my fiancé and I for our honeymoon next year and am just at a bust :( None of the business classes have come up with (I) either.
Great video…quick question: can you also book one-way business class or does it have to be round-trip? If you can, how many points is it normally for the one-way? Thanks
If you have enough points on those credit cards, for example chase Saphire, is it the same as booking the flight through Virgin Atlantic? Why not book direct from the credit card that has the pouts? Why transfer to virgin Atlantic?
Love this walk through. I got into points and miles and racked up 200k alaska miles. Any chance you will do a video on those? Also would you feel safe booking a trip to Japan for next year? It'll be open by then right?
I just called trying to book and the representative said that it would be (temporarily?) $848 in taxes and fees since it's a partnered roundtrip flight? Needless to say, I'll be booking straight through the chase portal since there are no taxes and fees.
How were you able to find multiple business award seats? Im looking for 2 J seats from YVR to Tokyo and it seems like only 1 is being released 350 days out. Any availability with more than 1 seat is either mixed cabin with the majority being in economy or astronomically priced.
Can I transfer my points to Virgin Atlantic and book flights for myself and family members or do I need to make Virgin Atlantic accounts for them as well?
Great video! Trying to figure out my next Japan trip using points and this is great! So since all the credit card companies can transfer to Virgin Atlantic, I could realistically transfer points say like half from Citi and half from Chase to Virgin Atlantic to get an ANA flight right? Sorry if that question as an obvious answer, but I'm new to points and trying to figure it all out for possible future travel with them. Also, how often does Virgin Atlantic do those bonus redemptions or any other airline usually? Also once you were in Japan, what were your go to credit cards while there?
I see at 5:34 that you are looking at a page that shows where you can transfer points. Is this just the credit card page where you go to transfer? Does it show you there when there’s transfer bonuses? Not sure if that makes sense but basically I want to know how people know about the bonuses.
Thanks a lot for the info!! but no availability for business or first from LAX to TOKYO at all. I've checked to the furthest date I could search but no chance. Has anyone got any luck?
Max, how to book for 2 persons? Do me and my spouse must create 2 separate virgin accounts? Or we booth for 2 persons with one virgin account; instead of transferring 90,000 then it will be 180,000
Hey Max quick question, why do you need to transfer chase points to virgin atlantic rather than just transferring chase points to united mileageplus to get the same flights?
If you want to book via virgin Atlantic at the lower rate , then you should transfer your points to virgin Atlantic! But only after you find award availability and call virgin Atlantic to confirm they see the award space!
Hi, Can one transfer Chase United Explorer miles to Virgin Atlantic? I also have a Chase Reserved - is there a way to transfer within Chase then to VA? Also, you mentioned flights with stops are harder to book - we were looking at multi-city SFO-MNL (tokyo layover) MNL-TOKYO-SFO. Is this too complicated to book with this deal? Thanks!
From the Virgin Atlantic x ANA page An infant under two at the time of travel and not requiring a seat, will be charged the following points for a round trip. One-way journey's would require half the points. Economy Class - 2,000 Business Class - 10,000 First Class - 14,000
Award availability has been tough to find , impossible, no. And taxes and fees are on the higher side but you’re redeeming less points. Air Canada charges 75k (30k more points) but $50 in taxes and fees each way. United and Lifemiles charges 90k+ and under $25 in taxes and fees. So there are other options if you DO find the award space. If you’re up for some last minute travel ANA has been releasing business class award space 2-3 weeks from departure. Last time I checked LAX to TYO had 2+ seats on multiple flights on multiple days in business class. You’ll get better value booking business instead of economy because of the higher taxes and fees.
Nicer seat, fancier food and champagne! I've never flown first class so I can't speak for whether it's worth it or not. But from what I hear its something you need to do at least once!
It's definitely worth it IMO. The seats are ridiculously luxurious, and the service/food is amazing. Problem is that there's very rarely any award space (only 1 per flight IIRC), and given how it's not that much more points relative to how much it would cost in cash, that space gets snagged pretty quickly now.
If an award seat is available from ANA’s searching but not UA’s, can it be booked from VA? Or it means the award seat is no released to partner airlines from ANA? Thx!
I see you searched using 1 traveler for both your parents. I found an ANA flight using 1 traveler but didn't show up when searching for 2 travelers. Is this a thing and should I just call Virgin Atlantic Club or keep looking for something that shows up with 2 travelers? Thanks!
I searched as one person as an example. If you’re traveling for two you should search for two. If you don’t see availability for two then it’s likely there isn’t seats available for two people
Hey great video. Can you make one that helps us get our flights once ANA cancels a flight. We booked our flights (6 in total) in July to Okinawa via LAX for December. Our plans were to visit our family in Okinawa who have been stationed there for 3 years now with now contact with family. Yesterday ANA statically canceled our flight from LAX to Tokyo. But fear not as they are willing to book us on another flight LAX to Tokyo about 40 minutes later from the original flight but at twice the price. We have been on the phone with ANA for the past two days and they refuse to work with us. If you are wondering here is the flight info. Los Angeles 12:45 PM Tokyo 5:40 PM ANA 7543 Classy move ANA Any advice welcome
Yes! But you may want to check other airline programs and other options to see if they are charging lower. Using this strategy to book economy isn’t the best value because of the higher taxes and fees tbh
Hi again, I tried exactly what you have in the video, and literally saw nothing on united's website for business class that you could use points for. Is there a sort of strategy or is it just that extremely rare?
I recommend looking as far out on the calendar as possible into spring/summer 2023. Award availability in general for business class seats have been pretty tough to find recently.
@@MaxMilesPoints I appreciate that. It turns out it by specific city as well. Your example of Chicago is a common one. It’s a shame someone hasn’t made a spreadsheet on common good finds. (But I also get why that is shared).
Hey Max! So does that mean that all flights are either 90-95k points round trip from ORD as seen on Virgin Atlantic site or would it be 80k points one way as seen on United? Just want to be clear, when we call Virg Atlantic to put on 24hr hold, do we ask them what the points amount needed will be for the trip or how do we know how many points we’ll have to redeem?
Great video Max!!! One thing you did not mention is, when you looked at the United site, there was only 1 seat available, so how did you book 3 people, will the availability increase by calling ANA directly? Thanks Max!!!
Im new to this whole award travel and just a tip for all the newbies to to create your Virgin Atlantic account now. I actually found an “I class” recently and on the same day I created my virgin account and they were not able to put my ticket on hold because my virgin Atlantic account was too new 😅
Your videos are stellar! I feel more educated. I’m trying to get to S Korea from Texas with my spouse to last week of October Would love to visit Japan either on the way there or back. I have AmEx Gold and nearing 160k points. Would love any advice or video! Do you have a patreon?
@maxmilespoints Have United changed their details showing ANA flights? I checked every airport that fly from USA to Tokyo with ANA through the United site and can't find a single ANA operated flight.
Great video, and pretty helpful tips. But it seems if you are to fly out of JFK to Hanada, I cant quite seem to find any flights (ECO or BUS) on United operated by ANA. Has anyone traveled from JFK with any luck?
![[2023] Guide to Booking ANA Business Class Award Flights to Japan](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dTgOIB3_sek/mqdefault.jpg)
![[2023] Guide to Booking ANA Business Class Award Flights to Japan](/img/tr.png)
![[UA] Eternal Fire проти NAVI | EPL Season 20 Malta](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/chvlsDygrZM/mqdefault.jpg)
Hi, helpful video! One question, I saw that Amex points can be transfered directly to Ana. Why do you think booking through Virgin Atlantic is better?
Good question, if you have the Amex points you can definitely transfer directly to ANA and book that way, they might charge you between 75k-90k round-trip and you have to book round trip. Booking through VA you can book one ways and put the award ticket on hold while you transfer the points!
@@MaxMilesPoints are the points shown here from the United website for one way? the Ord flight shows 88k and the return flight shows 80k in your video.
So would it be 88k round trip? or 168k round trip?
Thanks!
@@jollybrancher He's using United to find the saver space not the cost. So it will be 95k round trip via Virgin Atlantic.
Booking through ANA would be better since ANA offers more reward space to their own program, and it's usually a few thousand miles less directly with ANA, rather than through VA. This transfer capability is the *only reason* why I'm considering fetching an AMEX card, but the cost is so ridiculous that it may not be worth it for me since I only go to Asia once every year or two, and Japan would be a stopover going to other countries in the region. JAL would be I think a better fit for me, but the closest you'll get for JAL is Alaska Airlines, but their offers aren't nearly as sweet as the ANA transfer.
great in theory, but finding award space is nearly impossible
My wife and I just booked some flights from Tokyo on business class using this video, thank you!! Was quite the headache finding award space as you mentioned it can be
Glad you were able to find award space! It’s been really tough the last several months to find award space!
How did she find seats? I’m having a hard time
@@karengandrea Found them by searching the Air Canada website for several days. It's slim pickings but there are some single Business class flights i found from Tokyo to most USA destinations (And vise versa) at least a few times a month. If you're using Virgin Atlantic Miles the trick is, VA only books out 330 days in advance. So don't look further on the Air Canada website and expect to be able to book the availability you find.
@@TheDrive110 thanks for the response
You are the man Bro! This is the info I have been looking for to fly my family back and forth to Japan from West Coast. Thanks a million✌🏿
Does this video still work for this year?
Max, you are rapidly becoming my favorite credit card you tuber.....👍
🙌🏼 Thanks!
Your videos are more helpful than a Travel course I bought for this type of stuff 😭
What travel course did you buy?
Keep those kind of videos coming. This is what all the beginners are missing on how to book because they are already got so many ideas on how to have a lot of points but they don't know how to put them in good use. Love it.
Please do one like this on how to book business or first class with Emirates and Etihad to go to UAE using points and mikes. Thank you so much again for such a great video.
I am thoroughly impressed with your videos. You offer jewels i don't see on others!
This is the most helpful video I've watch so far, thank you! I was on the fence between getting C1 venture or Chase sapphire preferred. My main goal is to get enough points to travel business or first class to Japan from the US with ANA. I am planning on eventually get both cards so I can transfer the sign in bonus from both credit cards into Virgin Atlantic.
That’s a smart strategy! That’s the best part about virgin Atlantic you can transfer points into Virgin from a lot of different credit card points. If you need a referral link for either cards let me know!
@@MaxMilesPoints Thanks! I alredy got the C1 credit card, but when I'm ready for the Chase card I'll let you know for the referral!
I tried multiple times of using the method taught in this video to book a round-trip ANA business class but had 0 luck. Not only the surcharge fee is $900+ per person roundtrip from west coast to Tokyo, but also ALL business classes are marked as "waitlisted" all the way until Nov 2023. Not sure what ANA did but it's nearly impossible to book their business class using awards. Can you please make an updated video to talk about this? I couldn't find any help online in the recent months. #desparate
SAME!!!
Did you book through virgin Atlantic? And it shows as waitlisted?
@@XTCtroll When I checked last time, Virgin didn't show any availabilities. ANA showed everything as waitlisted maybe besides 1-2 flights in December as available
Please take this video down. You’re wasting people’s time.
Thank you for information but I’ve noticed recently ANA is charging almost $800 in fees for any cabin level even economy
I think all the “I” category are operated by UA now. Plus VA updated their website to show 120K-130K for business now. Not sure if you’re still able to find flights with this..
Awesome video, kept it simple but filled with great details.
Glad you liked it!
Great video, thank you but how about if Im going to continue my trip to Bangkok, ORD - Tokyo - Bangkok?
I'm following your video instructions but it's still so difficult to find a flight. There seems to be no availablity.
Great information. I was actually wondering how to do a trip to Japan. Thank you.
That’s interesting. I wouldn’t normally think of using a flyer program for an airline I don’t normally fly (just the once in 2010). I have a UA Explorer card and I’m not about to get another card at the moment. But this is a nice tip to keep in my back pocket, especially since I’ve enjoyed traveling with ANA in the past.
I guess the catch is you need to live without reasonable distance of somewhere ANA flies nonstop or try your luck on booking your own connection.
Great information and I'll certainly bookmark this for when I'm able to book travel to Japan. Now if Japan would only open up for tourism!
How come all the flights on united website from ord to Tokyo are like 200 points... Besides November or December. Ideally want to travel when it's warmer.
Super helpful video, thank you! One question, are you able to transfer points from multiple cards?
I can’t find any tickets under 200k points
In your opinion, when is the best time for cherry blossom viewing?
No availability on business class flights from California to Tokyo in 2023. I get "waitlisted" on ANA. What does that mean? UAL, Aeroplan, etc charges 175,000 miles for same flights. Please advice.
I did a practice run and found a suitable flight on United, then went to the VA site and couldn't find that flight. I went back and re watched the segment and saw you never went to the VA site (except to check when points arrived) So.. is that how it is done, find the saver award space and call VA?
You cant see them on VS site. Find on UA, cross check same date you find on Air Canada. If you can see on both, most likely is isnt a phantom space. Then call VS and they have to book over the phone
I just tried to do this and Virgin told me they dont put Nippon tickets on hold, they can only book and it has to be ticketed within 2 hours
Soooooo helpful!!!!
Man. Trying to plan my honeymoon to Japan in 2024. Looking June/July but open to waiting to do it August- October. Unfortunately, I cannot find ANY award space on ANA from United, Air canada, Etc. Lots of times not even displaying ANA flights, and the ones I can find only have Economy open. Any suggestions? I have AMEX and Chase points to transfer.
my flights showing 100k points for econ.... from IAD
how are yours showing for so cheap???
Are the points/cost shown by united irrelevant? I want to find a econ flight to japan from IAD, so I found one on united site but it costs like 100k points one way, if I call up virgin will it only cost 65k points for a round trip?
Great video, and very helpful, but ANA has a waitlist on reward tickets. How can we be sure to get the seat and not get bumped off? Is there any Airline, that has no waitlist when booking with points?
Great video, thanks for sharing! 1 question: how do you find out if transfer bonuses are happening, and how often do they happen? Thanks!
What if you try to fly from IAD to MNL since they can only assist me till I get to Japan? Thanks :)
Can I book a flight with a transfer?
My amex was instant but i already had made a transfer to VS previously with chase (not a new VS account). Also they wouldnt hold the flight.
Very helpful video! Thank you for making it. But how did you find 2 seats? I have been looking for days now and have only found 1 seat. Today I did find 1 business and 1 first.
It's pretty tough to find ANA award availability now. Check far out in the calendar and I've had the most luck searching for ANA flights out of ORD
Are you seeing >1 ANA award seat available on United's website in 2022? Seems that ANA may be restricting partner access to >1 seat in 2022 compared to 2021.
It looks like the United interface no longer shows class fare info - any ideas on how to find this out?
Every time I try to find a flight to Japan the only option with miles are economy class. What am I doing wrong?
How would this work if I fly from Canada?
on the surface this video seemed concise and to the point but pretty hard to follow all the steps since so many little steps were left out. and literally tried all kinds of partner airlines with ZERO award space found as far as 6-8 months out.
As of the last 3+ months ANA award space has always been hard to find. I can’t control what award space the airline releases
I am planning my November nonstop flight from JFK to HND but I don't see any reward premium economy seat or business seat available at all at ANA or JAP. Are airlines not releasing the premium seats due to high demand?
Not sure if anyone can give me a insight. I am planning to buy a one way premium economy seat from JFK to HND. Is it better to book directly at JAP or the same via code share at American Airlines site. If there is cancelation due to weather is it easy to rebook/change with codeshare airlines? I personally prefer to credit the mileage into my AA account and it is slightly cheaper at AA too. Also previously it was hard getting customer service with this Asian airlines when I call, hours on queue (Cathay, Ana, Asiana). It seems easier calling US airlines customer services since there are 24/7 while the Asian have working hours and some even lunch hours. Correct me if I am wrong as I don't fly international that much. Previous calling the Asian airlines was oh behalf of relatives flying.
Question , why not book directly with ANA ?
Amex points are the only points that transfer to ANA so booking through Virgin you'll have more options to earn the points and transfer. Booking through Virgin Atlantic you book one ways too. Sometimes Virgin has transfer bonuses that make the deal even better!
Very helpful indeed! I have the Venture X card and I see "Virgin Red" Is it safe to assume it is the same thing or rebranded?
Virgin Red is Virgin Atlantic.
It's basically impossible to find these flights now sadly
Yeah as of recent it’s really tough 😭
Very good info! Well done.
Loving this especially since I'm planning a trip to Japan too!
Question - If you're not near an airport with direct flights for ANA, would you need to book a separate ticket to that specific air port with direct flights?
Yes, you are correct! It's called a positioning flight. Book a separate ticket to position yourself to where the deals or award availability is!
@@MaxMilesPoints Hi, quick question about positioning flight. When you do this, do you have to get out of the airport from Arrival and then check back in through Departure and go through airport security again?
@@nguyenphucquan Pho sure
So if I go on united and search like book by miles but it seem super hard to find flight that operated by ANA and even when I find one there no business class option. Is there any better way to search for the flights?
I'm not sure if you're still checking these comments, but, is this all still applicable? I've been trying to search for business class for my fiancé and I for our honeymoon next year and am just at a bust :( None of the business classes have come up with (I) either.
With EVA on Star Alliance, can we do the same to Taipei?
Great video…quick question: can you also book one-way business class or does it have to be round-trip? If you can, how many points is it normally for the one-way? Thanks
man, this guy doesn't respond to any of our questions
Hi.. thanks for the video! Why did you use united to search.
Hi Max, do points expire on Virgin Atlantic if I want to transfer my points early to take advantage of special promotions. thanks
Doesn't expire but I don't recommend speculatively transferring though.
If you have enough points on those credit cards, for example chase Saphire, is it the same as booking the flight through Virgin Atlantic? Why not book direct from the credit card that has the pouts? Why transfer to virgin Atlantic?
Love this walk through. I got into points and miles and racked up 200k alaska miles. Any chance you will do a video on those? Also would you feel safe booking a trip to Japan for next year? It'll be open by then right?
How can virgin Atlantic be less points than Delta or AnA? How do they get away with that?
It's been so difficult to find the award space for me. Ive been trying to find a spot in September or October and i'm coiming up with NOTHING.
Yeah ANA award space is currently tough to find 😪
Less miles but over $400 in fees for one way. Do they charge $400 each way?
I just called trying to book and the representative said that it would be (temporarily?) $848 in taxes and fees since it's a partnered roundtrip flight? Needless to say, I'll be booking straight through the chase portal since there are no taxes and fees.
How were you able to find multiple business award seats? Im looking for 2 J seats from YVR to Tokyo and it seems like only 1 is being released 350 days out. Any availability with more than 1 seat is either mixed cabin with the majority being in economy or astronomically priced.
Can I transfer my points to Virgin Atlantic and book flights for myself and family members or do I need to make Virgin Atlantic accounts for them as well?
I personally would rather transfer miles to ANA directly because it can be cheaper to go through them vs Virgin Atlantic.
Yes if you can find the round trip award space.
Great video. Can't wait to try this out.
Glad you enjoyed the video!
Great video! Trying to figure out my next Japan trip using points and this is great! So since all the credit card companies can transfer to Virgin Atlantic, I could realistically transfer points say like half from Citi and half from Chase to Virgin Atlantic to get an ANA flight right? Sorry if that question as an obvious answer, but I'm new to points and trying to figure it all out for possible future travel with them. Also, how often does Virgin Atlantic do those bonus redemptions or any other airline usually? Also once you were in Japan, what were your go to credit cards while there?
This is pretty valuable information! I'm not finding any availability from LAX or SFO for ANA :(
Same! Even from the furthest date possible
Yeah. I give up. Same 🤨
can you hold for two seats?
I see at 5:34 that you are looking at a page that shows where you can transfer points. Is this just the credit card page where you go to transfer? Does it show you there when there’s transfer bonuses? Not sure if that makes sense but basically I want to know how people know about the bonuses.
Thanks a lot for the info!! but no availability for business or first from LAX to TOKYO at all. I've checked to the furthest date I could search but no chance. Has anyone got any luck?
Max, how to book for 2 persons? Do me and my spouse must create 2 separate virgin accounts? Or we booth for 2 persons with one virgin account; instead of transferring 90,000 then it will be 180,000
hi, is there anyway to make it to Vietnam with points? TIA!
I’m on the virgin Atlantic website, I can’t seem to find the damn chart. What am I doing wrong? Lol
Is it easier to find seats at the virgin Atlantic than Ana website?
Hey Max quick question, why do you need to transfer chase points to virgin atlantic rather than just transferring chase points to united mileageplus to get the same flights?
If you want to book via virgin Atlantic at the lower rate , then you should transfer your points to virgin Atlantic! But only after you find award availability and call virgin Atlantic to confirm they see the award space!
@@MaxMilesPoints gotcha! that makes so much sense, i think i straight up blanked haha appreciate it
Hey Max, does it have to be ANA or can it be UA metal to hold the booking from VS? Thanks
Would you recommend transferring the points to VA when there is a 30% bonus but before securing any award flights?
I don’t recommend because your points will be stuck with virgin Atlantic. Wait until you find the award space before you transfer
Hi, Can one transfer Chase United Explorer miles to Virgin Atlantic? I also have a Chase Reserved - is there a way to transfer within Chase then to VA?
Also, you mentioned flights with stops are harder to book - we were looking at multi-city SFO-MNL (tokyo layover) MNL-TOKYO-SFO. Is this too complicated to book with this deal? Thanks!
Aeroplan to Japan from Toronto is only 87.5k
For one-way. In this video it’s 90k round trip if you book ANA via Virgin Atlantic
Do you know what the fee would be for having an infant lap ticket for business class? Any advice or extra tips for booking? Thanks!
From the Virgin Atlantic x ANA page
An infant under two at the time of travel and not requiring a seat, will be charged the following points for a round trip.
One-way journey's would require half the points.
Economy Class - 2,000
Business Class - 10,000
First Class - 14,000
Virgin Atlantic doesn't exist anymore. Is there a reason to book through Virgin Atlantic beside the point transfer?
Virgin America doesn’t exist anymore. Virgin Atlantic still operates out of the UK
It’s been impossible to book a good deal on ANA lately. Insane fees. $700 to redeem award travel from Denver to Tokyo.
Award availability has been tough to find , impossible, no. And taxes and fees are on the higher side but you’re redeeming less points. Air Canada charges 75k (30k more points) but $50 in taxes and fees each way. United and Lifemiles charges 90k+ and under $25 in taxes and fees. So there are other options if you DO find the award space. If you’re up for some last minute travel ANA has been releasing business class award space 2-3 weeks from departure. Last time I checked LAX to TYO had 2+ seats on multiple flights on multiple days in business class. You’ll get better value booking business instead of economy because of the higher taxes and fees.
The award space is just impossible to find as far as 11 months ahead from lax to tyo.
This is #goals!!! But now I’m curious what the difference is between ANA business class and first class, and if the extra points would be worth it?
Nicer seat, fancier food and champagne! I've never flown first class so I can't speak for whether it's worth it or not. But from what I hear its something you need to do at least once!
It's definitely worth it IMO. The seats are ridiculously luxurious, and the service/food is amazing. Problem is that there's very rarely any award space (only 1 per flight IIRC), and given how it's not that much more points relative to how much it would cost in cash, that space gets snagged pretty quickly now.
Can you put award ticket on hold if their web hasn't shown the dates yet?
Virgin Atlantic as of a few months ago cannot put ANA flights on hold
How much are the taxes, fuel fees on awards seats booked on virgin Atlantic for ana biz?
Currently $300 ish each way 😪
This is helpful!
Glad it was helpful, thanks for watching!
If an award seat is available from ANA’s searching but not UA’s, can it be booked from VA? Or it means the award seat is no released to partner airlines from ANA? Thx!
It likely means the award seat is not released to partners and might be just available through ANA
@@MaxMilesPoints thanks!
Is there a difference booking economy?
Similar process, just swap business class for economy class
@@MaxMilesPoints is there a special clue to know you can book it on a partner? Like the "I" for business?
I see you searched using 1 traveler for both your parents. I found an ANA flight using 1 traveler but didn't show up when searching for 2 travelers. Is this a thing and should I just call Virgin Atlantic Club or keep looking for something that shows up with 2 travelers? Thanks!
I searched as one person as an example. If you’re traveling for two you should search for two. If you don’t see availability for two then it’s likely there isn’t seats available for two people
Hey great video. Can you make one that helps us get our flights once ANA cancels a flight. We booked our flights (6 in total) in July to Okinawa via LAX for December. Our plans were to visit our family in Okinawa who have been stationed there for 3 years now with now contact with family. Yesterday ANA statically canceled our flight from LAX to Tokyo. But fear not as they are willing to book us on another flight LAX to Tokyo about 40 minutes later from the original flight but at twice the price. We have been on the phone with ANA for the past two days and they refuse to work with us. If you are wondering here is the flight info. Los Angeles
12:45 PM
Tokyo
5:40 PM
ANA 7543
Classy move ANA
Any advice welcome
Does fare class I still hold true? According to UA fare class page, it doesn't seem I is a valid class anymore?
It does. Almost all star alliance airlines utilize (I) as saver award space
@@MaxMilesPoints Ok thank you!
i find it impossible to find any flights with the criteria. any tips?
me too... did u ever figure it out? is there just no availability?
How about if i want to fly eco? does eco X work?
Yes! But you may want to check other airline programs and other options to see if they are charging lower. Using this strategy to book economy isn’t the best value because of the higher taxes and fees tbh
Love you
🫶🏼
Hi again, I tried exactly what you have in the video, and literally saw nothing on united's website for business class that you could use points for. Is there a sort of strategy or is it just that extremely rare?
I recommend looking as far out on the calendar as possible into spring/summer 2023. Award availability in general for business class seats have been pretty tough to find recently.
@@MaxMilesPoints I appreciate that. It turns out it by specific city as well. Your example of Chicago is a common one. It’s a shame someone hasn’t made a spreadsheet on common good finds. (But I also get why that is shared).
@@happysaucey5700 Right, its city-specific see 3:09 for all the cities ANA flies from nonstop
Hey Max! So does that mean that all flights are either 90-95k points round trip from ORD as seen on Virgin Atlantic site or would it be 80k points one way as seen on United?
Just want to be clear, when we call Virg Atlantic to put on 24hr hold, do we ask them what the points amount needed will be for the trip or how do we know how many points we’ll have to redeem?
the waitlisted thing is bs
Yeah I wouldn’t do the waitlist tbh you’ll never get cleared off the waitlist
@@MaxMilesPoints but what about if ur using points :( having big issue
Great video Max!!! One thing you did not mention is, when you looked at the United site, there was only 1 seat available, so how did you book 3 people, will the availability increase by calling ANA directly? Thanks Max!!!
Im new to this whole award travel and just a tip for all the newbies to to create your Virgin Atlantic account now. I actually found an “I class” recently and on the same day I created my virgin account and they were not able to put my ticket on hold because my virgin Atlantic account was too new 😅
People are camping out for these award nights so annoyed
Not the easiest award space to find unfortunately 😞. Everyone wants to go to Japan
Your videos are stellar! I feel more educated. I’m trying to get to S Korea from Texas with my spouse to last week of October Would love to visit Japan either on the way there or back. I have AmEx Gold and nearing 160k points. Would love any advice or video! Do you have a patreon?
Why is it so hard to find the flights!?!? Virgin Atlantic says the code Has to read NH like your says but I can’t find that
@maxmilespoints Have United changed their details showing ANA flights? I checked every airport that fly from USA to Tokyo with ANA through the United site and can't find a single ANA operated flight.
Great video, and pretty helpful tips. But it seems if you are to fly out of JFK to Hanada, I cant quite seem to find any flights (ECO or BUS) on United operated by ANA. Has anyone traveled from JFK with any luck?