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Update (03.07.2023)
ANA 1st Class surcharges between the U.S. mainland and Japan are reduced to Changes without noticehas become
West - Japan saw a nearly 20,000 mile price increase for a one-way trip in First Class from 5.5K miles one-way to 7.25K miles one-way.
Central/Eastern Region - Japan has a 2.5-mile increase from 60,000 miles one-way to 8.5 miles one-way.
We hope this is clear.
Update (10.7.2021)
There is information on the bulletin board that if you have a separate ticket from the US mainland to Narita on ANA and from Narita to Incheon on Korean Air, you will not be able to check your luggage through. This may not apply to you if you are only hand-carrying, but if you have a lot of luggage, you should be aware of this.
See the bulletin board article.
https://www.milemoa.com/bbs/board/8840442
=======================================
We've had some good news about Virgin Airlines miles for a while now.
ANA Airlines tickets, which were previously only available for round-trip tickets, are now available for one-way tickets.
You've saved up a bunch of Virgin Airlines miles to use for a Delta One ticket. Unexpected deduction spikes at the beginning of the yearand now you have an alternative way to spend those miles.
However, Flights to South Korea are very difficult to ticket due to the pandemic, so it's not a good idea to use it for summer ticketing right away.up front.
In today's post, we'll cover 1) an introduction to ANA Airlines First Class, 2) how Virgin Airlines ticketing works, 3) what to look out for when ticketing, 4) ANA route status, 5) how to search for seats, and 6) how to earn Virgin miles.
Table of Contents
1. the best first class in the world
While every airline in the world is eliminating first class, ANA still maintains it on many routes, and I would say it's the best in the world, not only in terms of the seats and other physical features, but also in terms of service. (Please take this with a grain of salt, as I've only flown first class once in my life).
In particular, the newly introduced New technology in First and Business Classis just plain good to look at.
I'm repeating myself, butand post three or four photos.
It looks something like this.
2. highest virgin deduction
The question is, how many miles would you pay to fly ANA's first class (or business class)?
With ANA, the number of miles you pay varies depending on which miles you use.
For the ANA 1st Class U.S.-Japan segment, here's how it breaks down in a table
| Airlines | One-way ticketing availability | Mileage deducted |
| ANA | No | 150,000 to 16.5K, depending on the season |
| Asiana | Yes | 80,000 per one-way |
| Lifemiles | Yes | 90,000 per one-way |
| Air Canada | Yes | Typically 110,000 each way |
| United | Yes | 12.1 per one-way |
Since ANA miles can't be used for international one-way tickets, the actual cheapest miles would be if you booked with Asiana miles, which would cost 80,000 miles one-way and 160,000 miles roundtrip.
Now, let's look at the virgin subtraction.
As shown in the table below, a nonstop Japan-US West route is 110,000 miles roundtrip. For a Japan-U.S. Central/Eastern nonstop route, it's 120,000 miles roundtrip.
Compared to a round-trip ticket with Asiana miles, 50,000 miles west and 40,000 miles central/east is cheaper, right?
But that's not all.
We'll go into more detail below, but the best way to earn Virgin miles is by converting 1:1 UR, MR, and ThankYou points, which are transformable points.
There have been no conversion bonuses since the pandemic last year, but before that there were always MR and ThankYou point conversion bonuses at least once or twice a year. Usually it's a 1:1 conversion, but during the bonus period, you get an extra 25 to 301 TP3T bonus miles.
If you time this award well, the number of MR or ThankYou points needed to make the 120,000 miles needed for a roundtrip in first class drops to around 93,000 points.
Considering that a roundtrip US-Asia economy flight requires roughly 70,000 miles, first class for 93,000 points is almost a steal.
We all thought it was only a matter of time before this chart would turn bad, and I kept urging people to take advantage of it as soon as possible.
Contrary to this expectation, Virgin has made this chart even better this time around.
The mileage deduction is the same, but they've introduced one-way ticketing for half the price.
This is the real deal.
With only a couple seats available per flight in first class, finding a round-trip seat on the dates you want is quite a hunt, and the round-trip ticketing constraints often resulted in people passing on the ticket altogether, or having to use more expensive miles like Lifemiles or Asiana.
However, one-way ticketing is now possible, Let's say you could fly ANA first class for 55,000 or 60,000 miles each way.
In my personal experience, Business Class is good enough, in which case you can get a one-way ticket for 4.5k miles in the West and 47,500 miles in the Central/East.
But, as you just saw, if you can get a first class ticket with a difference of only 10,000 miles or so, I think you should think twice about it and fly first class without question, even if the requirement is literally a no-brainer.
There If you get Virgin miles during the ThankYou, MR conversion promotion, the redemption price per one-way in first class drops to the low 40,000s. This is a real hot deal.
3. What to watch out for when ticketing
Of course, redeeming Virgin miles for ANA tickets isn't all good, and there are definitely things to keep in mind. Just because the redemption is cheap doesn't mean it's right for everyone.
1) First of all, it's important to remember that only ANA nonstop routes are eligible, and miles are deducted for each segment.
This means two things
First, For the overwhelming majority of magical troupes whose final destination is Korea, you will need to purchase a separate Japan-Korea ticket..
It would be easy to think that this would be a one-day trip to Japan if it weren't for the coronavirus, but the coronavirus has almost wiped out flights between Korea and Japan, and it's impossible to enter Japan, so it's very difficult to find a connection. As I mentioned in my post, baggage connections are also a complicated situation.in the following example.
Second, if you live in a city that doesn't have direct ANA service, you'll also need to find a separate flight to get to a city that does. Because you're separately ticketing a domestic flight, you may find yourself in a situation where neither ANA nor Virgin is obligated to make alternate arrangements if you have a delay on the first leg and miss your later ANA flight. This could mean arriving a day early and having to spend the night in the airport.
2) Not all seats you see on the ANA site are available for ticketing with Virgin Miles.
It's not really a disadvantage, as it's the airlines' way of doing business to give away more miles to their own customers, but it's worth knowing. For this reason, searching for miles is more efficient on United or Air Canada's sites than ANA's.
3) Ticketing can be done by phone or text.
First of all, the text is 97634. I prefer the text option whenever possible because you can book and ticket everything via text, just like KakaoTalk.
For phone, it's 1-800-862-8621. If the US and UK sides are unavailable, I've found Hong Kong to be the fastest way to get through. The Hong Kong number is +852-2532-3000.
4) ANA says that ticketing must be done at least 48 hours before the first itinerary departure, and that miles are not reimbursable within 24 hours of departure. Cancellation fees after ticketing are low at $50.
5) ANA charges fuel surcharges, and while roundtrips from the US to Japan are inexpensive (last time I checked in February, it was around $90 roundtrip including taxes), there can be a significant difference in the amount of fuel surcharges for Japan to the US. Therefore, it's worth checking whether it's better to book roundtrip or split into one-way and one-way tickets before booking.
6) ANA reservations can be held up to 24 hours after booking a ticket, so it used to be possible to hold a reservation and then convert Amex MR points, but I'd double check to see if this is still possible.
4. routes served by ANA
ANA has nonstop service to 10 North American cities, excluding Hawaii. Of these, eight are mainland U.S. destinations, not including Mexico City and Vancouver.
- West is LA (LAX), San Fran (SFO), San Jose (SJC), Seattle (SEA)
- Central is Chicago (ORD), Houston (IAH)
- East is New York (JFK), Washington (IAD)
These are the eight cities we serve.
There are two issues here
1) First of all, all of these flights go into Tokyo, and in line with the Japanese government's growth of Haneda Airport, many of them arrive in Haneda rather than Narita.
If it wasn't for the corona situation, I would say that Haneda is a much better option because it has more connections and is closer to downtown Tokyo, but it is the corona situation now ;);
The Gimpo-Haneda route was suspended early last year and has been suspended ever since, and it is unlikely that it will be lifted until South Korea and Japan achieve herd immunity through vaccination.
So if South Korea is your final destination, you should avoid flights to Haneda at this time.
You could try to figure out a way to fly from Haneda to Taiwan or Hong Kong or wherever and then back into Korea from there, but I don't think that's something I would recommend at all, not to mention the 72-hour COVID testing rule.
2) The second is related to the coronavirus, which has caused many flights to be canceled.
In addition, routes that would normally be filled with 777s may be filled with 787s without first class due to lower passenger volumes.
According to the ANA site I currently have a schedule through June..
For flights with more than one flight per week, use the
- NH5: LAX-NRT
- NH105: LAX-HND
- NH107: SFO-HND
- NH101: IAD-HND
- NH109: JFK-HND
- NH113: IAH-HND
- NH11: ORD-NRT
So that's 7 flights, of which only NH105 and NH 11 are scheduled to operate daily.
As I mentioned earlier, if Korea is your destination, you should avoid the Haneda section. If so, you can use the I think it's safe to say that the only options left are NH 5, LAX-NRT and NH 11, ORD-NRT (at this point).in the file.
1) NH 11, ORD-NRT leaves Chicago around 11:55am this summer and arrives in Narita at 3pm the next day.
2) NH 5, LAX-NRT, departs LA at 12:45 p.m. this summer and arrives in Narita at 4:30 p.m. the next day. (The 787s are coming in until at least April. Please note).
For the connecting flight, Narita-Incheon, there are currently two options available due to the significant reduction in flights due to the coronavirus.
1) Korean Air flight KE704 is a daily flight, but it only departs at 5:20pm on Mondays and 2:55pm on all other days of the week. Therefore, if you want to connect with Korean Air, you need to depart from the US on Sunday, and the only way to connect with Korean Air is from Chicago.
(Korean Air's schedule is released on a monthly basis, but currently only up to May, according to @alwayshighscore.. I think you'll need to factor that into your calculations).
2) The other option is flight ET673 on Ethiopian Airlines, a Star Alliance member airline, which departs Narita at 9:10pm and arrives in Incheon at 11:50pm, three days a week (Wednesday, Friday, Sunday).
I flew Ethiopian between Incheon and Narita a few years ago, and I remember it being fine.
5. How to search for seats
Searching for ANA first class seats is easiest on the United Airlines site.
The screen below shows a search for the ORD-NRT segment on the United site.
United site search,
- View in a 30-day calendar view.
- Set the Show fares for screen at the top to Business/First.
- At the bottom, uncheck the with stops option, and select Nonstop only.
- Dates with 121K on the calendar are ANA first class only, while dates with 88K are ANA business class availability and may have first class availability. Dates with 70K are dates with business class availability on UA flights, but you'll have to try these dates to see if ANA is available.
6. How to earn Virgin Miles
Virgin Miles is one of the few mileage programs that offers all 4 types of transferable points, which, as I mentioned earlier, makes it very easy to earn.
1) First of all, the Premier card is the most popular card for ThankYou points.
The current promotion, a 60,000-point sign-up bonus, is good for one one-way first class ticket from the US to Japan on ANA.
| Citi Premier, 60,000 points | |
|---|---|
| Basic features | 60,000 ThankYou points when you spend $4,000 in 3 months |
| 60,000 points are redeemable for $600 worth of gift certificates (when redeemed on ThankYou.com) | |
| 1:1 conversion to miles from 15 airlines, including Virgin, Turkish Airlines, Lifemiles, Singapore, Flying Blue, and more | |
| Annual fee is $95 for the first year | |
| It says you can't get the sign-up bonus if you've received the same type of card sign-up bonus within the last 48 months. | |
| For more info | About page in English |
2) Chase UR points also have a 1:1 conversion to Virgin miles.
Sharp Card is currently running an epic promotionand
| Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Sharp) Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card |
|---|
| 60,000 UR points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of card issuance (60,000 UR points is $600 in cash) |
| Convertible at a 1:1 ratio to airline miles (United, Virgin, etc.) and hotel points (Hyatt, etc.) |
| $50 credit each year (based on membership year) when you book a hotel with Chase Travel (SM) |
| The annual fee is $95 for the first year. |
| A good introductory card for UR points. |
| Go to: Apply at the affiliate site linked on the About page |
No-annual-fee business cards that earn UR points are also a good option for those who qualify.
| Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card |
|---|
| * Earn 75,000 UR points worth $750 in cash after spending $6,000 in 3 months |
| * No annual fee card. The best choice for a business card with no annual fee. |
| * Earn 1.5 points for every $1 spent |
| You can apply on the partner sites linked on the English page |
3) Amex MR points are also available for 1:1 conversion.
Despite Amex's once-in-a-lifetime sign-up bonus policy, MR points are relatively easy to earn because there are so many cards that can earn MR points.
If you're just doing the personal card, you have the green, gold, and flat, and if you're doing the business card, you have the business gold and business flat, so you get the signup bonus for each.
Currently 70,000 point promotion for Business Goldtoday through 4/7.
Let's wrap up today's post.
I wouldn't recommend flying ANA first class for a visit to Korea right now, as you can't enter Japan due to COVID, and there are very few flights between Korea and Japan.
However, the deductions are so good that it's worth planning ahead if you're planning a trip for the end of the pandemic.
English 
Korean
67 Comments. Leave new
Thanks for the clarification. Will there be any problem connecting my luggage if I ticket Korean Air or Ethiopian separately?
I know that Ethiopian is part of the same Star Alliance, so it shouldn't be a problem.
With Korean Air, things are a little different. In principle, it should be possible, but some people have had problems, like your acquaintance. Here's what I wrote on the message board.
https://www.milemoa.com/bbs/board/7763411
I didn't realize it when it was briefly posted on the board, so thanks for the detailed explanation!
I think the pros and cons are clear: direct flights to Korea are the best, but the mileage is great.
Do the promotions to switch from MR points to Virgin come back often?
I remember there was definitely one a year before COVID, but not since last year ;);
I see...!
I'll keep an eye out for it when it comes up on the board, thanks!
Mamo, thank you so much for your informative article. It helped me a lot to have more details about the cities I was curious about and the transit cities in Japan. I hope I can use it when I go to Korea next summer...it would be great if I can get the 30% conversion bonus before then...I'm really looking forward to it ^^)
One thing I'm curious about is that ANA has Japan-South Korea, and the mileage deduction doesn't seem too bad. Will ANA start flying to Korea on its own once the coronavirus situation calms down? And I'm also wondering if I don't have to worry about luggage connections and other issues if I ticket to Korea on ANA from the US via Japan. It seems like a good idea to me to fly ANA all the way to Korea if the luggage connection and time is right. The problem is whether I can get 4 seats at once...ㅎㅎ Thanks~!
1. Incheon - Narita has long since been canceled, but Gimpo - Haneda used to have three round-trip flights a day on ANA before the pandemic. We expect it to return once the coronavirus situation is under control.
2. if you're ticketing the entire leg with ANA (which, as I mentioned, is currently not possible), I don't think you'll have any problems connecting your luggage.
3. 4 seats in 1st class is probably not possible.
This will be very useful once the coronavirus is out of the way. Thank you~!
Yes. I think it's all about re-entry to Japan and reopening the Gimpo-Haneda route.
Haneda seems to be run by Asiana... I searched on Priceline and Asiana came up.
But time won't allow it, right?
You're still selling tickets, but you keep getting cancelations as the date approaches.
I have over 200k transferred to Delta, and this ANA first class one-way ticket is such a great deal that I want to get it out of the way before Virgin raises their ANA redemption miles. There are a lot of variables, but I'm going to try to stay at the top of the list and take my chances. Thank you so much for taking the time to organize this information, it's very helpful at this time.
It would be nice to go a few years without an increase, but you never know ;);
Dear Milemoa, thank you for your always informative articles. I'm wondering if I cancel my CITI -AA card and Barclays Hawaiian Miles card, will the miles transferred to the airline be lost if I cancel the card? I've been paying the annual fee for 4 years now, so I think I've done enough to the card companies.
No, miles that have already been transferred to an airline account don't immediately disappear when you close the card, but you'll need to follow the transferring airline's rules for disappearance.
Oh, and of course, if you have miles to roll over for the month, you're right that canceling the card will result in the loss of those miles for the month.
Thank you, MileMoA, for your always informative posts. I don't know if it's just me, but when I try to see the Virgin redemption rates on the Virgin website, it only shows the table from London. Where can I find the redemption rate table above? Also, I read on a message board that Virgin miles are now worthless. Please confirm. Thank you.
1. If you're referring to the ANA chart, it's on this page.
https://www.virginatlantic.com/global/en/flying-club/partners/airlines/all-nippon-airways.html
2. my main use for virgin miles was for Delta business tickets, but on January 1 of this year, this deduction nearly doubled, and there was talk of virgin miles being worthless, but with the ANA one-way option, I've gotten a lot more use out of them. Delta business tickets are also pretty good if you go back and look for them, since they've only gone up for Asia and down for Europe.
This is a very basic question^^;; I'm trying to use the method you mentioned for a couple.
I can only transfer my husband's Chase card UR points to my husband's Virgin Airlines account, so I can only buy my own plane tickets with Virgin Airlines miles? I can't buy my wife's ticket with my Virgin miles?
Virgin miles are third-party redeemable, so I think you can transfer them to San Fran's Virgin miles and then redeem them for both of you.
Thanks for the great article. Virgin Atlantic is the only one I've never had, even though it's the only one I can combine with all 4 points. I think HND - GMP will be back once the pandemic is over, but then the variable will be that if I try to connect like USC - LAX/ORD - HND - GMP, I'll have to ticket USC - LAX/ORD separately. If I connect with UA, will they connect all my luggage since it's the same shell?
I don't know about you, but my Citi ThankYou points have always had a hard time finding a place to go, and I think they should consider transferring them to virgin atlantic.
As expected....I saw this article somewhere and I left a reply here. Thanks again for the good information. It's a shame that I have to separate NRT-ICN to Ethiopia for this, but it's great in terms of first class. Unfortunately, I bought Citi Premier 80k because of this and then ate it, so if it's a problem that I don't have any VS points even now, it's a problem.
VS is not just Citi, it's also Chase and Amex, so I think you can take your time collecting it.
Your Chicago to Narita June 2022 ticket has been ticketed per your guidelines, thank you so much!
Write about something you learned while texting with the employee that might be helpful.
ANA says that the 72-hour table holding doesn't apply and that you can only hold for 1 hour.
I checked my seats and quickly transferred my UR points and ticketed.
I paid $75.70 and I'm so happy right now.
Oh, did the rules change, I'll check that out too.
Congratulations on your ticket, and we hope your trip next year goes off without a hitch.
Dear MileMom, I want to convert Virgin Airlines miles before the Amex conversion promotion ends and try to get first class to Japan in the future, but as you said in the article, I don't know when it will be available and it may be changed, so I'm worried about converting with only the future ANA first class in mind. If the ANA first class ticketing is changed, are there any other good deals besides ANA first class with Virgin Airlines miles? I thought Delta ticketing was already blocked~.
Delta Asia is dead, but US-Europe is alive and well. UK is 47,500 to 77,500 miles business one-way. US mainland - Europe non-stop except UK is 50,000 miles business one-way.
I'm going to read it again.
My sister in Korea is visiting for a short visit.
I'm looking into NRT-ORD with MR, but the post you posted above is from the US to Japan (final destination Korea).
I did a search on united.com as you suggested and found a 1st class seat on 12/18 NRT.
My flight leaves Narita at 5:05pm, so I'm guessing I'll be able to book ICN-NRT separately on Asiana or Korean Air and connect on the same day. Of course, it's worth remembering that transfers in Japan are risky.
Milemoanim,
Thank you for your reply. Now that I talked to them, they said that I can leave on 12/19.
Unfortunately, I don't see a spot, so I'll have to keep an eye out or find another way.
I'm coming alone, but I'm having a hard time because I'm trying to get a ticket at the last minute.
Thanks for the answer!
For things like first class, I'd recommend checking daily, as sometimes spots that weren't there before become available as the date approaches. Good luck.
Mamo
Is there any way to put it on the waitlist when it says waitlist during the ANA ticketing process?? I'm stuck.
First of all, waitlisting is only possible if you're flying ANA with ANA miles, and as you answered in the message board, it's only possible if you have enough miles.
Mr. Mamo, can I ask you a question?
I'm trying to text Virgin because I need to reschedule an ANA I booked with Virgin miles.
Is texting 97634 to Virgin only 97634 when calling from the US?
Will this text 97634 still work in Korea or Japan?
I'm not sure about this one, sorry.
No, I'm sorry, I did a little research and found that Virgin has a texting service for iPhone users on their website. I think it's called iMSG, which is over the internet, so you should be able to text from anywhere in the world. Thanks as always, Mamo!
That's great, thanks for sharing.
hello.
I'm flying out of ORD in May, and I've searched on united as you suggested, but there doesn't seem to be any ANA first/business seats available. Are there any left? How many months in advance do you usually have to book?
The best thing to do is book as soon as the schedule is available (11 months is typical), but keep checking back as seats are constantly opening up depending on load factors.
hello.
I'm flying to Haneda from New York next week, and I'm told that I can connect to international flights in Japan.
I'm traveling from Haneda to Narita and then from Narita to Incheon because I don't have a connecting flight, and I'm worried that I'm going to have to travel between airports.
I was wondering if you might know anything about it.
It is currently not possible to travel between Haneda and Narita airports, as entry into Japan is not permitted.
Your best bet is Haneda-Kimpo, but it won't open until June at the earliest, so you'll need to start looking into options now for flights directly into South Korea, or flights from New York to Narita.
This is a Virgin Atlantic capitalization, please note.
All reward seat availability can be accessed online using search, please do not contact the call center to review availability.
I know that for Virgin Airlines flights and Delta, it's possible online, but not for some partner airlines like ANA.
If this changes and ANA is possible, that would be awesome, but I'd have to check first.
Thank you for the information.
I'm an idiot lol
I'm stuck on ANA in Narita on a date that doesn't connect with Ethiopian Airlines, Wednesday out of Chicago. It's 2023, so I have time, but do I have to go into ANA to change the date?
If you've redeemed ANA miles, you'll need to contact ANA; if you've redeemed Virgin miles, you'll need to contact Virgin. Of course, you'll need to make sure your miles are available on the date you want to change the date.
Hi Mamo, how are you?
I'm going to Korea next summer, so I stopped by after a long time to look for things and came across this article.
That sounds like a great deal, but I'm a family of four...lol
Thanks for the detailed explanation. Hopefully I'll get a chance to ride it before it's gone!
During the pandemic, we've seen first class for four people. If your kids are older, you may want to split them 2:2 and travel a day apart.
MileMoa, thanks for the great info, have you tried searching for seats on UA lately? I'm looking for a Chicago-Tokyo flight. Of course, it doesn't seem easy to get into Japan right now (I've heard it's possible through packages or something), but I've done some searching assuming that travel restrictions will be loosened around January next year, for example, and I'm seeing the occasional 88k NH11 business class one way, but mostly 175k NH11 business class. And I didn't see any first class seats. It seems that it's not easy to find because only about two seats per flight are released, but I've seen almost all of the first half of next year, but I don't see any, or is it because there are other reasons such as whether it is locked there, so I want to ask a question.
Compared to last year, traveling is a little easier these days, but the number of flights hasn't increased dramatically, so it seems that there are still some difficulties in securing seats. It may also become more difficult, so the answer is to check frequently.
Thank you. I'm looking at your comments above and it seems like you're saying that a first class ticket for 4 people is not possible, and that you might be lucky to get 2 people. I'm looking at dates from 11 months out and looking for 2 first class seats. I'm seeing very occasional dates that are available for one 1st class seat, but I'm not seeing any dates that are available for two. In this case, would it be best to just book one seat and keep monitoring over time to see if another seat opens up on that date? Or would it be better to keep checking for days when 2 seats are available? I'm curious to hear from those who have managed to secure 2 seats in 1st class and how they did it.
Mileage ticket cancellation fees are pretty low these days (except for Lifemiles miles), so it's probably worth it to hold on to at least one seat in first class and keep looking for another in first or business.
Yes thank you, and when I texted 97634 today, I was told that Virgin Atlantic texts have been discontinued since February 18, 2022.
You are correct. I'll update the text as soon as I get a chance, thanks for the reminder.
Hello Milemoa.
I haven't commented much, but I've gotten a lot of information from it since I first discovered it about half a year ago.
I booked an ANA 1st class round trip for 85k UR (+ tax 900) this time. The e-ticket hasn't come yet, but they say it will be sent within 24 hours, and when I search on ANA with the reference number, it comes up fine, so I think it went well.
I'm just commenting to say thank you (kudos) I'm really looking forward to it and maybe I'll actually be able to come say hi in February.
And I don't know if this is the case for anyone else, but there were times when I hit a date on UNITED that said 175k and it actually had first class.
Thanks again~!
Oh, congratulations. Looks like you've made the jump from UR to Virgin, and we hope you have a safe flight with no schedule changes.
Hey helloworld, I've been looking at these May seats every day for business/first class 2 seats LAX, SFO, ORD and I'm not seeing them, what airport are you flying out of? I'm looking on UNITED almost every day, any tips....
Hi Mamo! Thanks for the great information as always 🙂 I'm glad you like it!
I'm planning a trip to Japan this month and will be using Virgin miles to fly either Business or First as you suggested in your article! (Actually, I really wanted to fly First, but couldn't find a seat, so I made a deal with myself to fly Business.)
I'm using United Airlines as my search engine, but the United miles themselves have gone up in value and I can't see them at a glance the way you left them.
From about May 10th, the time adjustment is flexible so I can change my travel schedule, so I'm looking for all the dates one by one first, but it's time-consuming and a bit tiring to click on all the western airports (SFO, SEA, LAX) for 20 days x Rountrip every day... (I'm actually a Seattle resident, but I compromised to the west with the intention of making a stopover...)
If I can't make the round trip, I'd love to fly in and experience the first class lounge.
Am I doing the search wrong? Or is there simply no place for it?
Or maybe you're wondering if there's a new update to the way you can easily see them at a glance like you used to?
Thank you so much in advance!!! Have a great day :)
I think it's because Mr. ANA's seat is dry these days ㅠㅠ
English-speaking bloggers have written about https://seats.aero/lifemiles I've read that you can sign up for a paid membership to get alerts when seats open up, but I haven't tried that yet. I think it's about $8 a month, but if you're traveling in May, it might be worth it to sign up for a couple months.
Mamo, thanks to your comment, I found a business ticket through the site above!!! 🙂 Thank you!
It was very useful and well written, thank you~ 🙂 .
We're glad you found this helpful. We hope you have a great trip.
I'm thankful for MileMoa because I was able to transfer MR to Virgin this April and fly to Korea on Korean Air for a very cheap (?) trip, and I'm saving up MR for a trip to Japan (and possibly Korea, depending on circumstances) early next year, but I'm confused about something.
For now, what's the difference between just continuing to collect MRs for business or first directly from ANA or transferring to Virgin whenever it's on sale and then getting an ANA ticket on Virgin later? If the two are the same, then obviously it's better to transfer miles to Virgin and get an ANA ticket...
It seems like a simple question, but when you're trying to prepare, you start to wonder...
There are pros and cons.
1. ANA allows you to combine Star Alliance flights like Asiana, so if you're flying into Korea, you can do a Japan-Korea flight and a domestic US connection for 9.5k miles roundtrip for business.
However, the downside is that you can only ticket round-trip, not one-way, and once you've flown one way, you can't change your itinerary on the return flight, only the date.
Another drawback is that miles are only valid for three years. Unlike programs in the U.S., where you can extend their validity by earning or redeeming, they are fully expired after 3 years. Another disadvantage is that there is no conversion bonus.
You have to pay a fee, but this is also true for Virgin.
2. Virgin has the advantage of one-way ticketing, no mile expiration, and a $50 cancellation fee that they say they don't charge but actually don't. Another advantage is that if you transfer while there is a 25-30% conversion bonus, you get a lot more value for your miles.
The downside is that you'll need to find a connecting flight within the US or a ticket between Japan and Korea.
We recommend that you think about it carefully before deciding.
Hi, this is ThinkG.
I'm looking for your previous posts because I'm thinking of traveling to Japan with my family for the first time~~.
I'm traveling from the east to Japan, staying for a week or so, and then coming back from Korea, so I'm looking for a direct flight from Korea to the east.
We are 4 people, so once we give up first class, we sense that it is business, or if it is only 4 digits, we are studying with the mind to fly economy~.
Based on what you posted earlier, you had to search United for 121k or 88k options to see if there were seats available, but now the miles spent to find them has changed?
Yes. That's right, I think first class is still 121K, and nonstop business should be 110K.
Hi MileMo
I tried entering United Airlines using the guide above.
ORD-NRT checked,
As a test, I looked at the January-February table for the next year (25 years).
There was a date (January 29) that came up as 110K, so I clicked on it,
It says Business (200K), not First.
Maybe it's because the table isn't solving...?
I don't think I found it the first time I searched for it....
I'm just writing to let you know. Thank you.
The seats aren't great these days, and I think I remember the mileage redemptions on United's site were 110k for business and 130k or so for first.
I'm searching on united for ANA first class from ORD to ORD on VS these days, and there are 220K first class on NH111 for September 2 next year, what is this...? Virgin says it's not available yet because it's not 330 days ago.... I thought united was releasing seats on the same date?
I thought it was 355 days for ANA's own miles and 330 days for partner airlines, but something must have changed in the meantime. I think the right answer is to get it right when you see it.