How to Book Business Class to Tokyo For Under 50K Points

In April of 2023, on a Thursday afternoon while at a bachelor party, I booked a nonstop flight to Japan in business class for the upcoming Tuesday. All it took was my united app, 47K Amex points, and 40 minute phone call.

Fast forward to August 2023. I booked another trip to Tokyo. Why? Because flying to Japan was a perfect excuse to enjoy 13 hours of being treated like royalty. Delicious food, a plane seat that’s basically a double bed, and being well rested for exploring Japan... Who wouldn’t want to get a $15,000 seat for under 50K points?

It’s shockingly easy and affordable to get to Japan in business class. While there are multiple ways to it, this article will focus on what we think is the easiest and highest value route. If you have any combination of 50k points with Amex, Chase, Cap One, or Citi, and some flexibility, then you can get to Tokyo in Business class.

We’re going to focus on All Nippon Airlines (ANA) - a Japanese airline with a stellar reputation.

Overview.

Booking this is going to leverage the power of partner airlines and award seating. We’ll be booking an ANA operated flight through Virgin Atlantic, and searching for availability by using United Airline’s booking portal. Virgin Atlantic has a pre-set redemption chart for their award seats. Flights from the US to Japan are set at 47.5K Virgin Club Points.

Finding amazing deals on redemption is dependent on having either high flexibility or very ample time to plan. Because of the nature of Award Seating, airlines will release the best pricing on seats either 1-2 weeks prior to departure, or 300+ days in advance when an airline first makes booking available. These seats are known as saver awards, . We talk about this and award seating more here.

Virgin Atlantic’s ANA redemption chart; taken from Virgin’s website

Step 0: Create a Virgin Atlantic Flyer Club account if you don’t already have one! We’ll need this when we book. DO NOT TRANSFER ANY EXTERNAL POINTS INTO THIS ACCOUNT YET - we will do this once Virgin Atlantic’s rep confirms seating over the phone.

Step 1: Searching For Availability

Since ANA is part of Star Alliance, award tickets can be booked on a variety of partner airlines, a few notable airlines being United and Air Canada. We’re going to recommend using United, they have an easy to use user interface - so scurry on over to united and let’s get searching.

• We’re going to use an advanced search, and look for one way at a time. Search criteria is below. https://www.united.com/en/us/book-flight/united-one-way

  • Virgin Atlantic only partners to book with ANA on flights to Tokyo from these US airports: JFK, ORD, LAX, DC, LAX. (You’ll have to go through one of these)

  • Route: one way

  • Book with Miles

  • Flexible Dates

  • Search ONLY Star Alliance Partners

  • Business Class Seats

AFTER searching, filter results by non-stop only

What am I looking for?

• Non-Stop flight

• Operated by All Nippon Air

• Business Class availbaity

• SAVER Award - should be ~100-120K United Miles. Will show up as a green fair

Step 2 Document Your Findings

Make note of the flight route, time, and flight # of your desired flights. We’re going to need these when calling to book on Virgin Atlantic.

OK STOP. You have all the flight info written down for the All Nippon Flights you want to book, right? We’re ready to leave United. DO NOT TRANSFER ANY POINTS TO VIRGIN UNTIL WE CONFIRM AVAILABILITY

Step 3. Call Virgin Atlantic

Unfortunately you cannot book ANA flights using Virgin Atlantic’s website. So you’ll have to give them a call. Do not fret!! Virgin’s call center agents are very good, this generally only takes 10-20 mins depending on wait times. If you’re US based call +1 800 862 8621

Provide the agent with your desired flight details, they will confirm availability. After confirming, they will tell you the price in Virgin Atlantic Flyer Club Points, likely 47.5K.

Step 4 Transfer Points to Virgin Atlantic (if needed)

• Politely ask the agent if they can hold while you transfer some points to your account.

• Transfer your points! You’ll need your Virgin Club number, and will do this within your respective point providers portal. So if using Amex, you’ll use Amex Transfer Link. Remember you can use Chase, Amex, Cap One, or Citi!

• Once you hit transfer, check in with the agent. Note: I’ve done this many times with chase and amex and it’s never taken longer than 90 seconds.

• The agent will confirm your purchase, make sure to get your ANA and Virgin reference numbers.

That’s it!

VA does pass on fuel surcharges now days, which will vary. In August mine was $220, in March $334.

These flights on ANA usually range from $8,000-$20,000 depending on the season. For a little extra work you can fly in luxury for 47.5K points and some change. When it comes to maximizing the points you get for your points, flying to Japan on ANA is amongst the best.