ANA's Devaluing Award Redemptions... Again

ANA made some major changes to its award chart this year, which went into effect on April 12. Now, just a few months later, the airline is quietly tweaking select redemptions. Award tickets to and from Japan will still require the same number of miles — to the US, that's 50,000 miles for economy round-trip, 85,000 miles for business and 150,000 miles for first — but awards between several other regions are changing slightly.

Fortunately, many sweet spots still remain, including the phenomenal rate of 88,000 round-trip in business class from North America to Europe, and a 104,000-mile round-trip redemption for business class from the US to Africa and the Middle East.

Looking at the North America chart above, ANA increased redemptions between North America and Asia 2, and made modest increases to the rates for North America to South and Latin America. Asia 2 covers much of Southeast Asia, including the following countries:

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Meanwhile, South and Latin America includes many destinations, including some in the Caribbean, plus Bermuda:

Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bonaire/Saint Eustatius/Saba, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Falkland Islands, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Maarten, Suriname, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uruguay, US Virgin Islands and Venezuela

The Hawaii chart was also modified. Oddly, flights between Hawaii and Africa and the Middle East actually dropped in all classes of service, while those to South and Latin America increased significantly.

ANA defines the Africa and Middle East region as:

Angola, Bahrain, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Comoros, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Iraq, Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Republic of Yemen, Reunion, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Togo, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Additionally, awards to Oceania and Micronesia dropped, which makes sense. That region includes:

American Samoa, Australia, Canton (Phoenix Island), Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Gilbert Islands, Johnston Island, Kiribati, Mariana Island (except Guam), Marshall Island, Micronesia/Caroline Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, US Minor Outlying Islands, Vanuatu, Wake Island, Wallis and Futsuna Island.

Overall, these changes aren't terrible, and in some cases the rates actually improved. ANA remains an excellent option for Star Alliance redemptions, thanks to its transfer partnership with Amex Membership Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest. Book by October 14 to take advantage of the old rates, or, if your desired award happens to be dropping, book on or after October 15, instead.

H/T: Milevalue
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