Is the ANA USA Card Worth It?

ANA (All Nippon Airways of Japan) boasts one of the most rewarding loyalty programs. They have some pretty unbelievable sweet spot redemptions all around the globe and generous stopover policies that make them a powerhouse airline. They even have a co-branded credit card that is issued for USA residents. But is that card worth anything? Here’s a close look at the ANA USA Card. 

Update: Some offers are no longer available — click here for the latest deals!

The ANA USA Card offer

• Receive 5,000 bonus miles after your first purchase
• 25% Flight Bonus Miles
• 1 ANA mile for every purchase
• Primary card holders who earn 30,000 premium points or more within one year will be qualified for ANA Bronze Service membership status even if they do not meet the 15,000 points requirement for ANA Group operated flights.
• 10% off on ANA in-flight purchases
• Receive 10% off at duty free shops at the airport
• Receive 10% off while shopping at ANA Group airport shops
• Receive 5% discounts and breakfast at ANA Hotels and ANA – IHG co-branded hotels
• Free FICO score
• Issued by First National Bank of Omaha (known for being inquiry sensitive)
• $70 annual fee

Sign-up bonus

The standard sign-up bonus for this credit is for 5,000 miles after your first purchase. Every now and again, offers come out for up to 10,000 miles. These special offers give you 5,000 miles after your first purchase and then require you to spend $3,000 just for the additional 5,000 miles!

In short, even the special offer is a very weak sign-up bonus.

Thankfully, ANA is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards so it’s much more likely that you’ll benefit from transferring your points from American Express. I understand sometimes you get into a pinch and need some points, but getting only 10,000 miles after spending $3,000 would almost never be worth it to me.

Bonus miles

When you become a cardholder, you’ll earn an additional 25% on your flight miles. This is actually a decent little perk. The 25% bonus puts you on par with the ANA Gold Card. The bonus is calculated based on the formula below which takes base sector mileage and class fare/accrual rate into consideration.

If you fly a lot on ANA, it might be worth it to seriously look at how much additional value this perk could get you.

Bonus earning on spend

1 ANA mile for every purchase is very weak.

It’s a shame they don’t even reward you when you spend money on ANA flights but I guess the 25% bonus helps make up for the lack of a benefit?

Less Requirements toward ANA Bronze member status

You can achieve their lowest elite status tier with this card if you earn 30,000 premium points.

Premium Points are accrued separately from Miles earned from ANA Group operated or Star Alliance member airline flights. The number of Premium Points earned between each January and December determines Premium member status for the following year and allows use of corresponding services.

Unlike the Flight Miles you normally earn, Premium Points are calculated using an accumulation ratio for booking class and fare, a route ratio and Boarding Points. You can play around with their point simulator to see how you could potentially rack up premium points.

• You can learn more about the premium points system here.

Discounts

The USA ANA card will earn you tons of different small discounts.

These include:

• 10% off on ANA in-flight purchases
• 10% off at duty free shops at the airport
• 10% off while shopping at ANA Group airport shops
• Discounts at ANA Hotels and ANA – IHG co-branded hotels

The first discounts are limited to 10% but it’s easy to see how you could actually use that discount on any given trip through a major airport in Japan.

These are all of the eligible duty free shops where you can get your discount:

Narita Airport

• Terminal1 South Wing ANA DUTY FREE SHOP
• Terminal1 South Wing ANA DUTY FREE SHOP MEN
• Terminal1 South Wing No.4 Satellite ANA DUTY & TAX FREE SHOP

Haneda Airport International Terminal

• TIAT DUTY FREE SHOP SOUTH (Operated by ANA DUTY FREE SHOP)
• COSMETIC BOUTIQUE NORTH (Operated by ANA DUTY FREE SHOP)

Kansai Airport

• North Wing ANA DUTY FREE SHOP
• Main Building ANA DUTY FREE SHOP LONGCHAMP, TUMI

Discounts at ANA Hotels and ANA – IHG co-branded hotels

If you’ve ever shopped around for hotels in major cities in Japan, you’ve probably notices that some IHG hotels are co-branded with ANA. This allows you to receive some perks if you have the ANA USA Card.

When booking your stay, mention you are an “ANA CARD USA member” and enjoy 5% off  the Best Flexible Rates at IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan. You’ll need to present your card at the front desk when you check in.

You will also enjoy a free breakfast and welcome drink during your stay at an ANA Hotel, if you use the discount for members noted above.

This is something that could definitely bring you some value if you were a regular at these co-branded hotels. (Although note that the 5% off is only for the best flexible rate.)

Final word on the ANA USA Card

This credit card is not an attractive option to many people just looking to build up a mileage balance with ANA to book flights. Those folks should probably look to American Express credit cards that earn Membership Rewards for more lucrative offers. But this card isn’t a completely worthless card. If you do a lot of flying with ANA and/or stay at ANA co-branded IHG hotels, there might be some opportunity for value right there that you can jump on.