ANA business class to Tokyo: 2025 devaluation vs Virgin Atlantic points win

Takeaway	Detail
ANA Mileage Club raised its own Tokyo business-class round-trip award from 90,000 to over 150,000 miles in 2025.	The hike adds more than 60,000 miles per round trip, per Mighty Travels' reporting on the 2025 devaluation.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club still prices the same ANA business-class cabin at roughly 90,000 points round trip.	Virgin maintained identical cabin pricing while ANA raised its own, leaving a 60,000+ point gap on the same flights.
Book through Virgin Atlantic whenever it shows ANA partner award space.	The reader rule: spend ~90,000 Virgin points instead of 150,000+ ANA miles only when Virgin has partner availability for the flight.
ANA's 2025 devaluation also hit domestic awards — Osaka to Tokyo jumped from 7,500 to 10,500 miles.	A Head for Points forum report puts the domestic redemption increase at more than 40%.

This guide shows how to book ANA business class to Tokyo for roughly 90,000 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points round trip instead of over 150,000 ANA Mileage Club miles. It covers the 2025 devaluation, the exact pricing gap, and the availability check that decides which currency to spend.

How the ANA-Virgin redemption actually works

The key thing to understand is that ANA Mileage Club and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club are two entirely separate loyalty programs that happen to sell access to the same product. ANA Mileage Club is ANA's own program, the one you'd naturally think of when booking ANA flights. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is a completely independent program that treats ANA as a partner airline, meaning its members can redeem Virgin points for seats on ANA-operated flights. Two different loyalty currencies, one physical seat.

That seat is identical no matter which program books it. When you redeem through either program, you're sitting in the same ANA business-class cabin on the same Tokyo-bound aircraft, with the same service, the same lie-flat pod, and the same arrival. The only difference is which loyalty program's counter you're standing at when you pay, and therefore how many points that counter deducts from your balance. Per Mighty Travels' coverage of the 2025 changes, ANA Mileage Club raised its own round-trip business-class pricing while Virgin Atlantic Flying Club kept its partner pricing for the same cabin unchanged — same seat, different price tag.

This separation is what creates the workaround. Because the programs are independent, you never need an ANA Mileage Club balance to fly ANA business class. You can hold Virgin points, contact Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, and book an ANA-operated award directly through Virgin, without ever opening an ANA account. Virgin passes your booking to ANA, ANA issues the ticket, and you fly as a regular ANA business-class passenger. The airline operating your flight and the program holding your points do not have to be the same.

The practical check before you rely on this: confirm that Virgin Atlantic Flying Club actually has ANA partner award space available for your dates, since partner inventory is what Virgin is selling and it can differ from what ANA releases to its own members. Search the award calendar first, then decide which program to book through. If Virgin shows the ANA business-class seat you want, you book it with Virgin points; the ANA Mileage Club price is simply irrelevant to that transaction.

One habit worth building: whenever a loyalty program devalues its own redemptions, check whether partner programs that can book the same airline still price that cabin at the old level. Program pricing is set independently, so a devaluation at one program does not automatically flow through to every program that sells the same seats. That gap between programs is exactly where the savings live, and it's why the program you book through matters as much as the airline you fly.

The evidence: what each program charges

The numbers here are stark enough that they deserve to be laid out side by side rather than described in prose. Mighty Travels, in its write-up of ANA's 2025 devaluation ("ANA 2025 Devaluation: Save 60,000 Points via Virgin"), reports that ANA Mileage Club raised its own business-class round-trip redemption between Tokyo and the U.S. from 90,000 miles to over 150,000 miles. The same article reports that Virgin Atlantic Flying Club kept its pricing for the identical ANA business-class round trip at roughly 90,000 points. Same seat, same cabin, same flights — two very different price tags depending on which program's currency you pay in.

Program	Business-class round trip to Tokyo
ANA Mileage Club (ANA's own program)	Over 150,000 miles after the 2025 devaluation
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (ANA partner award)	Roughly 90,000 points
Gap	About 60,000 points per round trip

That 60,000-point gap is the entire story. Before the devaluation, the two programs were effectively interchangeable on price, and the natural instinct — book with the airline whose name is on the plane — cost you nothing extra. After it, that instinct became expensive: paying ANA directly now costs roughly two-thirds more than paying Virgin for the same product. If you book two round trips a year through ANA Mileage Club instead of Virgin Atlantic, the extra points add up fast — check the current live prices for your dates before assuming the gap still holds.

The practical check before you transfer anything: search Virgin Atlantic Flying Club first for ANA partner award space on your dates, and confirm the space actually prices at that roughly 90,000-point round-trip level. Partner award availability is the variable here — the pricing advantage only matters on dates where Virgin has access to the same ANA award seats. If Virgin shows nothing for your dates, the ANA direct option still exists; it just costs dramatically more for the privilege.

One caution on timing: devaluations like this tend to stick, but partner pricing is a moving target and Virgin Atlantic has its own history of program changes. Verify the current Virgin price for your specific route and dates at booking time rather than assuming the figure holds indefinitely. What the evidence supports today is the comparison above — a program charging over 150,000 miles for a seat its partner still sells at roughly 90,000 points — and as long as that gap persists, the routing decision writes itself.

ANA direct vs Virgin partner: which wins

Put the two prices next to each other and the call makes itself. For the same ANA-operated business-class seat to Tokyo, ANA Mileage Club now charges over 150,000 miles round-trip after its 2025 devaluation, while Virgin Atlantic Flying Club still prices the identical ANA partner award at roughly 90,000 points round-trip. That is a gap of about 60,000 points for the same cabin, the same airline, and the same flights. Mighty Travels, in its write-up of the devaluation ("ANA 2025 Devaluation: Save 60,000 Points via Virgin"), reports both figures directly, and the comparison holds because both are quoted round-trip: same unit, same product, same direction of travel. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club wins this matchup, and it is not close.

One caution on the comparison: confirm that both quotes are for the same cabin and the same round-trip basis before you treat the 60,000-point gap as final. A one-way figure compared against a round-trip figure, or a business-class quote compared against a different cabin, will distort the saving. Mighty Travels frames the gap specifically as a round-trip business-class comparison, so match that basis when you verify.

The practical rule: whenever Virgin Atlantic Flying Club has ANA partner award space on your dates, price the trip there first. If the round-trip business-class total comes in near 90,000 points against ANA's 150,000-plus, book through Virgin and bank the roughly 60,000-point difference for your next redemption.

What the evidence does NOT establish

Before you commit to booking ANA business class through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, it's worth being honest about what the evidence behind this rule does not tell you. The Mighty Travels write-up of ANA's 2025 devaluation documents a snapshot in time: ANA Mileage Club raised its own round-trip pricing while Virgin Atlantic Flying Club held its partner pricing steady. What that article does not state is whether Virgin has since adjusted its own ANA partner award chart. Partner pricing is exactly the kind of thing programs quietly revise after a devaluation elsewhere, so treat the Virgin figure as a starting hypothesis, not a guarantee. The only reliable check is to price your actual dates in the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club booking flow before transferring any points.

The second gap is award availability. The available sources says nothing about how much ANA business-class partner space Virgin can actually access, or how it compares to what ANA Mileage Club members see. This matters because the rule only wins when Virgin has seats on your dates. ANA releases partner award space in batches, and the two programs can show different inventory even for the same cabin. So the practical sequence is: search your dates in both programs first, confirm the Virgin price and seat availability live, and only then move points. If Virgin shows nothing for your window, the comparison is moot regardless of the price gap.

The third gap is the total cost of the ticket. Neither source states the taxes, carrier-imposed surcharges, or close-in booking fees charged by either program for these ANA redemptions. Partner awards on Asian carriers are notorious for fuel surcharges, and a booking that looks cheap in points can carry a heavy cash co-pay. Check the full cash-out-the-door total in each program's booking flow, not just the mileage line, before deciding.

Finally, remember that the underlying facts here are volatile. Program rules, partner pricing, and surcharge structures all change without much notice, as the 2025 devaluation itself demonstrated. Every figure in this article should be re-verified at booking time; the rule is a decision framework, not a standing price guarantee.

Tokyo business round trip

Start with the exact trip you want to price: one round-trip, ANA-operated business-class ticket to Tokyo, booked entirely with points. That single itinerary is the cleanest test case for the 2025 devaluation, because both programs sell the same seat and only the price differs. Before you transfer a single point, pull up the same dates on both award charts and write down two numbers — the ANA Mileage Club price and the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club price. If those two numbers are not sitting side by side on your screen, you are not ready to book.

Checkpoint 1 is ANA Mileage Club's own price. Per Mighty Travels' report on the 2025 devaluation ("ANA 2025 Devaluation: Save 60,000 Points via Virgin"), ANA hiked its own redemption costs on this trip from 90,000 to over 150,000 miles round-trip. That is the number you will see if you log into ANA Mileage Club and price the round-trip business-class award yourself. Treat it as your ceiling, not your target: it is what the program now charges its own members for the same cabin Virgin sells as a partner award. Confirm the live figure for your specific dates before you commit.

Checkpoint 2 is Virgin Atlantic Flying Club's price for the identical ANA-operated business-class round-trip. The same Mighty Travels analysis reports that Virgin Atlantic Flying Club maintained identical cabin pricing at roughly 90,000 points round-trip. Same airline, same cabin, same round-trip itinerary — a different program's chart. The gap between the two checkpoints is the whole point of this exercise, and it is the reason you check Virgin before you touch your ANA balance. Price your actual dates in Virgin's booking flow to confirm the figure still holds.

Also worth reading Delta SkyMiles business class · United miles to Europe business · Alaska Airlines award chart 2026

What to do next

Step	Action	Why it matters
1	Search Virgin Atlantic Flying Club for ANA partner award space on your Tokyo business-class dates before touching ANA Mileage Club.	The whole decision hinges on Virgin showing the same cabin at roughly 90,000 points round trip — if Virgin has no partner space, the cheaper route disappears.
2	Price the identical flights in ANA Mileage Club and note the live round-trip figure.	ANA's own pricing jumped from 90,000 to over 150,000 miles in the 2025 devaluation, so you need the current number, not a remembered one.
3	Compare the two live prices side by side and confirm the gap before transferring any points.	Virgin's ~90,000 points vs ANA's 150,000+ miles is a 60,000+ point difference on the same seat — but only the live check proves it still holds for your dates.
4	If Virgin shows ANA partner award space, transfer points and book through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.	Virgin maintained identical cabin pricing while ANA raised its own, making Virgin the clear winner whenever availability exists.
5	If Virgin has no partner space for your flight, decide whether the ANA Mileage Club price is worth paying.	The rule only applies when Virgin has availability; otherwise the 150,000+ mile ANA price is your only option for that cabin.
6	If your trip includes ANA domestic legs, price them separately — e.g. Osaka to Tokyo.	The 2025 devaluation also hit domestic awards, with Osaka to Tokyo rising from 7,500 to 10,500 miles, so the domestic segment adds real cost either way.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much did ANA's domestic award pricing change in the devaluation?

The Osaka to Tokyo domestic award jumped from 7,500 to 10,500 miles, which a Head for Points forum report puts at an increase of more than 40%.

When should I NOT use Virgin Atlantic points for an ANA business-class flight?

You should only spend roughly 90,000 Virgin points instead of 150,000+ ANA miles when Virgin actually shows partner award availability for that specific flight.

Are ANA Mileage Club and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club the same program?

No, they are two entirely separate loyalty programs that happen to sell access to the same product.

Who reported on the size of ANA's award increase?

Mighty Travels reported on the devaluation, noting the hike adds more than 60,000 miles per round trip.

Did Virgin Atlantic raise its pricing for ANA business class at the same time?

No, Virgin maintained identical cabin pricing while ANA raised its own, leaving a 60,000+ point gap on the same flights.

What does the availability check actually decide?

It decides which currency to spend — book through Virgin Atlantic whenever it shows ANA partner award space for the flight you want.

Quick answers

What did ANA Mileage Club do to its Tokyo business-class round-trip award in 2025?	ANA Mileage Club raised its own Tokyo business-class round-trip award from 90,000 to over 150,000 miles in 2025.
How does Virgin Atlantic Flying Club's pricing for the same ANA business-class cabin compare?	Virgin Atlantic Flying Club still prices the same ANA business-class cabin at roughly 90,000 points round trip.
What gap did ANA's increase create on the same flights?	Virgin maintained identical cabin pricing while ANA raised its own, leaving a 60,000+ point gap on the same flights.
When should you book through Virgin Atlantic for ANA partner awards?	Book through Virgin Atlantic whenever it shows ANA partner award space.
What is the reader rule for spending Virgin points instead of ANA miles?	The reader rule: spend ~90,000 Virgin points instead of 150,000+ ANA miles only when Virgin has partner availability for the flight.