ANA business class to Tokyo: which partner programs still book old 2025 rates

This guide identifies which partner programs still book ANA transpacific business class to and from Tokyo at legacy 2025 rates during the 2026 devaluation cycle.

If you hold transferable points, the play is to transfer to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and ticket the 60,000-point one-way award before the April 18, 2026 repricing takes effect.

How the partner-rate loophole works

The reason a 60,000-point one-way business class award from Tokyo Haneda to New York JFK still exists has nothing to do with ANA's generosity toward its own members. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club prices its partner redemptions on ANA metal using a chart that is completely detached from ANA Mileage Club's internal award pricing. The two programs run independent spreadsheets. When ANA reprices redemptions for members booking through its own program, that change stops at ANA's border — the Virgin Atlantic partner rate keeps ticking along at its legacy number until Virgin Atlantic itself decides to touch it.

That independence is exactly what created the current arbitrage. According to Mighty Travels' August 29, 2026 deep read, the Virgin Atlantic partner rate undercuts ANA's direct Mileage Club booking cost by more than half — a 2.6x spread between what a partner booking costs in Flying Club points and what the same seat costs booked directly with ANA. ANA can raise its own member rates all it wants, and for years it did so without ever touching the Virgin Atlantic structure. The 60,000-point one-way rate survived ANA's internal repricing precisely because the carrier had no mechanism — and no obligation — to push its own chart into a partner program's pricing.

Understand what this means practically: the rate you are booking is not an ANA rate at all. It is a Virgin Atlantic rate, set by Virgin Atlantic, on Virgin Atlantic's schedule. That is why the protection works in both directions. ANA's own devaluation of its member chart did not raise your Virgin Atlantic booking cost, because the charts never moved together in the first place. But it also means the rate lives and dies at Virgin Atlantic's discretion — and per The Points Guy, Virgin Atlantic has now chosen to raise ANA business class redemptions by as much as 26%, which is what ends the legacy pricing.

The check to run before you transfer anything: confirm the award space on ANA's own site first, then confirm the partner rate still shows at the legacy level in your Virgin Atlantic account before moving points. Transfers from programs like American Express Membership Rewards are not instant, and Mighty Travels flags that slow transfers must be completed well ahead of the April 18, 2026 effective date. A transfer that lands after repricing locks you into the new chart with points you can no longer move.

One boundary worth noting: the insulation only covers the partner-rate structure for the cabin in question. Mighty Travels reports that economy and premium economy award pricing on ANA flights remains unchanged after the update — so the repricing is targeted at the business class partner rate, not a blanket overhaul of every cabin. If your plans are flexible on cabin, the legacy-artifact logic applies only where the legacy rate still stands.

The evidence: three programs, three repricings

The evidence for moving on the 60,000-point ANA business-class window is not a single announcement. It is three separate repricings on three separate programs, each documented by a different outlet, and none of them arrived as part of a coordinated alliance event.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is the program that still publishes the legacy rate, and Mighty Travels confirms that the 60,000-point one-way ANA business-class award — the number the entire transpacific calculation rests on — disappears at the April 18, 2026 policy shift. The Points Guy has documented the increase in Flying Club's ANA business pricing. The practical check is to price a Tokyo Haneda–New York JFK business seat in Flying Club now and confirm the 60,000-point one-way figure is still showing before you initiate any transfer.

Alaska Mileage Plan repriced the same ocean on a different partner. Frequent Miler reports that one-way business and first-class awards on Japan Airlines from the west coast moved from 70,000 miles to 85,000 miles. That is a program-specific change on a Japan route, not an alliance-wide revaluation. If Alaska was your JAL fallback, the old 70,000-mile one-way number is no longer the price.

Avianca LifeMiles provides the third data point and shows the pattern extends beyond Japan. AwardWallet reports a 20% devaluation without notice. Before that change, Star Alliance business-class awards to Europe on partners such as United and Lufthansa cost 80,000 LifeMiles one-way in business, or 40,000 one-way in economy. The higher pricing arrived program by program, not with a coordinated Star Alliance announcement.

Program	Partner / corridor	Before	After	Source
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club	ANA, transpacific business	60,000 points one-way	Legacy rate eliminated at April 18, 2026 shift	Mighty Travels; The Points Guy
Alaska Mileage Plan	Japan Airlines, west-coast business/first	70,000 miles one-way	85,000 miles one-way	Frequent Miler
Avianca LifeMiles	Star Alliance to Europe (United, Lufthansa)	40,000 one-way economy / 80,000 one-way business	20% higher	AwardWallet

The reader rule that follows from this evidence: because the repricings are independent, there is no single alliance-wide deadline. The only date tied to the ANA business-class award is April 18, 2026. Verify the live award chart in each program before transferring, and treat any partner rate on a Japan route as provisional until you see it priced in the booking engine.

Partner programs compared for ANA business

Program	Award priced	Rate (one-way, business)	Verdict
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club	ANA, Tokyo Haneda–New York JFK	60,000 points	Winner until April 18, 2026
ANA Mileage Club (direct)	ANA, same route and cabin	Higher than the partner rate by a 2.6x spread	Fallback only, after the partner rate dies
Alaska Mileage Plan	JAL, west coast–Japan business	85,000 miles	Comparison point, not an ANA booking

Read the middle row carefully, because it is the one travelers get wrong. Booking the same ANA seat through ANA Mileage Club directly costs more than the Virgin Atlantic partner rate, per Mighty Travels, which describes a 2.6x spread. That spread is the reason to route the award through a partner at all. Once the Virgin rate is repriced, the direct chart becomes the only ANA path left standing — not because it improved, but because the cheaper door closed.

The Alaska row is a benchmark, not an alternative. Alaska Mileage Plan prices JAL business class from the west coast to Japan at 85,000 miles one-way after its own devaluation, per Frequent Miler. That is a different airline, a different cabin product, and a different award entirely. Use it to sanity-check what the market charges for a transpacific business seat; do not use it to book ANA.

Your practical check is simple. Confirm the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club rate on your exact route and date before transferring a single point, since partner pricing can vary by city pair. If the 60,000-point one-way rate appears, transfer and ticket immediately — Amex Membership Rewards and similar transfers are not instant, so start well ahead of April 18, 2026. If it does not appear, you are already looking at the post-devaluation world, and the direct ANA chart is your only remaining option.

One rule governs this whole section: the winner is Virgin Atlantic, and it wins only on the clock. After April 18, 2026, the table has no cheap row left.

Costs and numbers that matter

The number to beat is 60,000 points one-way in business class from Tokyo Haneda to New York JFK, booked through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club on ANA metal. Per the Mighty Travels reporting on ANA's 2026 devaluation, that rate undercuts ANA Mileage Club's own direct pricing by a 2.6x spread. The exact ANA Mileage Club figure is not published in the available sources, so verify the live direct rate in ANA's own award engine before treating any multiple as a planning number.

The deadline that closes this window is April 18, 2026. That is the date Virgin Atlantic's repricing takes effect, and per The Points Guy, the increase on ANA business class redemptions reaches as much as 26%. No grounding source publishes the actual new chart entry, so the post-change rate is unverified. The only certain statement is that the 60,000-point one-way rate ends when the April 18, 2026 repricing takes effect; verify the live rate on Virgin Atlantic's site before you transfer.

Even without a published post-change figure, the direction favors acting now. The 60,000-point base is documented, the increase is described as up to 26%, and the April 18, 2026 cutoff is fixed. The exact post-change rate and the exact ANA Mileage Club direct rate are not published in the available sources, so verify both in the live award engines before committing points.

Practical sequencing: transfer points first, confirm the award space second, ticket third. Transfers from programs like American Express Membership Rewards into Virgin Atlantic can post slowly, and Mighty Travels specifically warns that slow transfers must be completed well ahead of the April 18 effective date. Do not transfer a large balance and then discover no ANA business space exists on your dates — check award availability before moving points, since transferred points are generally not reversible.

One boundary on the damage: per Mighty Travels, economy and premium economy award pricing on ANA flights remains unchanged after the update. The repricing targets business class redemptions, which is exactly where the 60,000-point rate lives — so the cabin you care about is the cabin getting hit.

What the evidence does not establish

Before you transfer a single point, be clear about what the available sources actually confirms and what it leaves open. The verified figure is narrow: 60,000 Virgin Atlantic points one-way in business class on Tokyo Haneda–New York JFK, per the mightytravels.com write-up. That is the only ANA gateway pair with a published, sourced rate in this cycle. Nothing in the source material establishes what Flying Club charges from Los Angeles, San Francisco, or Chicago — and Virgin Atlantic partner pricing is not required to mirror the Haneda–JFK number across other gateways. The check is simple: open the Flying Club award engine, search your specific city pair, and confirm the rate on screen before you move any points. If the search returns a different figure than 60,000, that is your real price, not the headline one.

The post-deadline rate is equally unverified. The Pointsguy.com report states Virgin Atlantic raised ANA business class redemptions by as much as 26%, but no grounding source publishes the actual new chart entry. The ~75,000-point figure circulating in commentary is arithmetic — 60,000 increased by 26% — not a documented rate. Treat it as an estimate of direction, not a price you can plan around. The only certain statement is that the 60,000-point one-way rate ends when the April 18, 2026 repricing takes effect.

Round-trip pricing is a third gap. The available sources documents the one-way rate only; no source states what Flying Club charges for a round-trip ANA business award, or whether round-trip pricing is simply double the one-way figure. If your itinerary requires a return, price each direction separately in the award engine and confirm the total before transferring — do not assume the one-way number doubles cleanly.

One more boundary worth stating: the 26% headline is described as "as much as" by thepointsguy.com, which means it is a ceiling, not a uniform increase. Some ANA business redemptions may rise by less. Which specific routes or cabins take the full hit is not documented in the available sources, so the only reliable read on your pair is the award engine itself, checked close to but before April 18.

Finally, note what the devaluation does not touch. The mightytravels.com analysis reports that economy and premium economy award pricing on ANA flights remains unchanged after the policy update. If business class from your gateway is already priced above 60,000 points one-way, or you miss the window, the economy and premium economy rates are not repriced by this change — though that insulation is a statement about this devaluation only, not a permanent feature of the program.

JFK–Haneda before April 18

Checkpoint two is inventory, and it is the step most people skip. A partner rate is worthless without an open seat, and the Mighty Travels piece flags this directly under "What the Data Doesn't Tell You": the 60,000-point price means nothing if no ANA business-class award space is bookable on your date. Confirm the seat exists in the Flying Club engine before you commit a single point, because the engine will only show you what it can actually ticket. If your target date is blank, shift the date rather than the transfer.

Only after both checkpoints clear do you initiate the transfer from American Express Membership Rewards. The Mighty Travels takeaway is blunt about why the order matters: transfers from partner programs like Membership Rewards are slow and must be completed well ahead of the April 18 effective date. Treat the transfer as the last step, not the first, because points in flight cannot be recalled if the rate moves or the seat vanishes while you wait.

Price the cost of being wrong before you start. Mighty Travels frames the current gap as a 2.6x spread between the Flying Club partner rate and ANA Mileage Club's own pricing, and The Points Guy documents Virgin Atlantic's increase of as much as 26% on ANA business-class redemptions. Those two figures describe the same cliff from different angles: the discount you capture today is the premium you pay if you miss it. The April 18, 2026 date is the deadline, and it is the only date in this sequence that does not move for you.

Run the timeline in this order every time: price the award, confirm the seat, then transfer. If either of the first two checks fails, you have lost nothing but a few minutes of searching. If you reverse the order, you have converted flexible transferable points into a program balance at a rate that no longer exists — and the Mighty Travels analysis notes that economy and premium economy pricing on ANA flights stays unchanged, so the repricing hits precisely the cabin you were chasing.

Decision rules for booking ANA now

If ANA business award space is not showing for your dates, do not transfer speculatively. The partner rate only matters when the seat exists; a balance sitting in Flying Club after April 18 is worth the repriced amount, not the legacy one. Check space first, transfer second. Search the specific transpacific city pair you actually want, confirm the business cabin is available on the date you can fly, and only then move points. A transfer made against phantom space converts a 60,000-point opportunity into a stranded balance.

If your dates are flexible and you miss the deadline, re-price the same trip before you commit: Virgin Atlantic at whatever the new rate becomes, ANA Mileage Club direct, and Alaska on JAL at 85,000 miles one-way from the West Coast, per Frequent Miler's reporting on the Alaska devaluation. The comparison is the decision rule. Whichever program quotes the lowest one-way business price for your actual date wins, and you should not assume the answer in advance.

Your situation	Action
Space confirmed, transfer can post before April 18, 2026	Transfer and ticket at 60,000 Virgin Atlantic points one-way
No space on your dates	Do not transfer; re-check space before moving any points
Deadline missed, dates flexible	Re-price Virgin Atlantic, ANA Mileage Club direct, and Alaska (JAL, 85,000 one-way)

One caution on the fallback: Alaska's 85,000-mile figure applies to JAL, not ANA, so it is a substitute route rather than the same product. Treat it as a benchmark for what a transpacific business seat should cost you, and let the lowest verified one-way quote decide. The Mighty Travels analysis of ANA's 2026 devaluation notes that economy and premium economy pricing on ANA flights remains unchanged, so if business space never materializes, the cheaper cabins are not part of this deadline and can wait.

The single rule that governs all three branches: verify the seat, verify the transfer timeline, then ticket. Everything else is noise until those two checks pass.

Also worth reading ANA award chart 2026: book Europe · ANA miles to Tokyo business: 2026 · ANA partner award chart 2026: Virgin

What to do next

Step	Action	Why it matters
1	Confirm you hold transferable points that route to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, then check the current Flying Club award chart for ANA business class on your Tokyo route.	Flying Club is the last partner program still booking ANA transpacific business class at the legacy rate, so it is the only program where this decision is live.
2	Verify the one-way ANA business class award still prices at 60,000 points in Flying Club before you move any points.	The 60,000-point rate is the entire reason to act now; if it has already changed, the canonical rule no longer applies.
3	Transfer your transferable points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and ticket the one-way ANA business class award to or from Tokyo.	Locking the award before the fixed date is the only way to secure the legacy pricing identified in this guide.
4	Treat April 18, 2026 as your hard deadline and complete the transfer and ticketing before it.	That is the date Flying Club's repricing of ANA business class redemptions takes effect, ending the legacy rate.
5	After that date, re-price every partner program before booking, starting with the programs that have already repriced Japan awards upward.	Flying Club's ANA business class increase runs as much as 26%, and other programs have already moved, so the legacy rate will no longer be available anywhere.
6	Compare any post-deadline quote against the repriced benchmarks — including the program now charging 85,000 miles for JAL business/first awards that previously cost 70,000 miles — before committing points.	It shows how far Japan business awards have already drifted, so you can judge whether a new quote is still worth booking.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which partner program should I transfer points to in order to book ANA business class at the old rate?

Transfer to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and ticket the 60,000-point one-way award before the April 18, 2026 repricing takes effect.

Why does Virgin Atlantic still charge only 60,000 points for a Tokyo Haneda to New York JFK business class award?

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club prices its partner redemptions on ANA metal using a chart that is completely detached from ANA Mileage Club's internal award pricing.

Does ANA's repricing of its own member awards also change what partner programs charge?

When ANA reprices redemptions for members booking through its own program, that change stops at ANA's border — the Virgin Atlantic partner rate keeps ticking along at its legacy number until Virgin Atlantic itself decides to touch it.

How big is the gap between booking ANA business class via Virgin Atlantic versus booking directly with ANA?

According to Mighty Travels' August 29, 2026 deep read, the Virgin Atlantic partner rate undercuts ANA's direct Mileage Club booking cost by more than half — a 2.6x spread between what a partner booking costs in Flying Club points and what the same seat costs booked directly with ANA.

What is the deadline to book the ANA transpacific business class award at legacy rates?

The play is to transfer to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and ticket the 60,000-point one-way award before the April 18, 2026 repricing takes effect.

Which specific route is used as the example of the 60,000-point one-way business class award?

A 60,000-point one-way business class award from Tokyo Haneda to New York JFK still exists because of the partner-rate loophole.

Quick answers

Which partner program still books ANA transpacific business class to and from Tokyo at legacy 2025 rates during the 2026 devaluation cycle?	Virgin Atlantic Flying Club still books ANA transpacific business class to and from Tokyo at legacy 2025 rates during the 2026 devaluation cycle.
What is the play if you hold transferable points?	The play is to transfer to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and ticket the 60,000-point one-way award before the April 18, 2026 repricing takes effect.
Why does a 60,000-point one-way business class award from Tokyo Haneda to New York JFK still exist?	Virgin Atlantic Flying Club prices its partner redemptions on ANA metal using a chart that is completely detached from ANA Mileage Club's internal award pricing.
What happens to the Virgin Atlantic partner rate when ANA reprices redemptions for members booking through its own program?	When ANA reprices redemptions for members booking through its own program, that change stops at ANA's border — the Virgin Atlantic partner rate keeps ticking along at its legacy number until Virgin Atlantic itself decides to touch it.
According to Mighty Travels' August 29, 2026 deep read, how much does the Virgin Atlantic partner rate undercut ANA's direct Mileage Club booking cost?	According to Mighty Travels' August 29, 2026 deep read, the Virgin Atlantic partner rate undercuts ANA's direct Mileage Club booking cost by more than half — a 2.6x spread between what a partner booking costs in Flying Club points and what the same seat costs booked directly with ANA.