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5 Things to Know About the ANA Card U.S.A. Plus
The card is good for travel to Japan and establishing U.S. credit if you’re an expatriate living in the U.S.
Gregory Karp is a former NerdWallet writer and an expert in personal finance and credit cards. A journalist for more than 30 years, he has been a newspaper reporter and editor, authored two personal finance books and created the "Spending Smart" syndicated newspaper column. His awards include national recognition several times from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing.
Funto Omojola is a lead writer and content strategist on the credit cards team. Funto started writing for NerdWallet in 2020 and also has writing featured in MarketWatch, Yahoo Finance, Realtor.com, New York Post and Nasdaq, among others. Funto lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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If you regularly travel to Japan, the ANA Card U.S.A Plus could be a mainstay in your wallet, especially if you’re an expatriate living in the U.S. and need to establish credit here.
Not yet rated
Founded in 1952 with just two helicopters, All Nippon Airways (ANA) is now the largest airline in Japan and often wins worldwide accolades for its service. Its co-branded airline credit card in the U.S. — offered through First National Bank of Omaha — rewards holders for ANA flight purchases and has several useful travel features, for a reasonable annual fee: $0 intro first year, then $85.
However, the card's bonus categories are somewhat lacking, so if your goal is to amass a large pile of ANA miles, you may want to look elsewhere.
Here are five things to know about the ANA Card U.S.A Plus.
🤓Nerdy Tip
Launched on Feb. 25, 2025, the ANA Card U.S.A Plus is a newer version of the ANA Card U.S.A (similar name, minus the "Plus"). That older non-Plus card, which is no longer accepting new applications, has a lower annual fee, but it doesn’t feature any bonus categories: You simply earn 1 ANA Mileage Club Mile for every dollar you spend. Existing holders of this older version of the card will not be automatically transferred to the new ANA Card U.S.A Plus. They'll instead retain the non-Plus version and would have to apply for the new card separately.
1. Ex-pats living in the U.S. can use it to establish credit
One of the card’s perks is that expatriates, perhaps Japanese employees working in the U.S., can use this card as a tool to establish credit here.
You can be approved for the ANA Card U.S.A Plus without a U.S. credit history, although you may be asked to submit additional documents, including those detailing income and employment. However, you must be a U.S. resident to apply.
And while you can apply without a Social Security number, you won’t start building credit in the U.S. until you submit a number. Your card account lets you check your FICO credit scores online for free.
As noted above, its annual fee is palatable, especially compared with most similar U.S. airline cards that cost about $100 a year. And even better, that annual fee is waived for the first year of having the card, when you apply directly through the card’s enrollment campaign page by July 31, 2025. When you apply that way, you’ll also earn 10,000 bonus miles after you spend $7,000 in purchases within the first three months of opening your account.
(The card's normal offer is as follows: Receive 5,000 bonus miles for your first qualifying purchase using ANA CARD U.S.A. Plus.)
Plus, the card is a Visa, so it’s accepted almost everywhere credit cards are. All transactions are in U.S. dollars, and adding authorized users is free.
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3. ANA is an AmEx transfer partner
Cardholders can rake in modest rewards by spending with the ANA Plus card. But using an American Express card that earns American Express Membership Rewards points can get you ANA miles quicker and offer more flexibility. That’s because ANA Mileage Club is a 1:1 transfer partner with American Express Membership Rewards.
Take the American Express® Green Card, for example. It charges a higher annual fee than the ANA Card U.S.A Plus, but it can help you earn more ANA miles on everyday spending than you would with the Plus card. You'll earn valuable Membership Rewards points — 3 points per dollar spent on eligible travel purchases; 3 points per dollar spent on restaurants worldwide; and 1 point per dollar spent on other purchases — which you can then convert to the ANA Mileage Club program to book flights.
Plus, you can transfer points earned with the card to other AmEx transfer partners as well. Terms apply.
🤓Nerdy Tip
NerdWallet values ANA miles at 0 cents each. This is a baseline value, drawn from real-world data, not a maximized value. In other words, you should aim for award redemptions that offer 0 cents or more in value from your ANA miles. That's far more valuable than the vast majority of travel loyalty points. Note that ANA miles earned with the ANA Card U.S.A Plus are redeemable only through the ANA Mileage Club program, which you must also be a member of to earn rewards. You can enroll in the program online by filling out a form that requires information like an email, phone number, home address and other personal information.
4. The ANA miles program has additional useful partners
ANA’s partnerships with other travel programs are notable and make the card’s ANA miles flexible. For example, even if you don’t fly to Japan often, you can earn and redeem ANA miles on Star Alliance partner flights. (United Airlines is the major U.S. carrier in that alliance.)
Plus, the ANA loyalty program offers plenty of sweet spots, particularly in business class around “low season.” And sophisticated travel bookers can gain flexibility by taking advantage of open jaw and stopover awards.
In addition to ongoing rewards and a bonus, the ANA Card U.S.A Plus can help you earn extra miles for ANA flights you book, as well as progress toward elite status, plus several discounts. Benefits include:
No foreign transaction fee.
25% flight bonus miles when you fly with ANA.
10% in-flight purchases.
10% discount at ANA Group duty-free shops.
5% discount at ANA Group airport shops.
Discounts at ANA Hotels and ANA IHG co-branded hotels.
All information about the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by NerdWallet. The American Express® Green Card is no longer available through NerdWallet.
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