ANA All Nippon Airways and IHG Hotels & Resorts signed a “comprehensive loyalty partnership” on April 22, 2026. The original timeline called for a phased launch from October 2026; that has now shifted to a staged rollout from January 2027. In early November 2026, both sides published the full rules on their sites. The three main benefits are:

  • ① ANA status matched into IHG elite nights,
  • ② two-way mileage and points transfers,
  • ③ earning IHG points on ANA international flights (Double Dip).

The foundation is not surprising. A large group of ANA’s hotels in Japan (ANA InterContinental, ANA Crowne Plaza, and others) already operate under the IHG umbrella. This deal upgrades that hotel-level relationship into a deep loyalty-program tie-up.

Status match: not a direct elite match — Bonus Elite Night Credits

The core of this partnership is that it does not grant IHG status directly. Instead, it deposits a block of Bonus Elite Night Credits into your IHG One Rewards account, which combine with your real stays that year when IHG calculates status. IHG’s night thresholds are: Silver 10, Gold 20, Platinum 40, Diamond 70.

Nights credited at linking, by ANA Mileage Club tier, and the status you land on:

ANA Mileage Club status Elite nights credited IHG status on deposit After 2 paid stays of your own
Diamond Service 「+More」 68 nights Platinum Elite Diamond Elite (68+2=70)
Diamond Service 38 nights Gold Elite Platinum Elite (38+2=40)
Platinum Service 20 nights Gold Elite —
Bronze Service 10 nights Silver Elite —
No status (basic member) 5 nights None (Club) 5 more nights to Silver

Key rules:

  • When and how to register: Registration opens in January 2027. Sign in to ANA Mileage Club My Page, link your 10-digit AMC number to your IHG One Rewards account, free of charge
  • What status is used: Credits follow your ANA status at the moment you link. If a promotion or demotion is coming, time the link carefully
  • Hard requirement for Platinum / Diamond: Besides the night total, those tiers also require at least 2 nights you personally stay in the calendar year — so the “+2 nights” for Diamond 「+More」 and Diamond in the table is not an optional tip; it is required to qualify. Award (Reward) Nights also count toward elite nights, so those 2 nights can be completed on points
  • Which stays count: Only stays booked direct through the IHG website, IHG App, or LINE mini program, and stayed by you, count as elite nights. Paid stays and Reward Night redemptions both count; OTA bookings do not
  • When counting starts: Only stays with checkout on or after January 1, 2027 begin to count. A stay that crosses the year (check-in in 2026, checkout in 2027) counts entirely toward 2027; stays that check out on or before December 31, 2026 are not backdated. Registration timing does not change the count — a qualifying checkout after January 1 still counts even if you have not linked yet
  • Milestone Rewards still apply, and they are a big hidden piece: These bonus nights also advance IHG Milestone Rewards. They are not a stripped “status-only” credit. Milestones start at 20 nights and step every 10 nights through 100; each step lets you choose among bonus points, dining credit, a Confirmable Suite Upgrade, and similar options. Tiers you can unlock from the deposit alone: Diamond 「+More」 (68 nights) hits 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 — five steps; Diamond (38 nights) hits 20 / 30, then one more after 2 personal nights to 40; Platinum (20 nights) hits the 20-night step; Bronze (10) and basic members (5) are still short of the first milestone. The 40-night step lets you pick two rewards, and the options include Annual Lounge Membership — lounge access is not built into Diamond status; you only get it by choosing it as a milestone. Milestone rewards must be selected on the IHG site or App within 90 days of earning them, or they expire
  • Under IHG’s usual rules, status earned in 2027 is valid through the end of 2028

One easy eligibility misread: Many reports say “Japan residents only.” ANA’s own wording is narrower. The only overseas-resident limit is for basic members who live outside Japan and have no ANA elite status — they can still claim the 5 nights, but once applications hit a certain volume, ANA may stop issuing them for the rest of that programme year (no published quota). In other words, overseas residents who already hold ANA status are not restricted; overseas basic members are first-come, first-served and may be cut off early. If you only have a basic ANA account and do not live in Japan, link as soon as registration opens in January 2027 — do not wait.

SFC members: ANA Super Flyers Card (SFC) holders are not listed in the official bonus-night table. The table only covers Diamond 「+More」, Diamond, Platinum, Bronze, and no-status members, and the FAQ does not mention SFC. Do not assume SFC alone gets you the Platinum-tier 20 nights. How SFC is treated will follow whatever the January 2027 linking page shows.

Direction matters: this is one-way. Status value flows from ANA to IHG only. IHG status does not unlock matching AMC elite nights, ANA lounges, or baggage benefits. For IHG members, the usable pieces of this deal are the two below — two-way transfers and Double Dip — and neither depends on your IHG tier.

Two-way mileage and points transfers: open February 2027; new direction ratio not published

IHG → ANA already exists one way (IHG points to ANA miles at the current 10,000 points for 2,000 miles, or 5:1 — weak value, almost never worth it). Two-way transfers are expected from February 2027 (ANA’s site says February 2027; IHG’s partnership page also says “mid-February”; treat the formal notice as final). The new direction is ANA miles → IHG points.

On ratios, only the current IHG → ANA 5:1 is known. The new ANA → IHG ratio has not been published, and it is also unclear whether the old direction will change under the new setup. Judging from that one-way 5:1 pricing, do not expect a generous rate for the new direction. Wait for the official numbers before valuing a transfer.

Double Dip: earn IHG points on ANA international flights (non-Japan residents only; many conditions)

After you link both accounts and enrol on the campaign page, on ANA international flights departing outside Japan (ANA flight number and ANA-operated; codeshares and domestic Japan segments in the itinerary do not count), you still earn ANA miles as usual and earn a separate allotment of IHG One Rewards points.

Eligibility here is the opposite of the status match: only ANA Mileage Club members whose registered address is outside Japan — so Canada, the U.S., and similar markets are the target; Japan residents cannot join. ANA’s FAQ conditions are stricter than the headline:

  • Residence is checked twice: you must live outside Japan both when you enrol and at the end of the month after you fly
  • Tickets must be bought through official direct channels: ANA overseas websites and similar official direct sales. Booking on the ANA site with the country/region set to “Japan” does not qualify
  • OTA and travel-agency tickets never qualify; itineraries departing Japan also do not (the departure must be overseas)
  • Award tickets do not qualify; fare classes that earn points also need a booking class of S or higher
  • Multi-segment trips must be on one ticket: ANA’s example — Los Angeles → Tokyo → Singapore booked on a single ticket qualifies; splitting the segments into separate tickets does not

For North American readers, the ticket channel is the easiest trap: if you usually buy ANA through an OTA or the Japan-facing website, the flight will not earn the IHG points. How many IHG points you earn per flight is still unpublished, so value the Double Dip only after the earn rate appears.

The trade-off: existing ANA-only perks at IHG hotels in Japan end

When the new partnership goes live, a set of Japan-only benefits is cut, including:

  • AMC member discounted stay rates at IHG hotels in Japan
  • Diamond / Platinum / Super Flyers (SFC) dining discounts at IHG hotels in Japan
  • Free breakfast + welcome drink at IHG hotels in Japan for ANA credit-card members (except basic cards) and SFC members

The last day to book those benefits is February 28, 2027; the last day to use them is October 31, 2027. For people who live in Japan and rely on SFC breakfast at domestic ANA-branded IHG hotels, this is a real cut — Japanese player communities have widely called it a downgrade.

Who should care

  • ANA Diamond / Diamond 「+More」 members: the clearest winners. Link + 2 personal nights (award nights count) can get you IHG’s top Diamond tier — free breakfast is one of the Diamond welcome-gift options (brand-dependent), plus 100% points bonus and upgrade chances. Lounge access is not attached to the tier; it is an optional 40-night Milestone reward. Diamond 「+More」’s 68 nights already clear that step so you can pick it immediately; Diamond’s 38 nights reach 40 after those 2 stays. Those 2 nights still cost cash or points, but versus the normal 70-night Diamond grind this remains one of the cheapest paths. Prioritise linking when registration opens in January 2027
  • ANA Platinum / Bronze members: you land on Gold / Silver for free — better than nothing
  • Basic ANA accounts only: 5 nights are half of Silver. Five more personal nights in 2027 can hold Silver through the end of 2028. Non-Japan residents should move early — there is a volume cap
  • Non-Japan residents who fly ANA international often: Double Dip is built for you, but wait for the earn rate before judging it
  • Everyone: the two-way transfer ratio (February) and the Double Dip earn rate are the next two numbers that matter. Do not reshuffle balances before they appear

Official links: