For many frequent flyers, the ANA Super Flyers Card was the point of the whole exercise: a standing Star Alliance Gold, for as long as you keep the card, in return for one demanding year of flying. ANA has now rewritten it. The new version starts in April 2028, and the rules were changed once already between April and September 2026. This guide sets out what ANA currently publishes, in the order you need to decide things.
The new structure in one table
Three points deserve a second look. LITE is not a downgrade to nothing, since the reservation, check-in, baggage and boarding priority all stay. The Star Alliance status is the real loss: Star Alliance's own lounge policy reserves the shared lounges for Gold, so Silver does not open them. And ANA reversed its first plan on lounges within five months, which is a sign that more details can still move.
The dates
April 2026
ANA announces two tiers
LITE members would have had no ANA lounge access.
September 2026
ANA revises the plan
LITE members get international lounges at Haneda, Narita and Honolulu and domestic lounges outside busy times.
16 Dec 2026
First spend window opens
It runs to 15 December 2027. The total decides the tier you hold from April 2028.
31 Mar 2027
Last day for fiscal 2026 Upgrade Points
The Upgrade Points service ends as of fiscal 2026.
1 Apr 2028
PLUS and LITE start
Until 31 March 2028 today's rules apply.
What counts toward 3 million yen
Spend on an ANA Card issued in Japan, or on ANA Pay
The card must carry the words "ANA CARD" and be issued in Japan. Airfare, utilities, supermarkets, restaurants, daily goods and shopping all count.
Family cards are added to the primary member
The primary member's total includes family cards. If you hold several eligible cards, the spend adds up when the mile accounts are merged. Diners Club business and ANA Diners Premium metal spend also counts.
Some spend is left out
Corporate ANA cards, the overseas-issued ANA cards (ANA Card USA, CTBC, Dah Sing and China Minsheng among them), top-ups of e-money such as Rakuten Edy, PASMO, Suica and nimoca, and the ANA UnionPay card do not count. Refunds that reach ANA inside the window are deducted, even for a purchase made before it.
Check your total in ANA's usage record
ANA points to the usage record on its site. Look at it before the window closes, not after.
Three million yen is about 250,000 yen a month. It is reachable for a household that puts rent-like bills, utilities and travel on one card. It is not reachable for someone who only carries a card issued abroad, which brings us to the practical split.
Who is affected, and how
You already hold an SFC
Nothing changes until 31 March 2028. Decide before 16 December 2026 whether you will move enough spend to ANA Cards to stay PLUS.
You are about to earn Diamond or Platinum
Your status is unchanged. Under the new system a newly enrolled member starts as LITE, and the next year's tier is set from the spend window that includes the joining date.
You live outside Japan
The card needs a Japanese bank account and address, and overseas ANA cards do not count toward the 3 million yen. Lifetime miles are the other route to PLUS.
You are near 1,000,000 lifetime miles
Members with 1,000,000 lifetime miles on ANA Group flights are PLUS whatever they spend, though the 5,000-mile bonus still needs 3 million yen of spend.
The route to the card itself is unchanged. Platinum Service needs 50,000 Premium Points in a calendar year, at least 25,000 of them on ANA Group flights, and Diamond needs 100,000, at least 50,000 on ANA Group flights.
How to decide
If your main reason for holding an SFC is Star Alliance Gold, price the difference between Gold and Silver on the trips you really take. If it is the ANA lounges, note that LITE keeps limited access. If you will never reach 3 million yen on a Japan-issued ANA Card, plan on LITE, and judge the annual fee of the card against what LITE keeps.
For other ways of keeping status without spending to a threshold, see booking award flights and frequent flyer programs. For the validity of ANA miles themselves, see when points expire.
Questions people ask
Do I lose my SFC if I spend less than 3 million yen?
No. ANA says membership is not cancelled. You are given the LITE service for the next year, and the category is decided again every year.
Does the change affect Diamond or Platinum status itself?
No. The Premium Points rules that decide Diamond, Platinum and Bronze are unchanged on ANA's pages. What changes is the Super Flyers Card tier that you can hold on top of them.
What counts toward the 3 million yen?
ANA lists airfare, utilities, supermarkets, restaurants, daily goods and other purchases on ANA Cards issued in Japan and on ANA Pay. Family-card spend is added to the primary member. E-money top-ups such as Suica and PASMO, and the ANA UnionPay card, are excluded.
Can I still apply for an SFC now?
Yes. The requirements are unchanged: Diamond or Platinum Service, or 1,000,000 lifetime miles on ANA Group flights. You also need an account at a financial institution in Japan, and the card is sent to a Japanese address only.
Sources
Written from these pages and checked against them on October 10, 2026. Programs and rules change, so check the provider’s current terms before you decide.
General information, not financial, legal or travel advice. Your own card terms and the provider’s current rules always come first.