On September 29, ANA Holdings announced a partial revision to its “tightening” policy for the “ANA Super Flyers Card” (SFC), a credit card for elite members, which had restricted airport lounge access to members spending 3 million yen or more per year on the card. Under the April announcement, members who fell short of the 3 million yen threshold were to be barred from lounges entirely, sparking criticism on social media that the change amounted to a “downgrade.” In this revision, the 3 million yen line itself remains unchanged, but members below that threshold will now be able to use domestic lounges during off-peak hours, as well as international lounges at Haneda, Narita, and Honolulu, with a reservation system planned for the future. On 5ch, opinions were divided over whether the 3 million yen threshold is a fair measure of a “valuable customer,” and whether those who hit it can really be called elite spenders.
Regarding the “ANA Super Flyers Card (SFC),” a credit card for elite members of All Nippon Airways, parent company ANA Holdings (HD) announced on the 29th a set of revisions to the new system set to launch in April 2028. On the “tightening” of airport lounge access — previously limited to members spending 3 million yen or more per year — members below that threshold, who had been barred outright, will now be allowed partial access under certain conditions.
In April, ANA HD announced that for the SFC, aimed at frequent flyers, benefits would be split into two tiers based on whether annual card spending crossed the 3 million yen line. Under the change, members whose annual card spending fell short of 3 million yen would lose airport lounge access entirely. Since members had previously been able to keep using lounges simply by paying the annual fee, the change drew a wave of criticism, with some on social media calling it a “downgrade.”
According to the revision announced on the 29th, the 3 million yen annual spending threshold remains in place. However, whereas members below that line had previously been barred from lounges entirely, they will now be able to use domestic lounges during non-congested periods. A “reservation system” is also planned for the future to expand access further. For international flights, access will be granted at the Haneda, Narita, and Honolulu airport lounges. Members who spend 3 million yen or more annually will continue to have full lounge access as before.
Source: asahi.com / Original article here
3AnonymousSep 29, 2026 14:31
Re: #1
>They announced that benefits would be split into two tiers based on whether annual card spending crosses 3 million yen.
So only people who spend 3 million yen a year on the card get lounge access.
Are they stupid or what lol
4AnonymousSep 29, 2026 14:32
My income and savings aren't exactly elite, but I ended up with SFC status from all the business trips I used to take. Wonder if it's expired yet?
I switched jobs and don't fly anymore, but I still get the urge to fly sometimes.
6AnonymousSep 29, 2026 14:38
Here's probably what's really going on behind the scenes:
Complaints come from lounge users who don't like the company they're keeping in there.
It's practically standard practice to drop the name of someone who qualifies and say "I'm meeting them here" just to get in.
That's how much influence the qualified members have.
So when ANA tries to tighten the requirements, they basically get told, "You sure you want to say that to us?"
Or so the story goes.
7AnonymousSep 29, 2026 14:39
Do you even need the lounge though?
There are plenty of other places to sit.
8AnonymousSep 29, 2026 14:47
This was supposed to weed out freeloader customers nobody wants — don't go soft on us now lol
10AnonymousSep 29, 2026 14:58
Re: #8
Exactly this.
The whole value of the space comes from NOT having customers desperately trying to get their money's worth.
9AnonymousSep 29, 2026 14:58
3 million yen works out to 250k yen a month, so if you're making around 1 million a month you'd clear that easily.
11AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:12
It used to be this insane setup where hitting 3 million even once got you lifetime access.
It was obvious this was going to turn bureaucratic eventually.
12AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:21
Spending 3 million yen is roughly the level someone earning around 10 million yen a year could hit if they funneled all their card spending through ANA — and honestly that seems like a reasonable cutoff line.
People with decent salaries who go out of their way for ANA,
and wealthier people who hit it naturally —
both are exactly the customers ANA wants.
13AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:49
Just buy a ton of stuff on the card and expense it — 3 million yen is nothing.
15AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:11
Re: #13
Fine if you're self-employed, but if you're a salaried employee at any decent company you'd be issued a corporate card for that.
14AnonymousSep 29, 2026 16:38
If they strip your Star Alliance Gold status, you lose priority boarding and priority check-in overseas too.
That's the part they're glossing over — domestic priority boarding/check-in barely matters anyway to begin with.
The domestic lounge crowding problem was never really the issue; it costs ANA nothing either way, and they don't actually care about customer comfort or satisfaction.
What actually hurt was Star Alliance Gold status and the lounge fees ANA has to cover for it overseas.
25AnonymousSep 29, 2026 19:48
3 million yen is cheap.
I'm thrilled the expense-account salarymen are gone.
Still, breaking a promise isn't okay though.
26AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:07
When you factor in point returns, you'd come out ahead spending that 3 million on a different card.
There's no point paying for the pricey ANA Diners card anymore.
27AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:43
I'm fine without the lounge.
I'll just grab a coffee and a sandwich at Starbucks.
28AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:47
I'm well-off, but if there's an LCC option I'll fly that.
I always show up at the airport at the last minute anyway, so I never use the lounge.
30AnonymousSep 29, 2026 21:10
Re: #28
✗ "well-off" (裕福層)
✓ "wealthy/affluent" (富裕層 — the more standard term)
✗ LLC
✓ LCC (you meant low-cost carrier, not limited liability company)
35AnonymousSep 30, 2026 01:05
Re: #28
LLC means "limited liability company," lol
36AnonymousSep 30, 2026 01:49
Re: #28 should go drink some radiator coolant
31AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:47
> Annual card spending of 3 million yen
Is that about what someone earning 8 million a year would hit if they put all their spending on the card?
I'm barely scraping by on about 1 million a year just eating, sleeping, and existing…
33AnonymousSep 30, 2026 00:14
Re: #31
If that's net taxable income, sure, it's doable — but if it's gross annual salary, you'd basically have to be living for the lounge to pull it off.
You normally can't put your car or rent on a card, and it'd mean putting literally nothing toward savings or investments — tough conditions.
32AnonymousSep 29, 2026 23:50
Other cards have their own perks too.
Seems crazy to funnel every single payment through this one card just for airport lounge access.
34AnonymousSep 30, 2026 00:44
The Visa and Mastercard versions are issued by Sumitomo Mitsui Card,
so you can build up usage through SBI's card-based investment fund purchases.
37AnonymousSep 30, 2026 01:50
For people spending under 1 million a year, what are they even flying to as SFC members using the lounge?
In my case, there's a Shinkansen station nearby, so going all the way to the airport actually takes longer and is a hassle.
I feel like flying is really only for trips to Hokkaido or Okinawa?
43AnonymousSep 30, 2026 03:32
Re: #37
I go abroad a few times a year, and do domestic business trips more than 10 times a year.
I barely even use my ANA card though.
38AnonymousSep 30, 2026 02:20
Even if you're wealthy, spending 3 million yen isn't easy.
There's a limit to how much you can actually buy and consume.
42AnonymousSep 30, 2026 03:29
Re: #38
If you mainly pay by card for everything, you'd hit that easily.
The real question is whether you want to funnel it all through ANA specifically.
39AnonymousSep 30, 2026 02:24
When the new iPhone drops, just rush out and buy like 10 of them and you'll clear 3 million yen easy.
Bring them unopened to one of those Chinese resale shops and you'll pocket about 100,000 yen in spending money.
Go for the Pro or Pro Max, the smaller storage ones.
Background and Key Points of This Debate
The SFC (Super Flyers Card) has long been known as a “lifetime” perk: once you hit a certain flight-boarding threshold, you could keep using airport lounges indefinitely just by paying the annual fee. In April this year, ANA HD abruptly introduced a new standard — 3 million yen in annual card spending — under which members who fell short would lose lounge access entirely. That sparked backlash as a “downgrade,” and the September 29 announcement partially walks that back. However, the 3 million yen line itself remains in place; what’s changed is only a loosening of the rules to allow conditional access for members below that threshold. It hasn’t reverted to how things were before. The debate on the thread centered on whether 3 million yen is really a fair yardstick for a “valuable customer.” Since the difficulty of hitting that threshold varies hugely by income and occupation, opinions split between those who see qualifying members as genuinely wealthy and those who see them as simply having funneled their spending through ANA. It’s also worth noting that “the outright ban was eased” is easily mistaken for “things went back to normal” — the two are not the same.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Business News+) thread “[Aviation] ANA Partially Reverses “Tightening” of Airport Lounge Access for Elite Member Card.”
