Originally Posted by pesos

Don't transfer until you are sure you have availability. I have never transferred to ANA, but with Virgin the transfer is immediate and the phone reps have always graciously waited the 90 seconds or so it takes for me to clear the transfer so we can book once availability is established.

As the venerable CPHflyer points out though, getting your duo out on J awards from the same airport much less the same flight may be quite a feat for a good long while with all the pent-up covid-era demand flooding back into the picture.