NYC to NRT
 

I would like to know which airline to use to get 4 people to NRT from JFK or EWR for next summer. We have approximately 290,000 mileage plus miles. We also have 200,000 membership reward points to help with this itinerary if necessary. Ideally I am looking for two business and two economy seats (or 4 business if possible). Which airline will help me maximize the points I have.

A mix of UA and ANA.

Yup. NH (ANA) award chart to Japan is a bargain; unfortunately, 200K UR points is not enough for four tix. I would aim to book the business on NH using NH miles, and the economy on NH using UA miles.

What is NH? Do you think 4 business class seats are available on ANA?

NH is the IATA code for ANA. Thus, "NH (ANA)."

Depending on desired dates of travel, you may find 4 business class seats, 2 seats, or zero seats. Availability on NH operated flights will be better if you book through ANA Mileage Club than through UA. You definitely don't want to transfer any of those Chase points to either program until you can confirm availability of seats.

On ANAs site now. It appears you can only book round trip using awards. Is that correct? Or am I missing something.

Correct.

I have found ,but to be honest mainly through ORD that on non peak days the loads on NH are surprisingly light on the afternoon flights so I think if you pick your day you should be ok.
NH domestic awards are also excellent and the best value of any carrier anywhere IMHO and great for getting around Japan and to the islands once you get here

Then how can I use ANA miles and UA miles? I can't transfer UA miles to ANA.

Use the UA miles to book the UA or NH metal that is available in UA's award program.

If you only want one way tickets (that wasn't clear from your initial post), then booking through UA is probably your best option. 200,000 UA miles will get you 2 business and 2 economy saver tix on UA metal (220,000 for NH operated flights). If you want 4 business seats, that would be 260,000 on UA metal, 300,000 on NH operated flights. You can transfer Chase points to UA if necessary.

I was able to find 4 business class seats out of ORD, but they were all wait listed. Any experience with being wait isted?

NH cost 95k for each pax rt in Biz. UA cost 160K for each pax rt in Biz if take NH, and 140K if take UA

Anytime there is no upgrade space, the request will be waitlisted. This can occur on an empty cabin or a fully booked cabin.

For predictions, see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...ht-2016-a.html.

Whichever class of service you fly you'd be doing yourself a huge favor using ANA.