Whether you’ve flown international first class before or are interested in making your first booking, finding first class award space can be difficult. However, the reward of being able to fly first class is absolutely worth the effort, and it’s a reason why I recommend every miles and points enthusiast to try it at least once.
Cathay Pacific first class is no different, especially when departing out of their hub at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG). First class passengers can expect access to multiple glamorous airport lounges and a five-star experience in the sky, complete with a roomy seat, excellent catering, high-end alcohol, and an unmatched level of service. While I’ll touch on what you can expect below, I recommend checking out Reed’s Cathay Pacific First Class experience for an in-depth look
Let’s get into everything you need to know about booking Cathay Pacific First Class with points.
The Cathay Pacific First Class Experience
The Cathay Pacific First Class experience is nothing short of stellar, especially if your journey starts at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG). Cathay First Class passengers can access two first class lounges, The Pier & The Wing.
Passengers who visit these lounges can indulge in excellent food and drink options while enjoying an exclusive space, complete with shower rooms. You can also check out both lounges if you have enough time before your flight, which is worth doing if this is your first Cathay Pacific First Class experience.
Cathay Pacific only operates their first class cabin on select routes and on the Boeing 777-300ER plane. Passengers will be treated to a 1-1-1 seat layout, with only six total seats in first class. If you are flying as a couple, the best seats are 1A and 2A as they have their own aisle. That being said, all of the seats are excellent.
Once onboard, you’ll be treated to a massive seat with more than enough storage space. Each first class seat offers a buddy seat if you want to dine with your travel partner in the sky.
Passengers who are looking to get some rest during their flight can turn their seat into an oversized bed. Amenity kits are also provided on long-haul routes, containing everything you would need during your flight.
First class passengers can also expect to indulge selections from curated food and beverage menus, including selections such as caviar and champagne.
Simply put, your first class experience will be nothing short of amazing and will leave you wowed as you depart the plane. If you are flying a long-haul route, Cathay Pacific First Class is one of the most comfortable ways to enjoy your travels and take all of the stress out of flying.
Cathay Pacific First Class Routes
Cathay Pacific currently operates six routes out of their hub in Hong Kong that have a first class cabin, including:
- Hong Kong – London (LHR)
- Hong Kong – Paris (CDG)
- Hong Kong – Los Angeles (LAX)
- Hong Kong – New York (JFK)
- Hong Kong – Beijing (PEK)
- Hong Kong – Tokyo (HND)
Cathay Pacific First Class award space is most competitive for the flights from North America to Hong Kong, followed by the flights from Hong Kong to North America. Flights from Hong Kong to elsewhere, such as Tokyo Haneda, are much easier to find first class availability.
Booking Cathay Pacific First Class With Asia Miles
If you are interested in booking Cathay Pacific First Class, your best bet is to use Asia Miles to make the booking because it offers the greatest award seat availability while still charging a reasonable amount in taxes and fees.
Award seat availability in the Cathay Pacific Asia Miles program typically opens up around 360 days in advance. Cathay Pacific tends only to release one first class seat at a time, but this can and does change (e.g., we have seen drops of two first class seats in the past), or you may have more luck finding multiple seats when booking close to your travel dates.
Note that there can be partner availability on Atmos Rewards, American Airlines AAdvantage, and British Airways Club, but availability is incredibly hard to find, as Cathay Pacific doesn’t release many award seats to partners. As of searching in August 2025, I was unable to locate any partner first class availability, but had no issue when searching within the Asia Miles program.
Cathay Pacific operates a distance-based award chart within their own loyalty program, so the prices you can expect to pay for a first class redemption will vary depending on the route. All prices captured below are for a one-way booking:
| Award Chart Category | Number of Asia Miles for First Class Ticket |
|---|---|
| Short Type 1: 751 to 2,750 Miles | 43,000 |
| Short Type 2: 751 to 2,750 Miles | 50,000 |
| Medium: 2,751 to 5,000 Miles | 90,000 |
| Long: 5,001 to 7,500 Miles | 125,000 |
| Ultra-Long: 7,501+ Miles | 160,000 |
Searching for award space is best done when logged into your Cathay Pacific account. Simply select “Redeem Flights” in their flight search engine, and enter your details. Depending on the route and availability, you may already be able to see first class availability before you even search when you open the calendar, denoted by the gold seat icon.
From here, it’s simply about combing through dates to find your desired award. I was able to find multiple first class awards when searching a few weeks before the date of travel from Hong Kong to Los Angeles, pricing at 125,000 Asia Miles + $220 in taxes and fees.
Cathay Pacific also allows award ticket holds if you need time to transfer points to Asia Miles for your desired booking. For more information, it’s worth reading Reed’s article on Cathay Pacific Award Ticket Holds.
How to Earn Cathay Asia Miles For Cathay Pacific First Class
Canadian Asia Miles members have many ways in which they can greatly increase their Asia Miles balance through the power of credit cards.
The first and most obvious option is through the only co-branded Asia Miles credit card in Canada, the Neo Cathay World Elite Mastercard. This card comes with a welcome bonus of up to 60,000 Asia Miles and a reasonable annual fee of $180.
The Neo Cathay World Elite Mastercard earns an average of 5x Asia Miles on purchases at thousands of Neo partners, 4x Asia Miles on Cathay Pacific flights, and 2x Asia Miles on foreign currency purchases.
Check out our Neo Cathay World Elite Mastercard review for more details.
60,000 Asia Miles
$5,000
$960+
$180
Yes
–
If you are an American Express cardholder in Canada, you can transfer Membership Rewards points to Asia Miles at a ratio of 4:3, meaning 4,000 Membership Rewards points will give you 3,000 Asia Miles.
There is no shortage of American Express Membership Rewards earning cards in Canada, as any of the following cards will give you the opportunity to earn points that can be transferred to Asia Miles:
| Credit Card | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
120,000 Membership Rewards points Estimated value: $2,400 |
|
 |
100,000 Membership Rewards points Estimated value: $2,000 |
|
 |
70,000 Membership Rewards points Estimated value: $1,400 |
|
 |
60,000 Membership Rewards points Estimated value: $1,200 |
|
 |
15,000 Membership Rewards points Estimated value: $300 |
|
 |
10,000 Membership Rewards points Estimated value: $200 |
|
RBC Avion points can also be transferred to Asia Miles, at an even better ratio of 1:1. While there are 3 main cards that can earn and transfer to Asia Miles, we are partial to the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card as it offers a welcome bonus of up to 55,000 Avion points and an annual fee of $120.
| Credit Card | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
70,000 Avion points Estimated value: $1,330 |
|
 |
55,000 Avion points Estimated value: $1,045 Ends Jun 15, 2026 |
|
 |
55,000 Avion points Estimated value: $1,045 Ends Jun 15, 2026 |
|
Finally, if you are a US credit card holder (or a Canadian who has US credit cards), there are many more transfer partners, including American Express Membership Rewards (US), Capital One Miles, and Citi ThankYou Rewards, which all transfer at a ratio of 1:1.
Conclusion
Booking Cathay Pacific First Class can be a bit of work, but the juice is worth the squeeze. If you are interested in enjoying an elevated ground experience when flying out of Hong Kong, paired with a luxurious experience while you are in the skies, this is one first class product you should keep on your radar as a bucket list redemption.
Josh Bandura
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