Asia Miles is the loyalty program of Cathay Pacific, the main airline of Hong Kong. With Canadian hubs in Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver, Cathay Pacific is a great airline to connect Canadians to destinations in Asia, via Hong Kong.
The unique part of Asia Miles is that it is one of the few loyalty programs that still use a fixed award chart based on distance, meaning that you eliminate the guesswork behind your redemptions! If you can find availability, you’ll know exactly how many Asia Miles it takes to get to your destination based on the chart.
Acquiring Asia Miles
There are a few ways to earn Asia Miles including flying with Cathay Pacific, spending on their co-branded credit card, and transferring points, among others. Let’s look at each one in detail.
Flying with Cathay Pacific or Partner Airlines
You can earn Asia Miles when you fly on Cathay Pacific flights. The miles you earn are based on the distance flown and the cabin that you travel in – the longer the flight or the more premium the cabin (e.g., business or first class), the more Asia Miles you will earn from your flight.
Luckily, Cathay provides us with a points-earning calculator to help us know how many points we will earn based on our flight and cabin. Here’s an example of what we would earn flying from Vancouver to Hong Kong in various cabins:
Flying with Cathay’s Partner Airlines
While Cathay Pacific is a part of the Oneworld Alliance, it uniquely partners with airlines outside of the alliance, such as Air Canada.
The list of partners is extensive and includes Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Bangkok Airways, British Airways, Fiji Airways, Finnair, Gulf Air, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LATAM, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian Airlines, S7 Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, SriLankan Airlines, and Swiss International Airlines.
Flying with partners will earn Asia Miles based on the specific partner, distance flown, and cabin class. For example, Asia Miles earned by flying on Air Canada may not yield the same amount compared to British Airways. To find out how many Asia Miles you will earn from Cathay Pacific’s partners, check out Asia Miles’ site on partners, select the airline you are interested in, and use the provided calculator.
Co-branded Credit Card
The only co-branded credit card that earns Asia Miles in Canada is the Cathay World Elite Mastercard powered by Neo.
The Neo Cathay World Elite Mastercard is the best option for Canadians who are looking to earn Cathay Asia Miles.
Check out our Neo Cathay World Elite Mastercard review for more details.
27,000 Asia Miles
$5,000
$252+
$180
Yes
–
The Neo Cathay World Elite Mastercard is a newer card that was unveiled near the end of 2023. Unfortunately, it is currently one of the weakest travel credit cards on the market. With an annual fee of $180 (substantially more than its competitors), it only boasts a modest welcome bonus and weak earning categories. You’ll earn:
- Average of 5 Asia Miles per dollar spent with Neo Partners
- 2 Asia Miles per dollar spent on flights directly booked with Cathay Pacific
- 2 Asia Miles per dollar spent outside of Canada
- 1 Asia Mile per dollar spent on everything else
Looking to the US market, the only credit card co-branded with Cathay Pacific is offered by Synchrony Bank. Synchrony cards cannot be acquired by Canadians, even with an ITIN, so this is not an option unless you have an SSN.
Transfer from Other Loyalty Programs
Transfer from Bank Loyalty Programs
One of the best ways to get Cathay Pacific Asia Miles is by earning transferable points from various bank programs in Canada and the US. In fact, time and time again, we recommend our readers prioritize these types of points as part of their overall points and miles strategy.
Here is a list of bank programs that transfer to Asia Miles at their respective rates:
| Financial Institution Points | Conversion Rate |
|---|---|
| American Express Membership Rewards (Canada) | 1,000 MR to 750 Asia Miles |
| RBC Avion Rewards | 10,000 Avion points to 10,000 Asia Miles |
| American Express Membership Rewards (US) | 1,000 MR to 1,000 Asia Miles |
| Bilt Rewards (US) | 2,000 Bilt Points to 2,000 Asia Miles |
| Capital One Miles (US) | 1,000 Capital One Miles to 1,000 Asia Miles |
| Citi ThankYou Rewards (US) | 1,000 ThankYou Points to 1,000 Asia Miles |
| Brex Rewards (US) | 1,000 Brex Points to 600 Asia Miles |
For Canadians, the best bet would be using RBC Avion points to transfer 1:1 to Asia Miles. The RBC Avion Visa Infinite card is one of the best for this purpose, as it often comes with an easy-to-earn welcome bonus.
The RBC Avion Visa Infinite card earns Avion Elite points and gives cardholders the opportunity to earn 1.25x Avion Elite points on all travel purchases. In 2024, we awarded this card as the Best Flexible Points Travel Credit Card.
Check out our RBC Avion Visa Infinite card review for more details.
55,000 Avion
$0
$925+
$120
Yes
Nov 25, 2024
If you are a Canadian who has access to US credit cards, American Express, Capital One, Citi, and Bilt all transfer 1:1 so pick whichever you have access to!
As always, if you’re looking for information on any transfer partners, their conversion rates, or if there are any transfer bonuses ongoing, check out our Miles & Points Transfer Partner Tool!
Transfer from Hotel Loyalty Programs
If you find yourself needing a few more Asia Miles for a flight redemption but are sitting on quite a bit of hotel points from spending or welcome bonuses, you can transfer points from these select programs:
| Hotel Loyalty Program | Conversion Rate |
|---|---|
| Marriott Bonvoy | 3,000 Bonvoy Points to 1,000 Asia Miles (5,000 Asia Miles bonus for every 60,000 points transferred) |
| Hilton Honors | 10,000 Hilton Honors Points to 1,000 Asia Miles |
| World of Hyatt | 5,000 World of Hyatt Points to 2,000 Asia Miles |
| IHG One Rewards | 10,000 IHG One Points to 2,000 Asia Miles |
| Accor Live Limitless | 4,000 Accor Points to 2,000 Asia Miles |
| Best Western Rewards | 5,000 Best Western Pints to 1,000 Asia Miles |
| Shangri-La Golden Circle | 1,000 Shangri-La Points to 1,000 Asia Miles |
| Regal Hotels | 15,000 Regal Points to 1,000 Asia Miles |
| Anantara Vacation Club | 1,000 Anantara Points to 2,500 Asia Miles |
Generally, we would steer away from transferring our hotel points to Asia Miles because the conversion rates are not very favorable. However, if you’re a couple thousand short of a great flight redemption, go for it!
Earn Asia Miles through Hotel Stays
You can choose to earn Asia Miles for your hotel stays with participating hotels worldwide. These hotels include Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, and other networks and independent hotels. However, it is important to note that if you choose to earn Asia Miles during your stay, you will not be eligible to earn hotel loyalty points. In essence, no double dipping!
The point-earning structure for each hotel brand is slightly different. For example, you will earn 500 Asia Miles per stay (not per night!) at any Grand Hyatt, such as the Grand Hyatt Athens, while you will earn 2 Asia Miles per US dollar spent at Marriott Bonvoy hotels.
We do not recommend you opt to earn Asia Miles on your hotel stay when you have the option of earning hotel loyalty points. However, if there is an independent hotel on their list, this could be a good option as you will likely not be earning any type of points.
As a note, you can earn 1 Asia Mile per US dollar spent on booking hotel meetings at Marriott Bonvoy hotels.
Earn Asia Miles on Car Rentals
You can earn Asia Miles on car rentals with Avis, Hertz, and Budget.
Again, earning rates will differ slightly with each rental car company so be sure to click on the specific one you are interested in for more information. You can find the complete list here.
Booking Other Travel
Asia Miles partners with a select group of travel sites and booking services for you to be able to earn points. For example, you can earn Asia Miles when booking with Expedia for vacations in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
iMiles Shopping Portal
The Asia Miles iMiles Shopping Portal allows you to earn Asia Miles on qualifying online purchases when you go through their site. There are no hidden fees, increased prices, or any restrictions – all you need to do is visit the iMiles Shopping Portal site first, click on the retailer you want to buy from and it will redirect you to their store’s page.
Keep in mind that Cathay Pacific predominantly serves Hong Kong, China, and other Asian countries. Thus, many of the retailers that you’ll see will be region-specific. However, you might be able to find one or two that might apply to you! For example, Apple US and Walmart Canada are both merchants that participate in the iMiles Shopping Portal!
Buying Asia Miles
There’s a bit of a caveat “buying Asia Miles” – you actually can’t buy a bulk amount of Asia Miles if you are not booking a flight.
Here are the rules for buying Asia Miles if you already have a flight in mind:
- You have at least 70% of the Asia Miles required to book the flight that you want.
- The Asia Miles that you buy must go towards the redemption that you are about to select.
- There is availability on your flight of choice.
- After redemption, the balance in your Asia Miles account must not exceed 2,000 Asia Miles.
- Points must be purchased in increments of 2,000 Asia Miles. The cost of 2,000 Asia Miles is 60 US dollars (4 CAD cents per point).
- No refunds after the points are purchased.
We value Asia Miles at around 1.6 cents per point, making the purchase price of 4 cents per point an objectively bad deal. We recommend that you try transferring any missing points from Asia Miles partners (e.g., RBC Avion Rewards).
Redeeming Asia Miles for Flights
We recommend using Asia Miles for flight redemptions with Cathay Pacific or one of their partner airlines as this will almost guarantee you the best value for your points.
Asia Miles is one of the last programs to use a fixed award chart, meaning that the amount of Asia Miles required for a flight redemption is solely dependent on the distance flown and the cabin class (time of year and other factors have no effect). This is great because it takes the guesswork out of knowing how many points we need.
However, the confusing part about redeeming Asia Miles for flights is that there are 3 separate award charts depending on the flight you are trying to redeem. Let’s take a look at each award chart, but a few notes before we begin:
- There are two types of “Short” distances: Type 1 and Type 2.
- Type 1: refers to flights that do not start or end in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nepal or Sri Lanka
- Type 2: refers to flights that start or end in the above countries
If you ever want to make sure of the redemption amount on any flight or partner airline, check out the Asia Miles Redemption Calculator.
Standard Award Chart: Flights Operated by Cathay Pacific Only
Redeeming Asia Miles for Cathay Pacific operated flights is, luckily, very straightforward and uses the Standard Award Chart below. The amount of Asia Miles needed for a specific redemption is based on the distance traveled and the cabin class for any Cathay Pacific flights.
| Distance | Economy | Premium Economy | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ultra-short (<750 miles) | 7,500 | 11,000 | 16,000 | N/A |
| Short Type 1 (751 – 2,750 miles) | 10,000 | 20,000 | 28,000 | 43,000 |
| Short Type 2 (751 – 2,750 miles) | 12,500 | 23,000 | 32,000 | 50,000 |
| Medium (2,751 – 5,000 miles) | 20,000 | 38,000 | 58,000 | 90,000 |
| Long (5,001 – 7,500 miles) | 27,000 | 50,000 | 84,000 | 125,000 |
| Ultra-long (>7,501 miles) | 38,000 | 75,000 | 110,000 | 160,000 |
If needed, you can also utilize an award ticket hold to reserve availability for a few days while you transfer your miles to Asia Miles
Partner Award Chart: Flights by Oneworld or Other Partners
Oneworld partner award charts are not explicitly published. Instead, you should use the Asia Miles Redemption Calculator, put in your departure and arrival locations and it will generate the available flights for redemption and their costs for you.
If you are looking to redeem Asia Miles on a flight on a partner airline outside of the Oneworld Alliance, you will need to submit a Flight Award Request Form ahead of time and wait for Cathay to get back to you.
This process will need to be followed when redeeming Cathay Pacific Asia Miles on Air Canada, Air New Zealand, American Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Bangkok Airways, Gulf Air, Lufthansa, Shenzhen Airlines, and Swiss International Air Lines.
Oneworld Multi-Carrier Award Chart: Multi-Part Flights with Oneworld Partners
With the Multi-carrier Award Chart, we have the opportunity to book a once-in-a-lifetime, around-the-world trip with our Asia Miles. We can book multiple segments/stopovers on multiple different airlines for a distance-based cost.
There are a few rules to keep in mind when wanting to build a multi-carrier, multi-stop itinerary:
- You must fly at least two Oneworld Alliance airlines outside of Cathay Pacific.
- The journey must be roundtrip (i.e., start and end in the same location)
- There is a maximum of 5 stopovers.
- One stopover per city and the city of origin (where the journey started) cannot be included as a stopover.
- Two transfers and two open-jaws (i.e., landing at one destination and departing from another) are permitted.
- The entire itinerary must be less than 50,000 miles in distance.
- Multi-carrier redemptions are only available over the phone with a Cathay Pacific agent.
The amount of Asia Miles required for a multi-carrier redemption is determined by the total distance of the entire trip and the highest cabin that was flown on the itinerary. For example, if you flew 18,500 miles with 4 segments, all in economy class, this would cost 115,000 Asia Miles. However, if you flew the same 18,500 miles with 4 segments, but 1 segment was in First Class, it would cost 330,000 Asia Miles, almost 3x more!
The trick here is to ensure that most, if not all, of the segments in a multi-carrier redemption, are at the highest cabin – you rather have 3 business class segments + 1 economy class segment rather than 3 economy class segments + 1 business class segment.
Other Flight Award Charts
Upgrade Award Chart
After booking a flight on Cathay Pacific, you have the option of upgrading the cabin class on your ticket with Asia Miles. As with all of the other charts, the cost will depend on the distance of the flight and the cabin to which you are upgrading into.
| Distance | Economy to Premium Economy | Premium Economy to Business | Economy to Business | Business to First |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ultra-short (<750 miles) | 6,000 | 8,000 | 11,000 | 15,000 |
| Short Type 1 (751 – 2,750 miles) | 11,000 | 14,000 | 19,500 | 26,000 |
| Short Type 2 (751 – 2,750 miles) | 12,500 | 16,000 | 22,500 | 30,000 |
| Medium (2,751 – 5,000 miles) | 21,000 | 29,000 | 40,500 | 54,000 |
| Long (5,001 – 7,500 miles) | 27,500 | 42,000 | 59,000 | 75,000 |
| Ultra-long (>7,501 miles) | 41,500 | 55,000 | 77,000 | 96,000 |
Note that upgrades from direct upgrades from economy class to business class are only possible if there is no premium economy class available for the flight.
Companion Award Chart
If you have booked a first or business class flight on Cathay Pacific, you have the option of using Asia Miles to redeem a companion ticket at the following costs:
| Distance | Business Class Companion Ticket | First Class Companion Ticket |
|---|---|---|
| Ultra-short (<750 miles) | 24,000 | N/A |
| Short Type 1 (751 – 2,750 miles) | 42,000 | 64,000 |
| Short Type 2 (751 – 2,750 miles) | 48,000 | 75,000 |
| Medium (2,751 – 5,000 miles) | 87,000 | 135,000 |
| Long (5,001 – 7,500 miles) | 126,000 | 187,400 |
| Ultra-long (>7,501 miles) | 165,000 | 240,000 |
Asia Mile Redemption Sweet Spots
West Coast to Asia
As the award charts are all based on distance flown, sweet spots with Asia Miles can be found from the West Coast of North America to Asia. For example, Vancouver to Hong Kong only costs 27,000 Asia Miles in Economy and 84,000 Asia Miles in Business!
Qatar Airways QSuites or Qatar Airways First Class
As a partner of Qatar Airways, you can book the coveted Qatar Airways Qsuites or Qatar Airways First Class with a reasonable amount of Asia Miles. For example, booking an award flight from Doha to Hong Kong costs 63,000 Asia Miles in QSuites or 100,000 Asia Miles in First Class.
The availability of these redemptions is limited. We recommend that you either look well in advance of your departure date or 2-3 weeks before your intended departure date for seats to open up.
British Airways Flights
Long gone are the days when Asia Miles did not pass on their partners’ carrier surcharges. However, it does not always pass on the full amount. In fact, British Airways redemptions charge remarkably less in taxes and fees compared to redeeming directly with British Airways Avios points.
If you are interested in learning more about how this works, check out how to Reduce Carrier Surcharges on British Airways & Oneworld Redemptions.
Redeeming Asia Miles for Other Travel or Other Uses
You can redeem Asia Miles for hotel stays or merchandise in your Cathay Pacific account. However, we highly recommend against these redemptions as they are almost always unfavorable. Your Asia Miles are best suited to be used for flight rewards.
You also have the option of transferring Asia Miles to Marriott Bonvoy points at a rate of 2 Asia Miles to 1 Marriott Bonvoy. This is an extremely bad deal and should be avoided since 2 Asia Miles is worth about 3.2 cents and 1 Marriott Bonvoy point is worth around 0.7 cents per point.
Cathay Pacific Status Points & Tier Status
Cathay Pacific’s loyalty program is classified into four tiers: Green, Silver, Gold, and Diamond. To level up to the next tier, you must earn a certain amount of Status Points by flying with Cathay Pacific or their partner airlines.
Keep in mind that status Points are not equivalent to Asia Miles. These are separately earned but still depend on the distance flown and the cabin. For example, if we flew from Vancouver to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific’s business class (J), we would earn 105 Status Points towards our Cathay elite status.
The Asia Miles and Status Points calculator will tell you how many points you can expect to earn from Cathay Pacific or partner airline flights (remember, each partner airline has a unique earning rate!).
Cathay Pacific Tier Status
Similar to other airline loyalty programs, each tier is associated with benefits when flying with Cathay Pacific or their Oneworld Alliance partners. Intuitively, as you “level up” with more status points, you gain more perks and benefits
Cathay Green
Cathay Green is the entry-level status that is free to anyone who signs up for an Asia Miles account.
As expected with the free level, the perks are limited and include priority online check-in 48 hours in advance (note that this does not include priority boarding or security), the ability to use Asia Miles to purchase additional baggage allowance, and the ability to use Asia Miles to buy extra-leg room seats
Cathay Silver
Once you earn 300 Status Points, you will be bumped up to Cathay Silver status, which includes unlimited Cathay Business Class Lounge access, business class check-in and priority boarding, priority baggage handling, Oneworld Ruby status.
Cathay Gold
When you reach 600 status points, you will unlock Gold status, which includes everything in Cathay Silver plus unlimited Business Class Lounge access for you and a travel companion, additional baggage allowance, and Oneworld Sapphire status.
Cathay Diamond
At 1,200 status points, you will have reached top-tier Diamond status, which includes everything in Cathay Gold status plus unlimited business or first class lounge access for you and 2 travel companions, first-class check-in and boarding, unlimited Cathay first-class lounge access, discounted Asia Miles needed for redemptions using the Asia Miles + Cash option, and top-tier Oneworld Emerald Status.
Mid-Status Tiers
Between each of the Cathay elite status tiers, you will also earn mid-status rewards for reaching certain Status Points milestones:
- 200 Status Points will earn 1 business class lounge pass for you or a travel companion
- 450 Status Points will earn 2 business class lounge passes for travel companions.
- 800 Status Points will earn two business class lounge passes.
- You have the option of gifting these lounge passes to a friend or family member who is traveling on their own if they are listed as a Redemption Group Member in your Asia Miles account.
- 1,400 Status Points will earn 2 first class lounge passes
- Again, you have the option of gifting these passes to friends or family who are not traveling with you if they are in your Redemption Group.
Frequently Asked Questions
We value 1 Asia Mile at 1.6 CAD cents per point (1.2 USD cents per point).
Asia Miles expire after 18 months of inactivity. In order to keep your points from expiring, make sure you have some activity in your account by either earning a few Asia Miles or spending a few miles.
Yes! Refer to the Upgrade Award Chart for the amount of Asia Miles needed to upgrade your flight.
The time to transfer points to Asia Miles from bank loyalty programs varies between institutions:
- American Express Membership Rewards (Canada): 5 days
- RBC Rewards: 1 week
- American Express Membership Rewards (US): 1-7 days
- Bilt: Instant
- Brex: Up to 1 business day
- Capital One: Up to 5 business days
- Citi: Instant
There are no blackout dates or restrictions from redeeming your Asia Miles. However, seats available for redemption with Asia Miles may vary based on general award availability, which can be impacted by the destination and time of year.
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