Asia Miles is the rewards program of Cathay Pacific, a Oneworld member based in Hong Kong. While the program went through significant changes a couple of years – making it even more complex – Asia Miles still offers incredible value if you know how to navigate its many rules.
See our best credit card bonuses here.
Keep reading for everything you need to know about Cathay Pacific Asia Miles.
| Hubs | Hong Kong |
| Focus Cities | London, Taipei |
| US Destinations | Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Newark, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington D.C. |
| Alliance | Oneworld |
| Redemption Options | Award flights, partner flights, seat upgrades, extra baggage, companion tickets, extra-legroom seats, travel, lifestyle, entertainment, transfer partners, donations |
| Average Mile Value | $0.013 |
Marco Polo Club Elite Status
While Asia Miles is Cathay Pacific’s rewards program, Marco Polo Club is the carrier’s loyalty program where you can unlock VIP benefits by earning elite status.
To join Marco Polo Club, you’ll need to pay a $100 enrollment fee.
The membership renewal fee is 20 club points, or $100, every year.
When you sign up for Marco Polo Club, you’re automatically enrolled in Asia Miles. You’ll have the same membership number for both programs.
Marco Polo Club has four status tiers: Green Silver, Gold and Diamond.
To earn Marco Polo Club status, you’ll need to rack up on club points. How much club points will you earn? That depends on the airline, cabin, fare class and distance you traveled on Cathay Pacific, Cathay Dragon and any Oneworld partner.
To find out how many club points you earned on any given flight, use the handy club points calculator.
| Status Tier | Club Points Needed (in one membership year) |
| Green | 20 |
| Silver | 300 (with Green status) |
| Gold | 600 (with Silver status) |
| Platinum | 1,200 (with Gold status) |
With every Marco Polo Club tier upgrade, you enjoy a new level of privileges.
| Green | Extra-legroom seats redemption Boosted baggage allowance Extra baggage redemption Designated check-in counters* Priority boarding Business Class lounge access |
| Silver | (all Green benefits) Extra-legroom seats Advanced seat reservation* Priority waitlisting* Business Class counters* Priority boarding* Priority baggage handling Membership Holiday |
| Gold | (all Silver benefits) Guaranteed economy class seat Business Class lounge access* Partner airline lounge access* |
| Diamond | (all Gold benefits) Guaranteed premium economy class seat Guaranteed business class seat First Class counters* Priority boarding* First Class lounge access* |
*Your travel companions also enjoy these benefits.
When you’re moving from one club tier to the next, Marco Polo Club will reward you for reaching certain club-point milestones:
| Club Status | Club Points | Benefit |
| Green | 200 | 1 Business Class lounge pass |
| Silver | 300 | 2 Business Class lounge passes |
| Gold | 600 | 2 Business Class lounge passes |
| Diamond | 1,200 | 2 First or Business Class lounge passes |
For more details about the Marco Polo Club, click here.
Earning Asia Miles
Like other frequent flyer programs, the best way to earn Asia miles is to fly with the carrier. But there are plenty of other ways to rack up on rewards – hotel stays, car rentals, shopping, credit card partner transfers and more.
Earn Asia miles by flying with Cathay Pacific, Cathay Dragon and partner airlines. The amount of miles you’ll receive is based on airline, flight distance, cabin and ticket class.
Unlike most frequent flyer programs, Asia Miles does not offer bonus miles for elite status members.
To figure out exactly how many miles you’ll earn, use the Asia Miles airline miles calculator.
Cathay Pacific offers one credit card that earns Asia miles: Cathay Pacific Visa Signature.
| Welcome Bonus | Get 35k miles ($455 value) when you spend $2k in 90 days. |
| Ongoing Rewards | 2x miles on Cathay Pacific purchases 1.5x miles on dining & international purchases 1x miles on all other domestic purchases |
| Elite Status | Complimentary Green status |
| Other Perks | Savings on Asia Miles* 2-day priority redemption for discount flight awards No foreign transaction fees |
| Annual Fee | $95 |
*10% savings on Asia Miles Gift Miles, Mileage Renewals and Mileage Transfer Fee transactions. 10% redemption discount on hotel, car rental and experiences award via Travel Asia Miles.
Earn Asia miles by transferring points from the following credit card rewards programs:
You can also transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to Asia miles at a 3:1 ratio. And for every 60,000 points you transfer, you’ll receive a 5,000-mile bonus.
Besides flights and credit card spending, there are plenty of ways to earn Asia miles:
If you’re short on miles for an award ticket, you can buy up to 30% of the miles required. But we generally do not recommend it. The purchase price is around $0.03 per mile, which is more than double what we value each Asia mile at redemption.
Earning Asia Miles With American Express Membership Rewards®
You can transfer American Express Membership Rewards® points to your Asia Miles account. For every 1,000 Membership Rewards points, get 1,000 Asia Miles.
Credit cards that earn Amex Membership Rewards include:
| Personal Cards | The Platinum Card® from American Express American Express® Gold Card |
| Business Cards | The Business Platinum Card® from American Express American Express® Business Gold Card |
THE PLATINUM CARD® FROM AMERICAN EXPRESS
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The Platinum Card® from American Express has a special offer for 100,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 in purchases within your first 6 months.
Membership Rewards® points are some of the most valuable in the market. Redeeming these points by booking travel through American Express or by redeeming for gift cards will give you a standard 1 cent per point value. The 100k bonus points are worth $1,000 going this route.
You can potentially get more value by transferring your points to Membership Rewards travel partners. Using this strategy can get you up to an average value of 2 cents per point. Get around $2,000 in value with 100,000 points this way. Read more on this here.
With this card, earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year.
The biggest drawback to this card is the $695 annual fee (see Rates & Fees, Terms Apply), which puts it in the premium class of credit cards. The card has a market because it offers premium travel benefits, such as 5X points for flights (up to $500,000 on these purchases) and eligible hotels, access to 40+ Centurion Loung and Studio locations worldwide, up to $200 airline fee credit annually, and an annual Walmart+ membership. These benefits are given as statement credits.
For frequent travelers, the added benefits make sense in terms of value and added luxury.
AMERICAN EXPRESS® GOLD CARD
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The American Express® Gold Card has a welcome bonus for 60,000 Membership Rewards Points when you spend $4,000 within 6 months.
Membership Rewards Points have great flexibility. We value each point to be worth up to an average 2 cents per point. At this value, 60k Membership Rewards Points can be worth up to $1,200.
The Amex Gold Card has plentiful perks. You’ll get:
- Choice between Gold or Rose Gold.
- 4X points at restaurants, including takeouts and deliveries in the U.S.
- 4X points at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 per year in purchases (1X thereafter)
- 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com
- Up to $120 in annual dining credits (get up to $10 monthly statement credits)
- No foreign transaction fees
The annual fee is $250. See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply.
THE BUSINESS PLATINUM CARD® FROM AMERICAN EXPRESS
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has a welcome offer for 80,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $15,000 on qualifying purchases within your first 3 months of Card Membership. We value 80k points to be worth around $1,600.
This card earns 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel (amextravel.com). Also earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on eligible purchases in key business categories, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else. Cap applies.
This is a premium business card with a $695 annual fee. See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply.
AMERICAN EXPRESS® BUSINESS GOLD CARD
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
For a limited time, the American Express Business Gold Card has an offer for 70,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $10,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
This card earns 4 Membership Rewards points per $1 spent on 2 select categories where your business spent the most each month. These 4X points are capped at the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these 2 categories each calendar year.
Other card benefits include an Airline Bonus, where you’ll get 25% points back after you redeem points for all or part of an eligible flight booked with Amex Travel. This is capped at up to 250,000 points back per calendar year.
The annual fee is $295 for this card. See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply.
Redeeming Asia Miles
Before we jump into all the ways you can redeem your Asia miles, remember that they expire 36 months after you earn them.
You do have the option to extend their expiration date, but you’ll have to pay an online fee of $40 to stretch 2,000 miles for another 36 months. In-person and telephone requests cost $100 every 2,000 miles.
Use your Asia miles for award flights on Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon. Choose from three different award types.
- Standard Awards will get you the most value for your miles.
- Choice Awards have more seat availability, but go for more miles than Standard Awards.
- Tailored Awards have maximum seat availability year-round, but for more miles than Standard and Choice Awards.
Click here to view Cathay Pacific/Cathay Dragon award charts.
Use your Asia miles to fly with the carrier’s many partner airlines, including:
- Air Canada
- Air China
- Air New Zealand
- Alaska Airlines
- American Airlines
- Austrian Airlines
- Bangkok Airways
- British Airways
- Finnair
- Gulf Air
- HK Express
- Iberia
Click here to view partner airline award charts.
Use your Asia miles to travel in style and upgrade your seat one cabin class on paid tickets.
Use your Asia miles for extra baggage awards. Mileage pricing is based on travel distance and total number of oversized or overweight pieces. Click here for the Asia Miles extra baggage award chart.
If you bought a first or business class roundtrip ticket, you can use your Asia miles toward a companion ticket for the same flight, date and class of service.
Use your Asia miles to fly in added comfort in Economy Class when you redeem for extra-legroom seats that give you more personal space.
There are loads of other ways to use your Asia miles, but we generally don’t recommend them because they won’t give you the best mileage value. Your other redemption options include:
- Travel awards: hotels, cars, experiences
- Lifestyle awards: travel accessories, electronics & gadgets, home & kitchen, beauty & wellness, wine & gourmet
- Entertainment awards: concerts & shows, events & experiences, memorable moments
- Transfer to points
- Charitable donations
Asia Miles Tips & Tricks
To maximize your Asia miles, keep the following in mind:
- One stopover is allowed on one-way standard awards (except Air China and Iberia)
- Two stopovers and one open jaw are allowed on standard awards.
- Five stopovers and two open jaws are allowed on Oneworld multi-carrier awards.
- Transatlantic business class itineraries less than 5,000 miles with possible stopover are 50,000 Asia miles (except Iberia and Finnair).
- Asia Miles fuel surcharges on British Airways-operated flights are significantly less than booking though Avios or American Airlines.
- Play with the different pricing zones in the award charts. Going another 4,000 miles in distance for an additional 25,000 Asia miles in business class is a solid deal.
With so many partner carriers, there are plenty of ways to stretch your Asia miles. The following are our favorites:
American Airlines. One-way from the United States to Europe starts at 25,000 miles in economy and 50,000 in business class.
Cathay Pacific. One-way from the United States to China in first class is 110,000 or 125,000 miles, depending on your trip’s total length. Although that might look like a lot of miles, it’s pretty “cheap” when you compare the mileage pricing to the cash cost.
Iberia. Roundtrip in business class from the United States to Spain is just 100,000 miles. Roundtrip in economy is just 50,000 miles and premium economy is 70,000.
LATAM. Short international flights within South America are often expensive, so award tickets are usually a steal. LATAM also has many hub cities in the region, so you’ll have good stopover options.
Qantas. Award pricing for business class flights are often great, especially when you compare it to its cash cost. For example, one way from Hong Kong to Sydney in business class starts at 45,000 miles.
You can book Oneworld partner award flights 360 days from departure, giving Asia Miles a slight advantage over American Airlines and Alaska Airlines loyalty programs which let you book 330 days in advance.
If you are booking multiple people on the same itinerary, you can lock in your seats before someone else has a chance to book them.
Book a Oneworld multi-carrier business class award to fly a total distance of 9,000 miles with up to five stopovers for only 100,000 Asia miles.
Have a look at a sample itinerary below:
- Philadelphia to Paris (American Airlines)
- Paris to Madrid (Iberia)
- Madrid to Brussels (Iberia)
- Brussels to London (British Airways)
- London to Dublin (British Airways)
- Dublin to Philadelphia (American Airlines)
Yes, the fuel surcharges on British Airways will be steep. But with free stopovers, you might find the fees worthwhile for the ability to enjoy five cities and have business class lounge access during your travels.
Bottom Line
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles holds incredible value if you understand its award charts and program rules. It offers solid earning potential with multiple partners you can transfer points from. Plus, you’ll get a lot of value out of your miles if you use them for long-haul flights in premium cabin.
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