Cathay Pacific is generally not the first Oneworld award program that comes to mind when booking award flights. That title goes to American Airlines and British Airways. Iberia is likely the third Oneworld option travelers turn to.

The Cathay Pacific program takes time to familiarize yourself with. It’s myriad of award charts and pricing is difficult to comprehend. The upside is that the program’s difficulty weeds out the competition for award space.

Credit Cards to Cathay Pacific Miles

Cathay Pacific partners with American Express, Capital One, Citi, and Marriott. But don’t get too excited. The transfer ratios and times are not equal across the board. American Express and Citi are the 2 programs to focus on.

The American Express Gold and Citi Prestige are cards to check out. Gold cardmembers earn 4x points on dining and US grocery stores. You earn 5x points on airfare and dining with the Prestige. Another card to look into is the Citi Premier. This card earns 3x points on airfare, dining, gas, grocery stores, and hotels starting August 23, 2020.

Additional Ways to Earn Cathay Pacific Miles

Cathay Pacific has two primary ways to earn its miles outside of credit card point transfers. These ways are not likely to be as efficient as credit card spending. However, you can earn additional miles if you fly or use Cathay Pacific’s travel partners with any frequency.

The first way to earn Asia Miles is by flying on Cathay Pacific or one its partner airline flights. Credit your partner airline flight to your Cathay Pacific account to earn Asia Miles. Head to wheretocredit.com to determine if this makes sense for you.

Another way to earn Asia Miles is to use Cathay Pacific’s car rental and hotel partners. You earn Asia Miles by spending with these partners.

Basic Cathay Pacific Redemption Rules 

Award flights on Cathay Pacific, Cathay Dragon, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian Airlines, and SriLankan Airlines can all be booked on the Cathay Pacific website.

For award flights on American Airlines, Japan Airlines, Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, and Swiss Air Lines, you need to call Cathay Pacific to book the flight.

There are several important rules to know when redeeming your Asia Miles:

• Fuel surcharges on British Airways flights are lower than when booking with other Oneworld partners
• Cathay Pacific uses distance-based award charts
• Partner airlines flights can be booked one-way
• Add 5,000 miles to the award price shown in the Asia Miles Awards Chart when flying 1 Oneworld partner

Using the Cathay Pacific Search Engine

Many of the Cathay Pacific Oneworld airline partners can be searched directly on the Asia Miles website. You can search award availabitiy one week at a time.

For partner airline flights that require a phone call, search United for Star Alliance flights and American/British Airways for Oneworld flights. Call Cathay Pacific when you find a flight that works for you.

Best Ways to Use Cathay Pacific Miles

As previously mentioned, it’s easy to earn Asia Miles. American Express and Citi are the two best credit card programs to transfer points from. Both programs transfer points to Cathay Pacific instantly at a 1:1 ratio.

1. West Coast to Asia Business Class

Both American Airlines and Cathay Pacific require the same number of miles to fly business class to Hong Kong. Alaska Airlines offers even more competitive pricing. The reason to use Asia Miles is that the miles are easier to earn compared to American and Alaska.

With 70,000 Asia Miles, you can book a one-way Cathay Pacific business class flight to Hong Kong. This flight can also be booked with 70,000 American miles or 50,000 Alaska miles.

Examples of round-trip flights in this mileage range include:

• Los Angeles (LAX) Hong Kong (HKG)
• San Francisco (SFO) to Hong Kong
• Seattle (SEA) to Hong Kong

2. West Coast to Australia Business Class

Qantas is the partner you want to fly on the long-haul route to Australia. In addition to the routes covered below, Qantas flies from Sydney to Dallas. The airline also flies from Chicago to Brisbane, and to Melbourne from Los Angeles and San Francisco. These routes require additional miles.

With 75,000 Asia Miles, you can book a one-way business class Qantas flight from the US to Australia. You can also book this flight with 80,000 American miles.

Search for availability on American Airlines. Confirm the same availability on the Asia Miles website and then book the flight. The taxes and fees will be ~$52 each way. It’s important to note Qantas business and first-class award space is challenging to find.

Examples of flights in this mileage range include:

• Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO) <> Brisbane (BNE)
• Los Angeles, San Francisco <> Sydney (SYD)

3. East Coast to Middle East Business Class

Qatar Airways flies from several East Coast cities including New York (JFK) and Washington (IAD) to Doha (DOH). You can also fly for the same number of miles to the Middle East from Chicago (ORD). Flights to Doha from cities like Miami (MIA) and Los Angeles (LAX) require additional miles.

With 70,000 Asia Miles, you can book a one-way Qatar business class flight from the US to Doha. Another option is to use 70,000 American miles to book the same flight. Fuel surcharges are steep when using Asia Miles. However, Cathay Pacific’s recent move to remove fuel surcharges may help in this area.

Search for award availability on American Airlines. Confirm the same available on the Asia Miles website and then book the flight.

Examples of flights that you can book include:

• Philadelphia (PHL) <> Doha
• Boston (BOS) <> Doha
• Atlanta (ATL) <> Doha

4. US to Europe Business Class

Redeeming Asia Miles to fly Oneworld business class partners to Europe is an interesting option. While you may cringe when you hear that you can fly British Airways, that’s precisely the reason to use Asia Miles. Cathay Pacific shields you from some of the charges you pay when using American miles.

With 61,000 Asia miles, you can book a one-way business class flight to Europe from the East Coast. 57,500 American miles is also an option, however, the fuel surcharges are steep when flying British Airways.

Search for Oneworld award availability on American Airlines. Confirm the same availability, except for American, on the Asia Miles website and then book the flight. Call Cathay to book American Airlines flights. Examples of flights that you can book include:

• Boston (BOS) <> Madrid (MAD) – Iberia
• Philadelphia (PHL) <> Amsterdam (AMS) – American
• New York (JFK) <> London (LHR) – British Airways

5. US to South America Business Class

American Airlines offers cheaper pricing than Cathay Pacific to southern South America. With that said, Cathay miles may be easier to earn. This redemption is up for you to decide what makes the most sense for you.

With 61,000 Asia Miles, you can book a one-way American Airlines business class flight to southern South America from Miami. Argentina, Brazil, and Chile are examples of countries in this region. You can book the same flights with 57,500 American miles.

Search for award availability on American and call Cathay Pacific to book the flight. It’s important to note that business class award availability to Argentina and Chile is extremely difficult to find. You may have better luck searching for flights to Brazil. Examples of flights you can book include:

• Miami (MIA) <> Chile (SCL)
• Miami <> Argentina (EZE)
• Miami <> Rio de Janiero (GIG)

Conclusion on Using Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

Cathay Pacific continues to be a challenging program to use. Its award charts can be confusing. Not all partners can be searched on its website. There are a lot of moving parts. The flip side is that the barrier to entry is high allowing you to reap the rewards of little award flight competition.

What about you? Have you used the Cathay Pacific Asia Miles program to book an award flight? What Asia Miles redemptions do you recommend? Please let me know in the comments or by sending me an email on my contact page.

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