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Among all the Oneworld frequent flyer programs, Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles is one that often gets overlooked. But between the number of partners you can book, the destinations you can reach, and how easy it is to earn the miles, there are plenty of reasons you shouldn't ignore it.
Sure, there was a big devaluation in late 2023 and another mild one at the beginning of 2025. But there’s still plenty of value to be found. If you’re sitting on a bunch of Asia Miles or thinking about transferring points, here are some of the best sweet spots you can book now.
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Cathay Pacific Asia Miles Award Charts
The Cathay Pacific of today looks a lot different than it did just a few years ago. From route cuts to brand-new award charts, the airline and its Asia Miles loyalty program have tons of changes. On April 15, 2025, Asia Miles debuted new award charts for flights on its own metal and for Oneworld multi-carrier/round-the-world bookings.
Here's the new award chart for Cathay Pacific-operated flights:
| Distance | Economy | Premium economy | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ultra-short: 1–750 miles | 7,000 | 11,000 | 16,000 | N/A |
| Short type 1: 751–2,750 miles | 9,000 | 20,000 | 28,000 | 43,000 |
| Short type 2: 751–2,750 miles | 13,000 | 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 | 88,000 | 125,000 |
| Ultra-long: 7,501+ miles | 38,000 | 75,000 | 115,000 | 160,000 |
And here’s the chart for Oneworld multi-carrier awards, which is also used for round-the-world bookings:
| Distance in miles | Economy | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1,000 | 30,000 | 60,000 | 75,000 |
| 1,001–1,500 | 35,000 | 65,000 | 85,000 |
| 1,501–2,000 | 40,000 | 70,000 | 95,000 |
| 2,001–4,000 | 45,000 | 80,000 | 110,000 |
| 4,001–7,500 | 63,000 | 100,000 | 150,000 |
| 7,501–9,000 | 68,000 | 120,000 | 165,000 |
| 9,001–10,000 | 77,000 | 135,000 | 175,000 |
| 10,001–14,000 | 95,000 | 170,000 | 250,000 |
| 14,001–18,000 | 105,000 | 210,000 | 310,000 |
| 18,001–20,000 | 115,000 | 230,000 | 330,000 |
| 20,001–25,000 | 126,000 | 250,000 | 350,000 |
| 25,001–35,000 | 140,000 | 265,000 | 365,000 |
| 35,001–50,000 | 160,000 | 280,000 | 380,000 |
If you’re looking for a chart that covers simple partner awards, you won’t find one. Instead, Cathay directs Asia Miles members to the “Redeem Flight Awards” page, where you’ll get mileage estimates by entering your departure airport, destination, and preferred cabin.
Alongside simple partner awards, the “Redeem Flight Awards” page also shows mileage requirements for standard, mixed-carrier, and Oneworld multi-carrier awards.
For single-airline bookings, each direction can include up to two segments. That limitation doesn’t apply to multi-partner awards. However, to qualify for a multi-carrier partner award, your itinerary must include either:
- Two Oneworld airlines, excluding Cathay Pacific, or
- Three or more Oneworld airlines, of which Cathay Pacific is one of them
Best Uses of Asia Miles
Now, with award charts and rules established, let's dive into the sweet spots!
Round-the-world business class trips
For travel fanatics, there's not much better than a round-the-world trip booked with points and miles. And despite recently devaluing its award charts, Cathay Pacific still offers one of the best-value ways to fly around the world.
While the usual multi-carrier award rules apply, there are a few extra guidelines to keep in mind:
- Your round-the-world itinerary can cover up to 50,000 miles
- You’re allowed up to five stopovers, two transfers or layovers, and two open-jaws
- You must end your trip in the same city where it began
Let's take a look at some example round-the-world journeys.
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD) in Qantas business class
- Sydney (SYD) – Hong Kong (HKG) in Cathay Pacific business class
- Hong Kong (HKG) – Dubai (DXB) in Cathay Pacific business class
- Doha (DOH) – London (LHR) in Qatar Airways business class
- London (LHR) – Los Angeles (LAX) in British Airways business class
This itinerary, which circumnavigates the globe in some of the most remarkable business-class cabins, would only cost 250,000 Asia Miles. Alternatively, you could book the following for 230,000 miles:
- San Francisco (SFO) – Tokyo (HND/NRT) in Japan Airlines business class
- Tokyo (HND/NRT) – Hong Kong (HKG) in Cathay Pacific business class
- Hong Kong (HKG) – Singapore (SIN) in Cathay Pacific business class
- Singapore (SIN) – Nadi (NAN) in Fiji Airways business class
- Nadi (NAN) – San Francisco (SFO) in Fiji Airways business class
Notice this award didn't actually go around the world. And that's ok. Creativity is key with round-the-world bookings. You're limited only by the Asia Miles routing rules, the number of miles you have, and the availability you can find.
Once you’ve searched for award availability and found flights for each of your destinations, you’ll want to give Asia Miles a call to reserve your flights. You can't book these awards online.
Short and Medium-Haul Cathay Pacific flights
Not all of Cathay’s award chart took a hit in the recent changes, and the lowest distance bands are proof of that. In fact, economy awards for flights up to 2,750 miles actually dropped slightly in price. That means you can now fly from Hong Kong (HKG) to Denpasar, Bali (DPS) — a five-hour flight — for just 13,000 miles in economy or 32,000 in business class.
Likewise, the medium range — 2,751 to 5,000 miles — wasn’t affected. That means a nine-hour business class flight between Hong Kong (HKG) and Sydney (SYD) still costs just 58,000 miles.
Long-haul Cathay Pacific flights
Long- and ultra-long-haul Cathay flights over 5,000 miles saw a 5% increase in business class pricing due to the recent devaluation. Still, you can fly to West Coast cities like San Francisco (SFO) and Los Angeles (LAX) for 88,000 miles in business class.
Flights to the rest of the U.S. — including the recently launched route to Dallas (DFW) — now cost 115,000 Asia Miles in business class plus taxes and fees, which can still be a decent deal.
If you’re heading even farther, those same 115,000 miles can take you from New York (JFK) to Johannesburg (JNB) with a connection in Hong Kong (HKG). That’s a serious amount of flying, but it’s a solid value if your plans take you through that part of the world.
A few other example itineraries in this ultra-long-distance band include:
- Chicago (ORD) to Bali (DPS) via Hong Kong (HKG)
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Sydney (SYD) via Hong Kong (HKG)
- New York (JFK) to Mumbai (BOM) via Hong Kong (HKG)
- San Francisco (SFO) to Dubai (DXB) via Hong Kong (HKG)
One-way business class partner awards
One-way partner awards are another great way to use Asia Miles. And the value is on par with other Oneworld programs. As mentioned, there’s no official Cathay Pacific partner award chart, so you’ll need to do a bit of digging to see what your intended award will cost.
For example, flights from Chicago (ORD) to Doha (DOH) in Qatar Qsuites or to Tokyo (HND) in Japan Airlines business class both fall in the 5,001 to 7,500 mile band. Each can be booked for 89,000 Asia Miles. The downside is the taxes and fees, which are just over $500 for Qatar and $233 for Japan Airlines.
A few more examples of long-haul one-way business-class flights operated by partner airlines include:
- Miami (MIA) to Casablanca, Morocco (CMN) on Royal Air Maroc for 63,000 miles plus $284
- Dallas (DFW) to Helsinki, Finland (HEL) on Finnair for 89,000 miles plus $190
- Rio De Janeiro (GIG) to London (LHR) on British Airways for 89,000 miles plus $10
- Paris (CDG) to Colombo, Sri Lanka (CMB) on Sri Lankan for 89,000 miles plus $452
Short-haul flights on Alaska Airlines
U.S. domestic short-haul flights present a great use of Asia Miles. Of particular interest is Alaska Airlines, whose entire domestic route map is bookable for 15,000 Asia Miles or less, plus modest taxes and fees.
One-way transcontinental flights are the most compelling, clocking in at 15,000 Asia Miles plus ~$10 in taxes and fees. Some routes include:
- San Francisco (SFO) to New York-Kennedy (JFK)
- Newark (EWR) to Los Angeles (LAX)
- Boston (BOS) to Seattle (SEA)
- Washington, D.C. (IAD) to San Francisco (SFO)
- Denver (DEN) to Anchorage (ANC)
You can also access the carrier's Hawaii and Mexico routes from 15,000 miles. Nonstops are generally cheaper than connecting itineraries, in terms of the miles required and the tax burden. For inspiration, here are a few more nonstop itineraries for 15,000 Asia Miles:
- Los Angeles (LAX) to San José del Cabo (SJD)
- San Diego (SAN) to Puerto Vallarta (PVR)
- San Jose (SJC) to Guadalajara (GDL)
Caribbean-bound flights are a bit more expensive at 27,000 Asia Miles each way. On certain occasions, it might make sense to use Asia Miles for these trips, given how much easier Asia Miles are to earn than Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles.
Asia Miles Program Quirks
Understanding program sweet spots is valuable, but the intricacies of an award program are sometimes even more important. In the case of Asia Miles, there are a handful of considerations to factor in when booking awards.
Increased access to Cathay Pacific award space
Award space can be hard to come by these days, and Cathay Pacific awards are no exception. By booking through Asia Miles, travelers will have access to extra award space on Cathay Pacific compared to booking through other programs, particularly in the premium cabins.
Earlier access to awards
Asia Miles releases award space 360 days in advance of flights. This compares quite favorably with other Oneworld programs, such as American Airlines AAdvantage and British Airways Avios, which release space 331 days and 354 days in advance, respectively.
Using Asia Miles to book awards as soon as they become available gives travelers an edge over those trying to book through other programs.
Related: How Far in Advance Can You Book Airline Award Tickets?
Varied taxes and fees
Seasoned award travelers know that different award programs assess different surcharges for travel on various airlines. Cathay Pacific's Asia Miles program is no different.
For a journey in Qatar Airways Qsuite from the U.S. to Doha, the American Airlines AAdvantage program charges $7.65 out of pocket. Asia Miles, on the other hand, charges $500 or more per person!
However, on other awards, Asia Miles can charge lower taxes and fees than its peers. Examples include transatlantic flights on British Airways.
Not all awards are bookable online
Unfortunately, while the Asia Miles program allows for incredible award redemptions, not every award is bookable online. Specific airline partners and complex itineraries require contacting a customer care representative to book or filling out a flight request form.
Here's the short list of airlines that require the flight award request form:
- Air Canada
- Air New Zealand
- Austrian Airlines
- Bangkok Airways
- Lufthansa
- Shenzhen Airlines
- SWISS
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles Transfer Partners
Luckily, Cathay Pacific enjoys point transferability from a few of the top transferrable points programs, so it's relatively easy to build a stash of Asia Miles. Points transfer from all U.S. bank programs at a 1:1 ratio — except for Marriott Bonvoy, which has a 3:1 transfer ratio and offers 5,000 bonus miles for every 60,000 Marriott points you transfer to Asia Miles.
Here's a list of Cathay Pacific transfer partners:
That means U.S.-based travelers can build up a Cathay Pacific Asia Miles balance via the following cards:
- 5X miles per dollar on purchases through Capital One Entertainment (through 12/31/2025)
- 5X miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per dollar on all other purchases
(Terms apply)
- Earn 5X points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel® (up to $500,000 in purchases per calendar year).
- Earn 5X points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel®.
(Terms apply)
- U.S. purchases for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)
- U.S. purchases made from electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers
- U.S. purchases at gas stations
- U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery
- Transit purchases including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways
- Monthly wireless telephone service charges made directly from a wireless telephone service provider in the U.S.
Or you can earn Asia Miles directly through the Cathay Pacific Visa Signature® card.
Our Take
While not a standout favorite airline program among North American frequent flyers, Cathay Pacific’s loyalty program serves as a useful option for those savvy enough to understand all of the program’s capabilities. And despite a recent devaluation, there's still value to be had with several sweet spots in the Asia Miles program.
Whether it’s extra-long-haul journeys, round-the-world jaunts, or just a way to access award space earlier, sweet spots are still ripe for the taking within the Asia Miles program. With a plethora of transfer partners available to travelers, consider booking your next Cathay Pacific or partner flight via Asia Miles.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees), and American Express® Business Gold Card (Rates & Fees)
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