{"id":59719,"date":"2021-11-19T15:00:38","date_gmt":"2021-11-19T15:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/?p=59719"},"modified":"2026-04-08T13:41:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T13:41:42","slug":"asia-miles-miles-plus-cash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/news\/airlines\/asia-miles-miles-plus-cash\/","title":{"rendered":"Asia Miles Debuts New ‘Miles Plus Cash’ Booking Option"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cathay Pacific's Asia Miles recently implemented a couple of significant changes<\/a> to its award program, including a new “Miles Plus Cash” feature. The Hong Kong-based loyalty program sunset its higher-priced ‘Choice' and ‘Tailored' award tiers. Instead, Cathay loyalists are gaining the ability to book flights via a new ‘Miles Plus Cash' option. That is, the ability to book cash fares while covering some of the cost with miles.<\/p>\n

Some points and miles travelers seem to think it's a sign that the beloved loyalty program plans to pivot toward dynamic award pricing (think United<\/a> or Delta<\/a>). However, I'm not so pessimistic. In fact, I think this new ability could spell even greater flexibility for award travelers\u2014provided Asia Miles' conversion rate turns out to be reasonable.<\/p>\n

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Cathay Pacific First Class<\/em><\/enter><\/figure>\n

Asia Miles Ends Choice and Tailored Awards<\/span><\/h2>\n

Prior to this change, Cathay Pacific offered three tiers of award flights: Standard, Choice, and Tailored. Each was subject to a unique distance-based award chart, offering more benefits for the higher tiers:<\/p>\n

\"Asia<\/p>\n

Standard awards are exactly as they sound\u2014the standard (minimum) award price for a given itinerary. To book these, loyalists need to find suitable award availability. And if the availability doesn't exist for your desired dates, you could either search different dates or book a higher-tiered (and more expensive) Choice or Tailored Reward.<\/p>\n

To give you an idea of the price difference, check out these two charts. These represent one-way Standard and Choice awards when flying Cathay Pacific:<\/p>\n

\"Asia<\/p>\n

\"Screen-Shot-2021-03-18-at-11.50.10-PM-300x92\"<\/p>\n

Now, award travelers no longer have the option to book Choice or Tailored awards. Moreover, any unconfirmed Choice or Tailored awards\u2014including waitlisted awards\u2014will be canceled. Check out Asia Miles' FAQ page<\/a> devoted to this news for more details.<\/p>\n

Introducing Miles Plus Cash Awards<\/span><\/h2>\n

Starting March 30, 2021, Asia Miles<\/a> introduced a new option to book flights with “Miles Plus Cash” awards. This allows travelers to book flights with any combination of Asia Miles and cash they'd like. Simply choose the percentage you prefer when booking.<\/p>\n

\"Asia<\/p>\n

Like all major updates, this prompts several questions. Thankfully, Asia Miles has preemptively answered several of them:<\/p>\n