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In a year fraught with negative program changes and devaluations, American Express has added another before the calendar rolls over. Amex Membership Rewards is one of a handful of programs that offer transfers to Cathay Pacific's loyalty program — known as Asia Miles — at a 1:1 ratio. That rate will be changing, but luckily not for a few months.
Effective March 1, 2026, the transfer rate will change to 5:4, dropping the rate by 20%. Let's take a look at what this change means and how you can take advantage before it takes place.
Amex to Reduce Cathay Pacific Asia Miles Transfer Ratio
On the bright side, Amex and Cathay Pacific are giving us some time to digest this news and adjust before the change. But beginning in March, those with valuable Membership Rewards will see that value slashed. Recent communication from American Express to Card Members states:
Effective March 1, 2026 , the ratio for transferring Membership Rewards points to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles TM will be changed from: “1 Membership Rewards point = 1 Asia Mile” to “5 Membership Rewards points = 4 Asia Miles”.
What remains to be seen (but wouldn't be a surprise) is if other programs that offer transfers to Asia Miles drop their transfer ratios as well. If the saga with Emirates Skywards transfers this year (see Citi, Chase, and Capital One changes) serves as any indicator, there's a decent chance other programs could follow Amex's lead.
Best Ways to Redeem Asia Miles Now
Although there have been negative changes to Cathay's loyalty program this year, there are still good uses to consider when deciding to transfer Amex Membership Rewards to the program.
After all, if you transfer points now and book, these awards will require fewer Amex points than they otherwise will come March 1, 2026.
British Airways business class with lower taxes
British Airways flights can be booked with many of its Oneworld partner programs, such as American AAdvantage and Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards. Cathay Pacific is another option and while the award prices may be higher, the usually high taxes and fees are significantly lower through Cathay.
For example, this business class British Airways flight from Boston (BOS) to London (LHR) costs 63,000 miles and roughly $235 when booked through Cathay Pacific.
Here is the same flight when booked through other Oneworld partners:
- American AAdvantage: 57,500 miles and $733
- British Airways Avios: 90,000 Avios and $375
- Alaska Atmos: 45,000 miles and $996
As you can see, this is a great use of Asia Miles to avoid those higher taxes and fees.
Cathay Pacific premium cabins to Hong Kong
If you are looking to fly Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong — or beyond — than this can be another good use of Cathay miles. This newly inaugurated Dallas (DFW) to Hong Kong (HKG) flight costs 115,000 Cathay miles. Western U.S. destinations start at 88,000 miles.
There are several other sweet spots when using Cathay miles on either its own flights or partners, and you can see our detailed post here.
Top Off Your Asia Miles Account
If one of the awards above has caught your eye but you don't have all the Amex points necessary to book it, remember that Asia Miles partners with a few other programs, too. Here's the current list of Cathay Pacific transfer partners:
Related: Asia Miles Expiration Explained — And How to Reset Your Expiry Clock
Bottom Line
This is obviously bad news, but fortunately, American Express is giving a heads-up before the transfer rate changes on March 1, 2026. Until then, you can still transfer at 1:1, but that will be reduced to 5:4 next year.
If you have a use of Asia Miles, you have time to take advantage before the change takes place. Note that Cathay has decent change and cancellation policies, but we still wouldn't recommend a transfer until you have the need for an award.
It remains to be seen if other transfer programs will follow suit, but it would be no surprise if those changes are coming soon as well. We'll be sure to let you know if they do.
Since we have almost three months of notice, you could conceivably open a new Amex card, earn a welcome bonus, and still transfer points to Cathay at 1:1. Just make sure you don't cut it too close.
(Terms apply)
- 4X Membership Rewards® Points at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S. (on up to $50,000 per year in purchases, then 1X)
- 4X Membership Rewards® points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X)
- 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com
- 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotels and other eligible travel booked on amextravel.com
- 1X on other eligible 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®.
- Earn 5X points on Fine Hotels + Resorts® and The Hotel Collection bookings.
(Terms apply)
- Earn 5X points on flights and prepaid hotels on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X points on each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more.
- Earn 2X points on each eligible purchase with U.S. construction material and hardware suppliers.
- Earn 2X points on each eligible purchase with U.S. electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers.
- Earn 2X points on each eligible purchase with U.S. shipping providers.
- 2X earning rates are subject to a cap of $2 million in purchases per calendar year.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: American Express® Gold Card (Rates & Fees), American Express Platinum Card® (Rates & Fees), and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees)
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