From the 1st of October 2023, Cathay Pacific will be devaluing Asia Miles redemption rates on its flights and those of partner airlines. Economy award cost will largely remain unchanged but expect to spend more miles if you are looking for Premium Economy, Business and First Class.
Based on the airline’s recent announcement, Premium awards will cost 20% to 30% more on most routes.
Cathay Pacific Current Award Chart
This award chart applies to flights marketed and operated by Cathay Pacific only.
Cathay Pacific New Award Chart Effective From October 1st, 2023
As evident from the data, although there is a decrease in the mileage required for certain Economy Class redemptions, the premium cabins experience a significant impact with some routes seeing an increase of up to 29% in mileage requirements.
This includes award redemptions such as:
- Hong Kong to Singapore in Business Class: 25,000 miles to 28,000 miles (+12%)
- Hong Kong to London in Business Class: 65,000 miles to 84,000 miles (+29%)
- Hong Kong to New York in Business Class: 85,000 miles to 110,000 miles (+29%)
- Hong Kong to London in First Class: 100,000 miles to 125,000 miles (+25%)
- Hong Kong to Chicago in First Class: 125,000 miles to 160,000 miles (+28%)
In certain regions, we observe slight reductions in award costs for Economy Class redemptions. Longer Economy award flights are experiencing a decrease of approximately 10%, whereas certain shorter economy flights are witnessing an increase of about 25% in cost.
- Hong Kong to Sydney in Economy Class: 22,000 miles to 20,000 miles (-9%)
- Hong Kong to Tokyo in Economy Class: 10,000 miles to 12,500 miles (25%)
- Hong Kong to Toronto in Economy Class: 42,000 miles to 38,000 miles (-10%)
Oneworld Multicarrier Current Award Chart
Asia Miles does not publish an award chart for redeeming miles on Oneworld and other partner carriers (excluding multi-carrier awards). The current structure for Oneworld multi-carrier awards can be summarized as follows.
Oneworld Multicarrier New Award Chart Effective From October 1st, 2023
The trend is apparent as premium cabin awards consistently exhibit increases. On the lower end, First and Business Class awards see a modest rise of just 5,000 miles for one-way travel, whereas, on the higher end, these awards can surge by up to 65,000 miles for one-way flights.
Frequently Asked Questions (By Cathay Pacific)
1. What are the changes to flight awards that are booked and ticketed on or after the 1st of October 2023?
Adjustments will be made to flight award ticket redemption. The revised flight award charts apply to such bookings ticketed on or after 1 October 2023.
2. I have a ticketed redemption booking with a departure date on or after the 1st of October 2023, which miles level is applicable?
If you have issued your ticket(s) before 1 October 2023, the current redemption award levels (before the revisions) apply.
3. If I make changes to my ticketed redemption booking on or after the 1st of October 2023, which miles level will apply?
Miles requirements are based on the ticket issue date, there won’t be any changes for the redemption ticket issued before 1 October 2023.
Changes to the flight date on or after the 1st of October 2023 will not require additional miles. For example, a member has a Standard Economy redemption ticket issued before the 1st of October 2023 from Hong Kong to Bangkok for travel on the 8th of October 2023. A member may change his flight date to the 18 of October 2023 after the 1st of October 2023, provided the award type and itinerary remain unchanged.
Other changes made to the itinerary on or after the 1st of October 2023 will be calculated based on the revised award levels. For example, a member has a Standard Economy redemption ticket issued before the 1st of October 2023 from Hong Kong to London for travel on the 8th of October 2023. After the 1st of October 2023, a member would like to change his routing from Hong Kong to Paris. The miles required for the change in route will be calculated based on the revised award levels.
Please note all changes made to the redemption tickets are subject to award seat availability, a ticket change-related service fee may apply.
4. If my redemption booking or upgrade award is confirmed on or after the 1st of October 2023, which miles level will apply?
The revised award charts will apply to confirmed bookings ticketed on or after the 1st of October 2023.
5. Why are you increasing the price of redemption tickets?
We strive to provide a better Cathay Membership Programme to our members and to continue to increase seat availability, we do review our programme on a periodic basis.
There is a big increase in miles requirement especially for Premium Economy, Business and First cabin classes, how did you come up with the award chart?
There are both increases and decreases in the different zones and cabins. They are part of the holistic review of the programme which is based on the current market situation, and competitiveness of our offerings.
6. Why are you changing the structure of the awards?
Short-haul is being separated into Type 1 and 2, while Long-haul Type 1 and 2 are combined.
In the new flight award charts, taking routes from/to Hong Kong as an example, the Short distance zone has now been divided into two types:
Short-Type 1, which includes cities such as Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Shanghai, and Singapore; and
Short-Type 2, which includes all cities in Japan, Indonesia, India and Nepal.
Additionally, the previous two Long distance zones have been merged into a single zone.
The new structure is based on Cathay Pacific’s and our airline partners’ current network, with considerations on the market situation of different routes and destinations, to ensure we could be able to provide more redemption options to our members.
7. Previously I could redeem a flight award at a lower cost. Are you devaluing Asia Miles?
We are confident that the changes will deliver more value to our members. This will ensure that we are able to provide more redemption options to our members, so they can redeem their seats on their preferred flights.