Asia Miles: How to Earn, Redeem and Use Your Miles

Asia Miles can turn your flights and everyday spending into travel rewards. As the rewards currency of Cathay membership, Asia Miles can be earned through Cathay Pacific, eligible airline partners and hundreds of travel and lifestyle partners. You can then use your miles for flights, upgrades, holidays and other rewards.

What Is Asia Miles?

Asia Miles is the rewards currency of the Cathay membership programme. You earn Asia Miles from eligible activities and can use them for travel and lifestyle rewards.

Cathay membership is free to join, and members can earn and redeem Asia Miles through more than 800 travel and lifestyle partners worldwide.

Some of the main ways to use Asia Miles include:

• Flight awards
• Flight upgrades
• Extra baggage
• Selected seats and travel extras
• Hotels and travel experiences
• Shopping and lifestyle rewards
• Miles Plus Cash payments

Asia Miles vs Cathay Membership vs Status Points

It is easy to confuse Asia Miles with Cathay membership and Status Points. They have different purposes.

Asia Miles are mainly for rewards, while Status Points are mainly for membership status and benefits.

How to Join Asia Miles

You no longer need to join Asia Miles as a separate programme. Simply sign up for a Cathay membership.

Membership is free.

How to Sign Up

1. Go to the official Cathay website or Cathay app.
2. Select Sign up or Become a member.
3. Enter your personal and contact information.
4. Complete the required account verification.
5. Sign in to view your Asia Miles balance and membership details.

💡 Pro Tip: Make sure the name on your Cathay membership matches the name used for your flight booking. This can help prevent problems when crediting eligible miles.

How to Earn Asia Miles

There are several ways to collect Asia Miles, from flying to shopping and booking holidays.

1. Earn Asia Miles on Flights

You can earn Asia Miles when flying on eligible Cathay Pacific flights and eligible flights operated by airline partners.

When booking or checking in, provide your Cathay membership number. For eligible flights and fare classes, Cathay says miles are generally credited within four to six weeks after travel.

The number of Asia Miles you earn depends on factors such as:

• Airline
• Route and distance
• Cabin class
• Fare type
• Fare class

For Cathay Pacific Economy tickets, for example, the number of miles earned can differ between Light, Essential and Flex fares. Cathay recommends checking its Status Points and Asia Miles calculator for the exact amount.

2. Earn with Airline Partners

Cathay members can also earn Asia Miles on eligible flights with participating airlines.

Cathay is part of the oneworld alliance, which includes airlines such as:

• Alaska Airlines
• American Airlines
• British Airways
• Fiji Airways
• Finnair
• Iberia
• Japan Airlines
• Malaysia Airlines
• Qantas
• Qatar Airways
• Royal Air Maroc
• Royal Jordanian
• SriLankan Airlines
• Oman Air

Eligibility depends on the airline, flight number, booking class and fare. Always check Cathay's partner page before booking if earning miles is important to you.

3. Earn from Hotels and Holidays

Asia Miles can also be earned through eligible hotel, holiday and car rental partners.

The earning rate differs between partners, so check the conditions before completing your booking.

4. Earn from Shopping and Dining

Cathay works with shopping, dining and other lifestyle partners where members can collect Asia Miles from eligible purchases.

You may need to:

• Sign in through the Cathay or Asia Miles platform
• Provide your membership number
• Shop through a designated partner link
• Meet the partner's spending or booking conditions

5. Convert Credit Card or Partner Points

Some participating banks, credit cards and loyalty programmes allow customers to convert reward points into Asia Miles.

Conversion rates, minimum transfers and processing times depend on the individual partner.

How to Redeem Asia Miles

Asia Miles are not only for free flights. Cathay offers several ways to use your balance.

Cathay officially lists flight awards, holiday awards and lifestyle awards among its Asia Miles redemption options.

How to Redeem Asia Miles for Flights

Using Asia Miles for flights is one of the programme's most popular redemption options.

Steps to Redeem an Asia Miles Flight

1. Go to the Cathay website.
2. Sign in to your Cathay membership account.
3. Open the Redeem flight awards section.
4. Enter your departure city, destination and travel dates.
5. Check available award flights.
6. Select your preferred flight and cabin.
7. Review the required Asia Miles and applicable taxes or fees.
8. Confirm your booking.

Award availability can be different from normal cash ticket availability, so having flexible travel dates can help.

Cathay Pacific Standard Awards can generally be booked up to 360 days before departure. Partner airline booking dates may follow the individual airline's rules.

Which Airlines Can You Book with Asia Miles?

Asia Miles can be redeemed on Cathay Pacific and participating airline partners.

Many partner flight awards can be booked directly online, including eligible flights from airlines such as:

• Air China
• Alaska Airlines
• American Airlines
• British Airways
• Fiji Airways
• Finnair
• Iberia
• Japan Airlines
• Malaysia Airlines
• Qantas
• Qatar Airways
• Royal Air Maroc
• Royal Jordanian
• SriLankan Airlines

For some airline partners that do not support instant online redemption, you may need to contact Cathay Customer Care.

How Many Asia Miles Do You Need for a Flight?

There is no single number of Asia Miles required for every flight.

The mileage requirement can depend on:

• Origin and destination
• Flight distance
• Cabin class
• Operating airline
• Type of flight award
• Itinerary

Cathay publishes its own award charts and provides a miles calculator, while partner airline redemptions can have different mileage requirements.

💡 Pro Tip: Search for award availability before transferring a large number of credit card or partner points into Asia Miles. Transfers from other loyalty programmes may have their own conditions and may not always be reversible.

Can You Use Asia Miles Plus Cash?

Yes. Miles Plus Cash lets eligible travellers use a combination of Asia Miles and cash instead of paying entirely with miles.

This can be useful when:

• You do not have enough miles for a full award
• You want to keep part of your Asia Miles balance
• A Miles Plus Cash option works better for your travel plans

The amount of miles and cash required can vary depending on the booking.

Can You Use Asia Miles for Flight Upgrades?

Yes, Asia Miles can be used for upgrades on eligible Cathay Pacific tickets, subject to ticket type, fare class and availability.

Not every Economy ticket is eligible. For example, Cathay's current fare information shows that some Essential and Flex fares may be eligible for mileage upgrades, while Economy Light fares are not.

Check your fare conditions before buying a ticket if you plan to upgrade using miles later.

Can You Use Asia Miles for Extra Baggage?

Yes. Cathay Pacific allows members to redeem Asia Miles for additional baggage on eligible flights.

The number of miles required depends on factors such as the route distance and amount or number of additional bags required.

Do Asia Miles Expire?

Asia Miles earned under the current activity-based system can be kept active as long as you complete at least one eligible miles transaction every 18 months.

An eligible transaction can include:

• Earning Asia Miles
• Redeeming Asia Miles
• Topping up miles
• Converting eligible partner points into miles
• Transferring miles
• Receiving eligible bonus or gift miles

Each eligible activity extends the validity of miles under the activity-based system by another 18 months. Refunds and cancellation reversals do not count as qualifying activity.

💡 Asia Miles Expiry Tip: Do not wait until you are ready for a big flight redemption. A small eligible earning or redemption transaction can help keep miles under the activity-based system active.

Miles credited on or before 31 December 2019 may still follow the former time-based expiry system.

Can You Transfer Asia Miles to Another Person?

Yes, but there are restrictions.

Cathay allows Asia Miles to be transferred to a selected Redemption Group Nominee, subject to applicable service fees.

Members can nominate up to five people to their Redemption Group. Instead of transferring the miles, you may also use your miles directly to redeem eligible rewards for your nominees.

Can You Buy More Asia Miles?

Cathay provides a Miles Top-Up option for eligible redemptions.

Under the current programme terms, members who already have at least 70% of the miles required for an eligible flight or travel award may purchase the remaining amount, up to 30%, in blocks of 2,000 miles. Conditions and fees apply.

Tips to Make the Most of Asia Miles

• Add your membership number before flying: This helps eligible flights credit to the correct account.
• Check the fare class: Some fares earn different amounts of Asia Miles or have different upgrade eligibility.
• Compare cash and miles: A flight award is not automatically the best value for every route.
• Check taxes and fees: Award flights may still require payment of applicable taxes, fees or surcharges.
• Book early: Popular award seats can be limited.
• Keep your miles active: Complete an eligible earning or redemption transaction at least once every 18 months.
• Check partner conditions: Earning rates and eligible booking classes differ between partners.