Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles program, and Singapore Airlines Krisflyer, are the next most accessible frequent flyer programs in the region after Qantas and Velocity Frequent Flyer.
Asia Miles and Krisflyer miles are easily as readily available as Qantas and Velocity points from credit card spend, so understanding how you can use both programs effectively can yield some really good opportunities to get more out of your points.
While technically Qantas and Cathay Pacific are oneworld partners, their Frequent Flyer programs are actually direct competitors.
You can transfer points to Asia Miles from American Express Membership Rewards, Westpac Altitude Rewards, Citibank Rewards and ANZ Rewards programs, although there’s no branded Asia Miles credit card on the market.
On the other hand Singapore Airlines Krisflyer and Virgin Australia’s Velocity programs are partners, and are quite complimentary. You can again transfer Krisflyer miles from American Express Membership Rewards, Westpac Altitude Rewards, Citibank Rewards and ANZ Rewards programs.
Using Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles
For Singapore Airlines Krisflyer program, the best use of Krisflyer miles in my book is on Singapore Airlines themselves. For more on Krisflyer, head over to all the Krisflyer articles we’ve published here, and also check our guides on the best routes and programs to target in the region.
Singapore Airlines airlines partners
Singapore Airlines has frequent flyer program partnerships with all Star Alliance airlines, so you can also use your Krisflyer points with:
- ANA
- Thai Airways
- Air New Zealand
- Air China
- Air India
- Asiana Airlines
- EVA Air
- Shenzhen Airlines
- THAI
- Air Canada
- Avianca
- Copa Airlines
- United
- Adria Airways
- Aegean Airlines
- Austrian
- Brussels Airlines
- Croatia Airlines
- LOT Polish Airlines
- Lufthansa
- Scandinavian Airlines
- SWISS
- TAP Portugal
- Turkish Airlines
- EGYPTAIR
- Ethiopian Airlines
- South African Airways
Non Star Alliance Partners for Krisflyer
Singapore Airlines also partner with
- Virgin America
- Virgin Atlantic
- Virgin Australia
Most of the time Krisflyer miles are best spent on Singapore Airlines redemptions – simply because of their good priced redemption rates and generally good award seat availability.
Using Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles program is almost as accessible as Krisflyer in terms of the ability to earn points from credit card spend.
A full guide to Asia Miles, as well as all content on the program is here. Set aside 10 minutes to read and understand, as well as dig into the best ways to use your American Express Membership Rewards points with Asia Miles.
I listed out the oneworld airlines in the earlier part of this guide, the overview for Qantas and Virgin Australia.
The key partnerships for Asia Miles outside of oneworld are
- Aer Lingus
- Air New Zealand (between Auckland and Hong Kong only)
- Alaska Airlines
- China Eastern
- Gulf Air
- Jet Airways
- Royal Brunei
There aren’t too many additional partners – the most useful non oneworld partner is probably Alaska Airlines or China Eastern.
Asia Miles is a great option for using your credit card points on long-haul travel – the key wins of the program are that return flights less than 2x the cost of a one way which is an exception to this standard rule, and premium cabins are priced less harshly than Qantas compared to Economy.
These, along with their more favourable redemption pricing than Qantas, generally makes them one of the cheapest options for long-haul premium travel out of Australia.
Summary – using points with Cathay Pacific Asia Miles and Singapore Airlines Krisflyer
Understanding some of the route networks of these airlines will get you a fair way to knowledge about where in the world you can use your specific program points.
Beyond simply knowing the partnerships, the next level up is gaining some knowledge about the best ways of using points within those partnerships – particularly well priced routes, or the best business and first class products.
There’s no clear way to do this other than to just keep reading around the subject, and to keep researching and redeeming points for yourself – but you can also read our “best uses of points” guides here to understand some of the thinking.
Earning Points: First Principles
- Getting Started with Frequent Flyer programs
- Earning by Flying
- Buying points and miles
- Earning from Credit Cards
- Earning from Offers & Partners
- Ask Questions & Keep in the Loop
- Earning and Using Points – First Principles
Using Points: First Principles
- Who, What, When, Where and How?
- Planning
- Flexibility
- Tools
- Flexible Points Programs
- Maximising Points value
- Qantas and Virgin Australia Key Partners
- Searching for points seats
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I find your articles very informative and helpful . can you advise on the following .
I have both a Citi Prestige card and a AMEX platinum edge card , Question
1. can I put points to AA with either card ?
2. is Asia Air Miles independent body or part of Cathay Pacific ?
3. Through Asia Air Miles can you book redemption flights with One World Partners ie British airways ?
4 . Do you have to be a member of any Airline frequent flyer club to be able to book redemption flights ?
Regards.
1. No, not directly. Platinum Edge can transfer points to AA via Starwood.
2. ‘Asia Miles’ is Cathay Pacific’s frequent flyer program, yes.
3. Yes, Asia Miles can book with oneworld partners.
4. Not sure what you’re asking here – yes you will need to be a member of Asia Miles, for example, to transfer points to them and make a booking through them.
Lots more guides on Asia Miles here.