The best ways to spend Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

Many Australians make a habit of collecting Qantas Points. But Qantas Frequent Flyer isn’t the only oneworld Alliance program with legs in Australia. One popular alternative is Cathay Pacific’s reward program, now simply named ‘Cathay’. Through Cathay, members can earn and spend Asia Miles (points) on flights around the world – literally!

It’s easy to build a balance of Asia Miles from credit card spend. For starters, you can convert points directly from ANZ Rewards, CommBank Awards, NAB Rewards and Westpac Altitude Rewards. There’s also American Express Membership Rewards, Citi Rewards (for Prestige cardholders) and HSBC Rewards Plus (for Premier cardholders). Business owners have the added option of PayRewards to earn Asia Miles when paying company expenses.

Whichever ways you notch up your Asia Miles, here are five great ways to spend them on flights from and within Australia.

Westpac Altitude Rewards Black

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• Sign-up Bonus: Up to 180,000 Altitude points
• Rewards Earn Rate: 1.25 Altitude Points for every $1 spent on eligible purchases. 
• Annual Fee: $200 for the first year, $295 p.a. ongoing

The Westpac Altitude Rewards Black has up to 180,000 Altitude Points plus a reduced first year annual card fee on offer for new cardholders, the points can be redeemed for up to $800 in e-gift cards or transferred to Velocity Frequent Flyer, KrisFlyer or Cathay miles at a 3:1 ratio. The card offers high points earn rates plus ongoing benefits, including Priority Pass lounge invites.

Fly Business on long Qantas domestic flights

Thanks to Cathay Pacific’s membership in the oneworld Alliance, you can spend Asia Miles on flights with a host of airlines. This includes Qantas – another oneworld member. While you can book flights right across Qantas’ network (subject to availability), long domestic Business Class jaunts provide some of the best value.

For just 33,000 Asia Miles (one-way), you can fly from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane to Perth. This includes flights operated by Qantas’ Airbus A330 aircraft, bringing an international-style seat to a domestic flight. It even includes any reasonable domestic connections. For instance, flying from Melbourne to Sydney and then onwards to Perth, if that’s what’s available.

Through Qantas Frequent Flyer, these same journeys cost 41,500 Qantas Points. So if you can access Asia Miles at a competitive rate – such as by transferring from Amex Membership Rewards at a 2:1 rate – booking through Cathay can be quite appealing. For these journeys, expect to pay around $70 AUD in taxes, fees and charges via Cathay, one-way.

American Express Platinum Card

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• Sign-up Bonus: 225,000 bonus Membership Rewards points
• Rewards Earn Rate: Earn 2.25 Membership Rewards points per $1 on all eligible purchases, except for spend with government bodies, for which you will earn 1 point per $1 spent. 
• Annual Fee: $1,450 p.a.
• Offer expires: 8 April 2025

The American Express Platinum Card is offering 225,000 bonus Membership Rewards Points¹ for new American Express Card Members who apply by 8 April 2025 and spend $5,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months of approval. It also comes with up to $400 in Global Dining Credit¹¹ per calendar year and a $450 annual Travel Credit⁵. A great card for those who want to earn Membership Rewards Points on everyday spend and transferable to over 10 major Airline Rewards Partner Programs⁸. T&Cs apply.

Use Asia Miles to fly Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong

Sure, this may be an obvious one – but it’s one you should know about. Cathay Pacific flies from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Cairns to Hong Kong. On those flights, Asia Miles members often see great quantities of reward seats on Cathay Pacific – far more than through partner frequent flyer programs. In some months, we’ve even seen Business Class reward seats available every single day from Australia!

Not only does Asia Miles bring more availability on Cathay Pacific, but the pricing can also be sharper than spending partner points. For instance, a one-way Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong from anywhere in Australia costs just 20,000 Asia Miles in Economy. In Premium Economy, you’ll need 38,000 Asia Miles.

The biggest savings come in Business Class. Fly to Hong Kong for just 58,000 Asia Miles, one-way. Booking the same Cathay Pacific Business Class flights through Qantas Frequent Flyer can cost 75,000 Qantas Points from the likes of Sydney and Melbourne. And with far less availability on those Cathay Pacific aircraft. Using Asia Miles for these journeys is a win-win.

Bound for Singapore? Book British Airways from Sydney

Looking to explore all your options on flights to The Lion City? You might consider travelling with British Airways. BA flies direct from Sydney to Singapore, and again, booking through Asia Miles can unlock lower redemption rates than through some other oneworld programs.

The ‘sweet spot’ of Asia Miles on this route is in Premium Economy and Business Class:

• Premium Economy: 43,000 Asia Miles
• Business Class: 63,000 Asia Miles

Those same British Airways flights would otherwise need 59,000 and 75,000 Qantas Points, respectively. So if you have convertible points that can be destined for Cathay, this is one move to keep in your back pocket.

Asia Miles can take you to Europe or eastern USA for less

For many, the greatest appeal of Cathay will be in securing premium cabin reward flights to Europe. In particular, for travel in Business Class.

For just 110,000 Asia Miles, you could fly from anywhere in Australia to anywhere in the UK and Europe in Cathay Pacific Business Class. That’s for a one-stop journey via Cathay’s home hub in Hong Kong. Or, mix in flights on partner airlines for just 115,000 miles overall.

The same great reward rates apply from Australia to the US east coast. You could fly from Sydney to New York (via Hong Kong) for 110,000 Asia Miles, one way. This move is more practical when flying from Perth (and perhaps, Adelaide). But even if you live on Australia’s east coast, if you can find reward seats to suit, it certainly beats paying full fare to fly in a lesser cabin.

Book a round-the-world trip with Asia Miles

Why choose only North America or Europe when you could visit both, for not much more? As above, these destinations require 110,000 Asia Miles one-way – that’s 220,000 return on Cathay Pacific, or 230,000 miles return on partner airlines. But if you’re willing to spend just 60,000 miles more, you can take a round-the-world trip.

With 280,000 Asia Miles to spend, you can take a multi-city journey with up to five stopovers. That is, five cities you can spend a good amount of time. You can also book a further two transits, which are shorter visits through a city – usually less than 24 hours.

Finally, you can also have two ‘open jaw’ segments. That is, where you fly into one city and then fly out of another, and arrange your own transport between them. A common example is flying into London, taking a train to Paris and flying onwards from there.

These itineraries can be on a combination of oneworld airlines. But as a small catch, you have to book with at least two airlines other than Cathay Pacific. Whether you include Cathay Pacific at all is your call – you just need to have at least two other oneworld airlines among the mix. For most itineraries including the UK and US, it’d be easy to weave in even a short segment on the likes of American Airlines and British Airways. Or, whack on a Qantas domestic connecting flight.

Just be aware that this award prices in line with the highest cabin that you’ll travel in. So if you can only find availability in Premium Economy or Economy on a particular sector but fly Business Class the rest of the way, the number of miles needed remains at the Business Class level.

Also read: How to get the most out of 100,000 Asia Miles

Imagery courtesy of Cathay Pacific.