Sweet Spots: Best ways to redeem Cathay Pacific Asia Miles in 2024

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles recently devalued its award charts but there is still good value to be found. Let’s have a look at the best routes to redeem your Asia Miles for maximum value.

Related: Best ways to redeem Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles

How to accumulate Asia Miles?

1) Credit cards

The majority of credit cards in Singapore have Asia Miles as a transfer partner. This makes Asia Miles very easy to earn, if you are based in the country.

2) Flight credit

Asia Miles members can credit their paid flights on oneworld or partner airlines to the Frequent Flyer Program (FFP).

Non-alliance partner airlines include major airlines like SWISS, Lufthansa and Air New Zealand.

Click here to view the accrual rates (sign-in required).

3) Convert Marriott points to Asia Miles

Marriott Bonvoy members can convert their Marriott points to Asia Miles at a ratio of 3:1.

For better value, members can convert in blocks of 60,000 Marriott points to receive 5,000 bonus miles; for a total of 25,000 Asia Miles.

This method does not give you great value, as there are better ways to use Marriott Bonvoy points. However, it is an easy way “buy” Asia Miles to top up on your account balance, if needed.

4) Make purchases through shopping portals

Members can earn Asia Miles on retail purchases made through the FFP’s shopping portal.

On top of that, Asia Miles can also be earned on hotel bookings made through Kaligo and Rocketmiles.

Asia Miles validity can easily be extended by making purchases through the above methods.

What are the Pros and Cons of Asia Miles?

Pros:

1. Miles/Points transferrable from most Singapore credit cards
2. 18-month miles validity can be easily extended by redeeming or earning Asia Miles (incl. cheap purchases made on the shopping portal)
3. Mixed-cabin award bookings are possible (e.g. Business + First Class)

Cons:

1. Fuel surcharges (if any) are imposed on award bookings
2. Poor award rates on partner airlines, especially those that come with fuel/carrier-imposed surcharges
3. Weaker mileage accrual for (Business Class and above) paid flights on oneworld airlines (vs Alaska Mileage Plan)
4. Miles do not go on sale, unlike some FFPs

Asia Miles Award Redemption Charts

Asia Miles adopts distance-based charts for miles redemptions.

Award Chart for Cathay Pacific-operated flights

This award chart shows the amount of miles required for redemptions on Cathay Pacific-operated flights only.

Y: Economy Class
PY: Premium Economy Class
J: Business Class
F: First Class

Distance (in miles)	Y	PY	J	F
1 – 750	7.5k	11k	16k	–
751 – 2,750 (type 1*)	10k	20k	28k	43k
751 – 2,750 (type 2**)	12.5k	23k	32k	50k
2,751 – 5,000	20k	38k	58k	90k
5,001 – 7,500	27k	50k	84k	125k
7,501+	38k	75k	110k	160k

*Type 1: Includes cities such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Perth, Sydney and Beijing.
**Type 2: Includes all cities in Japan, Indonesia, India and Nepal.

Award Chart for flights operated by Partner Airlines

Unfortunately, Asia Miles does not publish an award chart for award bookings made on partner airlines. Members can check the amount of miles required by searching the route (sign-in required).

Nonetheless, here’s an unofficial award chart for flights operated by partner airlines, based on what I’ve gathered.

Distance (in miles)	Y	PY	J
1 – 750	10k	14k	20k
751 – 2,750 (Type 1*)	15k	25k	33k
751 – 2,750 (Type 2**)	17.5k	28k	37k
2,751 – 5,000	27k	43k	63k
5,001 – 7,500	40k	55k	89k
7,501+	47k	80k	115k

*Type 1: Includes cities such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Perth, Sydney and Beijing.
**Type 2: Includes all cities in Japan, Indonesia, India and Nepal.

Partner Airlines with no fuel surcharges

As shared above, Asia Miles passes on fuel/carrier-imposed surcharges (i.e. YQ/YR) on award flights (if any).

Since the recent devaluation, it makes little sense to redeem Asia Miles for flights on partner airlines that come with hefty taxes/fees (e.g. Qatar Airways, British Airways).

Travellers, especially those based in Singapore, can avoid these hefty fees and/or redeem lesser miles through other FFPs like KrisFlyer, Miles&Smiles, Privilege Club and Infinity MileageLands.

Partner airlines that have little to no fuel/carrier-imposed surcharges on award flights booked through Asia Miles include:

• Finnair
• Qantas
• Malaysia Airlines
• Fiji Airways

Asia Miles Sweet Spots

Here are some of the best ways to redeem your Asia Miles with little to no fuel/carrier-imposed surcharges. Cathay Pacific-operated flights are also considered, as they require fewer miles.

1) Distance of 0 to 750 miles

Miles required for one-way flights with total distance of up to 750 miles:

Route	Airline	Y	J
Singapore ↓ Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Kuching, Phuket		10k	20k

2) Distance of 751 to 2,750 miles (Type 1)

“Type 1” in this band includes cities like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Perth, Sydney and Beijing.

Miles required for one-way flights with total distance of 751 to 2,750 miles:

Route	Airline	Y	PY	J
Singapore ↓ Perth		15k	–	33k
Singapore ↓ Hong Kong, Taipei		10k	20k	28k
Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh, Manila, Phuket ↓ Seoul		10k	20k	28k

3) Distance of 751 to 2,750 miles (Type 2)

“Type 2” in this band includes all cities in Japan, Indonesia, India and Nepal.

Miles required for one-way flights with total distance of 751 to 2,750 miles:

Route	Airline	Y	PY	J
Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh, Manila ↓ Osaka, Fukuoka		12.5k	23k	32k
Phuket ↓ Fukuoka		12.5k	23k	32k
Singapore ↓ India, Nepal		17.5k	–	37k
Bali ↓ Melbourne		17.5k	–	37k

4) Distance of 2,751 to 5,000 miles

Miles required for one-way flights with total distance of 2,751 to 5,000 miles:

Route	Airline	Y	PY	J
Bangkok ↓ Helsinki		27k	–	63k
Singapore ↓ Sydney, Melbourne		27k	43k	63k
Jakarta, Bali ↓ Auckland, Christchurch		27k	43k	63k

5) Distance of 5,001 to 7,500 miles

Miles required for one-way flights with total distance of 5,001 to 7,500 miles:

Route	Airline	Y	PY	J	F
Singapore ↓ Milan, Frankfurt, Amsterdam		27k	50k	84k	–
Singapore ↓ Europe		40k	–	89k	–
Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Manila ↓ Paris, London		27k	50k	84k	119.4k*

*Mixed Cabin: Business Class between Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, First Class between Hong Kong and Paris/London.

Bottom line

Post-devaluation, members can still squeeze good value out of Asia Miles, for flights to/from certain regions, on the above-mentioned airlines.

For Singapore-based travellers, many of these sweet spots require positioning to a neighbouring city, which leads to additional costs, unless if one has plan to visit that city during the stopover.

As much as possible, avoid using Asia Miles for the ultra long haul 7,501+ band (e.g. between Asia and North America).

Have a look at the cheapest ways to travel to North Asia and Europe with miles from Singapore cards.