Deal: 10% bonus miles for credit card points/miles transfers to Asia Miles

At the moment, Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles is more valuable to me than Singapore Airlines Krisflyer since the recent announcement that Asia Miles will no longer expire. Although not as sweet as the First Class error fare exactly a year ago, this one is still pretty good!

What you need to know

• Receive 10% bonus miles on credit card points/miles transfers.

• No limit to how many bonus miles you can receive.

• Promotion ends 31 January 2020.

• You have to register through this link. Only registered members will receive the bonus miles.

• Bonus miles will only be credited 8-10 weeks after promotion ends (by mid-April 2020).

I recently wrote an article on bank transfer partners in Singapore. Only two major banks do not have Asia Miles as a transfer partner at the moment; OCBC and Standard Chartered.

Best way to use your Asia Miles

I will keep this short and write a separate article on Asia Miles sweet spots, like the recent one on Singapore Airlines Krisflyer. Let’s take a look at the following example: Flying Business Class one-way from Singapore to Amsterdam.

Option 1: Singapore Airlines with Krisflyer Miles
92,000 miles with $49.80 taxes and fees

Option 2: Qatar Airways with Asia Miles (with 10% bonus)
63,636 miles with $467 taxes and fees

Although you will need to fork out $417 more in taxes and fees, 63,640 miles is much faster to accumulate, especially if you have low monthly spending. The difference in the number of miles required between the two Frequent Flyer Programs is 28,364. This is worth $482 according to my current valuation. To be really simplistic, option 1 requires $1,613.80 worth of miles and cash while option 2 requires $1,612.45. So which is better? Qatar Airways has arguably the best Business Class seat in the world. If you don’t mind a stopover in Doha, you will get access to Al Mourjan Business Lounge, which is one of the biggest lounges in the world. You also receive around 1,668 miles (worth $30) more by paying the high taxes and fees with the right credit card.

My pick: Option 2

Conclusion

Asia Miles ran similar transfer bonus promotions in the past offering 15%-20%. While this one is lower, it is still pretty sweet as you will not be sitting on a time bomb (expiring miles) under the new rules. Although there is no limit to the number of bonus miles you can receive, I do not recommend transferring all your credit card miles/points, especially if you do not have any plans on using them in the near future. We do not know how far away the next award chart devaluation is. If you are like me, sitting on expiring credit card miles/points in the coming months, this is a great opportunity to transfer them away from the bank.

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