Until March 31, 2024, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles is offering a 10% bonus whenever you convert credit card points into Asia Miles under the latest transfer bonus promotion.
Asia Miles offered a similar bonus around this time last year, so it’s great to see this promotion making a return again as we head into 2024.
Register for the Promotion
In order to benefit from the 10% transfer bonus, you’ll need to register beforehand. Simply head to the promotion’s landing page, sign into your account, and then click “Register Now”.
Then, you’ll get a 10% bonus if you convert points from credit card issuers outside Hong Kong to Asia Miles.
It’s worth noting that the bonus won’t appear on your credit card points portal, since it’s happening on the Asia Miles end. However, as long as you’ve registered for the offer and convert points during the promotion, you should see the bonus arrive in your account.
The promotion page specifies that the bonus miles will be credited to your Asia Miles account within 8–10 weeks after the end of the promotion on March 31, 2024. If this is the case, then it means that you won’t be able to make a booking with your bonus miles immediately after initiating the transfer; however, the regular points transfer should arrive much sooner than that.
Keep in mind that you need to have some sort of activity in your Asia Miles account every 18 months to prevent your miles from expiring. As long as you earn or redeem at least one Asia Mile every 18 months, your expiration date will be reset.
If you’ve had your eye on a redemption, now is as good of a time as ever to convert credit card points into Asia Miles.
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles Conversion Ratios
The major points programs and optimal transfer ratios that allow you to earn Asia Miles are as follows:
- American Express Canada Membership Rewards: 1,000 MR points = 750 Asia Miles
- American Express US Membership Rewards: 1,000 US MR points = 1,000 Asia Miles
- Capital One Miles: 1,000 Capital One miles = 1,000 Asia Miles
- Citi ThankYou Rewards: 1,000 ThankYou points = 1,000 Asia Miles
- RBC Avion: 1,000 RBC Avion points = 1,000 Asia Miles (must convert a minimum of 10,000 RBC Avion points)
- HSBC Rewards: 25,000 HSBC Rewards points = 8,000 Asia Miles
With the 10% bonus in place, these ratios are therefore boosted to the following levels until March 31, 2024:
- Amex MR: 1,000 MR points = 825 Asia Miles
- Amex US MR: 1,000 US MR points = 1,100 Asia Miles
- Capital One Miles: 1,000 miles = 1,100 Asia Miles
- Citi ThankYou Rewards: 1,000 points = 1,100 Asia Miles
- RBC Avion: 1,000 RBC Avion points = 1,100 Asia Miles
- HSBC Rewards: 25,000 HSBC Rewards points = 8,800 Asia Miles
Among the Canadian financial partners, RBC Avion is usually considered to be the “best” way to accumulate Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, followed by Amex MR (mainly because MR points can also be transferred to other programs at a better 1:1 ratio), and then HSBC Rewards.
Meanwhile, the scope of this promotion appears to only include transfers from credit card partners and not hotel partners, so it doesn’t seem like Marriott Bonvoy conversions to Asia Miles would be eligible.
Note that the promotion is explicitly limited to converting credit card points to Asia Miles, and excludes the miles you might earn as part of a welcome bonus or on regular purchases on the Cathay World Elite® Mastercard – powered by Neo.
Incidentally, this also makes it strictly optimal to use the RBC® Avion Visa Infinite† over the Cathay World Elite® Mastercard – powered by Neo, since you’re effectively earning 1.1 Asia Miles per dollar spent by doing so with this promotion in place, versus the Neo card’s baseline earning rate of 1 Asia Mile per dollar spent.
Typically, points transfers from US partners to Asia Miles are instantaneous; meanwhile, transferring from the Canadian currencies has always resulted in a delay of 3–5 business days.
You’ll also want to make sure that the names and addresses on both the sending and receiving accounts match with each other, as there have been several data points on RBC Avion transfers, in particular, being delayed due to mismatches in the systems.
Should You Transfer Points to Asia Miles?
As a reminder, Asia Miles underwent a global devaluation in October 2023, especially for cabins other than economy. Booking flights with Asia Miles in premium cabins costs much more than it used to.
On the other hand, award availability for Cathay Pacific flights with Asia Miles is better than it is with other Oneworld programs. Therefore, if you’d like to give Cathay Pacific business class or First Class a whirl, your best option may be to book directly through Asia Miles, as long as you can find award availability.
In Canada, Cathay Pacific flies to Toronto and Vancouver, but doesn’t offer First Class on either of the routes.
A one-way flight in business class from Hong Kong to either Canadian city costs as follows:
- Vancouver: 84,000 Asia Miles
- Toronto: 110,000 Asia Miles
With the transfer bonus taken into consideration, the effective cost of both flights is reduced by 10%, and the exact amount depends on which currency you converted points from and the corresponding transfer ratio.
When it comes to partner airlines, Asia Miles sometimes offers relatively competitive pricing when compared to other Oneworld programs.
For example, you can fly from Helsinki to Chicago in Finnair business class for 63,000 Asia Miles plus $105 (CAD) in taxes and fees. The same flight booked with American Airlines AAdvantage costs just 57,500 miles (which are more difficult to come by), and with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan costs 70,000 miles.
Another potential good use of Asia Miles with partner airlines is for flights with British Airways, since Asia Miles tends to levy lower carrier-imposed surcharges than those of other Oneworld loyalty programs.
For example, a one-way flight in business class from Chicago to London costs 63,000 Asia Miles plus $329 (CAD) in taxes and fees. The same flight booked with AAdvantage costs 57,500 miles plus $731 (USD) in taxes and fees, with British Airways Executive Club costs 90,000 Avios plus $350 (USD) in taxes and fees, and with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan costs 65,000 Alaska miles plus $995 (USD) in taxes and fees.
Therefore, if you have your eyes on a direct flight to London, Helsinki, or other Oneworld hubs, it’s worth checking out pricing with Asia Miles, especially if you aren’t familiar with the program following the devaluation.
Conclusion
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles is offering a blanket 10% bonus on all incoming credit card points transfers from issuers outside Hong Kong until March 31, 2024. Be sure to register for the promotion before transferring your points into the program.
With three financial partners in Canada (and even more in the US) allowing you to earn Asia Miles, this promotion could be a good opportunity to top up your balance for a planned Asia Miles redemption in the future.