In an effort to promote tourism in Hong Kong, Hong Kong International Airport is giving away round-trip tickets on Cathay Pacific.
The promotion has been rolled out in some markets already; however, starting on May 17, 2023 at 6pm Pacific / 9pm Eastern, there are 1,555 round-trip economy tickets from Canada to Hong Kong up for grabs on a first-come, first-served basis.
If you’ve had your eye on a trip to Hong Kong since its reopening, you may want to be ready to strike once the promotion goes live later on this evening.
Cathay Pacific Flight Giveaway
As part of the “Hello Hong Kong” campaign, Hong Kong International Airport is giving away round-trip tickets from various markets that Cathay Pacific serves to Hong Kong.
For its Canadian campaign, there are 1,555 tickets up for grabs, which is part of a total of 500,000 tickets to be given away across the world.
It’s important to note that the base fare of the ticket is free, but passengers are required to pay all applicable taxes and fees.
Since there are just 1,555 tickets available for the Canadian campaign, which will be available on a first-come first-served basis, it’s expected that they’ll get snapped up very quickly.
As a reminder, Cathay Pacific has direct flights to Vancouver and Toronto, so you’d likely need to position yourself in one of the two cities if you’re able to snag a ticket.
To enter the giveaway, you’ll first need to sign up to become a Cathay Pacific Asia Miles member, if you don’t already have an account. If you already have an Asia Miles number, check your account settings to ensure you’ve signed up to receive marketing communications.
At precisely 6pm Pacific / 9pm Eastern on May 17, 2023, head to the promotion’s landing page. Once the promotion goes live, a waiting room will be activated, and the first 1,555 people to access the page will receive a unique discount code.
If you manage to get a promo code, it’ll be valid to book one round-trip ticket from Vancouver or Toronto to Hong Kong in economy. You’ll need to pay all applicable taxes and fees on the booking, so while it’s not a free ticket per se, expect it to be heavily discounted.
You’ll have to travel within nine months from the ticket purchase date, and your stay in Hong Kong must be at least two-days long and a month at most.
Be sure to give the full terms and conditions for the offer a read if you plan to get in line for it later today.
The promotion runs until all tickets are sold or until 11:59pm Pacific on May 23, 2023, whichever comes first.
Earn and Use Asia Miles
One of the more interesting parts of the promotion is that you’ll earn Cathay Pacific Asia Miles as if it were a regular paid ticket, and you can also possibly upgrade your flight using Asia Miles, too.
On the earning side, since the ticket is based on the availability of an “O” Class Economy Essential fare, you should earn between somewhere between 3,500–7,000 Asia Miles per direction on the Toronto–Hong Kong route, and somewhere between 2,800–6,000 Asia Miles per direction on the Vancouver–Hong Kong route.
As for upgrading your flight, the terms and conditions state that it’s possible to upgrade using Asia Miles only, and not cash.
It’s not entirely clear how many miles it would cost to upgrade, which flights are eligible for upgrades, and if it’s possible to upgrade to premium economy, business class, or both. It’s likely that upgrade availability is based on award availability, which can be relatively difficult to come by these days.
However, if you manage to score a ticket, it’s definitely worth pursuing, especially since Asia Miles are relatively easy to come by.
In Canada, Asia Miles is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards at a ratio of 1:0.75, RBC Avion at a transfer ratio of 1:1, and HSBC Rewards at a transfer ratio of 25:8.
Be sure that the information on your Asia Miles account exactly matches the information on the account from which you’ll be transferring points. If it doesn’t, you’ll likely run into some issues with the points arriving in your Asia Miles account.
Conclusion
As part of the “Hello Hong Kong” campaign to promote tourism in Hong Kong once again, Hong Kong International Airport is giving away complimentary round-trip tickets in various markets to which Cathay Pacific flies. In Canada, there are 1,555 tickets up for grabs on a first-come first-served basis.
The promotion period begins at 6pm Pacific / 9pm Eastern on May 17, 2023 and runs until all tickets have been claimed or until 11:59pm Pacific on May 23, 2023, whichever comes first.
While you’ll have to pay the applicable taxes and fees on the ticket, this is an interesting, very time-sensitive promotion which could be a great way to score a cheap trip to Hong Kong in 2023.