Airline Loyalty Rewards
Air China PhoenixMiles Loyalty Program Review
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Air China PhoenixMiles
Beijing–Capital (PEK), Chengdu (CTU)
Air China International First Class Lounge (PEK)
Air China Overview
Air China is the flagship airline carrier of China that operates out of its hub at the Beijing–Capital (PEK) airport. Flyers can book flights out of PEK to destinations across China and the world, including a few non-stop flights to the United States.
The airline is a Star Alliance member joining the likes of Avianca, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, and United Airlines. With Air China’s membership in the Star Alliance, frequent flyers with miles earned in the PhoenixMiles program can redeem them not only for Air China flights, but also for flights on airlines across the alliance.
PhoenixMiles is the airline’s frequent flyer program that can offer its members value when flying Air China or a Star Alliance partner airline flight. PhoenixMiles members are awarded elite status based on the number of Qualifying Kilometers or Flight Segments flown in the previous 12 months.
The PhoenixMiles members earn can then be redeemed for award flights and upgrades. The Merchandise section of the Air China website is currently under construction, so check back at a later date for opportunities to redeem PhoenixMiles for things other than an award flight.
Bottom Line: PhoenixMiles is a program that will not be valuable for most people. Other Asian airlines such as ANA, Asiana, and Singapore Airlines have more valuable frequent flyer programs that you should focus on earning miles in instead.
Joining PhoenixMiles
Membership to the Air China PhoenixMiles program is free by filling out an application. PhoenixMiles members have the ability to earn and redeem kilometers in the PhoenixMiles frequent flyer program.
How to Sign Into Your PhoenixMiles Account
Enter your Mobile/Card Number/ID Number and password that you provided in your application to access your account.
Hot Tip: Anyone can access the Air China award charts, however, you will need to login to your PhoenixMiles account to search for and book an award flight.
Viewing Your PhoenixMiles Account Activity
PhoenixMiles members can see the number of miles in their account by clicking the My Account tab at the top of the PhoenixMiles page.
Points Expiration
PhoenixMiles expire 36 months from the end of the month in which the kilometers accrued. For example, if a member earns 10,000 kilometers in April 2019 and uses 7,000 kilometers, the remaining 3,000 kilometers is valid until April 30, 2022.
Air China PhoenixMiles Program
Iberia Plus Elite Status
The PhoenixMiles frequent flyer program has 3 elite tiers.
Members who move to higher elite tiers unlock additional benefits such as mileage bonuses, additional checked baggage allowance, and departure lounge access.
Silver: Air China’s lowest elite that offers members the following benefits:
- 25% mileage bonus
- Business Class/Elite member check-in counter
- Additional checked baggage allowance
- Star Alliance Silver status
Gold: The middle tier of Air China elite status that comes with these perks:
- 30% mileage bonus
- Access plus 1 guest pass to the Air China business class lounge
- Gold Track fast security clearance when flying a Star Alliance flight
- Star Alliance Gold status
Platinum: Air China’s highest elite where qualifying flyers earn these benefits:
- 50% mileage bonus
- First Class/Elite member check-in counter
- Access plus 1 guest pass to the Air China first class lounge
- Star Alliance Gold status
Star Alliance status (Silver, Gold) is a separate status in addition to your Air China elite status.
PhoenixMiles members with Star Alliance status will have additional benefits such as Star Alliance lounge access, priority check-in, and fast track at select security lanes when flying on a Star Alliance member flight.
If you’re interested in reading all of the program benefits, check out the PhoenixMiles member benefits page.
Bottom Line: Air China doesn’t have the elite benefits and perks that you’ll find with other flag carrier airlines. Mileage bonuses, lounge access, and Star Alliance status are the primary benefits you’ll receive if you earn elite status in the PhoenixMiles program.
Value of Air China PhoenixMiles Elite Status
50% mileage bonus, first class check-in counter, first class lounge access, and Star Alliance Gold status are the benefits to focus on in the highest Air China elite tier. The next tier below Platinum is Gold Status. This status is similar to Platinum status with the difference being that the mileage bonus is reduced to 30%.
If earning Air China elite status makes sense for you, focus on earning Gold status. The reason is because the benefits of Gold are nearly identical to Platinum without the requirement of having to earn the additional kilometers or segments.
Bottom Line: Earning Air China elite status is not something we recommend due to the lack of benefits. Consider earning elite status with another Asian airline where the value outweighs the cost of earning the status.
Earning Air China PhoenixMiles Elite Status
Members earn PhoenixMiles elite status by the number of Qualifying Kilometers or Flight Segments flown.
Platinum status requires 160,000 kilometers or 90 segments to initially qualify. In the subsequent years after you qualify, you’ll need 145,000 kilometers or 80 segments. The same is true for Gold and Silver. The years after you initially qualify require that you fly a reduced amount of kilometers or segments.
Some frequent flyer and hotel programs will allow you to earn elite miles or points with your credit card spend. Unfortunately, Air China doesn’t allow you to do this with its co-branded credit cards.
Bottom Line: PhoenixMiles elite status requires that you fly the required number of kilometres or segments for each elite tier.
How to Earn Air China PhoenixMiles
If you decide to transfer your Marriott Bonvoy points to Air China, it’s important to note that the transfer time is not instant like you’ll find with other Marriott Bonvoy to airline transfer.
In the case of Air China, it takes 5 days to transfer your Marriott Bonvoy points to Air China. Also, the transfer ratio is not as favorable to Air China as you’ll find with other Marriott Bonvoy airline partners.
Earning PhoenixMiles Through Flying
Determining the earning rate when flying Air China is not easy. The reason is because the Air China website does not function properly. With that said, you’ll need to call Air China at 800-882-8122 and ask the airline what the accrual rate is when flying Air China.
What is known from the Air China terms and conditions is that the mileage you earn for each flight depends on the distance between the origin and destination and the mileage earning ratio for the booking class that you travelled in.
For partner airline flights, Air China makes it just as difficult to determine the number of miles that you’ll earn. The airline does have a full list of earning rates, however, the respective partner airline page does not provide the earning rate. Mileage is accrued based on the accrual ratio of the operating carrier on the date the flight is taken.
Earn PhoenixMiles With Credit Cards
If you can generate a significant amount of Marriott Bonvoy points and don’t mind losing value when transferring your points to Air China, the partnership can beneficial in two ways.
The first way is that Marriott Bonvoy has a number of personal and bonus credit cards. Many of Marriott Bonvoy credit cards currently have signing bonuses of 100,000 points, and that allows you to earn points quickly.
The second way the Marriott Bonvoy partnership can be beneficial is that you’ll receive a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points transferred to an airline partner like Air China. Before transferring Marriott Bonvoy points to Air China, please take into account the transfer ratio and the reduced value of your Bonvoy points.
Earning Bonus PhoenixMiles in Other Ways
For those looking to pad their PhoenixMiles account with additional PhoenxMiles, it can be beneficial to stay on top of the airline’s mileage-earning opportunities that don’t involve flying.
Check out the Air China Facebook, Twitter, and Special Offers page for additional places to earn PhoenixMiles or snag a flight deal.
Hot Tip: Air China doesn’t have hotel or car rental partnerships. Some airlines have these partnerships. This allows members additional ways to earn airline miles with their hotel stay or car rental.
Branded and Partnered Credit Cards
The primary way to earn Air China PhoenixMiles without flying is to earn transferable credit card points from Marriott Bonvoy. Before you transfer your Marriott Bonvoy points to Air China, it’s important to keep in mind that this doesn’t result in good value.
The reason is because you’ll be transferring Marriott Bonvoy points to Air China in kilometers and not miles like you’ll find with most Marriott to airline transfers. 1 kilometer is equal to approximately 0.62 miles. With that transfer ratio, you are losing more than 30% of the value of your Marriott Bonvoy points, without taking into account the Marriott Bonvoy transfer bonus we will discuss further into this article.
Air China has a number of co-branded credit cards offered by ICBC, however, the bank does not offer a credit card for the U.S. market. For this reason, Marriott Bonvoy personal and business credits are one of the only ways for U.S. travelers to to earn points that can then be transferred to Air China.
Air China ICBC Credit Cards
For residents of China, Air China lists 25 different co-branded credit cards on its ICBC bank partner’s website.
None of these ICBC credit cards offer a welcome bonus. It will be challenging to earn PhoenixMiles with your credit card spend.
Instead, we recommend focusing on the Marriott Bonvoy program. The reason is because Marriott Bonvoy currently has personal and business credit cards that come with sizeable welcome bonus points offers.
Marriott Bonvoy Credit Cards
Marriott Bonvoy is the only hotel loyalty program where members earn points that can be transferred to airlines to book an award flight. Marriott Bonvoy has 40+ airline transfer partners in all, more than double the number of airline partners that you’ll find in the Amex, Capital One, Chase, and Citi transferable point programs.
While Marriott Bonoy has a one-up on its hotel competitors by having airline transfer partners, the time it takes for the points to leave your Marriott Bonvoy account and show up in your airline loyalty account is not the same.
In the case of Air China, it will take at least 5 days to transfer your Marriott Bonvoy points into your Air China PhoenixMiles account. Not all airline partners take this long so keep this mind before transfer your Marriott Bonvoy to the airline.
One benefit of the Marriott Bonvoy program is the bonus structure.
For every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points that are transferred to an airline partner, you’ll receive a 5,000-point bonus in the form of airline miles. When transferring Marriott Bonvoy points to Air China, the transfer will be different due to the kilometer to mile conversion.
The Marriott Bonvoy to Air China airline transfer ratio is 3:1, so 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points become 25,000 PhoenixMiles (kilometers) with the 5,000-point bonus (60,000 / 3 = 20,000 + 5,000 = 25,000). 25,000 kilometers is equal to approximately 15,534 miles.
A great option for Marriott hotel fans who want a no annual fee card and automatic Marriott Bonvoy elite status.
Why We Like This Card
Casual travelers who like to frequent properties that are part of the Marriott Bonvoy collection of brands may want to consider the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card.
The Marriott Bold card rewards cardholders for Marriott stays and gives them a boost towards Marriott Bonvoy elite status.
Pros & Cons
- Up to 14x points per $1 on Marriott purchases
- 2x points at grocery stores, rideshare, select food delivery, select streaming, and internet, cable, and phone services
- 5 Elite Night Credits each year
- Lower point earn rate than other Marriott Bonvoy cards
- Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status is the lowest status tier
Card Highlights
- APR: 20.99% - 27.99% Variable
- Foreign Transaction Fees:
Marriott loyalists will love this card's annual Free Night Award, automatic elite status, and up to 17x points per $1 on Marriott hotel stays.
Why We Like This Card
If you’re a frequent traveler and a Marriott loyalist, there’s a lot to love about the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card. The card comes packed with several great benefits like a free hotel night once a year, automatic Silver Elite status (with a fast-track to Gold Elite status), and multiple options for redeeming points.
Pros & Cons
- Earn big when you use your card at thousands of participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels
- Earn big at grocery stores, gas stations, and dining
- Automatic Silver Elite Status
- $95 annual fee
- Marriott Silver Elite Status is the lowest status tier
Card Highlights
- APR: 20.99% - 27.99% Variable
- Foreign Transaction Fees:
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesThe Marriott Bonvoy Bevy card gives you automatic Marriott elite status and helps you earn more Marriott Bonvoy points on your everyday purchases.
Apply With Confidence
Know if you're approved with no credit score impact
If you're approved and accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
Why We Like This Card
The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card, the latest mid-tier offering in the Marriott Bonvoy lineup of cards, offers cardholders automatic elite status and ways to earn more Marriott Bonvoy points on each of their stays and daily purchases.
Pros & Cons
- 6x points per $1 at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy
- 4x points per $1 at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on up to $15,000 in combined purchases per calendar year, then 2x points)
- 2x points per $1 on all other purchases
- $250 annual fee (rates & fees)
- Free Night Award certificate is not an automatic benefit
Card Highlights
- Earn 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy® points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy.
- Earn 4X points at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on up to $15,000 in combined purchases at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets per calendar year, then 2X points).
- Earn 2X points on all other eligible purchases with the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ Card.
- Marriott Bonvoy 1K Bonus Points Per Stay: Earn 1,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points per paid eligible stay booked directly with Marriott for properties participating in Marriott Bonvoy.
- With complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elites status, earn up to 2.5X points from Marriott Bonvoy® on eligible hotel purchases with the 25% Bonus Points on stays benefit, available for Qualifying Rates.
- Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Free Night Award: Earn 1 Free Night Award after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases on your Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ Card in a calendar year. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points) at a hotel participating in Marriott Bonvoy®. Certain hotels have resort fees.
- 15 Elite Night Credits: Each calendar year with your Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express Card® you can receive 15 Elite Night Credits toward the next level of Marriott Bonvoy® Elite status. Limitations apply per Marriott Bonvoy member account. Benefit is not exclusive to Cards offered by American Express. Terms apply.
- Plan It® is a payment option that lets you split up purchases of $100 or more into equal monthly installments with a fixed fee. Plus, you'll still earn rewards the way you usually do.
- $250 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- APR: 20.24%-29.24% Variable
- Foreign Transaction Fees: None
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesA premium card for Marriott fans who want perks like an annual statement credit and Free Night Award, plus a fast track to Marriott elite status.
Apply With Confidence
Know if you're approved with no credit score impact
If you're approved and accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
Why We Like This Card
The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card is a premium card designed with road warriors and Marriott Bonvoy loyalists in mind.
So is the card a worthwhile addition to your wallet?
Pros & Cons
- 6x points per $1 at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy program
- 3x points per $1 on flights booked directly with airlines and restaurants worldwide
- 2x points per $1 on all other purchases
- Steep annual fee of $650 (rates & fees)
- 6x points per $1 is the same earn rate offered with lower annual fee alternatives like the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card
Card Highlights
- Earn 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
- $300 Brilliant Dining Credit: Each calendar year, get up to $300 (up to $25 per month) in statement credits for eligible purchases made on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card at restaurants worldwide.
- With Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status, you can receive room upgrades, including enhanced views or suites, when available at select properties and booked with a Qualifying Rate.
- Earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy® points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®. Earn 3X Marriott Bonvoy® points at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines and 2X Marriott Bonvoy® points on all other eligible purchases made on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card.
- Free Night Award: Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®. Certain hotels have resort fees.
- Each calendar year after spending $60,000 on eligible purchases on your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, you will be eligible to select a Brilliant Earned Choice Award benefit. You can only earn one Earned Choice Award per calendar year. See https://www.choice-benefit.marriott.com/brilliant for Award options.
- $100 Marriott Bonvoy Property Credit: Enjoy your stay. Receive up to a $100 property credit for qualifying charges at The Ritz-Carlton® or St. Regis® when you book direct using a special rate for a two-night minimum stay using your Card.
- Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®: Receive either a statement credit every 4 years after you apply for Global Entry ($120) or a statement credit every 4.5 years after you apply for a five-year membership for TSA PreCheck® (up to $85 through a TSA PreCheck official enrollment provider) and pay the application fee with your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
- Each calendar year with your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card you can receive 25 Elite Night Credits toward the next level of Marriott Bonvoy® Elite status. Limitations apply per Marriott Bonvoy member account. Benefit is not exclusive to Cards offered by American Express.
- Enroll in Priority Pass™ Select, which offers unlimited airport lounge visits to over 1,200 lounges in over 130 countries, regardless of which carrier or class you are flying. This allows you to relax before or between flights. You can enjoy snacks, drinks, and internet access in a quiet, comfortable location.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees on international purchases.
- With Cell Phone Protection, you can be reimbursed, the lesser of, your repair or replacement costs following damage, such as a cracked screen, or theft for a maximum of $800 per claim when your cell phone line is listed on a wireless bill and the prior month's wireless bill was paid by an Eligible Card Account. A $50 deductible will apply to each approved claim with a limit of 2 approved claims per 12-month period. Additional terms and conditions apply. Coverage is provided by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
- $650 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- APR: 20.24%-29.24% Variable
- Foreign Transaction Fees: None
Other Hotel Partner Credit Cards
For non-Marriott Bonvoy members, you may be interested in transferring your points from its other hotel partner, World of Hyatt.
Unfortunately, this hotel loyalty program has an even worse transfer ratio as the one listed above through Marriott Bonvoy. This means that when transferring hotel points into airline miles, you won’t be getting as many miles as you could with other programs or other transfer avenues.
We only recommend transferring Hyatt points to Air China if you’re topping off your PhoenixMiles account for an award flight. Otherwise, you’ll be better off using your World of Hyatt points in other ways.
How to Redeem Air China PhoenixMiles
The way to receive the most value with an frequent flyer program is to use the miles that you earn for an award flight.
What can be confusing about the PhoenixMiles program is that the program is called PhoenixMiles and the airline currency is in kilometers.
Air China uses a distance-based award chart when flying its own flights domestically. For Air China international flights, the PhoenixMiles program uses a region-based award charts.
If you use PhoenixMiles to fly on an airline partner, Air China uses a different region-based award chart for each of its airline partners. A full list of the Air China award charts can be found on the Redeeming Air China Award Tickets page.
Diving deeper into the redemption side, let’s look at a couple of interesting ways to use your PhoenixMiles:
- 125,000 PhoenixMiles (200,000 km) round-trip Air China business class to Mainland China
- 100,000 PhoenixMiles (160,000 km) round-trip Star Alliance business class to Japan/South Korea
Hot Tip: Alaska Airlines, ANA, and Japan Airlines are the programs we recommend instead of Air China for award flights to Asia. The reason is because you can use fewer miles for the same flights on Air China or Star Alliance partner flights.
Star Alliance and Other Partner Awards
Air China lists all of its award charts here. After you decide what route and partner airline that you want to fly, you will then need to convert the number of kilometers shown in the respective award chart into miles if you are transferring points in from Marriott Bonvoy.
Booking Online
Use the Aeroplan and United Airlines websites to search for award availability. A combination of the two websites will ensure that you can see most, if not all, of the award space for your respective flight.
When you find an award seat on the Aeroplan or United website, call Air China at 800-882-8122 to search for and book the partner airline flight.
Keep these general rules in mind when searching for award flights:
- Search the British Airways and Qantas websites for Oneworld flights
- Search the Delta and Flying Blue (Air France or KLM) websites for SkyTeam flights
- Search the United and Aeroplan websites for Star Alliance flights
Hot Tip: Expert Flyer is one of the best resources to show you award flight availability. We recommend using the website if you need more detailed award flight information or for searching for hard to find airline award availability.
The information regarding the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® card, click here.
