15 Best Ways To Earn Lots of Cathay Pacific Asia Miles [2018]

BY 

Jennifer Koebele

- March 8, 2017August 1, 2018

1. Earn Points  / 
2. Earn Airline Points

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Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong’s largest airline, is a founding member of the Oneworld Alliance and offers flights to over 140 destinations. Its hub is located at Hong Kong International Airport.

In this post, we’ll show you all the ways to earn miles in the Cathay Pacific frequent flyer program, Asia Miles. Your earned miles can then be redeemed for various travel and lifestyle rewards!

The Cathay Pacific Asia Miles Program

1. Enroll in Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

Asia Miles members earn miles by taking Cathay Pacific flights and booking travel with its many partners.

Free memberships are available to travelers ages 2 and up, but consent is required from a parent or legal guardian for those under 17.

After enrolling in Asia Miles, you will receive a confirmation email with an attached temporary membership card so you can start earning miles right away. Asia Miles are valid for 3 years from the month miles are credited to the account.

The Marco Polo Club Program?

Cathay Pacific has a separate elite status program called the Marco Polo Club.

While Asia Miles members earn miles they can redeem for travel rewards, Marco Polo Club members earn tier miles. These miles are used to move up status tier levels and get access to flight perks like priority boarding and lounge access.

Unlike many other loyalty programs that offer bonus miles based on status, Marco Polo Club members do not earn bonus Asia Miles.

Note that Marco Polo Club members are automatically enrolled as Asia Miles members, but Asia Miles members are not automatically enrolled in the Marco Polo Club. If you are interested in the Marco Polo Club, you can enroll here.

Bottom Line: Asia Miles is the program used for earning miles toward award flights, and is what we will discuss in this article. Marco Polo Club is the elite status program.

2. Earn Miles for Cathay Pacific Flights 

Always provide your membership number when making a reservation, and present it during check-in to ensure you receive the applicable miles in your account. The airline advises keeping your boarding passes and tickets until miles have been applied to your account.

Asia Miles lauched a totally new earning table Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon flights on June 22, 2018:

Hot Tip: Create a Redemption Group by nominating up to 5 friends and family members. As the Principal Member, you may transfer Asia Miles to group members in blocks of 5,000 with a 10,000-mile minimum. Service fees apply; see Terms and Conditions for more information.

Using Credit Cards To Earn Asia Miles

3. Cathay Pacific Credit Card

The Cathay Pacific Airways Visa® from Synchrony Bank directly earns Asia miles. Bonuses have ranged from 25,000-75,000 miles.

4. American Express Membership Rewards Cards

Are you enrolled in the American Express Membership Rewards program? If so, you can convert the Membership Rewards you earn to Asia Miles at a 1:1 ratio. The following table lists credit cards you can use to earn Membership Rewards.

Recommended Amex Cards (Personal)

AMEX CARD	BENEFITS & INFO
The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card	Earn 10,000 Membership Rewards® points after you use your new Card to make $1,000 in purchases in your first 3 months. 2x points at US supermarkets, on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1x). Earn 20% extra points when you make 20 or more purchases with your Card in a billing period. 0% introductory APR for the first 15 months on purchases, then a variable APR of 14.74%-25.74%. 0% introductory APR for the first 15 months on balance transfers requested within 60 days of account opening, then a variable APR of 14.74%-25.74%. Terms. Annual Fee: $0
Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express	Earn 25,000 points after you use your new Card to make $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. $100 Airline fee credit. 3x points for flights booked directly with airlines. 2X points at US restaurants, US gas stations, and at US supermarkets. Terms. Annual Fee: $0 for the first year, then $195
The Platinum Card® from American Express	Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases in your first 3 months. 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel. Access more than 1,200 airport lounges across 130 countries and counting, including the amazing Centurion® lounges. Up to $200 Uber Savings Annually. $200 Airline Fee Credit. Terms. Annual Fee: $550

Recommended Amex Cards (Business)

AMEX CARD	BENEFITS & INFO
The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN	Earn 50,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $5,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership Get 3x points - Choose 1 out of 5 categories. Earn 2x points on the remaining 4 categories $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $175. Terms.
The Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card from American Express	LIMITED TIME OFFER: Earn 10,000 extra Membership Rewards Points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 9/26/2018. Earn 2X points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners. 0.0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, then a variable rate, currently 12.99%, 16.99% or 20.99%. Terms. Annual Fee: $0
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN	Welcome Offer: Earn up to 75,000 Membership Rewards® Points. Earn 50,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $10,000 & an extra 25,000 points after you spend an additional $10,000 all on qualifying purchases within your first 3 months of Card Membership. Get 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com. Access more than 1,200 airport lounges across 130 countries and counting, including the amazing Centurion® lounges. $200 Airline Fee Credit. Terms. Annual Fee: $450

5. Citi ThankYou Rewards Credit Cards

Citi ThankYou points transfer to Asia Miles.

Each 1,000 ThankYou points = 1,000 Asia Miles!

CREDIT CARD	CARD INFO
Citi ThankYou® Premier Card (Learn More)	Limited Time Offer: 60,000 Bonus Points after spending $4,000 within the first 3 months of account opening. Redeemable for $750 in Airfare at ThankYou.com 3 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on Travel, including Gas 2 points per $1 spent on dining/entertainment Annual Fee: $95 (Fee waived for the first 12 months)

SPG-MARRIOTT CARDS	CARD BENEFITS & INFO
Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express	Earn 75,000 bonus points after you make $3,000 in purchases in your first 3 months. Earn 6 points for each dollar of eligible purchases at participating SPG® and Marriott Rewards® hotels and 2 points on all other eligible purchases. Terms. $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95.
Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express	Earn 100,000 bonus points after you make $5,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 10/31/2018. Earn 6 points for each dollar of eligible purchases at over 6,500 participating SPG® and Marriott Rewards® hotels across 110 countries worldwide. Free Boingo Wi-Fi & Free Wi-Fi at SPG participating hotels. Terms. $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95.
Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Credit Card	Earn 75,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Free Night Award (valued up to 35,000 points) every year after account anniversary. Earn 6 points per $1 spent at participating Marriott Rewards & SPG hotels. Annual Fee: $95

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles Travel Partners

6. Cathay Pacific Partner Airlines

Cathay Pacific is a Oneworld Alliance member and has additional partner airlines. Earn miles by flying these partner airlines, check out current rates.

Cathay Pacific also has its Asia Miles partners:

7. Cathay Pacific Hotel Partners

Cathay Pacific has A LOT of hotel partners all over the world, making it easier than ever to earn loads of extra Asia Miles. Click on a hotel link for more information about the individual offer.

Stay at a Hilton Worldwide property and choose Points & Miles to double dip from Honors: earn 10 Honors points + 1 Asia Mile per eligible USD spent!

8. Converting Hotel Points

Earning miles with partner hotel stays is great, but it’s not the only way to get miles from hotel stays. The hotels in the table below also allow you to convert reward points to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles!

9. Partner Hotel Credit Cards

You can also use credit cards associated with hotel loyalty programs to earn reward points. Then, just transfer those points to your Cathay Pacific Asia Miles account! For example, Hilton Honors, Marriott Rewards, and World of Hyatt all have branded credit cards.

CREDIT CARD	CARD INFO
Hilton Honors American Express Ascend Card	Earn 125,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $2,000 in purchases within your first 3 months of Card Membership. Plus, earn a free weekend night after you spend $15,000 on purchases on your card in a calendar year. 12X on qualifying purchases with hotels from the Hilton portfolio. Earn 6X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases on your Card at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations. Terms Apply. Annual Fee: $95
Hilton Honors American Express Card	Earn 75,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after spending $1,000 within your first 3 months after approval. 7X points on qualifying purchases with hotels from the Hilton portfolio. Terms Apply. Annual Fee: $0
Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Credit Card	Earn 75,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Free Night Award (valued up to 35,000 points) every year after account anniversary. Earn 6 points per $1 spent at participating Marriott Rewards & SPG hotels. Annual Fee: $95
Chase IHG® Rewards Club Select Credit Card (Learn More)	Earn 5x points at IHG hotels and 2x points on purchases at gas stations, grocery stores and restaurants. Annual Fee: $0 first year, then $49
Chase Hyatt Credit Card (Learn More)	3x points at Hyatt properties and 2x points at restaurants, airfare purchased directly from the airline and car rental agencies Annual Fee: $75

10. Partner Rental Car Agencies

Rent a car with a Cathay Pacific partner and earn 500 miles or 1 frequent flyer program mile per $1.

Shopping for Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

11. Asia Miles iShop

The Asia Miles iShop includes online retailers in categories including fashion, home, office, and so much more.

It doesn’t cost more to shop through the iShop links. In fact, the prices are the same as if you shopped with the merchants directly…but you’re earning miles at the same time!

Making purchases through the Asia Miles iShop is simple.

1. Sign in to the Asia Miles iShop website.
2. Enable the “cookies” function, so Asia Miles can track your path from iShop to the merchant’s website and allocate miles.
3. Click “Shop Now” under the merchant’s description.
4. Purchase the items you want.

You’ll receive an acknowledgment email within 5 days and another email once the merchant approves your transaction. The miles will appear in your account within 30 days.

Special Offers from Asia Miles

12. The Asia Miles Offers and Promotions Page

Find deals from Cathay Pacific travel partners and non-travel partners worth extra Asia Miles on the Special Offers page. Check back frequently for new deals!

13. Cathay Pacific Holidays

Purchase travel through Cathay Holidays Limited right from the Cathay Pacific website. Check out the table below to find out how many Asia Miles you can earn when booking a personalized package.

14. PointsHound

Earn at least 1 Asia Mile per $1 for completing a reservation at any hotel booked on PointsHound. To start earning:

1. Sign up for an account at PointsHound.com.
2. Choose Asia Miles as your “Preferred Program” and enter your membership number.
3. Browse hotels based on your travel dates.
4. Use your credit card to reserve a hotel.
5. Your Asia Miles will credit to your account when you complete your stay.

15. Earn Asia Miles for Booking a Hotel Meeting

Book a qualified event at one of the participating Langham Hotels and Resorts, and not only will you get a place to hold your meeting, but you’ll also get Asia Miles! Meetings at Langham Hospitality Group properties earn as follows:

See terms and conditions for offer rules.

Also, earn Asia Miles for booking a meeting or event at a participating Hilton or Conrad Hotel. Receive 1 Asia Mile and 1 Hilton Honors point per $1 spent.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, this article has shown you how to maximize the miles you earn with Cathay Pacific in very simple ways. For an international airline based in Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific provides plenty of opportunities for members in North America to earn miles.

If you haven’t already enrolled in the Asia Miles loyalty program, it’s time to do it now! Then you can start racking up the miles in your Cathay Pacific Asia Miles account.

Photo Credit:

Cathay Pacific Featured Photo: Markus Schmal/Shutterstock.com

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