Cathay Pacific Asia Miles Loyalty Program Review (Marco Polo Club)

Branded and Partnered Credit Cards

The Cathay Pacific Asia Miles program makes it easy to earn points by partnering with 4 out of the 5 flexible point programs.

Cathay Pacific Credit Cards

The Cathay Pacific credit card is issued by Synchrony Bank and currently offers a respectable sign-up bonus.

If you apply for the credit card by October 31, 2018, you’ll earn 40,000 Asia Miles after spending $2,000 in the first 90 days.

Earlier this year, we saw an elevated sign-up bonus of 60,000 Asia Miles, so it’s important to keep in mind when it makes the most sense to apply for this card.

American Express Credit Cards

American Express credit cards are a great way to earn Amex points that can be transferred directly to Cathay Pacific.

With its impressive selection of personal and business credit cards, you’ll have more than enough ways to earn miles for your next redemption.

Amex also has regular bonuses with some of its airline partners when you transfer Amex points into airline miles, making this a valuable program to earn points.

Recommended Amex Cards (Personal)

Recommended Amex Cards (Business)

Citi Credit Cards

Citi falls short of Amex with the number of credit cards it has that earn transferable ThankYou points. But that doesn’t mean you should put the program on the back burner.

Citi, like Amex, has regular bonuses when transferring points to some of its airline partners, which can provide significant value.

The only credit card available to new applicants that earns ThankYou points is the Citi Premier℠ Card. You can find more about it here:

Marriott Bonvoy Credit Cards

Marriott credit cards provide yet another way to earn flexible points that can be transferred directly to Cathay Pacific.

What makes this transfer even better is the fact that you’ll receive a 5,000-point bonus for every 60,000 points that you convert into airline miles.

Marriott points convert into airline miles at a 3:1 ratio, so 60,000 miles become 25,000 airline miles with the 5,000 point bonus.

Capital One Credit Cards

Capital One miles transfer to Asia Miles at a 1:1 ratio, which may be smarter than redeeming your Capital One miles for 1 cent per point in the Capital One travel portal for cash tickets.

Make sure you have a Capital One card that has the transferable miles feature. Here are our picks:

Recommended Capital One Cards That Earn Miles (Personal)

Other Hotel Partner Credit Cards

Transferring other hotel points to Cathay Pacific will result in less than a 1:1 transfer ratio, so we recommend avoiding this option.

If you are topping off an airline account or are in a bind, this option can be used as a last-ditch effort.

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles Program Overview

The Cathay Pacific frequent flyer program that you redeem miles in is called Asia Miles. This program can be used for Oneworld and partner redemptions like flights on American Airlines.

It’s important to note that Cathay Pacific has a loyalty program called Marco Polo Club and a rewards program called Asia Miles.

Marco Polo Club is the loyalty program of Cathay Pacific. Members earn Club Points when flying Cathay Pacific or Oneworld partners. The points that you earn allow you to qualify for the program’s elite status.

Asia Miles is the rewards program in which members earn miles to use toward travel and lifestyle awards. Marco Polo Club members are automatically enrolled as Asia Miles members, using the same membership number for earning and redeeming purposes.

Cathay Pacific flies from a number of U.S. destinations to Hong Kong, giving you plenty of ways to fly to Hong Kong.

Asia Miles can be earned in many ways; here are the 3 most common:

• Flying Cathay Pacific or its partner airline flights
• Spending on flexible points program credit cards
• Spending with car rental, hotel, or retail partners

Joining Asia Miles

The Asia Miles program is free to join by simply completing this application.

When your application is complete, you’ll have the ability to earn miles by flying, earn elite status, and redeem miles for award flights.

How to Sign in to Your Asia Miles Account

Head to the Asia Miles login page and enter your membership number and password.

Hot Tip: The Asia Miles website requires you to log in using your Asia Miles account number to search for award flights. 

Viewing Your Account Activity

The easiest way to check your Asia Miles mileage balance is to:

1. Log in to your account
2. Click the drop-down arrow in the top right corner
3. Click Account Overview

Cathay Pacific states that it may take up to 6-8 weeks for qualifying activity to appear in your account.

Points Expiration

Asia Miles are valid for 3 years from the month the miles are credited.

The program does allow you to extend the expiration of your miles by renewing your miles in blocks of 2,000 Asia Miles for $40 (online) or $100 (offline) per 2,000-mile block.

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles Mileage Program

Marco Polo Club Elite Status

The Marco Polo Club program has 4 elite tiers: Green, Silver, Gold, and Diamond.

It’s important to note that the Marco Polo Club requires a $100 fee to join the club. At the end of your first 12 months, you’ll need to renew your membership with either 20 club points or pay a $100 renewal fee.

Green: The lowest elite tier offered by the Marco Polo Club, which comes with the following benefits:

• Priority boarding
• 1 business class lounge pass after earning 200 club points
• Access to discounted flight awards

Silver: After earning this status level, you’ll have access to additional benefits including:

• All of the benefits of Green, plus;
• Receive the benefits of Silver after earning 300 club points
• Access to preferred seating on the Hong Kong – Auckland Air New Zealand flight
• Additional baggage allowance
• Access to Cathay Pacific business class lounges when flying Cathay Pacific
• 2 business class lounge passes after earning 450 club points

Gold: The second highest elite tier that you can earn comes with the following benefits:

• All of the benefits of Silver, plus;
• Additional baggage allowance
• 1 guest allowed in the Cathay Pacific lounge when traveling together on Cathay Pacific or a Oneworld airline
• 1 guest allowed in partner airline lounges
• Access to arrival lounges in Hong Kong and Frankfurt when flying Cathay Pacific
• 2 business class lounge passes after earning 800 club points
• 4 single-sector Bookable Upgrades to 1 cabin class higher for yourself or travel companion, applicable to Cathay Pacific flights up to medium-haul flights (0-3,700 miles) after earning 1,000 club points

Diamond: The highest elite tier you can earn comes with the following benefits:

• All of the benefits of Gold, plus;
• Additional baggage allowance
• Access to Cathay Pacific first class lounge on flights marketed and operated by Cathay Pacific or Oneworld airlines
• 2 guests allowed in the Cathay Pacific lounge when the guest is traveling on the same Cathay Pacific or Oneworld flight
• 1 guest allowed in partner airline lounges
• 2 first or business class lounge passes after earning 1,400 club points
• 4 single-sector Bookable Upgrades to one cabin class higher for yourself or travel companion, applicable to Cathay Pacific flights of any distance after earning 1,600 club points
• Gift of Gold membership for a friend after earning 1,800 club points

If you’re interested in diving into more detail about the elite benefits at each tier, go here.

Value of Marco Polo Elite Status

Earning elite status with Cathay Pacific makes the most sense if you fly Cathay Pacific regularly, or you are looking for elite benefits when flying a Oneworld partner like American Airlines.

If you meet one of these criteria, access to premium lounges and earning single-sector bookable upgrades are benefits to consider.

Earning Marco Polo Club Elite Status

How to Earn Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

With Cathay Pacific, you have 4 main ways to earn miles:

1. Earn points from spending on the Cathay Pacific credit card
2. Transfer points earned from flexible point credit cards (Amex, Citi, Capital One)
3. Transfer points from Marriott’s loyalty program
4. Use the Cathay Pacific Asia Miles shopping portal

By using all 4, you’ll have no problem earning Cathay Pacific Asia Miles.

Earning Miles Through Flying

If you fly a Oneworld partner, the mileage earning rates will be different.

For example, if you fly American Airlines business class from Dallas (DFW) to Hong Kong, you’ll earn 10,138 miles.

The easiest way to determine the miles that you’ll earn is to input the required information into this page.

Cathay Pacific does not provide an elite bonus for its elite members, and instead calculates the miles earned on Cathay Pacific and Oneworld flights by a combination of cabin class, fare class and distance zone.

How to Redeem Asia Miles

The Asia Miles program has multiple award charts with intricate rules.

If you are redeeming Asia Miles for a Cathay Pacific, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Qantas, or Qatar Airways flight, you can book the award flight on the Cathay Pacific website.

If you are redeeming miles for any other partner, you’ll need to call Cathay Pacific at 866-892-2598.

Hot Tip: If you’re trying to determine how to use your miles, we put together a piece with the best ways to use Asia Miles. 

Oneworld Alliance and Partner Awards

Since Cathay Pacific is in the Oneworld alliance, you can use Asia Miles to fly on any airline in the alliance.

Separately, you can use your Asia Miles to fly on the airline’s partners outside of the Oneworld alliance.

Booking Online

The Asia Miles website search engine can be a great way to book Cathay Pacific, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Qantas, and Qatar Airways flights.

For partner flights not listed above, you’ll want to use British Airways or Qantas to search for Oneworld award space.

If you’re looking to book a Star Alliance partner flight, you’ll want to use United Airlines or Aeroplan websites to search for award space.

To book a SkyTeam partner flight, use the Delta, Air France, or KLM websites to search for award space.

The Asia Miles website will allow you to book Cathay Pacific, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Qantas and Qatar Airways flights.

If the partner you are trying to book can’t be booked on the Asia Miles website, search for award space on another website first, and then call Cathay Pacific at 866-892-2598 to confirm the award space and ticket the award flight.

Hot Tip: Asia Miles members can now book using Miles Plus Cash to book any seat on any flight (including partners) starting at 5,000 miles.

The information regarding the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Cathay Pacific Airways Visa^® was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
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 Platinum Card^® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express^® Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express^® Business Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express, click here.
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.