Cathay Pacific First Class: How Elites Can Save 74% and Non-Elites 65% Now

This American Airlines’ partner makes it easy to earn AAdvantage elite credit—with Cathay flights using Cathay miles, which you can get by transferring points from Amex.

Mileage upgrades are very often the best way to get to Asia in comfort. First Class fares are typically expensive (generally $8,000 to $28,000+) and sales on First Class are scarce on most routes. The flipside: Savings and return-on-miles can be high on these routes. Cathay Pacific generally charges $11,000 to $29,000 non-stop to Hong Kong from the U.S., for example.

Elites Save 74%

Elites must earn elite credit, so that means using miles for upgrades, not free tickets, because they don’t earn elite credit. To upgrade on Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong from Business Class to First, the airline charges 42,500 miles one-way from Los Angeles and 52,500 from New York. It costs up to 20,000 fewer Asia Miles if you figure in the points earned on the trip. Plus, Cathay Pacific doesn’t charge a mileage-upgrade co-pay whereas American and United charge $1,100 to $1,200.