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.
[aside headline="Searching for First Class Upgrade Availability" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]Cathay Pacific upgrade availability is the same as free-award availability. So just search Cathay Pacific.com for free First Class awards to find out if your dates are worth pursuing.[/aside]
The downside is that, while American charges fewer miles (17,500 to 27,500) to upgrade on its own flights, the First Class experience on American cannot be compared to Cathay Pacific. American elites earn credit when flying on Cathay in Business Class: 125% base miles, 1.50 EQMs (Elite Qualifying Miles), and 25% EQDs (Elite Qualifying Dollars). The catch: Fewer AA miles and elite credits accrued on Cathay Pacific flights.
Non-Elites (Loyalty-Free Agents) Save 65%
Anyone can buy Amex Rewards points at 2.5¢ each and transfer them to Cathay Pacific miles. If you purchase a Business Class ticket New York-Hong Kong ($7,605), and purchased the Amex points needed to upgrade ($2,625), you’d be looking at a total outlay of $10,230 for the round-trip—for a seat that otherwise goes for as much as $29,276, a savings of $19,046 (65%). Also refer back to FCF’s How to Play the “Buy Miles Fly Style Strategy” to net 65% off.
Transfer Credit Card Points: Cathay Pacific is a credit card transfer partner with three cards: Amex Rewards (500,000-point annual buying limit), Citi Thank You (100,000 miles), and Starwood (20,000).
Upgrade Survey: Using Miles on Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong
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What About First Class Availability?
Sometimes good on Cathay Pacific, like right now! Cathay offers a First Class cabin to Hong Kong from five U.S. departure cities (Boston, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco) and one Canadian city (Vancouver), making it easy to connect on partner American—often for free. See chart below for availability.
Sweet Upgrade Redeem Survey: Cathay Pacific First Class to Hong Kong
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