Cathay Pacific offering 15% Asia Miles transfer bonus

Cathay Pacific has launched a 15% transfer bonus for conversions of credit card points to Asia Miles, an offer that runs from now till 30 June 2022.

It’s the first Asia Miles transfer bonus we in Singapore have seen in a long while (unless I’ve missed something, the last was in December 2020), and a 15% bonus is reasonably generous.

The catch? The offer comes pre-nerfed, with a cap of just 5,000 bonus miles!

Asia Miles 15% transfer bonus

Register Here

From 1-30 June 2022, Asia Miles members in South East Asia will receive a 15% bonus when they convert credit card points from eligible finance partners. 

Registration is required, and can be done via this link. Don’t forget that your credit card points conversion must be completed by 30 June to be eligible for the bonus; there’s some lead time involved with every bank, so don’t leave it till the last minute (2 weeks would be very safe for all issuers except BOC). 

There is no minimum number of points that must be transferred to enjoy the bonus, but the bonus miles are capped at 5,000. This means you’d max out the promotion with a transfer of 33,333 miles (though realistically speaking, you’d have to transfer slightly more than that due to the minimum transfer block that banks impose). 

The regular number of miles will credit initially, with the bonus component credited within 8-10 weeks after 30 June 2022. 

The T&C of this offer can be found here.

Which banks are participating?

All card-issuers in Singapore which offer Asia Miles transfers are participating in this offer, namely:

• American Express
• Bank of China
• Citibank
• DBS
• HSBC
• Maybank
• UOB

Convert expiring Asia Miles into non-expiring ones

Asia Miles Renewal Offer

As a reminder, Cathay Pacific is currently offering Asia Miles members the opportunity to convert their expiring miles into evergreen ones. 

From now till 30 June 2022, Asia Miles members who register and convert at least 30,000 Asia Miles from credit card points will have their entire balance (regardless of when it was earned) brought under the new activity-based expiry scheme. 

As a reminder, Asia Miles earned up till 31 December 2019 expire after three years, while Asia Miles earned from 1 January 2020 never expire, so long as you earn or redeem at least 1 mile every 18 months. 

If you’re determined to renew your expiring balance, this 15% transfer bonus might actually fit nicely into your plans. A transfer of 30,000 miles is still within the bonus cap (15% x 30,000=4,500 miles), and sweetens the deal further.

Of course, a better question is whether you have faith in the long (or even medium) term prospects of the Asia Miles programme. Hong Kong’s reluctance to reopen has done major damage to Cathay Pacific, and even if the airline survives, I think the smart money might be on keeping your Asia Miles balance to a minimum. 

In that sense, the expiry of Asia Miles should not be a concern because you shouldn’t be hording a significant number of them for an extended period of time. Earn and burn has never been a better mantra!

Asia Miles certainly has some sweet spots, although these have been undermined somewhat by the return of fuel surcharges on Cathay Pacific flights. The other issue for Singapore-based members is the limited number of CX flights from Changi- just three are scheduled for the whole of June!

It might be a better bet to redeem Asia Miles for partner awards, but popular options like Qatar Airways will have big fuel surcharges attached.

Conclusion

For the month of June, Asia Miles members based in South East Asia will enjoy a 15% bonus when transferring credit card points. However, the bonus is capped at 5,000 miles, which is relatively stingy given past offers.

That said, if you intend to convert your entire Asia Miles balance to evergreen miles, then this 15% bonus is simply the icing on the cake.

One thing’s for sure- given Cathay Pacific’s uncertain future, it’s not the worst idea to have an exit strategy handy for your miles.