Cathay Pacific has just announced some upcoming adjustments to the Asia Miles award chart for flights operated by the airline, which will take place on Tuesday, 15 April 2025.
These changes will lower the cost of some short and medium-haul Economy Class award flights, but at the expense of a slight increase in the cost of long and ultra-long-haul Business Class awards to destinations such as Europe and the USA.
While the changes are relatively mild compared to the last award chart devaluation in October 2023, itโs still annoying to see another adjustment taking place just 18 months later.
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles award chart devaluation
Hereโs a summary of how the Asia Miles award chart for Cathay Pacific flights will change from 15 April 2025 onwards.
| โ๏ธ Asia Miles Redemptions for Cathay Pacific Flights (in 000โs) |
||||
| Distance (in miles) |
Y | PY | J | F |
| 1-750 | 7 |
11 | 16 | 25 |
| 751 โ 2,750 (Type 1)* |
9 |
20 | 28 | 43 |
| 751 โ 2,750 (Type 2)^ |
13 |
23 | 32 | 50 |
| 2,751 โ 5,000 | 20 | 38 | 58 | 90 |
| 5,001 โ 7,500 |
27 | 50 | 88 |
125 |
| 7,501+ | 38 | 75 | 115 |
160 |
| Y = Economy | PY= Premium Economy | J= Business | F= First |
||||
| *Type 1= Routes to/from China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea ^Type 2= Routes to/from India, Indonesia, Japan |
||||
You can still book awards at the current prices up till 11.59 p.m (GMT+8) on 14 April 2025, even if your travel takes place after the devaluation goes into effect.
Cathay Pacific award flights can be booked up to 360 days in advance, so if you leave it till the last moment, you could lock in the existing prices for a flight up to 9 April 2026.
To put those numbers into perspective, here are some examples that Cathay Pacific has provided for the five affected zone and cabin combinations.
| โ๏ธ Asia Miles Redemptions for Cathay Pacific Flights ๐ญ๐ฐ From/To Hong Kong |
|||
| City | Cabin | Current (till 14 Apr 25) |
Revised (from 15 Apr 25) |
| Hangzhou, Manila, Taipei | Y | 7,500 | 7,000 -7% |
| Bangkok, Shanghai, Singapore | Y | 10,000 | 9,000 -10% |
| Denpasar, Osaka, Tokyo | Y | 12,500 | 13,000 +4% |
| London, Los Angeles, Vancouver | J | 84,000 | 88,000 +4.7% |
| Boston, New York, Toronto | J | 110,000 | 115,000 +4.5% |
| Y = Economy | PY= Premium Economy | J= Business | F= First | |||
| All award costs are one-way | |||
The good news is that the cost of short and ultra-short Economy Class flights will be reduced by as much as 10%. For example, you could fly from Singapore to Hong Kong for just 9,000 miles in Economy, which is going to be a sweet spot for those who just want the cheapest award possible.
The bad news is that long and ultra-long haul Business Class flights are going up by around 5%. Keep in mind, these are the same zones which got hit hard in the October 2023 devaluation. In the space of 18 months weโve seen the cost of a 5,001 to 7,500 miles Business Class award go from as little as 65,000 miles to 88,000 miles.
To put this into perspective for Singapore-based travellers, hereโs how much Cathay Pacific awards will compare to Singapore Airlines awards on the affected routes and cabins.
| โ๏ธ Asia Miles vs KrisFlyer awards ๐ธ๐ฌ From/To Singapore |
|||
| City | Cabin | Asia Miles | KrisFlyer |
| Chengdu, Hong Kong, Taipei, Xiamen | Y | 9,000 | 16,500 |
| Shanghai | Y | 9,000 | 21,500 |
| Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Milan, Zurich | J | 88,000 | 103,500 |
| Barcelona, London, Manchester, Paris | J | 115,000 | 103,500 |
| USA, Canada | J | 115,000 | 107,000 to 111,500 |
| Y = Economy | PY= Premium Economy | J= Business | F= First | |||
| All award costs are one-way. Assumes Asia Miles redeemed for Cathay Pacific travel, and KrisFlyer miles redeemed for Singapore Airlines travel |
|||
I should point out that itโs not a straight 1:1 comparison, because Cathay Pacific flights will involve a further stop in Hong Kong, and award flights on Cathay Pacific will have fuel surcharges.
That said, we can see that Asia Miles is the superior option for short or medium-haul Economy travel, getting you as far north as Shanghai for just 9,000 miles (versus 21,500 miles for KrisFlyer).
Itโs also a better option for Business Class to Europe, provided you stay within the 7,500 mile boundary. Business Class award flights to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Milan and Zurich cost 88,000 miles, versus 103,500 miles KrisFlyer.
However, once you exceed the 7,500 mile boundary, KrisFlyer becomes the better programme for Business Class redemptions.
Partner awards are (supposedly) unaffected
Cathay Pacific has not mentioned any changes to the cost of partner awards, so my assumption is that these remain unchanged.
Why Iโm so hesitant to be definitive is because Asia Miles does not publish an award chart for travel on oneworld and other partner carriers (except for multi-carrier awards). Historically speaking, however, prices have reliably followed the chart below.
Weโll need to wait and see what happens on 15 April 2025, but no news is good news, I suppose?
Conclusion
The Asia Miles award chart for travel on Cathay Pacific will see some adjustments come 15 April 2025. Itโs good news for those who redeem miles for short-haul Economy Class travel, but those aspiring for long-haul Business Class travel will find the goalposts shifted further.
As far as devaluations come, a price increase of 4,000 to 5,000 miles isnโt the end of the world, though it is frustrating to see another award chart adjustment barely 18 months after the previous one.
If itโs any consolation, I have noticed a slight improvement in Cathay Pacific award availability (at least for redemptions through Asia Miles; I canโt say the same for partners), so itโs not nearly as impossible to redeem award flights as it was a couple of years ago.
