Full details: Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles devaluation

In March 2026, Cathay Pacific announced some upcoming adjustments to the cost of Asia Miles awards.

Now, the annoying thing about Asia Miles is that even though Cathay Pacific and oneworld redemptions are priced according to a fixed award chart, that award chart is not published.

Therefore, while Cathay shared a few examples of awards which were increasing in price, there was no way of knowing whether that was the definitive list, or whether there would be other devaluations too. The airline alluded to as much in its announcement! 

For the latest adjustments on the flight award mileage requirements, please use the search tool above once the changes become effective on 1 May 2026 00:00 (HKT).

-Cathay Pacific

Well, those adjustments came into effect on 1 May, and a clearer picture is now emerging as to the extent of the changes. While the increases remain modest in absolute terms, they also appear to be more widespread than the initial examples suggested.

How have Cathay Pacific awards changed?

Let me start by getting something off my chest. 

What’s so frustrating about the lack of a published award chart is that we need to reverse engineer prices from real-world searching, and that in turn is contingent on award space actually being available.

It’s a time-consuming game of guess and check, and particularly difficult in the case of First Class awards (since it’s like finding a needle in a haystack). I mean, I don’t understand the need to be coy. If you’re pricing according to a fixed award chart anyway, why can’t you just be upfront about it and skip the hide and seek?

Anyway, in the initial announcement, Cathay Pacific provided five examples of awards that would increase in price from 1 May 2026.

Based on those examples, it appeared as if these would be the changes.

However, now that the new award pricing is live, my searches show that the price increases are actually more extensive.

It looks like four more distance and cabin combinations were impacted, in Premium Economy and Business Class (if you spot any other changes I’ve missed, please let me know).

For example, Hong Kong to Tokyo Narita in Business Class used to cost 32,000 Asia Miles, but now costs 33,000 Asia Miles. 

Again, the increases here are not massive in absolute terms, ranging from 1,000 to 4,000 Asia Miles.

But like I said previously, Asia Miles has now carried out three devaluations in quick succession— one this month, another last year in April 2025, and before that in October 2023. Taken collectively, these have resulted in a significant increase in the cost of long-haul Business Class awards, which are now 40% more expensive compared to less than three years ago.

Compounding this problem are its fuel surcharges, which have escalated sharply in recent weeks. A round-trip ticket between Singapore and Europe now carries US$500 of fuel surcharges, compared to US$182 before the Iran conflict. 

How have partner awards changed?

 Cathay Pacific did not provide any explicit examples of partner awards increasing in price, so it was an open question as to whether we’d see any changes here.

However, based on my searches, it looks like long and ultra long-haul Business Class awards have increased by 4,000 to 5,000 Asia Miles.

For example, Hong Kong to New York JFK via Helsinki in Business Class used to cost 115,000 Asia Miles, but now costs 120,000 Asia Miles.

Again, it’s hard to be definitive about this, because I wasn’t able to find any First Class award availability in the 5,001 to 7,500 miles band. I was able to confirm that First Class pricing in the 2,751 to 5,000 and 7,501+ miles band has not changed, so my assumption would be that this is also unaffected— but if you have better luck with your searches, please let me know.

HeyMax transfer bonus

Get 200 Max Miles when you open an account and complete your first transaction

Get a HeyMax Account

If you’re looking to offset the impact of the devaluation, here’s a reminder that from 1 May to 1 June 2026, HeyMax is offering an uncapped 20% transfer bonus for converting Max Miles to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles.

Users will receive 1.2 Asia Miles for every 1 Max Mile transferred, instead of the usual 1 Asia Mile. A minimum transfer of 1,000 Max Miles is required, with blocks of 100 Max Miles beyond this.

No registration is required, and base and bonus points should be credited within three business days (HeyMax says that it’s working towards making this instant in the future).

The terms and conditions of this promotion can be found here.

Conclusion

Cathay Pacific’s recent Asia Miles devaluation on 1 May 2026 is actually more extensive than the initial examples suggested.

We’re seeing small increases in Premium Economy and Business Class awards across most distance bands of 1,000 to 4,000 Asia Miles, together with increases in the cost of long and ultra long-haul partner redemptions of 4,000 to 5,000 Asia Miles.

It’s far from apocalyptic, though I’m also irritated by the lack of transparency, and the need to piece the full picture together through trial and error.