Are you looking to travel to Hong Kong in 2025? Cathay Pacific — a Hong Kong-based carrier — now has open awards available in business and first class from January to March 2025, as first flagged by @FindFlightforMe.
Although the airline operates using a distance-based award chart, it is rare for airlines to switch to dynamic pricingOpen award searches from the US to China have been restricted on this airline.
According to Cathay’s awards chart, you can fly an extremely long route (over 7,501 miles) from US airports, such as New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) or New York’s National Airport Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD), to Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) one-way in business class for 110,000 miles or one-way in first class for 160,000 miles.
Although this is not one Great deal for a one-way flight from the US to Asia in business or first class, which isn’t terrible. If you are looking for flexibility in your travel dates or want to Plan your vacation in Asia a few months ago, this would have been a good award flight to start with. Besides, who doesn’t love a direct flight?
Bookings available for Cathay Pacific business and first class awards for 2025
When searching for award availability, remember to log in to Cathay Pacific and search for the date(s) you want to fly. Cathay shows three days before and three days after the date you search, which is useful because non-award dates will show as “unavailable” on that date.
Note, although there are business class and first class tickets, finding first class ticket prices is more limited… but not impossible.
If you want to get this 2025 fare, you can transfer American Express Membership Rewards point, Bilt Rewards point, Capital One Mile or Citi ThankYou Rewards points to Cathay Pacific with a 1:1 conversion ratio. However, in the tests conducted by TPG, not all Transfer points to Cathay happen immediately; Therefore, it may take 48 hours (or longer) for your points to reach your Cathay account.
However, TPG senior editorial director Nick Ewen Transferred Amex points to Cathay Pacific today and they arrived promptly.
Additionally, before committing to Cathay Pacific, it’s best to check out partner airlines to compare ticket prices. For example, you can book Cathay Pacific with fewer miles on the American Airlines and Alaska Airlines websites. However, availability through these partners is extremely limited.
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When I searched for dates in 2025 on Alaska and American, I only found premium economy and main cabin award tickets flying from JFK to HKG. However, if you don’t mind sitting in premium economy then this is a better deal than booking the same flight on Cathay’s own website.
Cathay charges 75,000 miles for premium economy seats, while US only charges 50,000 American Airlines Advantages mile. However, AAdvantage is only a transfer partner of Bilt Rewards, which ends in June. So unless you have a lot of AAdvantage miles, it may be easier to book through Cathay Pacific.
Best credit cards to book Cathay Pacific award tickets
- American Express Platinum® Card: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in your first six months of card membership.
- American Express® Gold Card: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 on qualifying purchases during your six-month membership.
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
- Citi Premier® Card (see exchange rates and fees): Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first three months of account opening.
Bottom line
Although 110,000 and 160,000 miles respectively for one-way business and first class fares are not necessarily a “deal” offered by Cathay Pacific, as these are the carrier’s standard award fares, having Ticket availability open for several months is rare. Additionally, if you’re looking to celebrate Lunar New Year in China, this might be a worthy treat to get in on before it’s gone.
