Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - Hire a maid and earn points! (In HK only)

I don't know what society has come to these days when Asiamiles is offering you miles for booking your maid's flights online!

Earn 2,000 Asia Miles when you book flights online for your foreign domestic helper

http://www.asiamiles.com/en/earn/airlines/partners/promotions/1,,133448,00.html

ROFL :D This has to be one of the more interesting promos though!

...Earn 2,000 Asia Miles when you book flights online for your foreign domestic helper...


Darn! I wish I had a foreign one..... so I can get 2K points..... :D

Actually, have to say I thought it was a very clever idea!

And as we were actually about to book our helper passage for her holidays in April, CX will get the business!

The points are neither here nor there (although a nice gesture) but what I thought was very nice touch is the extra baggage allowance for the helper if booked by the employer in this manner. Leveraging the fact that many of us are FF with all sorts of extra perks but our helpers are not, and when they are travelling alone for holidays they like to take *lots* of stuff home with them.

Our helper was suitably impressed with an extra free 10kg allowance - assuaged her trepidation about flying CX when she has only ever flown Phillipine airlines before :p I assured her CX was reputable and I'm certain she will find she will enjoy her flight :D

I've also heard that Filipinos find it a lot easier/quicker to get through Immigration/Customs in Terminal 1 at NAIA (MNL), which is where all the foreigners come in, than at Terminal 2 (the Philippines Airlines one) which is almost exclusively local and, apparently, rife with corruption and delays.

I don't know what society has come to these days when Asiamiles is offering you miles for booking your maid's flights online!

Earn 2,000 Asia Miles when you book flights online for your foreign domestic helper

http://www.asiamiles.com/en/earn/airlines/partners/promotions/1,,133448,00.html
Hm.. domestic helpers are quite common. I remember being on a BKK to HKG flight and this caucasian woman, her cute son and their domestic helper were all on the flight.

I lined up behind them to get through HK immigration in the permanent residence line and unfortunately I got held up because there was some problem with their documentation.

Funny how my friend got through the Passport holders line with her Canadian passport quicker than me in the HK Permanent Resident Card line (AIYA!).

Nice to know that the AsiaMiles program is thinking of the domestic helper in their customer base.

I don't know what society has come to these days when Asiamiles is offering you miles for booking your maid's flights online!

I'm sure you know this but just in case you didn't, it is written into most (all?) domestic helper contracts that the employer must buy them a ticket home every 2 years (or is it 1 year...I'm not sure the exact specifics).

Just a thought... how about opening a credit card "Merchant Account" for the domestic helper and each time you pay her she'll charge your credit card which earns AsiaMiles (if you are willing to pay the domestic helper a bit more to cover the credit card fee)?

I lined up behind them to get through HK immigration in the permanent residence line and unfortunately I got held up because there was some problem with their documentation.

I always want to slap the people who go through the permanent resident line with their kids and helpers... Sure, one in their group may have a permanent ID, but the others do not. They should all go to the resident line instead of holding up the permanent ID line...I wish the immigration officers would let the parents go through and send the kids to the other lines to teach the parents a lesson...

I always want to slap the people who go through the permanent resident line with their kids and helpers... Sure, one in their group may have a permanent ID, but the others do not. They should all go to the resident line instead of holding up the permanent ID line...I wish the immigration officers would let the parents go through and send the kids to the other lines to teach the parents a lesson...

Thought that line was for "Permanent Residents" and not necessarily only permanent residents with the relevant ID card or do you not consider any child to be a permanent resident if they have not yet applied for their ID card?

After all, the immigration ordinance does not define a permanent resident purely by status of their permanent ID card.

The essence of it as understood by everyone I know is that if you need more than your HKID card to enter HK then you shouldn't be in the Permanent Residents' line.

This promotion has been on the CX website for at least a year. While it is a nice touch for mileage junkies, it's a limited-use promotion since most Filipina foreign domestic helpers are not from Manila and will have to change terminals and airlines at MNL.

I always want to slap the people who go through the permanent resident line with their kids and helpers... Sure, one in their group may have a permanent ID, but the others do not. They should all go to the resident line instead of holding up the permanent ID line...I wish the immigration officers would let the parents go through and send the kids to the other lines to teach the parents a lesson...

Which triple eight super duper status do you have? Mine guarantees that I am always on the shortest line.

In any case, I am sure your helpers took you on the same lines and caused the same backups only a few years back. Cut the others some slack.

Thought that line was for "Permanent Residents" and not necessarily only permanent residents with the relevant ID card or do you not consider any child to be a permanent resident if they have not yet applied for their ID card?

After all, the immigration ordinance does not define a permanent resident purely by status of their permanent ID card.

There is both a permanent idenity card line and a residents line. The permanent idenity card has 3 stars on it and says on the back of it you have the right of abode in Hong Kong. The resident ID card only has 1 star, and just says you are a resident of hong kong. You only get a permanent idenity card if you are 18 or over, thus I do not consider any child to be a permanent resident. When a child enters hong kong, they need their resident ID card as well as their passport and arrivals card. The immigration officer needs to input that information in the computer and stamp the passport, and doing so slows down the line.. For a permanent resident, the officer just scans the ID card, looks at the picture and you're on your way.. usually takes 10 seconds tops...

Anyways, the point is that if someone does not have a permanent ID card, ie kids, domestic helpers, etc, they should go to the residents line!

In any case, I am sure your helpers took you on the same lines and caused the same backups only a few years back. Cut the others some slack.

Actually, never travelled with a helper. When I was a kid, I don't think Kai Tak had permanent ID card lines.. everyone just went to HK residents line..

The permanant resident ID card does not always have 3 stars on the back. This is, if I remember correctly, requires that you are of chinese descent and were born in Hong Kong.

Both my wife and I have permanent residency, my children were born here and are also, according to the validation in their passports, permanent residents. ID cards are not issued until the age of 11 but until then we will continue to use the permanant residents channel as is our right

The permanant resident ID card does not always have 3 stars on the back. This is, if I remember correctly, requires that you are of chinese descent and were born in Hong Kong.

umm.. I have plenty of friends who have 3 stars and are not chinese... just requires that you live in HK for 7 years or more and you get permanent residence and a permanent ID card... Regardless, the whole point of my rant is that it clearly states on the sign above the immigration counter as Hong Kong Permanent Idenity Card.. If you don't have one, you shouldn't go there...

We are way off topic here, but, tfung, you may find these pages helpful:
http://www.immd.gov.hk/ehtml/hkid_frontinfo.htm
describes what the * and *** markings mean - essentially it shows eligibility for a HK Re-entry permit.
http://www.immd.gov.hk/ehtml/hktraveldoc_2_rp.htm
defines who is eligible for the HK Re-entry Permit. From which:

"ELIGIBILITY

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Re-entry Permits are issued to the following Hong Kong residents for travel to the mainland of China and Macau Special Administrative Region:

* Chinese Citizens who have either acquired the right of abode or been granted unconditional stay in Hong Kong; and
* Persons not of Chinese nationality who have been granted unconditional stay in Hong Kong but cannot obtain national passports or travel documents of any other countries or regions."

So anyone who has *** on their HKID must be:
- over 18, AND
- eligible for a HK Re-entry Permit, which means:
- a Chinese citizen with RoA or unconditional stay in HK, OR
- people with RoA or unconditional stay who are otherwise stateless (this essentially means people who are refugees or second+ generation non-Chinese immigrants).

I cannot see any way that these rules allow for a non-Chinese holding another citizenship/passport to have *** on their HKID card.

I always want to slap the people who go through the permanent resident line with their kids and helpers... Sure, one in their group may have a permanent ID, but the others do not. They should all go to the resident line instead of holding up the permanent ID line...I wish the immigration officers would let the parents go through and send the kids to the other lines to teach the parents a lesson...

i COMPLETLY agree. i dont know the relevant immigration rules, but if you are not a PR, then dont be in that line.

that line is not PR + guests.

i always avoid lines with domestic helpers, foreigners (chances are they are in the wrong line) and kids. and the agents are too nice, they really should send wrong queuers back to the residents/visitors line.

Anyways, back on topic here... While the bonus miles are nice, Cathay fares for to MNL are usually quite high compared to other airlines.. Phillipine Airlines and Cebu have fares for domestic helpers and I think a roundtrip ticket to MNL for them on those airlines are usually about $1000-$1300.... while CX is at least 30% more...

Anyways, back on topic here... While the bonus miles are nice, Cathay fares for to MNL are usually quite high compared to other airlines.. Phillipine Airlines and Cebu have fares for domestic helpers and I think a roundtrip ticket to MNL for them on those airlines are usually about $1000-$1300.... while CX is at least 30% more...

Agree that CX is not a good deal. If those are the correct fares for 5J and PR, then CX is easily 50%+ more, according to the CX website. Now, 5J has a special everday low fare between HKG and MNL for less than HK$1000, but good luck finding a travel agent willing to book it for you.

CX's lowest RT labour fare HKG-MNL is HK$1360+tax in low season, but rising rapidly at busier times. The cheapest high season RT fare is HK$2500+tax.

The resident ID card only has 1 star, and just says you are a resident of hong kong. You only get a permanent idenity card if you are 18 or over, thus I do not consider any child to be a permanent resident. When a child enters hong kong, they need their resident ID card as well as their passport and arrivals card.

This is of course way off topic, but just to clarify a few misconceptions:

I have a resident ID card without any stars, as do many people. Christep's link explains further. Specifically, 1-star ID cards would only be held by 11 to 17 year olds (which I definitely am not!!), and from what I can tell, I would additionally either have to be Chinese or unable to hold a passport of any other nationality ;)

Resident children can enter with just their passports, in fact. My 2 year old son regularly does. He is not eligible to apply for an ID card until he is 11, but he is also not required to have an arrivals/departures card.

I actually find the status of children under 18 in Hong Kong to be quite strange, with regards to their residency. However, I am happy to continue to use the Residents' line even when our PR comes through, so as not to "burden" the PR line with my disenfranchised under-18 year old children. From my observation, the Residents lines are usually shorter and move faster :)

Perhaps those who dislike delays in the PR line so much should try the e-channel with Smart ID card?