Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - Redeeming non-CX/DA flight with Asia Miles

Hi, I'm a newbie to this forum. :D

I'd like to redeem a economy ticket for YYZ->LGA->YYZ with American Airlines. I have checked asiamiles.com and their Airline Award Request form is primitive at best - I'm not too comfortable to give out my credit card numbers up front without even seeing if a flight has available seats, adding to the complication is that I'm pretty flexible in dates and I would like to search for multiple flights...

Has anyone redeemed a flight, ex CX or DA, with Asia Miles before? How does it work? Do they confirm with you if a flight is available + confirm you would go ahead with the selected flight, or do they suggest an alternative if such flight has no available seat?

Or better yet, do they have a number to call (in North America) instead of filling that web form? Thanks in advance!

Hi, I'm a newbie to this forum. :D

I'd like to redeem a economy ticket for YYZ->LGA->YYZ with American Airlines. I have checked asiamiles.com and their Airline Award Request form is primitive at best - I'm not too comfortable to give out my credit card numbers up front without even seeing if a flight has available seats, adding to the complication is that I'm pretty flexible in dates and I would like to search for multiple flights...

Has anyone redeemed a flight, ex CX or DA, with Asia Miles before? How does it work? Do they confirm with you if a flight is available + confirm you would go ahead with the selected flight, or do they suggest an alternative if such flight has no available seat?

Or better yet, do they have a number to call (in North America) instead of filling that web form? Thanks in advance!

Hi,

Welcome to Flyer Talk! Regarding your questions, let me answer them the best I could:

I'd like to redeem a economy ticket for YYZ->LGA->YYZ with American Airlines. I have checked asiamiles.com and their Airline Award Request form is primitive at best - I'm not too comfortable to give out my credit card numbers up front without even seeing if a flight has available seats, adding to the complication is that I'm pretty flexible in dates and I would like to search for multiple flights...

The best way to reach Asiamiles for award redemption in North America

Using the award request form is not a good idea to redeeem any kind of flight awards with Asiamiles because award seats could fluctuate within minutes. If you have a non-flight award, the request form may be appropriate but if you want to redeem your miles for award flights, please consult this page for toll-free numbers for Asiamiles:

https://www.asiamiles.com/am/en/about/contact

In Canada, it is: 1877 631 6283
In USA, dial: 1866 892 2598

Please note, even though the Asiamiles call center is 24 hours / 7, when it's daytime in Hong Kong, it can be difficult to get through by phone. In the past, callers will often get disconnected or unable to get through. Don't let that discourage you. Try to call when it's evening time in Hong Kong, then you will get through to an agent with little wait time. If you are member of Marco Polo club, I noticed that Asiamiles recently changed their phone system a little bit and I am under the impression that you get looped into a different queue if you are a Marco Polo Club member and your call will not be disconnected even if they get busy during daytime in Hong Kong.


How can you check award availability on Asiamiles partners in North America?

With few exceptions, Asiamiles will provide the same award availability as the partner's own inventory, whether it's American Airlines or Alaska Airlines, the two primary airline partners in North America. As such in order to verify availability prior to contacting Asiamiles, you can go to:

1) American Airlines: www.aa.com

At www.aa.com, you'll notice the home page gives you the option of checking a box called Redeem Miles just under the Book Flights tab. Check that box, and proceed to enter your desired flight pairs and dates as you would if you want to make a general reservation and note down the results you get.

2) Alaska Airlines: https://www.alaskaair.com/shopping/SSL/shoppingstart.aspx?ShoppingMethod=onlineaward

At Alaskaair.com, the award reservation page works similarly to aa.com. If you follow the link above, you can search award availability for one-way or roundtrip. The booking process is self-explanatory.

Has anyone redeemed a flight, ex CX or DA, with Asia Miles before? How does it work? Do they confirm with you if a flight is available + confirm you would go ahead with the selected flight, or do they suggest an alternative if such flight has no available seat?

It depends on the carrier in question. For Oneworld member airlines such as AA, Asiamiles will be able to confirm availiability of the seats on the spot when you call them. For others, such as Alaskaair, Asiamiles will need to send a request to Alaskaair since CX cannot see availability on AS real-time. If you have done your homework prior to calling, normally, there is no need for them to suggest you any alternative itineary because you know what's available and what's not. I suppose they could make suggestions but hopefully, that is unncessary.

Another important thing to know re: using CX miles for AA or AS within North America and this is absolutely critical to know unless you want to pay a lot of money for nothing: TAXES DUE ON NORTH AMERICAN AWARD FLIGHTS IS $2.50 USD PER FLIGHT SEGMENT FOR USA TO USA OR USA TO CANADA FLIGHT. Sorry for using big caps, I can't stress that hard enough because CX uses their revenue ticket system to approximate the taxes due on North American award flights and they shouldn't be doing that. What that does is Asiamiles will add 5~6 taxes / airport fees that only apply to revenue tickets on your award seats even though they are not supposed to collect them. For example, I booked SEA-YYC, one-way using Asiamiles on Alaskaair. AS website says the cost of taxes = $2.5 USD. CX agent asked for $190 HKD because that's what her system tells her! :eek: This happens every single time, I guarantee you will run into the same problem. What to do then? Kindly ask the agent to check with their Reservation Department regarding the taxes. They will quickly tell the agent that you are right, and should only charge you about $20 HKD ($2.5 USD) for the flight. This is a complicate topic, hence I feel it is important to stress it here so that you and other members don't end up paying a lot of money for nothing. U.S. regulation is very clear re: award flights and airlines who charge you more taxes than they should collect will simply end up keeping those money without remitting to the Government. Now, if you are departing from Canada to USA, things are a little different. The $2.50 per segment only applies to USA to USA and USA to Canada flights. Canada to USA flights are treated differently and fall under the authority of Canadian regulation, which imposes a Canada passenger security charge, roughly $18 CAD and a hefty airport fee up to $25 CAD, if you depart from YYZ. Those charges are collectable, even on an award ticket. That's why I avoid flying from Canada to USA on award tickets, no matter which airline's miles I am using.

I hope this helps.

Thanks Guava. The info you provided is very helpful! ^^^

I will try my luck by calling them then!

Hi, I'm a newbie to this forum. :D

I'd like to redeem a economy ticket for YYZ->LGA->YYZ with American Airlines. I have checked asiamiles.com and their Airline Award Request form is primitive at best - I'm not too comfortable to give out my credit card numbers up front without even seeing if a flight has available seats, adding to the complication is that I'm pretty flexible in dates and I would like to search for multiple flights...




May I ask why you want to redeem such a ticket unless it's last minute? With me being YYZ based and who do fly this route somewhat, YYZ-LGA return ticket usually cost $280 US ai. Or you could go BUF-LGA/JFK for $150ai on B6/US. As for multiple flights, YYZ-LGA usually run every 1-1 1/2 hr although all flight is going to Eagle starting Aug 25. If you're eligible for Admiral's club, you have lounges in YYZ and LGA. Safe travels!

My Asia Miles are going to expire Nov 30 this year and I have only 15500 pts from my travel to HKG 4 years ago...

Yeah it stinks but less so than a $50 Canadian Tire GC :(