coolmaster

Greetings, I have a question regarding cathay miles.

Details: will be taking 4 flights this trip using cathay

1- Newark Nyc to HKG coach
2-HKG to Shanghai Pudong coach
3-Shanghai Pudong to HKG coach
4- HKG back to Newark Nyc

I reside in the east coast and may take flights back to hkg once per year.

PS: i booked through a travel agency

Since is my first time using cathay, what would be a better option for me as far as getting miles? I did some research, i could sign up for asia miles and get points or I could use my AA account ? Through my research, if you credit other airline programs you get less points?

Any input appreciated !! Thanks

Dr. HFH

The answer to your question is a great, big: it depends. What's your flying pattern like? Where do you typically go, other than one HKG trip annually? How often? Are you already enrolled in any frequent flyer programs? Have elite status in any? For mileage redemptions, what types of destination would you be wanting? Are you looking more for free tickets? Upgrades?

freakinflyer001

As an MPC member I would (naturally) advise you to hop on to CXAM, but as DR.HFH
said, it depends very much on where you frequently fly to, or in this context whether you plan to use CX frequently in the future. I personally think that the MPC/CXAM program works well if u do OW sectors frequently, though its not the easiest path to make your way up the tier ladder. I do feel that their membership service is pretty decent, now that they've relocated their hotline office to Manila and cuts a lot of that time being held up.

Just my 2 cents

Guy Betsy

Note that at this point, it is better to join Asiamiles as your CX flights must be booked in H and above to earn miles in your AA account. Can you check with your travel agent what your booking class is? Note that there are some booking classes that only earn half Asia Miles. Note that Asia Miles is not the same as the Marco Polo Club - the latter which you must pay $50 to join.

http://www.asiamiles.com/am/en/earn/...000ad21c39RCRD

coolmaster

I should have given more details, usually i fly domestically (florida, los angeles,). And in the upcoming years will probably be doing a similar trip each year back to asia. Currently no elite status for any airline. I do have southwest and united membership.

Basically my goal would just be racking some points so once in a while i could fly for free maybe paying some taxes.

I will try to find out the booking class with my travel agent. BTW it is Y class

Thx

1010101

You wont earn any miles with AA if you're flying Cathay on discounted economy tickets, but you will earn on most AA flights if you credit them to Cathay.

On the other hand, Miami and Los Angeles are hubs for American Airlines, and if they're the airline you fly most you are more likely to get upgrades as an AA member.

dickie98

Like others have said, unless your current tickets are booked fare code H or above, there will be no milage accrual on AA.

I have struggled with this decision in the past and ultimately decided to stick with AA for several reasons, despite being based in Asia:

1) easier to maintain top tier status and lounge access since I usually fly just enough to qualfy ExPlat but not enough for DM (100k eqp/eqm vs. 120k)

2) usually fly Y+ or J, so no concern regarding mileage accual on AA flying CX metal

3) better mileage accrual under the AA plan with bonuses based on status (25% for gold, 100% for platinum and above) and class of service as well as a percieved (my own) higher redemption value using AA miles on CX metal (for now)

Of course, if these points don't pertain to your personal travel situation (being based in the US), sticking with AM might make more sense if you don't expect to make at least Platinum on AA (50k eqp or eqm/year).

Assuming you only expect to make Gold or lower on AA, you will likely not be getting any free upgrades domestically based on status since platinums are so pervasive. So at least for the one time per year you are flying long-haul, you have the ability to upgrade that Y ticket to Y+ or Y+ to J using the AM miles you've accrued during the year. Qualifying fare codes in Y are: Y, B, C*, G, H, K, L, M, N, Q, R*, S, V, W, X. The only downside off the top of my head may be that you won't be able to select a MCE or preferred seat for free on an AA flight without some sort of status on MPC, whereas you would be able to select this seat as a Gold on AA (25k eqp or eqm).

There is a fee to join MPC ($50), but I think that gets waived once you meet a certain elite level. Also, if you reach Gold on MPC, I believe it would grant you access to the Admirals Club in the US, but you should double check that. Of course, those lounges in the US don't hold a candle to what is available in HKG.

Guy Betsy

Y class stands for economy. There are many fares for economy class. I doubt you are actually on a Y booking code because that means its full fare economy. You must contact your TA to find out the booking classes. I suspect its either V or L class.

alphaod

Look through your eticket receipt. It should saying something about your booking class. The mileage earning economy fares are Y, B, H, K, M, L, V, S, N, Q. Full list on CX website.

For example, on my receipt it reads (as circled in red):

Rivarix

I think you should credit your miles to Asia Miles (and join Marco Polo Club) instead of AA. Btw, not sure if it is clear from above but Asia Miles (AM) is the reward programme (i.e. miles for upgrade, free ticket, etc.) and Marco Polo (MPC) is the loyalty/frequent flyer programme (i.e. airline status).

From what you're saying, this seems to be your flying pattern:
- International: NY - Hong Kong/Shanghai. Frequency: about once a year in economy.
- Domestic: NY - LA/FL. Frequency: you're saying that you don't have status with any US airlines currently so the frequency is maybe 3 to 4 times a year?

Here's how the math works and why AM may be better for you:
1) International flight: As mentioned above, check your Cathay booking class. If it is anything other than Y, B or H, AA will not give you any credit/miles. As mentioned by others, i suspect it is one of the other booking classes so you are better off with AM.
2) Domestic flight: AA will give you miles. AM will also give you miles (for the most part - just don't book the O class on American).
3) Your international flight will net you approx. 17k miles (roundtrip).
4) Your domestic flight NY-LA is approx. 5k miles (roundtrip). Say you fly 4 times year, that's about 20k miles.

So based on your flight pattern, you are probably flying about 35k to 40k miles annually.
1) If you credit to AM, you're likely to see the entire 35k-40k miles.
2) If you credit to AA, you probably won't get credit for the Cathay flight so you're likely to only see 20k miles in your AA account.
Hence why AM is better based on what i think your flight pattern is.

As for airline status, yes, AA has a lower threshold - 25k for gold (lowest) and 50k for platinum (mid-tier) while Marco Polo Club (MPC) has a higher threshold - 30k for silver (lowest) and 60k for gold (mid-tier). However, as I mentioned above, if you credit your flight to AA, you probably won't get the miles for your trip to Hong Kong/Shanghai. That means you won't make it to the lowest AA tier. This is consistent with what your current situation (i.e. no status with any US airlines). On the other hand, if you credit it to MPC, you probably will make it to Silver.

What does silver give you? Some people may agree/disagree but when i was silver, i thought the best benefit was access to CX business lounge. So as silver, you can use CX business lounge on that trip of yours to Hong Kong. Can't do that with AA gold. Also, not sure how true it is today but my first ever op-up/free upgrade was when i was silver. Got hooked with CX ever since (though they haven't upgraded me in a while ... lol)

Problem with AM miles (yes, it has its problems):
1) AM miles do expire (they're valid for three years). AA could last forever and ever so that's something you may want to take into account.
2) As mentioned by others above, generally speaking AA redemption rate (for now) is better than AM.

Even with expiration and worse redemption rate (for now), at least you get AM miles from that flight to HK/Shanghai. With AA you don't even get the miles to begin with (unless it is Y, B or H economy ticket) hence why i think AM/MPC is the way to go for you based on what i think your current flight pattern is.