Difference between Asia Miles and Marco Polo miles- if any??
 

Just back from another great trip in FC on CX- was interested in knowing more about CX's program, and saw in the inside magazine a mention of both Asia Miles and March Polo miles.

Are these 2 separate programs or one and the same. If different, which one is the better?

I love American 40,000 mile upgrade from BC to FC , but this is going away and I am looking for a way in the future to upgrade from Y to J and from J to F

Marco Polo Club consists of the elite tiers of Asiamile members.

If you earn sufficient qualifying miles or sectors in Asiamiles, you will become a Marco Polo Club member, beginning at the Silver tier. Minimum charge: 30K miles or 20 sectors per year, flown on CX or OW airlines. A minimum of 4 CX sectors are required.

ASIAMILES does permit you to upgrade from any fare that accrue miles in economy to Business Class as well. However it is nowhere near the 40K you are getting on AAdvantage. Awards are mileage based. So a roundtrip from West Coast USA to HKG requires at least 80K to upgrade.

ASIAMILES also does not have any elite bonus miles. But you can upgrade on BA if you want as well as a host of other airlines. ASIAMILES has no elite levels as it basically is an award programme for BOTH CATHAY PACIFIC MARCO POLO CLUB and BRITISH AIRWAYS EXECUTIVE CLUB-ASIA.

The advantage of the Marco Polo Club though is that it permits you to waitlist for awards and MPC members will be the first to be considered for any upgrades should the cabin be oversold.

Not really. It is perfectly possible to put a million miles a year on Asia Miles and not enter the Marco Polo Club. You need to apply separately for Marco Polo and there is a one-time charge of US$50. This gets you into the base level (Green) which carries no OneWorld status. You then neeed to prgress through the tiers. The Cathay Pacific website has the full details.

Also incorrect.
Y-J upgrade Westcoast-HKG rtn 60'000 miles, JFK-HKG 70'000 miles.
J-F upgrades Westcoast 70'000, JFK-HKG 80'000

I have read the responses on this again... so what is the difference??

and if I were to travel extensively using Asian Mile do I get invited to join Marco Polo club without having to pay the $50US?

Is CX the only airline that charges members to join their Frequent Flyer that earns status?

Asia Miles is CX's mileage accrual programme. Asia Miles is where you accrue miles for flights, and redeem them.

Marco Polo is CX's 'frequent-flyer' programme. You need to fly a certain number of miles or sectors per year in order to re/qualify (not sure about Green which is pre-entry tier).

To make it further clear:

If you are Marco Polo (MPC) member, you are automatically enrolled in Asiamiles. However, this does NOT mean there are seperate accounts and/or membership card. Your MPC membership # and asiamiles membership # are identical.

When you fly, your asiamiles credits, or so called "points", will be redeemable for future travel. However, no matter how much asiamiles balance you have, it will not give you any benefits.

That's when MPC comes in. Your status credits, which are your ACTUAL flown miles, will be credited in your MPC account simultaneously. These MPC credits are NOT redeemable for awards. Think of it as a log of how much miles you've flown to date. THEN, depending on how much MPC status credits you have, your membership level is determined. For example, if you have 30k status credit, you will be a silver member, enjoying lounge and checkin benefits and various others.

Asiamiles balance will only be reduced if you claim an award, but your MPC credits will be reset to 0 every year. Also, many of these "double miles offer" only apply to earning of Asiamiles, but rarely is there any bonuses awarded to MPC status credits. (unlike AA's elite bonus)

Thanks all for the clarifications...

I have contacted CX and have joined both Marco Polo and Asianmiles... I did not know I had to do this....

Tol a flight last week.. on Asian miles only.. Do you think they will allow me some grace and give me MPC as well (since I only joined after)?

Considering you weren't aware, and the flight is only a week ago, you should request it. When I joined, I was able to do so. But the rules officially state that MPC does not give retrospect miles.

By the way, are you the original poster eireman in different identity? If so, and if you took FC flight, you would have a better change, I guess.