Jun 28, 2017, 8:46 pm
Last edit by: eponymous_coward
Cathay Award Guide Using Alaska Airlines Miles
Note: Cathay flights cannot be booked using alaskaair.com. Mileage requirements in chart form available on alaskaair.com.
Routing Rules:
North American Gateway Cities:
Western
Vancouver
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Seattle (Spring 2019)
Eastern (Can not be used if traveling to west coast)
Boston
Chicago
New York (JFK & EWR)
Toronto
Washington
Award Chart Links*:
Asia
Australia
Europe
India/Middle East
North America
Anyone with 90 posts and 90 days can edit the wiki. Everyone else if you want something added to the wiki please comment in the thread.
Note: Cathay flights cannot be booked using alaskaair.com. Mileage requirements in chart form available on alaskaair.com.
Request your Partner Award reservation on Cathay Pacific by calling Alaska Airlines Reservations at 1-800-252-7522 (TTY: Dial 711 for Relay Services) 5:00 a.m. - Midnight (PT), daily.
- If it's not on the award chart, it's not allowed. For example EUROPE is To/From HKG only.
- Stopover are only allowed on any CX award for North America awards as destination or origin. For instance: intra-Asia awards do not get a stopover. It must be a North America->Somewhere or Somewhere->North America award to qualify for a stopover.
- The only awards that do not break at HKG are intra-Asia or North American ones. For instance, Australia-Europe/Middle East/Asia outside of HKG will be two awards (breaking at HKG). The AS award chart can be misleading about this and give you the impression you can fly an award like Australia/Europe-ICN, but the chart for these award types will show "Hong Kong".
- One stop-over allowed on one way award. You can build open jaw and other advanced routings by booking multiple one way awards. Please note change fee rule below.
- Allegedly stop-over only in Hong Kong, but some have posted success in other enroute cities such as YVR or SEA.
- As of 5 June 2018 changes/cancellations made to a booking will incur a $125 fee which is waived for MVPG/MVPG75K. Bookings made prior to 5 June will be allowed one complimentary change or cancellation for up to 60 days prior to date of travel.
- Awards can be booked 330 days in advance.
- Cathay and Alaska (or an Alaska flight operated by SkyWest/Horizon on behalf of Alaska) are the only airlines allowed on a Cathay award. No other partner airlines may be used on a single award (e.g. American, JAL, Emirates).
North American Gateway Cities:
Western
Vancouver
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Seattle (Spring 2019)
Eastern (Can not be used if traveling to west coast)
Boston
Chicago
New York (JFK & EWR)
Toronto
Washington
Award Chart Links*:
Asia
Australia
Europe
India/Middle East
North America
Anyone with 90 posts and 90 days can edit the wiki. Everyone else if you want something added to the wiki please comment in the thread.
Cathay Pacific (CX) Award Redemption, Booking and Availability 2017 and Later
May 16, 2018, 11:24 am
#2101
Join Date: Mar 2013
Programs: Aeroplan, Amex AeroPlat
Posts: 977
I snatched two CX J seats for next April DPS HKG YYZ. Only because my desired JAL flights dont have F seats anymore. Between CX and JAL, I choose CX J for less miles (50K v. 65K one way pp) and a shorter, more direct journey (no need to get ourselves from DPS to CGK and JFK to YYZ).
May 16, 2018, 1:40 pm
#2102
Join Date: Nov 2010
Programs: IHG Platinum
Posts: 1,066
Worst case, will it kill you to fly in Y on a 90-120 minute flight from PDX/SEA where you're going to stop over in SFO or LAX anyway? I can tell you AS isn't going to serve you caviar and Krug in F. The seats aren't lie-flat. The Alaska Lounges do not offer massages or sit-down dining.
I get that you're entitled to AS F, but it's not a huge deal compared to the long leg. Book the itinerary and keep an eye out for AS F later.
If you really want to be exotic: Hawaii and Mexico are allowed for CX redemptions.
There's TONS of saver Y across the network, just no saver F. If I was guessing I'd say AS is suppressing saver F nearly system-wide, since, really, COME ON, the difference between advance F fares and advance Ys aren't huge on the shorthaul West Coast routes. Might be because they're planning to start swapping around pmVX with F 8 and pmAS with mostly 12-16 towards the end of schedule, and if they give away 1/16th of the cabin and it turns into an 1/8th, oops, revenue management looks bad. Of course they look bad anyway if there's no saver F.
I get that you're entitled to AS F, but it's not a huge deal compared to the long leg. Book the itinerary and keep an eye out for AS F later.
If you really want to be exotic: Hawaii and Mexico are allowed for CX redemptions.
There's TONS of saver Y across the network, just no saver F. If I was guessing I'd say AS is suppressing saver F nearly system-wide, since, really, COME ON, the difference between advance F fares and advance Ys aren't huge on the shorthaul West Coast routes. Might be because they're planning to start swapping around pmVX with F 8 and pmAS with mostly 12-16 towards the end of schedule, and if they give away 1/16th of the cabin and it turns into an 1/8th, oops, revenue management looks bad. Of course they look bad anyway if there's no saver F.
If I fly Y on the domestic segment, I hope I will be allowed to check-in 2 x 30kg bags? Does AS apply CX J's allowance in the case?
May 16, 2018, 1:46 pm
#2103
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SEA, but up and down the coast a lot
Programs: Oceanic Airlines Gold Elite
Posts: 20,387
It will say on the ticket. Uncertain how the extended stopover will interfere with that.
May 16, 2018, 3:23 pm
#2104
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Northern Calif./Eastern Ida.
Programs: Amethyst Premier Plutonium Medallion
Posts: 20,636
It's been this way as long as I can remember. It's easier to get a complimentary upgrade on most routes/dates than to get a saver F seat. I don't think it has anything to do with rearranging the Airbus deck chairs, unfortunately.
Ironically I am looking for California to NYC seats around December and finding some saver F availability on the SEA-EWR redeye on certain dates. Not what I want to fly, but it proves that it's there if you look for it.
Ironically I am looking for California to NYC seats around December and finding some saver F availability on the SEA-EWR redeye on certain dates. Not what I want to fly, but it proves that it's there if you look for it.
May 16, 2018, 6:00 pm
#2105
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: ATL
Programs: DL PM
Posts: 53
Thrilled to say I got my husband an F seat! Even though it was F2 they released a seat T-5. We can't wait for our first international first class experience!
Question: there were only two seats available when we got the seat - 1D and 2K. I'm in 1A. We (obviously) went for 2K but would like to be closer to each other so it's easy to eat together or just say a quick hi during the flight. How gauche would it be to politely ask the person in 1K if they want to switch to 1A? I personally would consider 1A the better seat. Would you enlist the help of the FA during boarding, or just go for it, or deal with being on separate aisles?
Question: there were only two seats available when we got the seat - 1D and 2K. I'm in 1A. We (obviously) went for 2K but would like to be closer to each other so it's easy to eat together or just say a quick hi during the flight. How gauche would it be to politely ask the person in 1K if they want to switch to 1A? I personally would consider 1A the better seat. Would you enlist the help of the FA during boarding, or just go for it, or deal with being on separate aisles?
May 16, 2018, 6:14 pm
#2106
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SEA, but up and down the coast a lot
Programs: Oceanic Airlines Gold Elite
Posts: 20,387
It does seem harder than pre-"VX is all part of AS" to me. -shrug-
May 17, 2018, 4:46 am
#2107
Join Date: Nov 2010
Programs: IHG Platinum
Posts: 1,066
It's been this way as long as I can remember. It's easier to get a complimentary upgrade on most routes/dates than to get a saver F seat. I don't think it has anything to do with rearranging the Airbus deck chairs, unfortunately.
Ironically I am looking for California to NYC seats around December and finding some saver F availability on the SEA-EWR redeye on certain dates. Not what I want to fly, but it proves that it's there if you look for it.
Ironically I am looking for California to NYC seats around December and finding some saver F availability on the SEA-EWR redeye on certain dates. Not what I want to fly, but it proves that it's there if you look for it.
Initially, I have only been trying 20th of March, give or take 2 days from numerous city pairs. However, when I tried the previous week (13 March), there is plenty of award space for PDX-LAX in F! I see quite a good amount of space for 1-4 months in advance as well. Do AS often release more space closer to departure? (Unfortunately, I have already tied myself to arrive USA on 10 March so 13 March is too soon to depart)
Is the poorer space availability around 20 March nationwide due to the spring break? (I would have thought Y cabins are more sought after)
May 17, 2018, 9:50 am
#2108
Join Date: May 2018
Location: YYZ
Posts: 42
How available are J flights from YYZ - DPS for 2 people? Planning a trip for next March, trying to accumulate Alaska miles right now just curious if I would still be able to book it ~4-6 months before departure on miles
May 17, 2018, 10:20 am
#2109
Join Date: Feb 2001
Programs: IHG Diamond, HH Diamond, BW Diamond Select, Accor Silver, Marriott Gold
Posts: 4,228
May 17, 2018, 10:22 am
#2110
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: SJC / DPS
Programs: AS G75K, UA Silver
Posts: 1,757
I have had a tough time finding J availability on HKG-DPS, likely due to the fact it's only once per day on CX.
I prefer to fly into CGK since there is much more availability, and occasionally even F.
May 17, 2018, 10:25 am
#2111
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP, DL PM, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 2,028
May 17, 2018, 11:06 am
#2113
Join Date: May 2018
Location: YYZ
Posts: 42
Any other recommendations then?
May 17, 2018, 12:13 pm
#2114
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SEA, but up and down the coast a lot
Programs: Oceanic Airlines Gold Elite
Posts: 20,387
I don't see why DPS is a particularly bad choice for a beach vacation, just might be hard to get to on AS miles through CX. Availability on *A is way better; pretty easy to get a premium J redemption regionally using TG or SQ. At the risk of getting
or unasked for critiques of my vacation choices, that's how I got to Bali some years ago (SQ out of HKG, TG to BKK, EK to HKG, all in J, back when Continental had EK access on awards, so it was a while ago. It's not the deal it once was on UA, but you might be able to make a nice trip incorporating Hong Kong, Bali, Singapore and Bangkok).Of course you could go to MLE or CMB instead, though that will cost extra AS miles (62.5k one way instead of 50k). Both would have some pretty good beach spots.
You could also fly into BKK and pick a beach spot like Hua Hin or Ko Chang that you'd need to go to by land, or just grit teeth and pay up for a short internal flight to HKT, KBV (Krabi) or USM.
Last edited by eponymous_coward; May 17, 2018 at 12:19 pm
May 17, 2018, 1:43 pm
#2115
Join Date: May 2018
Location: YYZ
Posts: 42
Took me three days to finish reading this very informative thread! Now I have some very interesting questions:
We need two J or F tickets DPS -HKG (stopover) - YYZ next spring. DPS- HKG (J or PE is good) date is fixed, HKG-YYZ relativey flexible.
Currently BA tool shows 2 J for DPS-HKG on the fixed date and 6 J for HKG-YYZ for most ideal dates. But this is 340+ days out.
Ideally, I will call AS as soon as the 330-day window opens- when is that exactly? For example, if my ideal travel date or earliest travel date for DPS-HKG is April 15, 2019, and HKG-YYZ is April 18, do I call on May 10, 2018?? A bit confused since flights originate in Asia and I have two flight segments. And Im generally bad with math.
IF and when Im successful with grabbing the two Js DPS-HKG at 330 day window, but HKG-YYZ not available yet, I assume I can call back to add HKG-YYZ leg? Will I have to pay ANOTHER phone booking fee or partner award fee just to add the second leg??
Next, if and when I have successfully got 2Js thru DPS-HKG-YYZ, can I call AS to change HKG-YYZ leg to HKG- US (JFK or ORD) later in F if F opens up? (We can use Avios to get US- YYZ on AA.) Will I have to pay another booking fee (before 60 days)? My current issue is that I only have 120K AS, and will get another 20K in two months. So cannot book F at 330 day window but can do 2 Js. Actually I wont even have enough miles to redeem the F seats without cancelling the J seats. Can the AS agent hold the F seats, cancel my J seats, then redeem the miles for F in one sitting?
To complicate matters- we will be ok with flying Hainan in J via China if CX fails for J and F. We will be happy to fly JL too in J or F and use Avios for positioning/ connecting. But right now the Alaska search tool does not show any availability in Hainan or JAL on the dates we want, searching leg by leg. Sigh.
Thanks!!
We need two J or F tickets DPS -HKG (stopover) - YYZ next spring. DPS- HKG (J or PE is good) date is fixed, HKG-YYZ relativey flexible.
Currently BA tool shows 2 J for DPS-HKG on the fixed date and 6 J for HKG-YYZ for most ideal dates. But this is 340+ days out.
Ideally, I will call AS as soon as the 330-day window opens- when is that exactly? For example, if my ideal travel date or earliest travel date for DPS-HKG is April 15, 2019, and HKG-YYZ is April 18, do I call on May 10, 2018?? A bit confused since flights originate in Asia and I have two flight segments. And Im generally bad with math.
IF and when Im successful with grabbing the two Js DPS-HKG at 330 day window, but HKG-YYZ not available yet, I assume I can call back to add HKG-YYZ leg? Will I have to pay ANOTHER phone booking fee or partner award fee just to add the second leg??
Next, if and when I have successfully got 2Js thru DPS-HKG-YYZ, can I call AS to change HKG-YYZ leg to HKG- US (JFK or ORD) later in F if F opens up? (We can use Avios to get US- YYZ on AA.) Will I have to pay another booking fee (before 60 days)? My current issue is that I only have 120K AS, and will get another 20K in two months. So cannot book F at 330 day window but can do 2 Js. Actually I wont even have enough miles to redeem the F seats without cancelling the J seats. Can the AS agent hold the F seats, cancel my J seats, then redeem the miles for F in one sitting?
To complicate matters- we will be ok with flying Hainan in J via China if CX fails for J and F. We will be happy to fly JL too in J or F and use Avios for positioning/ connecting. But right now the Alaska search tool does not show any availability in Hainan or JAL on the dates we want, searching leg by leg. Sigh.
Thanks!!