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
Jul 26, 2017, 9:28 pm
#991
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Arlington, VA USA
Posts: 670
Why is that? How long is your layover at HKG? longer than 24 hours or the system could not account correctly the total hours of layover due to the workaround that has to use the date before?
If it is the above and you MUST use the flights that only show up with the workaround, Avios would be the option - you need to actually price it out to see which is better (considering the cash outlay, the cost of miles/Avios and how easy to get the "currency", just to name a few).
If it is the above and you MUST use the flights that only show up with the workaround, Avios would be the option - you need to actually price it out to see which is better (considering the cash outlay, the cost of miles/Avios and how easy to get the "currency", just to name a few).
Jul 28, 2017, 7:25 am
#992
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 7
Hi, I'm planning to book a prem econ using alaska miles from JFK to HKG with a 7 day stopover then to TOK. Am I current in thinking that will be allowed for 35k miles?
Also, what if business class of the flight opens up (including other jfk to hkg flights?), apart from the extra miles, are there any charges?
Thanks!
Also, what if business class of the flight opens up (including other jfk to hkg flights?), apart from the extra miles, are there any charges?
Thanks!
Jul 28, 2017, 8:31 am
#993
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: BOS/ORH
Programs: AS 75K
Posts: 18,323
Hi, I'm planning to book a prem econ using alaska miles from JFK to HKG with a 7 day stopover then to TOK. Am I current in thinking that will be allowed for 35k miles?
Also, what if business class of the flight opens up (including other jfk to hkg flights?), apart from the extra miles, are there any charges?
Thanks!
Also, what if business class of the flight opens up (including other jfk to hkg flights?), apart from the extra miles, are there any charges?
Thanks!
By TOK I assume you mean Tokyo? yes that is a valid routing for teh 35K premium economy one way award.
Change to J is $125 fee within 60 days of departure if not gold. Otherwise no extra charge (unless taxes change or new fee added between now and then)
Jul 28, 2017, 5:46 pm
#995
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Arlington, VA USA
Posts: 670
Okay this is my final post, as I've given up trying to get a CX award using AS miles. Checked on BA.com and saw five (5) business class seats available from EWR to SIN on August 8. Called Alaska and get this they saw no business class seats, but they could see premium economy seats which BA.com showed as sold out. Went ahead and took advantage of the 40% bonus for transferring MR to BA and topped up my Avios account and booked the itinerary using Avios. Sure it's 125K vs 50K, but what use is a 50k award if you can't use it?
I was checking to see how close in availability was looking on QF and this time of year, CX does not open up very many F seats, and when they do it's usually 1 seat, which from reading this forum AS cannot see, which means they can't book it. No point holding out for CX F till the last minute, when there's a good possibility it will not open up. I'm going to see if I can burn my AS miles on my return from SE Asia on JL.
I was checking to see how close in availability was looking on QF and this time of year, CX does not open up very many F seats, and when they do it's usually 1 seat, which from reading this forum AS cannot see, which means they can't book it. No point holding out for CX F till the last minute, when there's a good possibility it will not open up. I'm going to see if I can burn my AS miles on my return from SE Asia on JL.
Jul 31, 2017, 11:12 pm
#996
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: PDX
Posts: 469
Echoing previous posts, there is still a huge discrepancy to what BA shows and what AS sees for CX awards. I called to book a business class award on CX through Alaska with both legs showing 5 available seats on BA.com. Initially one leg wasn't showing availability in business but I gave the exact dates and flights and asked the rep to try it, and it ended up showing 1 available on each leg once that was inputted on Alaska's side (versus 5 on BA).
Aug 1, 2017, 8:53 am
#997
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: TPA
Programs: DL Diamond, HH Diamond, IHG Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,256
Same issue as above. 5 J (and Y is open) showing available on BA EWR-HKG, AS doesn't see availability in either cabin. Called twice.
Aug 2, 2017, 4:12 am
#998
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Beaufort, SC
Programs: Delta, Alaska Air, & BA
Posts: 535
Okay this is my final post, as I've given up trying to get a CX award using AS miles. Checked on BA.com and saw five (5) business class seats available from EWR to SIN on August 8. Called Alaska and get this they saw no business class seats, but they could see premium economy seats which BA.com showed as sold out. Went ahead and took advantage of the 40% bonus for transferring MR to BA and topped up my Avios account and booked the itinerary using Avios. Sure it's 125K vs 50K, but what use is a 50k award if you can't use it?
I was checking to see how close in availability was looking on QF and this time of year, CX does not open up very many F seats, and when they do it's usually 1 seat, which from reading this forum AS cannot see, which means they can't book it. No point holding out for CX F till the last minute, when there's a good possibility it will not open up. I'm going to see if I can burn my AS miles on my return from SE Asia on JL.
I was checking to see how close in availability was looking on QF and this time of year, CX does not open up very many F seats, and when they do it's usually 1 seat, which from reading this forum AS cannot see, which means they can't book it. No point holding out for CX F till the last minute, when there's a good possibility it will not open up. I'm going to see if I can burn my AS miles on my return from SE Asia on JL.
Aug 2, 2017, 7:31 am
#999
Join Date: Nov 2010
Programs: IHG Platinum
Posts: 1,066
Okay this is my final post, as I've given up trying to get a CX award using AS miles. Checked on BA.com and saw five (5) business class seats available from EWR to SIN on August 8. Called Alaska and get this they saw no business class seats, but they could see premium economy seats which BA.com showed as sold out. Went ahead and took advantage of the 40% bonus for transferring MR to BA and topped up my Avios account and booked the itinerary using Avios. Sure it's 125K vs 50K, but what use is a 50k award if you can't use it?
I was checking to see how close in availability was looking on QF and this time of year, CX does not open up very many F seats, and when they do it's usually 1 seat, which from reading this forum AS cannot see, which means they can't book it. No point holding out for CX F till the last minute, when there's a good possibility it will not open up. I'm going to see if I can burn my AS miles on my return from SE Asia on JL.
I was checking to see how close in availability was looking on QF and this time of year, CX does not open up very many F seats, and when they do it's usually 1 seat, which from reading this forum AS cannot see, which means they can't book it. No point holding out for CX F till the last minute, when there's a good possibility it will not open up. I'm going to see if I can burn my AS miles on my return from SE Asia on JL.
For 9 Mar 2018, CX798, CX792 and CX884 are all wide open in PE but Alaska can't see anything.
For 23 Mar 2018, CX889 (YVR-HKG) shows 4J seats on ba. Alaska can't see any space. I even tried 22 Mar and 23 Mar 2018 CX889 (JFK-YVR-HKG) showing 3J and 4J on ba respectively. Alaska can't see them as well.
Aug 2, 2017, 8:25 am
#1000
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: TPA
Programs: DL Diamond, HH Diamond, IHG Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,256
Just called again and went through two full weeks in Feb'18 for EWR-HKG, not a single J seat. Most days are showing at least 1 available on BA. The particular date I was looking at had 4J...
Aug 2, 2017, 11:46 am
#1001
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,621
Hi -
Remember that CX is tiering availability. First for AM, then more restricted availability for OW (and only saver space) and then finally even more restricted for non-OW (such as AS).
For years now I have accepted that the tradeoff for using AS miles on CX in TPAC F/J is that you are basically going standby; that is, they generally won't release additional space beyond any initial allotment until a few days before departure. The closest times I have had are (1) 18 hours before departure on a new reservation and (2) on a cabin change on the same flight, I literally got AS to book the change as I was boarding a QX flight to YVR.
Remember that CX is tiering availability. First for AM, then more restricted availability for OW (and only saver space) and then finally even more restricted for non-OW (such as AS).
For years now I have accepted that the tradeoff for using AS miles on CX in TPAC F/J is that you are basically going standby; that is, they generally won't release additional space beyond any initial allotment until a few days before departure. The closest times I have had are (1) 18 hours before departure on a new reservation and (2) on a cabin change on the same flight, I literally got AS to book the change as I was boarding a QX flight to YVR.
Aug 2, 2017, 1:01 pm
#1002
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: UA, AS
Posts: 2,393
Have you confirmed the AS agent is using this workaround for flights near midnight?
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/28160974-post748.html
Aug 2, 2017, 1:15 pm
#1003
Join Date: Nov 2010
Programs: IHG Platinum
Posts: 1,066
Hi -
Remember that CX is tiering availability. First for AM, then more restricted availability for OW (and only saver space) and then finally even more restricted for non-OW (such as AS).
For years now I have accepted that the tradeoff for using AS miles on CX in TPAC F/J is that you are basically going standby; that is, they generally won't release additional space beyond any initial allotment until a few days before departure. The closest times I have had are (1) 18 hours before departure on a new reservation and (2) on a cabin change on the same flight, I literally got AS to book the change as I was boarding a QX flight to YVR.
Remember that CX is tiering availability. First for AM, then more restricted availability for OW (and only saver space) and then finally even more restricted for non-OW (such as AS).
For years now I have accepted that the tradeoff for using AS miles on CX in TPAC F/J is that you are basically going standby; that is, they generally won't release additional space beyond any initial allotment until a few days before departure. The closest times I have had are (1) 18 hours before departure on a new reservation and (2) on a cabin change on the same flight, I literally got AS to book the change as I was boarding a QX flight to YVR.
I suppose it's fair tradeoff for being 20k miles cheaper in J compared to AA.
Aug 2, 2017, 5:09 pm
#1004
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 4,536
The AS issues predate CX's tiering of awards. Can't say it hasn't made it worse, but tiering was not the initial catalyst.
Aug 2, 2017, 6:21 pm
#1005
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: TPA
Programs: DL Diamond, HH Diamond, IHG Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,256
Have you confirmed the AS agent is using this workaround for flights near midnight?
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/28160974-post748.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/28160974-post748.html
I'll try calling later and see if having them do the above helps at all but I have a feeling it's a general lack of availability. When I booked the trip initially the agent couldn't even find matched availability on daytime JFK-HKG flights.