May 22, 2019, 7:13 am
Last edit by: JDiver
Earning American Airlines AAvantage Miles Flying CX / Cathay Pacific Airways (consolidated)
Including known issues (e.g. upgrades) with AA / CX
Including known issues (e.g. upgrades) with AA / CX
Earning AAdvantage Miles flying Cathay Pacific Airways
NOTE: Travel on Cathay Pacific and its affiliate airline counts toward qualifying for AAdvantage elite status membership. However, please refer to aa.com here for fare classes that earn AAdvantage miles, not Cathay Pacific.
AAdvantage Elite members members traveling on Cathay also enjoy:
If you fly CX as an AA codeshare / marketed flight, you will earn as if you were flying on AA.
Flying CX as CX, most discounted economy fare classes do not earn AAdvantage miles; See the chart. See Link to AAdvantage chart on earning miles and EQD flying CX.
Note: the CX website incorrectly indicates no AA miles for E fare; AA.com does and is correct
*Premium Economy fare W on a flight operated by Cathay Pacific will earn an additional 10% class of service bonus with the exception of W fares between Hong Kong and Bangkok, which will not earn a class of service bonus, and Premium Economy R or E, which earn no class of service bonus.
NOTE: Travel on Cathay Pacific and its affiliate airline counts toward qualifying for AAdvantage elite status membership. However, please refer to aa.com here for fare classes that earn AAdvantage miles, not Cathay Pacific.
- Economy / coach fares other than Y, B or H on CX do not earn AAdvantage miles
- B and H only earn fractional (75%) credit on AA
- Upgrades may book into ineligible fare classes, causing challenges getting AA to credit the originally purchased fare class
- there are a few fare classes that CX says do not earn AAdvantage miles, whereas aa.com says they will, as do members reporting their experiences here
- JFK-YVR and YVR-JFK do accrue EQ and miles on eligible fares. JFK-YVR-HKG accrues as if nonstop JFK-HKG.
AAdvantage Elite members members traveling on Cathay also enjoy:
- [*]
Flying CX as CX, most discounted economy fare classes do not earn AAdvantage miles; See the chart. See Link to AAdvantage chart on earning miles and EQD flying CX.
Note: the CX website incorrectly indicates no AA miles for E fare; AA.com does and is correct
*Premium Economy fare W on a flight operated by Cathay Pacific will earn an additional 10% class of service bonus with the exception of W fares between Hong Kong and Bangkok, which will not earn a class of service bonus, and Premium Economy R or E, which earn no class of service bonus.
Upgrading to First on CX / Cathay Pacific Airways and U, Z Fare Class Issues
Upgrading a paid Business fare to First on Cathay Pacific Airways puts the flight into fare class "Z", a class that is ineligible for AAdvantage miles accrual (as reflected on the accrual chart) because it is also an award classification for a First Class award.
Upgrading a paid Premium Economy fare to Business puts it into U class, another award fare class that earns no AA miles.
Members have recently reported success at having their upgrades acknowledged as miles-garnering (mid-June 2015).
and
Upgrading a paid Business fare to First on Cathay Pacific Airways puts the flight into fare class "Z", a class that is ineligible for AAdvantage miles accrual (as reflected on the accrual chart) because it is also an award classification for a First Class award.
Upgrading a paid Premium Economy fare to Business puts it into U class, another award fare class that earns no AA miles.
Members have recently reported success at having their upgrades acknowledged as miles-garnering (mid-June 2015).
I had the same issue. I upgraded from Biz to F using Asia Miles, but left my AA number in the reservation.
The outbound flight credited automatically without intervention.
The inbound flight did not credit and I submitted the Missing Mileage Request. That request got denied due to ineligible fare class. All I did was call the ExecPlat desk and ask for AAdvantage Customer Service, who had record of the denied claim. I explained I paid for Biz, upgraded to F, and provided them with my original ticket number (both ticker numbers were on CX stock). Call took about 5 minutes and miles (and EQM/EQP) posted to the account the next day.
The outbound flight credited automatically without intervention.
The inbound flight did not credit and I submitted the Missing Mileage Request. That request got denied due to ineligible fare class. All I did was call the ExecPlat desk and ask for AAdvantage Customer Service, who had record of the denied claim. I explained I paid for Biz, upgraded to F, and provided them with my original ticket number (both ticker numbers were on CX stock). Call took about 5 minutes and miles (and EQM/EQP) posted to the account the next day.
I just wanted to post the conclusion to my saga, that started with the brilliant idea to upgrade two CX flights in February (yes, 4 months ago).
Well, I Fedex'd a letter to the executive's office, which arrived Friday. Today, I received an email from an "executive liason" who said they agreed that "R" to "U" via an upgrade should be mileage earning and manually adjusted my account to receive credit. Account and status now reflects those flights.
So despite certain aagents and lower-level SUPs saying this is CX's problem and to go pound sand, AA actually can do something about it (albit at a higher level than a regular SUP, I assume). By the phrasing of the answer, I would say this isn't a one time exception but rather what is supposed to happen for these flights.
Godspeed to any other souls on this journey.
Well, I Fedex'd a letter to the executive's office, which arrived Friday. Today, I received an email from an "executive liason" who said they agreed that "R" to "U" via an upgrade should be mileage earning and manually adjusted my account to receive credit. Account and status now reflects those flights.
So despite certain aagents and lower-level SUPs saying this is CX's problem and to go pound sand, AA actually can do something about it (albit at a higher level than a regular SUP, I assume). By the phrasing of the answer, I would say this isn't a one time exception but rather what is supposed to happen for these flights.
Godspeed to any other souls on this journey.
Possible snail mail or FedEx to:
Suzanne Rubin
President – AAdvantage Loyalty Program, American Airlines
4333 Amon Carter Blvd
Fort Worth, TX 76155
Suzanne Rubin
President – AAdvantage Loyalty Program, American Airlines
4333 Amon Carter Blvd
Fort Worth, TX 76155
Wikipost as of 2018
ARCHIVE: Earning AA AAdvantage Miles on CX / Cathay (including Upgrade Issues)
Mar 8, 2008, 7:16 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: SBA
Programs: AA PLT, SPG PLT, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 256
ARCHIVE: Earning AA AAdvantage Miles on CX / Cathay (including Upgrade Issues)
Looking to fly LAX-BKK and Cathay seems to have better prices than AA. On the Cathay site I'm getting the check mark next to AAvantage, indicating that I will earn AA miles. The flights over are H class and the returns M. Looking on aa.com it seems that I'll only earn miles on the H class flts and not the M. (so it's really more like a half check than a full check) Just want to confirm that I'm understanding correctly. And I will get the elite bonus w/ Cathay, correct?
See here for the current thread.
Last edited by JDiver; May 22, 2019 at 7:15 am Reason: Restore original post title. Insert Moderator note.
Mar 8, 2008, 7:24 pm
#2
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: London UK
Programs: BAEC Silver, IHG Diamond Ambassador
Posts: 2,044
Your interpretation is spot on - you'll only earn EQMs for the H fare, not the M. At least you'll be entitled to the 100% PLT bonus. A full list of the airlines that give you the elite bonus can be found here:
http://www.aa.com/aa/i18nForward.do?...atus/bonus.jsp
http://www.aa.com/aa/i18nForward.do?...atus/bonus.jsp
Mar 9, 2008, 7:18 am
#3
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: AAEXP, CXGold, AFPlat, PCPlat/RA, HyattDiamond, SPGGold, MarriottGold, HertzPlat, NationalExec
Posts: 288
Call up Cathay to book both legs in H. It shouldn't be too much more, and you don't want to lose out on those miles!
Mar 9, 2008, 12:55 pm
#4
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: San Juan Capistrano, CA
Programs: Bonvoy Titanium, Hilton Diamond, AA 2.5 MM, United Gold, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,460
The other thing is to make sure that your Aadvantage number is still on your ticket when you go to the airport and check in. I have had Cathay change my number to my Asiamiles number instead without notifying me and then refusing to credit the flight to my Aadvantage account.
Jan 15, 2010, 7:42 pm
#5
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Programs: AA EXP MM, Hyatt Globalist, Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 136
Thanks!
Jan 15, 2010, 8:31 pm
#6
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 737
Two things worth noting. One, unless it's been recently fixed definitely do NOT trust that little check mark next to the fare. I've seen it be wrong, in both directions, ie not there when it should be and there when it shouldn't. The fare class (letter) is shown prominently. That's all that matters, ignore all else.
As for specifying fare code I have yet to figure it out, and I've booked more than a few flights on the Cathay website. The FAQ says you can, check out entry #13:
http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_...chase/features
Now the catch is that I have never once been able to get this mythical "compare fare types" button to appear. Granted I don't book tickets as an AsiaMiles member (though I am one) as I'd like to accrue to AA as well. Perhaps they do see this function, I haven't bothered to check. Closest I've found is this:
http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_...king/faretypes
Which is sort of informational but doesn't do a thing to help you book the trip you want. What I would do is use ITA to figure out what the fare will be for the class you want on the dates you want and determine the buy-up cost roughly at least. Then yes, you can certainly try doing it via phone. Those that fly CX fairly often will likely share my experience of having a real hard time getting through to the US reservations desk number (based in SFO area I believe) as it tends to be busy often. But when you do get through they're always helpful in my experience.
I just checked out of curiosity to see if AA.com would let you do it, but of course they don't. I was more curious to see if you could hold the itinerary, if so then you could maybe call AA web services and have them change the class and re-save. That's not an option either.
So yeah, I think it's the phone or a travel agent for you unless someone has more knowledge than I do.
However... just to throw something out there, I picked totally random dates to check this out, I think April/May or something, and I noticed that the AA codeshares for LAX-BKK on whatever random days I picked were the exact same price as the CX fares, and very reasonable. An AA coded flight number will eliminate any concerns about fare class, and if in fact AA's codeshares are matching cheaper sub-economy fares (under H class) they might actually save you quite a bit.
Needless to say the specifics matter a lot for that one. But I wouldn't buy up to a higher CX fare class without making sure to check the AA codeshares on the same itinerary first.
As for specifying fare code I have yet to figure it out, and I've booked more than a few flights on the Cathay website. The FAQ says you can, check out entry #13:
http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_...chase/features
Now the catch is that I have never once been able to get this mythical "compare fare types" button to appear. Granted I don't book tickets as an AsiaMiles member (though I am one) as I'd like to accrue to AA as well. Perhaps they do see this function, I haven't bothered to check. Closest I've found is this:
http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_...king/faretypes
Which is sort of informational but doesn't do a thing to help you book the trip you want. What I would do is use ITA to figure out what the fare will be for the class you want on the dates you want and determine the buy-up cost roughly at least. Then yes, you can certainly try doing it via phone. Those that fly CX fairly often will likely share my experience of having a real hard time getting through to the US reservations desk number (based in SFO area I believe) as it tends to be busy often. But when you do get through they're always helpful in my experience.
I just checked out of curiosity to see if AA.com would let you do it, but of course they don't. I was more curious to see if you could hold the itinerary, if so then you could maybe call AA web services and have them change the class and re-save. That's not an option either.
So yeah, I think it's the phone or a travel agent for you unless someone has more knowledge than I do.
However... just to throw something out there, I picked totally random dates to check this out, I think April/May or something, and I noticed that the AA codeshares for LAX-BKK on whatever random days I picked were the exact same price as the CX fares, and very reasonable. An AA coded flight number will eliminate any concerns about fare class, and if in fact AA's codeshares are matching cheaper sub-economy fares (under H class) they might actually save you quite a bit.
Needless to say the specifics matter a lot for that one. But I wouldn't buy up to a higher CX fare class without making sure to check the AA codeshares on the same itinerary first.
Jan 15, 2010, 10:31 pm
#7
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Programs: AA - EXP 2.3 MM, HH Diamond, MR Gold, recovering UA Premier
Posts: 280
Those that fly CX fairly often will likely share my experience of having a real hard time getting through to the US reservations desk number (based in SFO area I believe) as it tends to be busy often. But when you do get through they're always helpful in my experience.
To avoid busy signals, I find that it's important to call before 11 am Pacific, preferably before 10:30. They seem to have added incoming lines when they added the extra flights from the west coast a couple of years ago.
+1 on their helpfulness. They seem very familiar with people who want to buy H-class fares for the AAdvantage miles. It's a common request.
Apr 4, 2010, 1:30 am
#8
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: SIN originally from YYC
Programs: AC*SE / AA Gold / UA 1P /
Posts: 107
How long does it typically take for CX flights to post to AA account?
I flew SIN-HKG-LAX in J 8 days ago, and still nothing yet.
I flew SIN-HKG-LAX in J 8 days ago, and still nothing yet.
Apr 4, 2010, 5:35 am
#9
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: The Hammer (YHM)
Programs: AA Gold, AP, QF, Marriott Silver
Posts: 172
I find it takes about a week. My impression though is that the posting of miles is done by some sort of program that is run overnight and is only done on weeknights, so you will not see any update until Tuesday morning.
Apr 4, 2010, 10:12 am
#10
Moderator: Coupon Connection & S.P.A.M
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Louisville, KY
Programs: Destination Unknown, TSA Disparager Diamond (LTDD)
Posts: 57,953
Apr 6, 2010, 1:16 am
#11
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: SIN originally from YYC
Programs: AC*SE / AA Gold / UA 1P /
Posts: 107
Seems Monday Night is when the magic happens.
Miles posted for my March 27th flights today. So about 10 days.
AA Gold now, just have to get that Platinum status.
Miles posted for my March 27th flights today. So about 10 days.
AA Gold now, just have to get that Platinum status.
Jun 24, 2010, 1:11 pm
#12
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 1
I converted miles using Points.com. 15000 Asiamiles earned on Cathay were converted to 2635 AAdvantage miles. It was done immediately.
Jun 24, 2010, 5:20 pm
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: in the vicinity of SFO
Programs: AA 2MM (LT-PLT, PPro for this year)
Posts: 19,781
As c_stanley pointed out a long while ago (boy, I got pulled into an old thread!) you'll often do as well or better booking CX as the AA codeshare 6### rather than directly via CX for the H fare.
Apr 10, 2014, 7:44 am
#15
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Alma, AR US
Programs: AA EXP (3.8 mm), HH Diamond
Posts: 152
Earning AA miles on CX-marketed CA-operated flight
I am considering booking a flight that has a CX flight number. The flight is actually operated by Air China. Can I earn AAdvantage miles on this flight?
Would I just book it with Cathay Pacific and give them my AAdvantage number? I assume that the answer to both questions is yes, but just want some confirmation.
Would I just book it with Cathay Pacific and give them my AAdvantage number? I assume that the answer to both questions is yes, but just want some confirmation.