Nov 19, 2014, 9:27 am
Last edit by: Prospero
Awards: All Cathay Pacific / CX (Including First and Business Class)
Questions, Availability, Discussion
NOTE: Multiple reports starting in June 2021 that CX is allowing only a 24 hour hold and could cancel reservations not being ticketed beyond 24 hours.
Please feel free to use this thread for questions regarding CX Economy, Premium Economy, First and Business Class award redemption using AAdvantage miles, as well as questions regarding award availability, routings and related issues. Please go to the Cathay Pacific Asia Miles Forum to discuss or ask about meals, equipment, service, etc. on CX, as there is an existing wealth of information there - and this is the American Airlines AAdvantage Forum
.
AA Flight award chart for oneworld® and partner airlines
Other related threads that may be of interest:
FT Discrepancy between CX Award Search and AA availability: Discrepancy between QF and CX award search and AA availability
FT How , When to Select CX Seats on CX Award: How / when to select seat on a Cathay (CX) award / flight (consolidated)
FT Cathay Pacific Experience - Seats / Interline/ Baggage FAQs: Cathay Pacific Experience / Seats / Interline / Baggage FAQs
Also, for Rules about awards, see AA oneworld and Other Airline Partner Award information, rules (2015 on).
Expert Advice:
Only "MileSAAver" awards apply to oneworld and AA partners.
Premium Economy seats are not available with AAdvantage awards, may be soon as AA sells Premium Economy Feb 2017.
Be aware that what you see on the BA, JL, or QF sites may not be visible to the AA reservations folks. You may want to note the flight on which the F award seat is shown as "available" on those sites and if the AA agent doesn't see any availability suggest that the AA agent check that specific one again. If the AA agent still cannot see it, thank them, hang up, and call back a little later.
Sometimes CX will make flights available for award booking to CX frequent flyers, but not release the seats immediately for other oneworld frequent flyers. Usually though, the seats, if not taken by CX frequent flyers, are released after a while to other OW programs.
Although CX may release seats for award earlier, AA can book them no more than 331 days prior to departure. The awards that CX does release are available as early as 355 days prior to departure for CX and BA frequent fliers, and sometimes that means the awards you want w AA miles will be snatched up prior to the 331 day mark.
*** AA does not have a set schedule to load flights. They can load it anytime after midnight 331 days out. Most of the time it is within a couple to 12 hours of that. Other times, it can be a full day or a day and a half afterwards, especially on the weekends where there's most variability. Unlike JL award space, it is not a specific time of day.
4Keep in mind that when booking eastbound space to North America that it's one day later in HKG so that space usually becomes available 330 days in advance to North America; this is not always true, since CX has already loaded the availability a month prior to AA - it is just up to AA to load and release the seats on SABRE, so it typically ends up being 330 days out, but not necessarily.
Similarly... if you are trying to book westbound, US->HKG->Somewhere then AA may not be able to book the HKG->Somewhere segment 331 days in advance of the US->HKG flight, if it is still 332 days out in HKG. As it is the flights from US->HKG that are hardest to get, if you find a seat US->HKG at the 331 day mark when it is first available for booking through AA but cannot book the continuation, you can just put that US->HKG segment on hold with AA, then call back the next day when connecting flights will be loaded into the system to try to book the onward flight from HKG.
AA does not charge "YQ" surcharges [what they sometimes call "fuel surcharge"] on CX award segments (BA Avios does), thus the taxes and fees on your "free" ticket on CX or KA are almost always significantly less than for the same routing on BA.
There is a Hong Kong Departure Tax (HK) of $120 HKD (approx $15.50 USD) on every segment departing Hong Kong. Exemptions apply. If your ticket includes this tax and you qualify for an exemption, a refund can be applied for either in person at HKIA landside or via post to Civil Aviation Department. AA charges this tax for children under 12 years of age despite the exemption. In order to obtain a cash refund at HKIA, you will need passenger passport, passenger boarding pass, passenger ticket receipt showing the fare calculation line which will show the HK tax being charged. This receipt can be obtained at any AA counter worldwide including HKIA as well as Airport Express in-town check-in (AA check-in). As the AA counter at HKIA operates only during limited hours, Airport Express in-town check-in would be the the convenient option.
Not all CX flights offer First class; CX Business is markedly different on long haul and regionally configured aircraft.
If you're looking for multiple seats in First on a particular flight but can find only some but not all that you're looking for, take what's available in F, then take the rest of the seats you want on J (if available) on the same flight, and check back periodically to see if an F seat has opened up for award. There is no additional charge (in money, although there will be in miles) to change to an award to a higher cabin of service (e.g., J to F, Y to F, Y to J) as long as the award keeps the same origin/destination airports.
Be aware your award must conform to some rules on a) MPM (Maximum Permitted Mileage - your award routing can not exceed 125% of the most direct routing available); a useful tool is Great Circle Mapper.
The Most Significant Carrier (transpacific usually, CX in most of these posts,) must offer a non-"constructed" fare between your origin and destination (you might find an unconstructed fare between DFW and SIN, but might not from Killeen to SIN).
If you can't pick your CX seats online, either due to them being blocked or you just want to call, you need to first get the CX PNR from AAdvantage at 1-800-882-8880. Then call CX at 1-800-233-2742. Some seats that are blocked on CX website are assignable via AA reservations. Close to departure AA can even assign 2A, 2K.
Note: if the Cathay Manage booking tool doesn't appear to recognize your CX PNR, you need to enter your first name AND middle name, separated by a space, in the "First Name" field.
AAward bookings containing CX flights that are put on hold will be restricted to only 24hrs, not the usual 5 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the patterns for west coast routes?
Because LAX has 4 daily flights to HKG, it tends to be the easiest option for blocks of 3 or more J award seats. SFO and YVR only have 2 daily flights and even if 5 award seats were initially released at 355 days prior to departure, some of those may be gone by the time the 331 day mark rolls around. If you need 4 or 5 J award seats on these west coast routes, either use Avios to book at 355 days or consider routing through LAX where there may still be availability at 331 days out.
Can I visit my companion in First Class if I'm in Business Class?
"Up-cabin visits" are not permitted per CX policy, though have been granted under special circumstances. But putting crew in the awkward position of being asked to violate policy is generally frowned upon. Down-cabin visits are permitted ex-USA. However, on flights to the USA, down-cabin visits are not permitted and this rule is vigorously enforced.
Posts made in 2017 may be read in ARCHIVE: 2017 AA Awards in Cathay Pacific / CX, KA...
Posts made in 2016 may be read in ARCHIVE: AA Awards on Cathay Pacific (2016).
Posts made in 2015 may be read in ARCHIVE: AA Awards on Cathay Pacific (2015).
Posts made in 2014 may be read in ARCHIVE: Awards: CX / Cathay Pacific / (inc. F and J) - 2014.
N.B. Older posts have been moved and archived to: Cathay Pacific / CX (inc. First and Business Class) award - ARCHIVED.
Questions, Availability, Discussion
NOTE: Multiple reports starting in June 2021 that CX is allowing only a 24 hour hold and could cancel reservations not being ticketed beyond 24 hours.
Please feel free to use this thread for questions regarding CX Economy, Premium Economy, First and Business Class award redemption using AAdvantage miles, as well as questions regarding award availability, routings and related issues. Please go to the Cathay Pacific Asia Miles Forum to discuss or ask about meals, equipment, service, etc. on CX, as there is an existing wealth of information there - and this is the American Airlines AAdvantage Forum
.AA Flight award chart for oneworld® and partner airlines
Other related threads that may be of interest:
FT Discrepancy between CX Award Search and AA availability: Discrepancy between QF and CX award search and AA availability
FT How , When to Select CX Seats on CX Award: How / when to select seat on a Cathay (CX) award / flight (consolidated)
FT Cathay Pacific Experience - Seats / Interline/ Baggage FAQs: Cathay Pacific Experience / Seats / Interline / Baggage FAQs
Also, for Rules about awards, see AA oneworld and Other Airline Partner Award information, rules (2015 on).
Expert Advice:
Only "MileSAAver" awards apply to oneworld and AA partners.
Premium Economy seats are not available with AAdvantage awards, may be soon as AA sells Premium Economy Feb 2017.
Be aware that what you see on the BA, JL, or QF sites may not be visible to the AA reservations folks. You may want to note the flight on which the F award seat is shown as "available" on those sites and if the AA agent doesn't see any availability suggest that the AA agent check that specific one again. If the AA agent still cannot see it, thank them, hang up, and call back a little later.
Sometimes CX will make flights available for award booking to CX frequent flyers, but not release the seats immediately for other oneworld frequent flyers. Usually though, the seats, if not taken by CX frequent flyers, are released after a while to other OW programs.
Although CX may release seats for award earlier, AA can book them no more than 331 days prior to departure. The awards that CX does release are available as early as 355 days prior to departure for CX and BA frequent fliers, and sometimes that means the awards you want w AA miles will be snatched up prior to the 331 day mark.
*** AA does not have a set schedule to load flights. They can load it anytime after midnight 331 days out. Most of the time it is within a couple to 12 hours of that. Other times, it can be a full day or a day and a half afterwards, especially on the weekends where there's most variability. Unlike JL award space, it is not a specific time of day.
4Keep in mind that when booking eastbound space to North America that it's one day later in HKG so that space usually becomes available 330 days in advance to North America; this is not always true, since CX has already loaded the availability a month prior to AA - it is just up to AA to load and release the seats on SABRE, so it typically ends up being 330 days out, but not necessarily.
Similarly... if you are trying to book westbound, US->HKG->Somewhere then AA may not be able to book the HKG->Somewhere segment 331 days in advance of the US->HKG flight, if it is still 332 days out in HKG. As it is the flights from US->HKG that are hardest to get, if you find a seat US->HKG at the 331 day mark when it is first available for booking through AA but cannot book the continuation, you can just put that US->HKG segment on hold with AA, then call back the next day when connecting flights will be loaded into the system to try to book the onward flight from HKG.
AA does not charge "YQ" surcharges [what they sometimes call "fuel surcharge"] on CX award segments (BA Avios does), thus the taxes and fees on your "free" ticket on CX or KA are almost always significantly less than for the same routing on BA.
There is a Hong Kong Departure Tax (HK) of $120 HKD (approx $15.50 USD) on every segment departing Hong Kong. Exemptions apply. If your ticket includes this tax and you qualify for an exemption, a refund can be applied for either in person at HKIA landside or via post to Civil Aviation Department. AA charges this tax for children under 12 years of age despite the exemption. In order to obtain a cash refund at HKIA, you will need passenger passport, passenger boarding pass, passenger ticket receipt showing the fare calculation line which will show the HK tax being charged. This receipt can be obtained at any AA counter worldwide including HKIA as well as Airport Express in-town check-in (AA check-in). As the AA counter at HKIA operates only during limited hours, Airport Express in-town check-in would be the the convenient option.
Not all CX flights offer First class; CX Business is markedly different on long haul and regionally configured aircraft.
If you're looking for multiple seats in First on a particular flight but can find only some but not all that you're looking for, take what's available in F, then take the rest of the seats you want on J (if available) on the same flight, and check back periodically to see if an F seat has opened up for award. There is no additional charge (in money, although there will be in miles) to change to an award to a higher cabin of service (e.g., J to F, Y to F, Y to J) as long as the award keeps the same origin/destination airports.
Be aware your award must conform to some rules on a) MPM (Maximum Permitted Mileage - your award routing can not exceed 125% of the most direct routing available); a useful tool is Great Circle Mapper.
The Most Significant Carrier (transpacific usually, CX in most of these posts,) must offer a non-"constructed" fare between your origin and destination (you might find an unconstructed fare between DFW and SIN, but might not from Killeen to SIN).
If you can't pick your CX seats online, either due to them being blocked or you just want to call, you need to first get the CX PNR from AAdvantage at 1-800-882-8880. Then call CX at 1-800-233-2742. Some seats that are blocked on CX website are assignable via AA reservations. Close to departure AA can even assign 2A, 2K.
Note: if the Cathay Manage booking tool doesn't appear to recognize your CX PNR, you need to enter your first name AND middle name, separated by a space, in the "First Name" field.
AAward bookings containing CX flights that are put on hold will be restricted to only 24hrs, not the usual 5 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the patterns for west coast routes?
Because LAX has 4 daily flights to HKG, it tends to be the easiest option for blocks of 3 or more J award seats. SFO and YVR only have 2 daily flights and even if 5 award seats were initially released at 355 days prior to departure, some of those may be gone by the time the 331 day mark rolls around. If you need 4 or 5 J award seats on these west coast routes, either use Avios to book at 355 days or consider routing through LAX where there may still be availability at 331 days out.
Can I visit my companion in First Class if I'm in Business Class?
"Up-cabin visits" are not permitted per CX policy, though have been granted under special circumstances. But putting crew in the awkward position of being asked to violate policy is generally frowned upon. Down-cabin visits are permitted ex-USA. However, on flights to the USA, down-cabin visits are not permitted and this rule is vigorously enforced.
Posts made in 2017 may be read in ARCHIVE: 2017 AA Awards in Cathay Pacific / CX, KA...
Posts made in 2016 may be read in ARCHIVE: AA Awards on Cathay Pacific (2016).
Posts made in 2015 may be read in ARCHIVE: AA Awards on Cathay Pacific (2015).
Posts made in 2014 may be read in ARCHIVE: Awards: CX / Cathay Pacific / (inc. F and J) - 2014.
N.B. Older posts have been moved and archived to: Cathay Pacific / CX (inc. First and Business Class) award - ARCHIVED.
AA Award: Cathay Pacific / CX availability, etc. (2018-2022 archive)
Mar 6, 2019, 12:03 pm
#901
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,857
Any recent datapoints on whether CX still releases some of the remaining F/J space for awards at around 10:30 PM EST on Sundays? Everything I can find about that is a year or two old, and it looks like there may have been some changes since then.
Mar 6, 2019, 12:12 pm
#902
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: AA Plat Pro, Marriott Ambassador, Hyatt Globalist, United Platinum
Posts: 24
This was accurate as of December. I had success booking a First class seat from HKG to JFK that was F5 the night before. However, it was not instantaneous for all flights and seats. It seemed like the availability was being rolled out over a period of about an hour. So I would be prepared to be patient and keep checking back.
Mar 6, 2019, 12:21 pm
#903
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,857
This was accurate as of December. I had success booking a First class seat from HKG to JFK that was F5 the night before. However, it was not instantaneous for all flights and seats. It seemed like the availability was being rolled out over a period of about an hour. So I would be prepared to be patient and keep checking back.
How many days out was this? Somewhere in the 14-20 range?
Mar 6, 2019, 12:44 pm
#904
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: AA Plat Pro, Marriott Ambassador, Hyatt Globalist, United Platinum
Posts: 24
It was 12 days out for me. I never saw anything open up prior to 14 days out. I lost my notes on the topic but from what I remember F5 will consistently release on Sundays in the T-14 - T-7 Range. F3s/F4s will release on Sundays in the T-7 and lower range.
Mar 7, 2019, 2:12 am
#905
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 730
I have been looking for business class dfw-hkg and hkg-dfw, usually on short notice, within a month, never available, you would think sometimes they;d let some go when it's last minute
Mar 7, 2019, 12:10 pm
#906
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: New York
Programs: AA, CX, Hyatt, Marriott
Posts: 1,484
CX does not operate DFW-HKG flight - you are looking for AA's flight, which is usually full in forward cabin and thus almost zero saver availability.
Mar 8, 2019, 1:27 am
#907
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 730
yes that's what I was referring to, are there any other AA routes into US that sometimes have forward cabin availability?
Mar 8, 2019, 7:03 am
#908
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: New York
Programs: AA, CX, Hyatt, Marriott
Posts: 1,484
On a serious note, Saver on popular destinations is
Mar 8, 2019, 9:20 am
#909
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: CLT
Programs: AA EP, AA AC
Posts: 4,268
Hey All,
Collective advice appreciated, need to fly SIN-HKG o/w on 7-31-19. There will be 4 of us total. Ideally, I'd like to buy 1-2 BC tickets in cash and use points for 2-3 BC tickets. Alternatively, I could just buy 4 PE tickets. I know no one has a crystal ball but anyone with experience on getting CX awards like this would sure appreciate thoughts. I'd prefer to stay from MH just so don't have to deal with connections.
T.I.A.
Safe Travels
Collective advice appreciated, need to fly SIN-HKG o/w on 7-31-19. There will be 4 of us total. Ideally, I'd like to buy 1-2 BC tickets in cash and use points for 2-3 BC tickets. Alternatively, I could just buy 4 PE tickets. I know no one has a crystal ball but anyone with experience on getting CX awards like this would sure appreciate thoughts. I'd prefer to stay from MH just so don't have to deal with connections.
T.I.A.
Safe Travels
Mar 8, 2019, 9:35 am
#910
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,455
Hey All,
Collective advice appreciated, need to fly SIN-HKG o/w on 7-31-19. There will be 4 of us total. Ideally, I'd like to buy 1-2 BC tickets in cash and use points for 2-3 BC tickets. Alternatively, I could just buy 4 PE tickets. I know no one has a crystal ball but anyone with experience on getting CX awards like this would sure appreciate thoughts. I'd prefer to stay from MH just so don't have to deal with connections.
T.I.A.
Safe Travels
Collective advice appreciated, need to fly SIN-HKG o/w on 7-31-19. There will be 4 of us total. Ideally, I'd like to buy 1-2 BC tickets in cash and use points for 2-3 BC tickets. Alternatively, I could just buy 4 PE tickets. I know no one has a crystal ball but anyone with experience on getting CX awards like this would sure appreciate thoughts. I'd prefer to stay from MH just so don't have to deal with connections.
T.I.A.
Safe Travels
Mar 8, 2019, 9:40 am
#911
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: CLT
Programs: AA EP, AA AC
Posts: 4,268
CX seems to have lots of married segment availability these days. Looking at BA, searching just SIN-HKG on 7/31 shows nothing on CX, but searching SIN-TPE for example shows various SIN-HKG-TPE routings as available (including 4x business seats on the 6:35a SIN-HKG flight). Call AA and see if they can see that as well, then just drop the HKG-TPE segment (or no show, etc.).
Geoff
Mar 13, 2019, 2:44 pm
#912
Join Date: Jan 2013
Programs: Hyatt Glb, MR Plat
Posts: 2,577
Is it me or CX award space non existent lately to/from NA? Even same day or hours before
Mar 15, 2019, 10:51 am
#913
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: CLT
Programs: AA EP, AA AC
Posts: 4,268
A big shout out to JJeffrey. Took his suggestion and booked the 2 awards SIN-HKG-TPE, and then called today when availability opened on the nonstop and dropped the HKG-TPE. Really appreciate the help!
Safe Travels
Safe Travels
Mar 16, 2019, 6:22 pm
#914
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: CAE,AGS
Programs: AAExP, Hyatt Globalist, HHonors Gold, IHG Spire, Marriott Plat
Posts: 3,124
I do not think it is just you. I have been searching for award space on CX from various cities back to the US. There seems to be nothing - not even anything simply from HKG to any US gateway. I am seeing only a few Premium Economy even. I'd just like a J seat. I have a three day return window and have been looking for two months now... nada.