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)
Jun 14, 2019, 9:53 pm
#1036
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: WAS/ Silver Spring, MD,USA
Programs: UA/AA
Posts: 857
You can set up a search & alerts with a subscription to Awardnexus.com.
Of course F is better than J, and since it is your honeymoon, why not go for it if you have the miles/ points to swing it ?
Of course F is better than J, and since it is your honeymoon, why not go for it if you have the miles/ points to swing it ?
Jun 14, 2019, 10:00 pm
#1037
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 52
And unfortunately...I'm sitting at 170,000 AA miles, so can't quite swing two F tickets. Debating if it's worth getting another CC sign-up bonus to cover the difference if F is truly worth it..
Jun 14, 2019, 10:31 pm
#1038
Join Date: Aug 2012
Programs: AA PLT, SPG Gold
Posts: 2,405
If you can actually find award space, yes, CX F is entirely worth it. Why not get another cc bonus anyway? Worst case you use J awards, you still have some miles left for your next trip.
Jun 16, 2019, 2:18 pm
#1039
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 2,055
Trying to book one seat on CX 830 from HKG to JFK on April 9 in J, called Gold Reservations (twice), but they see no availability even though QF and BA show 2 available seats. Called normal reservation number, they see the seats and book it for me. 
It is a little odd that when searching AwardNexus on QF, BA, and CX/JL, BA and QF show 1 seat and CX/JL shows 2. After making the reservation, BA and all three searches on AwardNexus show 1 seat available.
It is a little odd that when searching AwardNexus on QF, BA, and CX/JL, BA and QF show 1 seat and CX/JL shows 2. After making the reservation, BA and all three searches on AwardNexus show 1 seat available.
Jun 16, 2019, 7:29 pm
#1040
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,740
Trying to book one seat on CX 830 from HKG to JFK on April 9 in J, called Gold Reservations (twice), but they see no availability even though QF and BA show 2 available seats. Called normal reservation number, they see the seats and book it for me.
It is a little odd that when searching AwardNexus on QF, BA, and CX/JL, BA and QF show 1 seat and CX/JL shows 2. After making the reservation, BA and all three searches on AwardNexus show 1 seat available.
It is a little odd that when searching AwardNexus on QF, BA, and CX/JL, BA and QF show 1 seat and CX/JL shows 2. After making the reservation, BA and all three searches on AwardNexus show 1 seat available.
Gold number is manned by the same agents for general members - it only gives you a slightly shorter wait time as the system recognizes your Gold status and route you ahead of the general member. But you are still behind Plat members - same agents handle the general members.
Only Exp status has its own agents who should be more knowledgeable but it has not been the case for quite a while now.
Bottom line, you just had bad luck to get incompetent agents who do not know how to search.
What I have found is, the 2nd language agents in general are more competent and more empowered - though not all 2nd language agents speak fluent English or some of them when you started to converse in English, they told you to call English line!
Jun 20, 2019, 6:34 pm
#1041
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Boston, MA
Programs: AA PlatPro (LTG), Marriott Titanium (LTG), HH Diamond
Posts: 254
Quick question as I can't find the answer to this.
I know you can't book W on a CX segment with an AA award. However can you downgrade to a W seat on one segment of a J award itinerary, when there is no J available? Or is W completely invisible/off-limits to AA?
I know you can't book W on a CX segment with an AA award. However can you downgrade to a W seat on one segment of a J award itinerary, when there is no J available? Or is W completely invisible/off-limits to AA?
Jun 26, 2019, 12:46 pm
#1042
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: LAX/ONT
Programs: AS 100K, Hilton Diamond, IHG Plat, Marriott G, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 518
trying to find a J seat in May for LAX-HKG, all routes have only 1 F seats available with 1 flight only. 2 flights with 1 F each some days. Are they all booked? or it hasn't been released yet?
Jun 26, 2019, 2:58 pm
#1043
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: UA, AS
Posts: 2,393
CX only releases 1F on North American routes far out. They may release more later -- or not -- but you won't see more than 1F on that route right now for next May. They have probably released some J already but that has been grabbed by other programs that have a longer booking window. They probably will release more J at some point later if loads are light.
Jun 26, 2019, 3:01 pm
#1044
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: LAX/ONT
Programs: AS 100K, Hilton Diamond, IHG Plat, Marriott G, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 518
CX only releases 1F on North American routes far out. They may release more later -- or not -- but you won't see more than 1F on that route right now for next May. They have probably released some J already but that has been grabbed by other programs that have a longer booking window. They probably will release more J at some point later if loads are light.
Jun 26, 2019, 3:32 pm
#1045
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: UA, AS
Posts: 2,393
CX does release some J seats far out, up to 360 days but AA and some other programs cannot book these until 330 days out and, as you have seen, by 330 days out those seats can easily be taken by other programs with a longer booking window like CX, BA, QF. CX may release more if loads stay light but when and how many seats they decide to eventually add to their release only CX can say. Try looking at other dates to get an idea of what time frame additional J seats may be released.
Jun 26, 2019, 4:47 pm
#1046
Join Date: May 2007
Programs: UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 5,447
In short, no can do. It is completely off-limits to AA for now.
Jul 2, 2019, 12:31 pm
#1047
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 523
Is CX not releasing close-in F anymore? I'm seeing several flights at F4 over the next week with no seats available.
Jul 2, 2019, 9:15 pm
#1048
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: NYC
Programs: AA 2MM, Bonvoy LTT, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 14,635
Jul 7, 2019, 7:19 pm
#1049
Join Date: Nov 2013
Programs: AS Gold, Hyatt Diamond, Starriott LTPP
Posts: 341
Is it pretty common for intra-asia Cathay Dragon flights to be available on AsiaMiles award but not partner?
Jul 7, 2019, 8:19 pm
#1050
Ambassador, Hong Kong and Macau
Join Date: May 2009
Location: HKG
Programs: Non-top tier Asia Miles member
Posts: 19,769
