Best Ways to Book Cathay Pacific Business Class with Points and Miles

Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific is known for offering an excellent in-flight experience in all cabin classes. And, in 2024, the airline was ranked number five on Skytrax’s list of the top business-class airlines. This is partially due to the introduction of Cathay Pacific’s Aria Suite business-class product, which is available on Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. This product includes luxurious and unique features, including a wraparound seat design and closable door for maximum privacy, adjustable lighting fixtures, an on-board art gallery featuring works from Hong Kong artists, an award-winning selection of beverages and much more.

Although the Boeing 777-300ER offers the best business-class product in the Cathay Pacific fleet, all Cathay Pacific business-class cabins offer an impressive degree of comfort and luxury. Unfortunately, Cathay Pacific business-class tickets can be very expensive when purchased with cash, making it difficult for budget travelers to experience this top-of-the-line product. However, by using points or miles, you might be able to get a Cathay Pacific business-class ticket at a very low out-of-pocket cost.

Since Cathay Pacific is a member of Oneworld Alliance, there are several different frequent flyer programs through which you can book a business-class award flight on this airline. However, each of these frequent flyer programs prices award flights differently. Likewise, certain frequent flyer programs allow transfers from credit card rewards programs, whereas others don’t.

So, in this article, we’ll look at some of the best ways to book award flights in Cathay Pacific business class. We’ll also briefly discuss what you can expect from Cathay Pacific business class on each type of aircraft in their fleet.

What to Expect in Cathay Pacific Business Class

There are several different aircraft types in the Cathay Pacific fleet, and the business-class cabin on each of these aircraft will look slightly different. So, before you redeem points or miles for a Cathay Pacific business-class flight, you’ll want to double-check the aircraft type being used to operate your route.

The best business-class product in the Cathay Pacific fleet is the Aria Suite, found on the Boeing 777-300ER. In the Aria Suite, you’ll enjoy a comfortable seat that turns into a lie-flat bed, a personal lighting fixture which can be adjusted to your preference, a closable door and sliding partition between seats for maximum privacy, high-speed charging ports and a 24-inch 4K entertainment monitor. The business cabin on any Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER will also have nature-inspired works of art created by Hong Kong-based artists hung on the walls.

The next-best business-class product in the Cathay Pacific fleet can be found on Airbus A350 aircraft and features a lie-flat bed, linen-style bedding, an 18.5-inch personal television monitor and a 4.3-inch handset that allows you to view other content or check on the flight status without disturbing the content on the main screen.

The Cathay Pacific fleet also includes Airbus A330 aircraft, which also offer lie-flat beds in business class. However, the business class on these aircraft is slightly less luxurious than on Airbus A350 or Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

Finally, the fleet also includes Airbus A321neo aircraft, which are used for short-haul flights and don’t feature lie-flat seats. However, you’ll still receive premium amenities aboard these aircraft, such as noise-canceling headphones, a 15.6-inch 4K personal television screen and more.

Regardless of the aircraft type, all business-class passengers on Cathay Pacific business-class flights will have access to the “Choose My Meal” option, which allows you to preselect your meal between 10 days and 24 hours before your flight departure. Some of the current options include braised abalone, wok-fried seafood and steamed halibut. These meals were designed in collaboration with Michelin-starred chefs, so you can enjoy fine dining while airborne. Cathay Pacific will also gladly accommodate any dietary restrictions or allergies upon request.

Cathay Pacific offers an award-winning selection of red wine, white wine, champagnes and more on all long-haul flights. Cathay Pacific cabin crew members are even training to become internationally-qualified wine experts, so they’ll serve and recommend wine with expertise. If you consider yourself a wine connoisseur, this may be the best business-class product in the world for you.

All long-haul business-class passengers will receive amenity kits, including Bamford natural skincare products, eco-friendly toiletries, a 400-thread-count cotton bedsheet and plush pillows.

And, of course, your business-class experience will begin at the airport, when you visit a Cathay Pacific business-class lounge or one of Cathay Pacific’s many partner lounges through the Oneworld Alliance network.

Best Programs Through Which to Book Cathay Pacific Business Class

Cathay Pacific business-class award flights can be booked through Cathay Pacific’s own frequent flyer program, Asia Miles, with relative ease. And, in some cases, this is the best program through which to book a specific Cathay Pacific business-class award.

However, because Cathay Pacific is a member of Oneworld Alliance, there are many other Oneworld frequent flyer programs through which you can book Cathay Pacific business-class award flights. And each of these frequent flyer programs prices partner award flights differently, meaning the same Cathay Pacific business-class flight may be offered at a different rate through each program.

Plus, certain Oneworld frequent flyer programs allow points transfers from major U.S credit card rewards programs, making it much easier to earn miles with those programs.

In the following sections, we’ll take a look at some of the best frequent flyer programs through which to book Cathay Pacific business-class awards.

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

In most cases, the best frequent flyer program through which to book Cathay Pacific business-class awards is the airline’s own Asia Miles frequent flyer program. That’s because this program still prices its own award flights using a distance-based award chart (which is increasingly rare) and because the Asia Miles program is a transfer partner of many of the major U.S. credit card rewards programs, making it easy to rack up miles.

You can transfer points at a 1:1 ratio from American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards to the Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. So, if you have a credit card from one of these issuers, booking a Cathay Pacific business-class award through the Asia Miles program should be fairly easy.

Plus, you can get outstanding value per point by redeeming your credit card points or Cathay Pacific miles this way. For example, we found a round-trip business-class award flight from New York (JFK) to Hong Kong (HKG) for 220,000 miles plus 2,378 Hong Kong Dollars (about $307) in taxes and fees.

If you were to book the exact same business-class flights on the same dates with cash instead of miles through the Cathay Pacific website, it would cost you a total of about $9,695.

Thus, by booking this flight with miles instead of cash, you’d be getting a value of about 4.3 cents per mile (taking into account the taxes and fees you’d have to pay for this award flight), which is amazing.

Both the departure and return flights for this itinerary are operated on Airbus A350 aircraft. So, while these flights don’t offer the Aria Suite business-class product, you’ll get to experience Cathay Pacific’s second-best business class, which is still one of the best business-class products in the airline industry.

Plus, if you’re going to pay the extra miles for a business-class flight, you’ll want to do so on a long-haul flight so you can get the full experience. This route from New York (JFK) to Hong Kong (HKG) is one of the longest routes operated by Cathay Pacific.

It can be very difficult and time-consuming to try to find Cathay Pacific business-class award availability through partner programs. And, since availability is fairly abundant through the Asia Miles program at excellent rates, there’s not much of a reason to look elsewhere.

Alaska Airline Mileage Plan

Many U.S.-based travelers are avid users of the Alaska Airline Mileage Plan program, largely because the program has historically offered excellent rates on partner award flights (including Cathay Pacific-operated awards). Unfortunately, the Mileage Plan program began pricing partner award charts using a dynamic pricing model and publishing award charts with “starting at” values.

So, it may be more difficult to find Cathay Pacific business-class award flights at great rates through the Mileage Plan program than it once was. Plus, Cathay Pacific business-class award availability is very scarce through this program.

If you were considering transferring points from Bilt Rewards to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan in order to book a Cathay Pacific business-class award, you’d be much better off transferring those points from Bilt to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles instead.

However, if you already have a large balance of Alaska Airlines miles that you want to spend on a Cathay Pacific business-class award, we recommend using third-party search tools, such as AwardTool or PointsYeah to try to find availability. These tools allow you to search for award availability over a wide range of dates, giving you the best chance to find a Cathay Pacific business-class seat.

If you are able to find Cathay Pacific business-class award availability through the Mileage Plan program, you’ll probably get decent value per point (despite the program’s dynamic pricing model). With that being said, finding these awards through this program can be a tall task.

The Bottom Line

Oneworld Alliance member airline Cathay Pacific is known for providing an excellent in-flight experience in all cabin classes. In particular, though, this airline’s business-class products are known to be especially luxurious. All business-class seats on long-haul flights convert into lie-flat beds. Business-class passengers have access to Cathay Pacific’s award-winning wine list, and Cathay Pacific employees undergo sommelier training, making them experts at recommending and pouring wine. The new Aria Suite business-class product (available on Boeing 777-300ER aircraft) even features an in-flight art exhibition. Plus, you’ll always get access to Cathay Pacific and partner airport lounges when flying in business class.

It seems as though Cathay Pacific is definitely aware of what a great business-class product they offer, which is why they’ve heavily limited business-class award availability through partner frequent flyer programs. So, if you want to book a Cathay Pacific business-class flight with points or miles, it will almost certainly have to be through the Cathay Pacific Asia Miles program.

Luckily, the Asia Miles program is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards, making it very easy to earn points with this program. Cathay Pacific flights are priced according to a fixed distance-based award chart through this program, which means you’re almost guaranteed to get great value per mile when booking Cathay Pacific business-class awards through the Asia Miles program.