Asia Miles is Cathay Pacific’s loyalty program. It is useful for those who fly on Cathay Pacific and its partners like Qantas and Qatar Airways.

Asia Miles are easily earned through credit cards, flying and bonus points promotions, and can be redeemed for award flights in all classes.

This guide is ground zero for those who are just starting off. Read on for how to join the program, earn as many miles as you can, and use them for maximum value.

How to join the program

Signing up to Asia Miles is free. You can sign up using this link.

How to earn points

The two quickest ways to earn Asia Miles are by:

• signing up for a credit card with a large sign-up bonus
• using a high Asia Miles-earning credit card on an ongoing basis

There are a number of other ways to earn bonus Asia Miles, including by:

• flying on Cathay Pacific, Qantas and other oneworld alliance airlines
• shopping online through the Asia Miles iShop online mall
• booking hotel stays
• booking a car rental
• booking a luxury airport transfer service

You may consider crediting your Qantas flights to Asia Miles instead of Qantas Frequent Flyer—this guide will help you decide whether to do so.

If you are short on miles for a redemption, you can:

• buy Asia Miles
• buy American Express Membership Rewards points
• transfer points over from Marriott Rewards

How to redeem points

In our opinion, the best value of your Asia Miles comes from redeeming them for flights on Cathay Pacific and its partners, such as Qantas, American Airlines and Qatar Airways.

Cathay’s comfortable long-haul Business Class seat

Using Asia Miles for travel in Qantas Business Class provides great redemption value

In many cases, redeeming Asia Miles for Qantas and oneworld flights represents better value than redeeming Qantas Points for the same flight.

Cathay Pacific First Class has the widest seat in commercial aviation

We’ve put together some booking tips when using Asia Miles.

We have dedicated guides for using Asia Miles for travel between Australia and the US, and the US and Europe.

Note that Asia Miles have a hard expiry of three years. This is what happens to them after you pass away.

If you are looking for more inspiration for what to do with your Asia Miles, check out our best uses of points series.

Lost as to how to start your search for an award seat? Check out this post.

Summing up

If you fly or are interested in flying Cathay Pacific, Qantas or one of its other partners, then the Asia Miles program is one worth signing up for.

This comprehensive guide delves into the program in a deeper way.

Asia Miles are most quickly earned by signing up for one of these credit cards.

Do you know someone who might get some use out of the Asia Miles program but needs a little help? Share this guide using the social media buttons below!

Supplementary images courtesy Cathay Pacific and Asia Miles.