Cathay Pacific has announced a series of changes to its flight reward tables, coming into effect in October 2023.
While there are some decreases in the point requirements, in most cases the number of points required will be increasing.
In fact, the only decreases in redemption rates are for Economy redemptions. If you are looking at a redemption in Premium Economy, Business Class or First Class, you’ll be looking at an increase in the number of points required.
The new rates apply to bookings made after 1 October 2023. However, you can still book at the existing rates until that time, even if it is for travel after October.
The Changes
Asia Miles has a set of charts that show the prices of the awards. They can be viewed at the following locations:
It’s probably worth starting off with some of the structural changes in the tables. First up, the short distance zone (751 – 2,740 miles) is being split into two types Short Type 1 and Short Type 2. At the other end of the charts, the current split in the long-range charts is being removed. As such, there will no longer be a Long Type 1 and Long Type 2 chart – it will be a single Long range chart.
The changes are fairly tough if you are travelling from Australia. Indeed, if you are travelling to Europe from Australia, the premium cabins will all see increases of at least 20%. On the other hand, if you travel in Economy, you will see a reduction of almost 10%.
Final Words
Unless you like flying in Economy, then this is a bit of an unfortunate change. If you are looking at redeeming an award in one of the premium cabins, you will need up to 30% more points.
