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With Hong Kong finally reopening to the world, the timing is perfect for Alaska Mileage Plan to implement the ability to book Cathay Pacific awards online.
You can now see Cathay Pacific awards online. I don’t know about you, but it definitely highlights what a bargain Business Class can be!
Need A Top-up of Alaska Miles?
It has been awhile since I paid attention to Alaska’s direct sales of miles. But I do pay more attention to Marriott Bonvoy offers. Right now, you can get a 50% bonus when buying Marriott points.
Even though sterling is painfully weak at the moment, you can buy 120,000 Marriott points for $1,000 (£900). When converted to Alaska miles, you would end up with 50,000 miles. That’s more than enough for a one-way flight in Business Class to/from Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific.
Bottom Line
Does the ability to book Cathay Pacific awards online make you more inclined to use Alaska’s Mileage Plan? Especially now that Virgin Atlantic has abandoned Hong Kong? Let us know in the comments section…
Thanks for the article.
Now the question is: it is cheaper to buy Marriott bonvoy points at 50% bonus and transfer to Alaska mileage plan or buy Alaska mileage points directly when they have a 60% bonus on purchase? I wonder…
Is Any other European airport or DUB an option then LHR? Many thanks.
Hi Mous,
Yep – 42.5k is the price to/from anywhere Cathay fly in Europe, so if you’re looking to save a bit on the APD, it can definitely make sense to book the outbound from outside the UK and then the return separately to London/Manchester.
I think I’m right in saying that Cathay’s European destinations are Paris, Milan, Rome, Frankfurt, Zurich, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Madrid.
I couldn’t find award space for anywhere other than London. Not that I looked very hard, but I’m not sure what Cathay are ACTUALLY flying at the moment.
If you can get a 60% bonus from Alaska, I think you would come out ahead buying direct. But you might need to have bought recently to be targeted for the juiciest bonus.
Yes, very good point on where Cathay are actually currently flying, as opposed to ‘supposed’ to be. Hopefully routes and award space will open up soon though.