Redeem Alaska Miles For Cathay Pacific Online

The addition of online booking for another partner is a positive development.

Cathay Pacific awards bookable on Alaska’s website

Changes to partner awards are coming later this year. It is probably not good news since we don't know the details. There is one positive aspect to this development and that is Alaska's commitment to make the LATAM awards bookable on alaskaair.com.

Alaska miles can be redeemed online for travel on Cathay Pacific. LATAM is the only redemption partner that is not bookable online, but that should change soon, since we are still waiting for award redemptions on ELAL to be added.

If there is availability, the award space will show up. You can use the multi-city feature to book a stop on a one-way award.

The best uses of Alaska miles are offered by Cathay Pacific. You can expect to pay a certain amount of miles for one-way premium cabin awards from the US.

• Between the United States and Asia costs 50,000 miles in business class, 70,000 miles in first class
• Between the United States and Africa, India, South Asia, and the Middle East, costs 62,500 miles in business class, 70,000 miles in first class
• Between the United States and Australia and New Zealand costs 60,000 miles in business class, 80,000 miles in first class

The timing here isn’t exactly great…

The timing of this is good, as Hong Kong is finally reopening. Hong Kong is open to visitors with restrictions and testing, and is expected to open on a more widespread basis in the near future.

That is where the bad news ends when it comes to redemptions.

• Currently Cathay Pacific has exclusively scheduled Airbus A350s on flights to the United States, as there are no Boeing 777s in the schedule; that means Cathay Pacific isn’t offering first class to & from the United States, which is my favorite use of Alaska miles (though in other cabins the A350 offers a better experience)
• Cathay Pacific has hugely decreased the amount of partner award availability it releases in the past couple of years, and there’s very little premium long haul award space

There has never been a more exciting time for award availability and product options from the United States, as evidenced by the fact that Cathay Pacific redemptions are now online with Alaska Airlines.

Bottom line

Alaska Mileage Plan miles can be redeemed online. This development doesn't come at a good time, but it's great to see. Alaska will be making award chart changes before the end of the year, as the airline has become much stingier with award availability.

What do you think about Cathay Pacific awards being added to the internet?