Singapore-based frequent flyers who are deeply familiar with KrisFlyer may find Cathay’s loyalty programme a little confusing partly because it’s changed substantially in the past few years. This guide will get you up to speed.
What is Cathay?
Cathay is the name of Cathay Pacific’s loyalty programme. Launched in August 2022, the refreshed programme replaces two legacy programmes that had run in parallel for years: Asia Miles (the miles currency) and the Marco Polo Club (the status programme).
What did Cathay used to be?
In August 2022, Cathay Pacific retired both Asia Miles and the Marco Polo Club as standalone programmes and merged them into a single programme simply called Cathay.
Asia Miles was a travel rewards programme, a fully-owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific Group. Members of Asia Miles could earn miles through everyday activities such as dining, hotel stays and flights, and use the miles for flights, hotel stays, and even lifestyle goods.
Marco Polo Club was Cathay Pacific’s loyalty programme, rewarding frequent flyers with perks as they move through the tiers by accumulating club points. When you accumulate enough club points, you will get to a certain tier which will give you extra benefits from extra checked baggage allowances to lounge access.
Cathay is free to join, unlike its predecessor Marco Polo Club which used to charge USD 100 per year (which I foolishly paid in my early years). This is in line with many other frequent flyer programmes today.
If you’re a KrisFlyer member trying to orient yourself: Cathay is to Cathay Pacific what KrisFlyer is to Singapore Airlines. A single loyalty programme covering both your redeemable points and your elite status in one membership.
The two currencies: Asia Miles and Status Points
This is the single most important thing to understand about the programme, and the part that confuses most people. When you earn with Cathay by flying, through a credit card transfer, or via a hotel partner, you accumulate two completely separate things at the same time:
- Asia Miles is the redeemable currency. They can be used for flight awards, upgrades, hotel stays and other rewards. These work exactly like KrisFlyer miles: earn them, redeem them, repeat.
- Status Points determine your membership tier. They cannot be redeemed for anything. Think of them like Krisflyer’s Elite Miles, Qantas’ Status Credits or British Airways’ Tier Points, which serves as a running count of how much you’ve flown with Cathay and oneworld airlines in a given period.
The two currencies earn independently and serve entirely different purposes. A member could have a large Asia Miles balance entirely from credit card transfers and still be Green tier — the lowest. Conversely, a road warrior flying economy every week could have Gold or Diamond status with relatively modest Asia Miles to spend. Flying is the only way to earn Status Points; Asia Miles can come from many places.
[SCREENSHOT: Status Points progress bar showing current tier and next tier threshold]
Membership tiers
Status Points accumulate within your membership year and determine your tier. Here’s the current structure:
| Tier | Status Points required | oneworld equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Green | Entry level | — |
| Silver | 300 | oneworld Ruby |
| Gold | 600 | oneworld Sapphire |
| Diamond | 1,200 | oneworld Emerald |
Green is the default for all members — you’re automatically Green when you join.
Silver gets you the basics: priority check-in, extra baggage allowance on Cathay flights, and oneworld Ruby recognition across member airlines.
Gold is where it becomes genuinely worthwhile — Business Class lounge access on Cathay Pacific and across the oneworld network, complimentary room upgrades at partner hotels including Four Seasons, and priority handling throughout. oneworld Sapphire is a meaningful status on any airline in the alliance.
Diamond is full top-tier treatment: access to The Pier First Class Lounge and The Wing at HKIA, priority across all touchpoints, and oneworld Emerald recognition. It’s treated equivalently to Qantas Platinum or British Airways Gold Guest List when flying partner airlines.
We’ll cover the full breakdown of tier benefits — lounge access specifics, upgrade entitlements, partner hotel perks — in a dedicated status guide [LINK TBC].
Earning and redeeming Asia Miles
Both topics are detailed enough to warrant their own guides:
- How to earn Asia Miles — flight earn rates by fare type, Singapore credit card transfer partners (including the recent AMEX devaluation), hotel transfers and more [LINK TBC]
- How to redeem Asia Miles — award charts, own metal versus partner redemptions, the oneworld multi-carrier option, sweet spots and what to avoid [LINK TBC]
What’s changing in 2027
In October 2025, Cathay announced a comprehensive overhaul of the programme effective 1 January 2027, with a transition period running through 2026. The changes are genuinely positive — arguably the most member-friendly adjustments Cathay has made in years — and if you’re working towards status, you’ll want to understand them before planning your flying.
1. Status Points no longer reset after a tier upgrade
This is the biggest change, and the most overdue.
Under the current structure, your Status Points reset to zero every time you reach a new tier. That means a Green member needs 300 points to hit Silver — then starts again from scratch towards Gold’s 600. In practice, going from Green to Diamond currently requires earning at minimum 300 + 600 + 1,200 = 2,100 Status Points across three separate membership years. Ridiculous.
From 2027, excess Status Points carry forward after each upgrade. Earn 400 points in a year: you hit Silver at 300, and the remaining 100 carry forward towards Gold. Members will be able to climb multiple tiers within a single calendar year for the first time.
2. Membership moves to a fixed calendar year cycle
Currently your membership year runs for 12 months from whenever you last enrolled, upgraded or downgraded — which makes it difficult to plan around. From 2027, everyone is on a standard 1 January–31 December cycle. Your status in a given year is determined by the Status Points you earned the previous calendar year.
3. Status Points rollover for Gold and above
Gold members will be able to roll over up to 300 Status Points (50% of the 600 required to requalify) into the following year. Diamond members can roll over up to 600. This acts as a buffer for years with reduced travel — reduced hours, a sabbatical, a new baby — without losing hard-earned status entirely.
4. New Diamond Exec tier at 2,400 Status Points
A new tier sits above Diamond for the airline’s most frequent flyers. Specific benefits are still being finalised, but it’s positioned as the new pinnacle of the programme. If you’re already Diamond and flying heavily, this is your next target.
5. Diamond reserve years
Members who have held Diamond for five or more cumulative years can now bank complimentary Diamond years — one year for every 6,000 lifetime Status Points earned since 2016. These can be drawn on during periods of reduced travel to maintain status. There’s no cap on how many reserve years you can accumulate, and Cathay sent personalised projections to eligible Diamond members in October 2025.
How does the 2026 transition work?
- Your 2025 status remains valid as-is until its current expiry date.
- When your membership renews or changes in 2026 under existing rules, whatever tier you hold at that point is valid until 31 December 2026.
- On 1 January 2027, your status is determined by the Status Points you earned between 1 January and 31 December 2026 — under the new thresholds, with the new no-reset rules.
The practical implication: if your membership year overlaps into 2026, that year’s flying activity will “double count” — towards your current membership year under existing rules, and towards your 2027 status under the new ones. Plan accordingly.
Quick answers
Is Cathay membership free? Yes. The old Marco Polo Club charged USD 100 per year. The Cathay programme has no joining fee.
What’s the difference between Asia Miles and Status Points? Asia Miles are redeemable — use them for flight awards, upgrades and other rewards. Status Points determine your tier (Green through Diamond) and cannot be redeemed for anything. Flying earns both simultaneously; credit card and hotel transfers only add Asia Miles.
Do Asia Miles expire? Asia Miles earned from 1 January 2020 onwards do not expire, as long as you earn or redeem at least one mile every 18 months. Accounts that go completely inactive beyond that window will see their balance expire.
How many Status Points do I need to reach Gold? 600 Status Points within a membership year — but under the current structure, if you’re starting from Green, your counter resets when you hit Silver (at 300), so you’ll need to earn a total of 900 Status Points across two tier thresholds. This reset mechanic is being eliminated in 2027.
Is Marco Polo Club still active? No. It was retired in August 2022 and merged into the Cathay programme. If you held Marco Polo Club status, it was automatically converted to the equivalent Cathay tier.
Is Asia Miles the same thing as Cathay? Not exactly. Asia Miles is the name of the points currency within the Cathay programme. Cathay is the name of the overall loyalty programme. The two names are often used interchangeably, but technically refer to different things.
While Asia Miles is free to join and use, there is a first-time joining fee of USD100 for MPC, payable every year unless you earn a minimum of 20 club points, which can be earned rather easily with any return flight from Singapore to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific.
Note that club points cannot really be used to redeem for anything; these club points are simply a count on how much you fly in a year. For those familiar with Qantas Frequent Flyer and British Airways’ Executive Club, the club points are synonymous with status credits and tier points respectively.
Frequently Asked Questions
I have included some Asia Miles 101 FAQs below, so you can either click directly to it or slowly read through this lengthy article.
- What’s the difference between Asia Miles and Marco Polo Club? Are they the same?
- How do I earn Asia Miles?
- Can I transfer credit card points to Asia Miles?
- What can I use my Asia Miles for?
- How much is one Asia Mile worth?
- What are the different statuses you can achieve with Marco Polo Club?
- How do I earn status with oneworld?
What’s the difference between Asia Miles and Marco Polo Club? Are they the same?
Asia Miles is a travel rewards programme, meaning you get miles (the programme currency) for your activities, i.e. flying with Cathay Pacific, dining, credit card points, etc. This is a free programme, similar to Krisflyer. There are no tiers or levels in this programme – everyone earns at the same rate, and uses the same redemption charts.
Marco Polo Club (MPC) is Cathay Pacific’s loyalty programme, which give you status points (Club Points) when you travel with them or other oneworld airlines. There’s no other way to earn Club Points. There is also an annual fee of USD100 to join the MPC, but this can be waived if you earn at least 20 Club Points in any programme year.
How do I earn Asia Miles?
There are several ways to earn Asia Miles.
Flights: This is the most straightforward way. Flying with Cathay Pacific, Cathay Dragon or oneworld airlines will earn you both Asia Miles and Marco Polo Club points.
Cathay Pacific has moved towards a fixed miles award system since 2018, so the amount of miles you earn from flying depends on (i) the fare class of your ticket,and (ii) which distance category your journey fall into.
This is the chart:
Hotels: Asia Miles also partners many hotel partners that allow you to convert your hotel loyalty points to Asia Miles.
Some examples below:
- LeClub Accor: 2 points to 1 Asia Mile
- Hilton Honors: 10 points to 1 Asia Mile
- World of Hyatt: 2.5 points to 1 Asia Mile OR 500 Asia Miles per stay
- IHG Rewards Club: 5 points to 1 Asia Mile OR 500 Asia Miles per stay
- Marriott Rewards: 3 points to 1 Asia Mile, bonus of 5,000 Asia Miles for every 60,000 points converted; OR 1 Asia Mile per USD2 spent on stay
And many more. For more details, refer to Asia Miles website.
Credit Cards: Asia Miles is probably the second most accessible mileage conversion programme after Krisflyer in Singapore. Many credit card rewards programme in Singapore will allow you to transfer your points to Asia Miles. See more details in the question below.
Of course, there are other ways to earn Asia Miles, including car rentals and other obscure manners which I will not cover. For details, refer to the Asia Miles website.
Can I transfer credit card points to Asia Miles?
Credit Cards: Asia Miles is probably the second most accessible mileage conversion programme after Krisflyer in Singapore. Many credit card rewards programme in Singapore will allow you to transfer your points to Asia Miles.
For starters, some of the most widely-used miles earning credit cards are existing partners of Asia Miles:
- UOB PRVI MasterCard
- UOB PRVI Amex
- DBS Altitude Visa
- BOC Elite Miles MasterCard
- Citibank PremierMiles
- Citibank Rewards
- Standard Chartered Visa Infinite
- American Express Platinum Credit Card, and many more.
Most bank programmes in Singapore already have Asia Miles have a conversion partner, and the rates are similar to what you get with Krisflyer.
From time to time, Asia Miles run targeted offers to encourage members to transfer to Asia Miles. For instance, DBS was running a 15% bonus offer to transfer DBS reward points to Asia Miles in early 2019, so you shouldn’t rule out similar offers in future.
What can I use my Asia Miles for?
Asia Miles can obviously be used to redeem for Cathay Pacific, Cathay Dragon and many oneworld flights, including those operated by Qantas, Japan Airlines and American Airlines. For more details on redeeming flights on Cathay Pacific, as well as tips and tricks, click here (coming soon).
Beyond the oneworld alliance, Asia Miles has also gotten some other partner airlines on board, including Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines and Lufthansa.
On top of that, like many other airline frequent flyer programme, you can also use your Asia Miles for hotel stays, attractions, and lifestyle awards, although these are really not the best way to use your miles.
One unique proposition of Asia Miles is the ability to use your miles for Asian pop concerts, typically held in Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan. Some of the concerts that you could previously book for included Andy Lau, Khalil Fong and Mayday. The redemption rates are not that cost effective – for instance, a Mayday concert going for JPY12,800 (~SGD158) was going for 24,000 miles, working out to 0.6 cents per mile, which is not a great use of miles unless tickets are sold out everywhere else.
How much is one Asia Mile worth?
This is a perennial question on top of everyone’s mind – how much is one mile worth?
The usual answer will be: it depends.
For an economy class redemption (which is highly not recommended), the value can go down as low as under 1 cent, to over 3 cents.
Business class redemptions can range between 3-6 cents per mile, depending on destination, airline and dates.
First class redemptions can go as high as 10 cents per mile, but not likely achievable given that the inventory is typically limited.
Of course, the above valuation is a simple one: it takes the commercial value of the ticket, divided by the number of miles required for a similar class of travel. There’s also the other school of thought on how much you are willing to pay for the ticket, that’s probably closer to the actual value you attach to a mile.
What are the different statuses you can achieve with Marco Polo Club?
Marco Polo Club offers four tiers to its members: Green, Silver, Gold and Diamond. Green is the entry level tier, while Silver, Gold and Diamond comes in after accumulating Club Points within a programme year.
To requalify for Green each year, you will need to accumulate 20 club points each year. That’s pretty simple – the cheapest return economy fare from Singapore to Hong Kong that’s eligible for Asia Miles will get you 20 club points. If you fail to earn at least 20 club points, note that you will have to pay the USD100 fee in lieu of it.
Silver, Gold and Diamond will come at 300, 600 and 1,200 club points respectively. That sounds like an awful lot but trust me, there are too many diamond members in the programme.
One important thing to note if you are starting from the bottom (i.e. Green): each time you reach a new tier, your club point resets. So if you are starting from Green and wants to achieve Gold or Diamond within a single year, you will need 900 club points for Gold, and 2,100 club points for Diamond. Ridiculous, I know.
For a summary of what Asia Miles can be used for and what each MPC tier offers, see the table below:
How do I earn status with oneworld?
Silver, Gold and Diamond also correspond to oneworld’s Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald status respectively, which standardises the tiers across its member airlines. This also means you get corresponding benefits when travelling with oneworld member airlines. For instance, if you are an MPC Diamond, you will be treated like a Qantas Frequent Flyer Platinum member when you travel with Qantas.