Best Award Miles to Use for Flights to Asia

A trip to Asia should be on everyone’s travel bucket list. I have to admit, when we first started traveling, it was all about Europe for us. And while Europe is awesome, after several trips, it was time to broaden our horizons.

I’m so glad we did! We loved our stays in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Thailand, and Singapore last year. It was a great change of pace and I look forward to taking more trips like this in the future.

It’s important to know that just because it’s farther away doesn’t mean you can’t get to your preferred destination cheaply and in style with miles & points. Asia is so stinking huge, but I will attempt to cover the basics of booking trips to different parts of the continent to get you going. Know that South, North, and Central Asia can all have different award prices, so it all depends on what region you’re booking.

Here are some of the best award miles to use for flights to Asia. Enjoy!

Flying into Phuket

American Airline AAdvantage

American Airlines AAdvantage miles are some of the best award miles to use for flights to Asia since there are several airline options (American, Japan, Cathay Pacific), award availability is good, and the prices are reasonable. A bargain is redeeming 67,500 AA miles for a one-way flight in Cathay Pacific’s fantastic first class.

4 Friends in CX First Class

How to book

For flights like Dallas to Hong Kong on American Airlines metal (award availability can be harder to find than on partners), you can search and easily book on their website. AA.com doesn’t show Japan Airlines or Cathay Pacific availability, so you will need to search the British Airways website, find your award flights, and call an AA rep at 1-800-882-8880 to make your booking. Booking CX in business class and then upgrading to first class closer to departure is a great strategy.

How to earn

Like I said before, AA miles are some of the easiest miles to accumulate because of their many co-branded travel card options. The Barclays Aviator cards (no longer accepting new applications), Citi Platinum Select Visa, Citi Platinum Select Business, Citi Executive World Elite Executive (75,000 limited time sign-up bonus), and Citi AA Mastercard are all options.

The only transfer partner for American Airlines is Starwood SPG points, and you will get a 5k miles bonus for every 20k miles you transfer. You can earn SPG points with the once a year 30k limited time offers.

Alaska Airlines

You can use your Alaska MileagePlan miles to fly Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong in business class for only 50,000 miles one-way. That’s a great deal, imho. Plus, you can add a stopover, which is a sweet perk. A one-way first class ticket would be 70,000 miles. That’s more expensive than AA, but you can add a stopover.

Cathay Pacific Business Class

How to book

You can’t book Cathay Pacific awards on the Alaska website, so you will have to call them at 1-800-252-7522 (TTY: Dial 711 for Relay Services), 5:00 a.m. – Midnight (PT). You can search the British Airways website for Cathay Pacific award availability.

How to earn

The stand offers on the Bank of America personal & business Alaska Air cards are for 25,000 miles. Not the biggest bonus, but it’s possible to get the bonus more than once (ymmv). You can see the offers through the links below.

View Additional Airline & Frequent Flyer Credit Card Offers Here

Alaska Airlines Business Card

You can also transfer SPG points earned from the personal & business Starwood Preferred Guest cards. You will get a 5k bonus for transferring 20k points. See the limited time SPG offers here.

All Nippon Airlines (ANA)

You can fly from North America to Japan in ANA’s business class for only 75,000 – 85,000 miles. Solid. ANA doesn’t allow one-way bookings, but you can have multiple stopovers. That’s right.

ANA 787 Business Class

How to book

You can search and book ANA awards on their website, and it actually just got updated, so it should be easier to use. which is sweet. If you’re having trouble booking your award online, just call ANA at 1-800-235-9262.

How to earn

ANA is a transfer partner of the American Express Membership Rewards program, so any card that earns MR points gives you the flexibility of having ANA miles. It takes about 4 days to transfer Amex MR points to ANA.

Korean SkyPass

Korean Skypass is partners with China Southern and China Eastern, and they all release a good amount of premium cabin award space. We like that. You can fly one-way to Korea or Japan for 80,000 miles one way.

Korean Airlines Premium Cabin

How to book

Booking Korean Skypass awards on their metal can be done on their improved website, but booking partner awards requires calling in. Also, you can book one way awards on their metal, but Skyteam partner flights must be booked as a roundtrip ticket. But you can have two stopovers. Sweet. Read this post for instructions on how to book partner awards. It’s a process.

How to earn

There is a US Bank Skypass card, but the easiest way to earn Korean Skypass miles is to transfer in Chase Ultimate Rewards points or Starwood Preferred Guest points. Boom.

Singapore Krisflyer

No doubt that I love flying Singapore Airlines, especially in their Suites Class. You can fly from LAX to Tokyo in their Suites Class for 75,000 points.

Making our double bed in Singapore Suites

How to book

You can search & book Singapore award flights pretty easily on their website. Here’s my full post on booking Singapore awards, and using the waitlist feature.

How to earn

Singapore Krisflyer miles are some of the easiest to earn since you can transfer in Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou, and Starwood points. So many great options to choose from!

Wrap Up

If traveling to Asia is a goal of yours, it can become a reality by utilizing one of the many award programs mentioned above. I love flying the premium cabin flights on Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines. And being comfortable on flights to anywhere in Asia is important since you’re traveling longer distances.

Hope this helps if you’re planning a trip sometime soon. As always, let me know if you have any questions!

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