Guide: How to Use Avios to Book Cheaper Cathay Pacific Flights
Just like how certain Singapore Airlines flights can be booked at a lower cost with EVA Air Infinity MileageLand miles, it is possible to use Avios to book Cathay Pacific flights for miles savings. This is a pretty powerful strategy to get business class flights for significantly fewer miles, including Cathay Pacific’s excellent Aria Suite and their fantastic airport lounges.
Why use Avios to book Cathay Pacific flights?
Using Avios to book Cathay Pacific flights allows you to save on your miles when booking flights. This is because certain Cathay Pacific routes can be booked through Qatar Airways Privilege Club or Finnair Plus for fewer miles.
On top of that, transfer bonuses for Avios have been quite common and usually generous, and we have even seen 40% bonus before! At the time of writing this guide, there is a 30% bonus being offered by Qatar Airways so stay subscribed (Telegram/WhatsApp) and leave notifications turned on if you do not want to miss such notifications. Such transfer bonuses greatly reduce your cost when it comes to booking flights.
The downside is that the availability is often poorer than booking with Cathay Pacific’s own Asia Miles programme, but there are still gems to be found.
Some good redemptions I’ve found
Below are some Business Class redemptions that I’ve found. I’ve tried a few routes myself, and as you can see, not only are you saving on miles, you even save on taxes in some scenarios. Not all of Cathay Pacific’s Business Class cabins have been upgraded to Aria Suite, but stay subscribed (Telegram/WhatsApp) if you want to know how I booked mine.
Note that Qatar Airways and Finnair both use Avios, but the pricing can be very different based on which airline’s programme you use to book your flights with.
| Destination | Using Asia Miles | Using Avios | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong → China (e.g. Chengdu, Beijing etc.) |  27,000 miles + ~$97 |  18,000 miles + ~S$97 | 9,000 miles |
| Hong Kong → Bangkok | 27,000 miles + ~HKD779 |  16,500 miles + ~HKD440 | 10,500 miles + HKD339 |
| Hong Kong → Phuket | 27,000 miles + ~HKD779 | 22,000 miles + ~HKD440 | 5,000 miles + HKD339 |
| Singapore → Hong Kong | 27,000 miles + ~S$121 | 22,000 miles + ~S$65 | 5,000 miles + ~S$56 |
| Singapore → US/Canada* | 115,000 miles | 85,000 miles | 30,000 miles |
*While it is theoretically possible to travel from Singapore to US or Canada via Cathay Pacific for 85,000 miles, it’s not something I’ve found for myself yet. Availability is very poor to the point of being non-existent, but I’ll find some ways to see if I can book one and will update my subscribers accordingly.
How do I get Avios?
You can get Avios by transferring your bank points to the following airlines’ frequent flyer programmes:
| Airline Programme | Points |
|---|---|
 British Airways Club | American Express Membership Rewards Citi Miles / ThankYou Points HSBC Rewards points |
 Qatar Airways Privilege Club | Citi Miles / ThankYou Points HSBC Rewards points* Hey Max Max Miles |
 Finnair Plus | None (transfer from other programmes) |
Note that transfers from HSBC Rewards points to Qatar Airways Privilege Club are at a poor conversion ratio. You would be better off transferring your HSBC points to British Airways Club. Once they are converted, you can transfer them freely to other Avios-supported airlines.
There is currently no way to transfer rewards points to Finnair Plus directly. You can, however, transfer your points to British Airways Club or Qatar Airways Privilege Club before transferring the Avios to Finnair Plus.
Refer to the miles transfer calculator to see how many miles you can get from your bank points:
How do I transfer Avios?
You can refer to this guide on how to transfer your Avios between the different airlines that support it:
Searching for flights
My preference would be to use Finnair to search for flight availability. Cathay Pacific flights that show up on Finnair’s flight searches should also be available for booking on Qatar Airways, though this is not always the case. Nonetheless, I usually start my search on Finnair first because of its easier to use and quicker interface.
You will need a Finnair Plus account which you can register for free here.
Thereafter, tap Award flight and input your desired flight details:
If available, the website will show you an overview of flights available around your selected date:
Zooming in on any of those dates would show you the flight details:
Booking flights
If you wish, you can book your flight through Finnair if you have sufficient Avios in your Finnair Plus. For routes like Hong Kong to a few Chinese cities or the mythical Singapore to US/Canada, Finnair would be the cheaper place to book the flights.
For this Singapore to Hong Kong example, 55,000 Avios is crazily high, so let’s jump over to Qatar to complete our booking.
You will need a Qatar Airways Privilege Club account and you can sign up here.
Thereafter, go to Book a flight and input your desired flight details and remember to check Book using Avios:
If available, you can then complete your booking on Qatar Airways’ website:
Tada, just 22,000 miles instead of the 27,000 that Cathay Pacific charges, and you even save about S$56 of taxes. If you factor in transfer bonuses, this costs just 16,924 miles with a 30% bonus or only 15,715 miles with a 40% bonus.
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I’ll be having more guides on maximising your miles and more soon, so definitely stay subscribed to the Telegram or WhatsApp if you want to earn more from credit cards, savings accounts and other financial deals. Remember to unmute and turn on notifications or the updates may not reach you.
Seth Wee was a licensed financial adviser representative from 2009 to 2025, with over 16 years of experience in Singapore’s financial advisory industry.
He started Sethisfy.com in 2019 to share practical insights on credit cards, banking products, and miles strategies, helping readers identify financial products that deliver the best value. Seth has been featured in CNA, Channel 8, Today, and a host of other publications. In 2025, he was also part of a panel at CPF’s Ready For Life festival.
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