Cathay Pacific business class upgrade guide

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by Chris Chamberlin | December 4, 2018

This article is part of our ongoing Business Travel 101 series for newcomers to the world of business travel, and was last updated January 2019.

If you’re travelling with Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong and beyond in premium economy, a great use for your Asia Miles is a business class upgrade.

What's more, you can also use Asia Miles to upgrade to business class on Cathay's sister airline Cathay Dragon – particularly useful if connecting onwards from Hong Kong to destinations within China.

We previously reported that the Asia Miles program underwent a major revamp in June 2018, with many changes including the removal of the ‘return trip discount’. Under the new rules, upgrades are charged on a one-way basis, thus making a return trip upgrade cost exactly the same as two one-way upgrades.

You can now upgrade to business class between Sydney and Hong Kong for 18,000 miles, or you could upgrade your full Sydney-HK-Sydney trip for 36,000 miles.

It's a similar scenario for journeys onwards from Hong Kong to the likes of London and Los Angeles, which can be upgraded one-way for 25,000 miles or 28,000 miles, respectively.

Here’s what you need to know to turn those lingering Cathay Pacific Asia Miles into a business class seat on your next journey abroad.

Cathay Pacific business class upgrades 101

Upgrades on Cathay Pacific are all one-class – meaning economy passengers can move forward into premium economy, but only premium economy travellers can grab a seat in business class.

There's an exception if you're on a Cathay Pacific flight where premium economy isn't offered, in which case you could indeed upgrade from economy straight to business class.

Also note that the number of upgrades available on any given flight can be limited, and even then, not all fare types can be upgraded using miles.

From premium economy, upgrades are permitted from the higher W- and R-class fares, but not the discounted E-class sale fares.

If you're in a position to upgrade from economy to business class you'll need to be booked on a flexible Y, B, H, K, or M ticket: selecting anything else keeps you stuck down the back.

Provided you're on an eligible ticket, upgrades can be confirmed instantly via the Asia Miles website on both Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon flights, wherever available.

Should you be booking a ticket and intending to upgrade, we'd strongly advise contacting the Asia Miles team to check what's available before paying for your premium economy ticket, as being flexible with your dates or schedule could help secure a coveted upgrade.

Here are the current rates for upgrades, listed per one-way sector.

Cathay Pacific business class upgrades at the airport

Making a last-minute trip somewhere and didn't have a chance to upgrade online? No dramas: you can use Asia Miles to upgrade at the airport, too.

Available on all Cathay Pacific flights and Cathay Dragon too, you simply present your membership card and your itinerary to the check-in staff. If a last-minute upgrade is available on your flight, the seat is yours!

Sit back and relax... you're flying in business class now!

Airport upgrades are only available on your next onward flight – so if you’re travelling from Sydney to London via Hong Kong, you can only upgrade the Sydney-Hong Kong flight while on the ground in Australia.

These upgrades are also charged at the same ‘one-way’ rate as online.

A few tips…

As with most airlines, upgrading from one class to another means you'll earn frequent flyer points and status credits as per your original premium economy (or economy) fare, rather than at the higher business class rates enjoyed by full-fare-paying travellers.

You also won't be able to upgrade when travelling on a ticket which was already booked using frequent flyer points, whether through Asia Miles, Qantas Frequent Flyer or any other program.

Also note that if you upgrade at the airport, you probably won't have a guaranteed meal aboard.

It's unlikely the crew would have nothing to offer you but expect to be served only after orders have been taken from the other passengers who confirmed their flight in advance.

Finally, while Cathay Pacific once offered 'upgrade bids' to business class by using money rather than miles, this is no longer possible.

Additional material by Brandon Loo.