Cathay Pacific has announced another round of changes to its Asia Miles award chart effective from 1st May 2026, the third increase since October 2023, at a time ballooning fuel surcharges and hiked airport fees are also adding to the cost of redemptions.

Much of the coverage has focused on the devaluation angle, and while it’s true that longer Business Class awards are going up in cost (again!), the full picture is a little more nuanced, with a small but welcome reduction in the miles needed for some short-haul premium cabin awards.

What’s changing

Here are the examples Cathay Pacific has provided for one-way awards to/from Hong Kong.

The reductions are nice to see. A drop from 28,000 to 27,000 miles for Business Class between Hong Kong and Singapore, Bangkok or Shanghai isn’t earth-shattering, but it’s a move in a positive direction for members and makes these shorter awards marginally more attractive.

The bad news is that longer-haul Business Class awards are heading up by around 3-4% across the board, with the most expensive zone (7,501+ miles) jumping from 115,000 to 119,000 miles one-way.

The revised Asia Miles award chart

For context, Cathay uses a zone-based award chart calculated on the total distance in your itinerary. Here’s the current chart, which applies until 30th April 2026, with the changes for awards ticketed on or after 1st May 2026 highlighted.

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles redemption changes
From 1st May 2026
(one-way miles x 1,000)

Distance in miles	Eco	PY	Biz	First
1 – 750	7	11	16	25
751 – 2,750 (Type 1)	9	20 18	28 27	43
751 – 2,750 (Type 2)	13	23	32	50
2,751 – 5,000	20	38	58 60	90
5,001 – 7,500	27	50	88 91	125
7,501+	38	75	115 119	160

Based on Cathay’s examples, the new chart from 1st May 2026 will see the Premium Economy and Business Class rates change as follows:

• PY Type 1 (751 – 2,750 miles): 20,000 to 18,000 miles
• Business Type 1 (751 – 2,750 miles): 28,000 to 27,000 miles
• Business (2,751 – 5,000 miles): 58,000 to 60,000 miles
• Business (5,001 – 7,500 miles): 88,000 to 91,000 miles
• Business (7,501+ miles): 115,000 to 119,000 miles.

It’s worth noting that Cathay’s new award costs are cited as “examples”, so there could always be some hidden changes for other cabin classes and zones in store too.

We’ll update this section with the full revised chart covering all cabin classes, if Cathay Pacific sneaks in additional changes.

What this means from Singapore

Since Cathay Pacific routes from Singapore typically connect through Hong Kong, these zone-based rates also apply to many popular routes originating from Singapore. Here’s how some key Business Class awards are affected.

Asia Miles Business Class Awards ex Singapore
Route	Old	New	Change
SIN – HKG	28,000	27,000	3.6%
SIN – FRA	88,000	91,000	3.4%
SIN – LHR	115,000	119,000	3.5%
SIN – JFK	115,000	119,000	3.5%

That Singapore to Hong Kong reduction is a genuine positive, particularly for those who redeem Asia Miles for short hops up to Hong Kong.

A saving of 1,000 miles per direction, or 2,000 miles round-trip, is always welcome, though remember that Qatar Airways Avios redemption on this route comes in at a more competitive 22,000 miles, with no fuel surcharge to boot.

The increases for long-haul awards are more concerning, especially when you consider the cumulative impact of repeated hikes over the past few years.

A pattern of rising costs

To put these latest changes in perspective, a Business Class award from Singapore to Frankfurt has gone from 65,000 miles to 91,000 miles in under three years, a 40% increase across three separate rounds of hikes.

The heaviest blow came in October 2023, when premium cabin awards jumped by up to 29% – Business Class from Asia to Europe jumped from 65,000 miles to 84,000 miles.

A further 5% increase followed in April 2025, and now this latest 3-4% rise from May 2026 continues the trend.

It’s not just the miles rates going up

Here’s the thing that often gets lost in the headline focus on miles devaluation: the cash cost of redeeming award tickets has been climbing sharply too, and that’s arguably a bigger concern for many travellers lately.

Fuel surcharges have more than doubled recently. Cathay Pacific has hiked its fuel surcharges twice in quick succession, with the most recent increase representing a whopping 140% hike in two months.

These surcharges are fully payable on award tickets and can easily add hundreds of dollars to what’s supposed to be a “free” flight.

Hong Kong airport charges have also increased significantly. Since October 2025, Hong Kong’s air passenger departure tax has risen by 67%, also payable on award tickets. For those connecting through Hong Kong, that’s been an unavoidable cost increase.

More rises are on the way in Singapore too. The country’s SAF levy is due from January 2027 (delayed by several months from the original October 2026 start date), and another round of increased Changi Airport passenger service charges kick in from April 2027.

Both will be payable on award tickets, adding to the overall cost of flying on miles from Singapore regardless of which airline or frequent flyer programme you’re using.

When you combine rising miles requirements with ballooning fuel surcharges, higher airport taxes, and new sustainability levies, the total cost of awards is heading in only one direction, even with Asia Miles soon offering a slight miles reduction on Singapore – Hong Kong redemptions.

Should you rush to redeem?

If you already have enough Asia Miles for a longer-haul Business Class award and have a trip in mind, booking before 1st May 2026 will lock in the current rates. The savings are relatively modest, 3,000 miles for a 5,001 – 7,500 mile zone Business Class award for example, but there’s probably no advantage in waiting.

That said, don’t speculatively transfer credit card points to Asia Miles just to beat this deadline. The small percentage increases don’t warrant the risk of locking your points into a programme you might not use in time.

If you’re a regular user of Asia Miles for shorter Business Class awards in the region, the reduction from 28,000 to 27,000 miles is a small but welcome improvement from May onwards, though who knows what the fuel surcharge will be by then – Cathay is now revising it every two weeks.

Cathay’s Asia Miles award rate changes from 1st May 2026 are a mixed bag.

Short-haul premium cabin awards are getting cheaper, while long-haul awards continue their upward march. The increases are more modest this time around compared to the October 2023 shock, but they’re part of a clear trend.

What concerns us more is the creeping rise in the cash component of award tickets. Between fuel surcharges, airport taxes, and upcoming sustainability levies, the days of genuinely cheap award travel from Singapore may be fading – regardless of how many miles you need.

(Cover Photo: Cathay Pacific)