How to earn Cathay Pacific Asia Miles in Australia (without flying)

For Aussies who don't fly regularly, it can be difficult to accumulate a meaningful amount of Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. But there are various ways to earn Asia Miles in Australia without stepping on a plane, including credit card spend, renting a car, staying at partner hotels, shopping online via the Asia Miles iShop, and buying Asia Miles.

Check to see what the latest sign up bonuses are for credit cards that earn Asia Miles.

Key takeaways

Although not as opportune as Qantas and Velocity, there are still many ways to earn Asia Miles from Australia without flying.
Top ways to earn Cathay Pacific points include spending with a credit card, renting a car, booking a hotel stay, and shopping online.
Asia Miles are valuable since fewer of them are required for reward flights on the same route compared to Qantas.

Ways to earn Asia Miles without flying

To briefly summarise the options, it is possible to earn Asia Miles in Australia, but it is not as easy as it is to get Qantas Points or Velocity Points. And that shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone since you can earn Qantas Points just for walking.

Credit card spend

The most accessible option of all is to earn Asia Miles with a credit card. The "catch" is that there aren't any credit cards directly linked with the Cathay Pacific Asia Miles program. However, several bank rewards programs have Asia Miles as a transfer partner, meaning you can get the sign up bonus (assuming you are a new customer), earn points per dollar spent, and then transfer them to Asia Miles as and when needed. It's a minor inconvenience, but it's the best way to rack up points with everyday spending.

American Express Membership Rewards. Transfer at the rate of 1 Membership Rewards point to 1 Asia Mile.
ANZ Rewards. Transfer at the rate of 3 ANZ Rewards points to 1 Asia Mile.
Commonwealth Bank Awards. Transfer at the rate of 1 Commonwealth Bank Awards point to 0.29 Asia Miles.
Westpac Altitude Rewards. Transfer at the rate of 3 Altitude Rewards points to 1 Asia Mile.

Car rental

You can earn Asia Miles by renting a car from Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Europcar, Hertz, Sixt, and Thrifty. Make sure to add your Asia Miles frequent flyer number to your booking for points to be credited to your account. Rates vary between companies.

Hotel stays

You can earn Asia Miles by staying at participating hotels and resorts and adding your Asia Miles frequent flyer number to your booking. The number of hotel partners is too long to list here, but some of the big names include the following.

IHG. InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, etc.
Hilton. Conrad, Curio, DoubleTree, Home2 Suites, etc.
Marriott. JW Marriott, St.Regis, W, Westin, Sheraton, Moxy, etc. and Marriott Bonvoy.
Hyatt. Grand Hyatt, Park Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, etc.

Shopping online

Your options for earning Asia Miles when shopping, while in Australia, are somewhat limited to ordering online via the Asia Miles iShop online mall.

All the usual international brands are represented, like Apple, ASOS, Marks & Spencer, Nike, Samsung, and Under Armour, as they are on other airline shopping portals. But there are a few Aussie brands, too, like Bonds, Cotton On, Lorna Jane, and The Iconic.

Buy Asia Miles

If you want to book a flight with Asia Miles but are a few short in your account and none of the above ways to earn are going to be quick enough, you could just buy Asia Miles. There are terms and conditions of use, though.

Asia Miles are bought at the checkout.
You must have at least 70% of the Asia Miles required for your desired award.
There's a minimum purchase of 2,000 Asia Miles at US $60 each.

FAQs

Can I earn Asia Miles if I don't fly often?

Yes, there are many ways to earn Asia Miles from Australia without flying, including spending on a credit card, transferring points to Asia Miles, hiring a car, staying at a hotel, and shopping online.

Is it easy to earn Asia Miles in Australia?

Yes and no. There are ways to earn Asia Miles with your everyday spending consistently, but it's not as easy to earn Asia Miles as it is to earn Qantas Points or Velocity Points.

Is earning Asia Miles worth the effort?

Yes. You can often use fewer Asia Miles for a flight or upgrade than you would if you were booking with Qantas Points. Furthermore, you'll be able to use your points to book flights with some non-oneworld carriers that aren't bookable with Qantas Points.