Cathay Pacific Credit Card Overview
Cathay Pacific may be a world-class airline, but its U.S. credit card is flat. From boring welcome offers to incredible allowances, this card strives to compete with top travel reward credit cards. I don’t recommend this card, even the faithful Cathay Pacific. Card Rating*: ⭐
*Card ratings are based on the opinions of TPG editors and are not affected by the card issuer.
Cathay Pacific is one of my favorite international airlines – I have driven it in first and business class and have been impressed. The airline is headquartered in Hong Kong and offers six cities in Asia and the South Pacific.
However, although the airline’s credit card has not been upgraded. The Cathay World Elite Mastercard, issued by Synchrony Bank and carried $99 annual revenue, was refreshed and reopened to new applicants in April 2025. Typically, the credit score is 620 or higher.
Let’s see why I believe this card is not marked.
Cathay World Mastercard information has been collected independently by Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Pros and cons of Cathay Pacific Credit Card
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Cathay Pacific Credit Card Welcome Discount
The Cathay Pacific credit card is currently offering (very exact) 38,000 miles after spending $3,000 in the first 90 days of account opening.
Based on our May 2025 valuation, this welcome bonus is worth a paltry $494. If you want to earn a stash of Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, it is best to apply for a general travel reward card for American Express, Bilt, Capital One or Citi or Citi and transfer your rewards to the program.
Synchrony Bank does not publish application restrictions, so it is difficult to predict your approval opportunities. Since you cannot check whether you are eligible, the application will likely have a hard time asking questions about your credit report.
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Cathay Pacific Credit Card Benefits
Here is a summary of the allowances you receive from your Cathay Pacific credit card:
- Priority check-in: You and your travel companion can check in at the Advanced Economic Boarding Board while flying Cathay Pacific.
- Priority boarding: You – and only if you (without a travel companion) – fly Cathay Pacific to board the plane with the Senior Economic Group; you must present a physical credit card to do so.
- World Elite Mastercard Welfare: You will enjoy concierge visits and offers from brands like Instacart (until August), Peacock (until December), and Shoprunner.
- No foreign transaction fees: You can use cards abroad without accumulating additional fees (this is the standard for most top travel reward cards).
- Flowers in the state: Earn 10 status points on the card for every $5,000 spent (up to 100 status points per calendar year).
- Redemption discount: Get 10% off on car rental, experience and hotel awards.
- Gift and transfer mileage discounts: 10% of the fee incurred when enjoying the gift or transferring miles to other members.
As far as airline credit cards are concerned, these are all bad things. The best airline credit cards offer lounge access, companion certificates and useful ways to spend your status.
While priority check-in and check-in is useful, you will only use this card when you operate the premium economy class at your airport (this is the case for all US routes, but only about half of the flights within Asia).
The status shortcut is very small. You only need to spend $50,000 in a year to get one third of the silver status, which can access Cathay Pacific Business-Class-Class Lounges, check-in and check-in.
Silver is equivalent to Oneworld Ruby status; if you are getting OneWorld identity, I recommend at least the level above (Cathay Pacific Gold that matches Oneworld Sapphire). To do this, you need 600 status points in a year, so spending this card to the maximum will only make you about 16%. The rest needs to be earned organically (by flying, shopping, etc.).
The terms and conditions of the card state that it may take up to six months to reflect in your account after earning money, so the card is not a reliable way to achieve elite status through the airline.
If status is a top priority for you, a better option is the Qatar Airways Privileged Club Visa Unlimited Credit Card (selling at $499), which offers Oneworld Sapphire status for the first year.
Finally, car rental, experience and hotel redemption discounts – Unlike Delta Airlines’ 15% bonus flight discount, it’s not very useful for flights, as redeeming your Asian mileage for non-flight redemption offers poor value.
Information on Qatar Airways Privileged Club Visa Unlimited Credit Card has been collected independently by Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Earn miles on Cathay Pacific Credit Card
Like most airlines’ cards, you will get the most bonus miles when you’re directly with the airline. You will earn:
- Buy 3 miles per dollar on flights and on board of Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Express*
- 2 o’clock per dollar (including qualified delivery)
- Spend 1 cent per dollar
*Hong Kong Express is a low-cost subsidiary of Cathay Pacific, specializing in operating on in-house routes in Asia.
Based on our May 2025 valuation, you will receive 3.9% flight gains. By comparison, I get over 6% of the return I get when using Chase SapphireReserve® (see Rates and Fees) with the card’s strong travel protections and it’s easy to see why the Cathay Pacific Card is not enough.
According to our valuation, the rate of return on meals is 2.6% compared to the best recommendations for our meal card American Exprion® Gold Card, which earns 8% in this category.
†Earn 4 points per dollar for dining at restaurants around the world (up to $50,000 per year for purchases and then 1 point per dollar for the rest of the calendar year).
All in all, this card won’t hit a punch in the revenue department.
Redeem mileage on Cathay Pacific Credit Card
Cathay Pacific is a member of the OneWorld Alliance, so you can redeeate miles through airlines such as American and British Airways, as well as operators such as several non-partner partners.
However, the Asian mileage plan is difficult to understand. If you are new, check out our complete guide on Asian Miles for all the nuances and detailed details of the program.
If you think redemption of Asian Myers is the best value way to fly in a premium cabin with Cathay Pacific, think again. For example, a one-way top-notch flight from Los Angeles to Hong Kong requires 125,000 Asian miles or 110,000 American Airlines AADVantage Miles, while taxes via Aadvantage are less than a quarter of what they were when booking with Asian Ria.
But while booking a Cathay Pacific flight through the U.S. or Alaska Airlines can offer more premium cabin rewards to its own members. I booked the above flight in January 2025 and had to use Asian mileage as it cannot be obtained through the US or Alaska.
So if you find a trip you like, my advice is to call Asia Riya at 833-933-2244 for a 72-hour pause. If you need more Cathay Pacific miles to pay for the cost, convert one of these transferable reward currencies to Asian miles (more valuable during the transfer bonus promotion):
Finally, you can redeem Asian miles for car rentals, experiences and access to hotels and lounges – but none of these options are valuable.
Which card competes with Cathay Pacific’s credit card?
Given that Asia Mileage works with all major transferable reward programs, my advice is to get one of the following cards:
For additional options, see our full list of the best airline credit cards.
Related: Why transferable points and mileage are higher than other rewards
Is Cathay Pacific Credit Card worth it?
Cathay World Elite Mastercard is the only credit card issued in the United States that can directly earn Asian mileage and status points. However, even the common Cathay Pacific flyers will be difficult to get considerable value from this card. My advice is to get a general travel rewards credit card and then transfer your rewards to Asian miles.
Bottom line
Cathay Pacific soared in the sky, but its credit cards barely took off. Although North America is the most profitable market outside of Asia, the airline has failed to provide compelling products to U.S. consumers.
Due to popular bonuses, disappointing travel allowances and a speed that slowly reaches elite status, I would not hesitate to recommend Cathay Pacific credit cards and even use Cathay Pacific Flyers regularly.
If you want to fly Cathay Pacific with Miles (and enjoy the lounge access while on the go), I recommend you get a general travel rewards credit card and transfer your rewards to Asian Miles or another OneWorld loyalty program.
Related: How to Choose an Airline Credit Card
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